Round Dinny - A Spin On A Classic Pattern

David Hutton

Palmetto Fly N Fish © All rights reserved
November 27, 2022

    I tie more flies than I fish these days; family medical issues keep me from the water more than I'd like. But this doesnt stop me from tying patterns that strike my fancy.

    Along these lines, I have lately noticed a revival of the time-honored, "Round Dinny" pattern. You might see them on the many fly tying fan pages, and several makers are selling copies. Bart Lombardo at Panfishonthefly.com also sells component kits, here:

Fly tying kit - Round Dinny
   
The ol' Round Dinny is seemingly everywhere these days, and once bitten by the Dinny bug, you can bet I worked out my own spin on this classic! 

Old School Pattern
    The original "Round Dinny" was from the 1950s and 60s, made and sold by the Accardo Company.
    Tony Accardo, of Baton Rouge LA, owned and led the business, farming out the tying of his patterns to local folks. According to those who worked for him, he supplied them with the basic body already fixed to the hook, the various dressings, and the flies were then tied as required.
    Tony had a number of different offerings, mostly different types of poppers and sliders. Perhaps his most popular was this article's subject, "The Round Dinny."

    The unique thing about the Round Dinny is, well,... it is round.
Instead of the usual conical, cylindrical, or bullet shape, this pattern uses a round cork ball for a body - thus the  name.
    The Round Dinny isn't the only, or even first, round body surface fly I'm familiar with. There was the "Bubbler/Babbler," which C. Boyd Pfeiffer credits to Jacques Herter (1). I've seen round deer-hair flies, too, and Pfeiffer claims there were others, even older. And there are plenty of copies, as already mentioned. 

    My guess is, Accardo successfully packaged an already known pattern -  his entire line of flies were mostly re-pops of existing pattern types. But they were quite popular in the South, at a time when fly fishing for panfish was hardly considered respectable.

    So Tony gets most of the credit, and rightly so.

The Concept

Original Accardo Packaging




Round Dinny's on Original Salesmans Board
foto courtesy of breambugs.com (3)

    As fly patterns go, the Round Dinny isn't very complex. If you look at the above fotos, you'll see it is just a round ball with a bunch of rubber legs, and big wads of feather dressing.
    However, while it is fairly simple, there is a neat little trick that results from the spherical shape. 

    The ball itself floats, with the weight of the hook dangling below to balance the thing. And that is the key to its success - the hook will swing down below with even the slightest movement. This makes the bug "rock" back and forth... and the hair, feathers, and legs wiggle wildly the whole time.

"This rocking action entices fish to strike, better than the average surface lure."
- George Herter 

    Pull on the line gently, rhythmically, and the ball/body rocks, making a very attractive presentation.
    Next, give it some stout strips and it behaves something like a slider, ducking underwater then popping back up.
    The Round Dinny is usually lumped into the "popper" category of flies, probably because there aren't many other labels to put on it.
    "Ball Flies?" That works, but it has never caught on. For my money, it is a slider that kinda acts like a popper.

Materials
    Traditionally, this pattern uses a cork ball for the body. Being an older pattern, cork is what you'd expect...naturally. 

George Herter also adds in his book (2), that other shapes work, as long as they will rock while the hook does the work underneath.
    I suppose you could also make rounded shapes or balls from balsa, pauwlonia, or other light woods if you wanted to craft your own.
     I didn't want to get into all THAT, however; I intended to just use the normal cork balls like everyone else..., and there are plenty of them available.
    

     But then I stumbled upon EVA craft foam balls. The ones I ended up with are intended as pop-up bait floats for carp fishing. 
    Yes, friends... they are carp balls. LOL 😊
    But the big deal is that they are cheap, they are tough as nails, and they come in a several sizes and colors. Best of all, they have a hole pierced right through their middle... just the thing for pushing onto a hook.
    You can get small balls, big balls, brightly colored balls, all made from robust foam, ... and they have a pre-made hole in them, too!

INTERMISSION

    We all know that whenever the word, "balls," shows up,  you gotta do this... so lets do it! Click on the link below:

    
    So, with that out of the way... it's back to our program.

Source
    The foam balls for my Round Dinnys come via aliexpress.com (4), one of the top, China-direct mail order outfits around.
    You read a lot of bad press about these Chinese sources, but most of that comes from the early days when they were just starting out. Today, I have virtually no problems ordering or receiving merchandise from them. 

    It takes time to get from China, through the international mail system, and into your hands - so you need some patience. But even the transit times have improved in recent years.
    But, I know some folks are against getting supplies this way, and that's okay; you can find similar foam balls elsewhere.
    Try a carp anglers supply, craft stores, or just google search for them. Walmart might even have them. They all come from the same Chinese factories, anyway, so get them wherever you can. 

    If there is one problem with supply, though, it is not with finding them,... it is that most craft foam balls are too large. For fly tying, you'll want to seek out smaller sizes.

My Balls
    Lets have a look at the foam balls I got from aliexpress. They are chartreuse, and 12mm in diameter. This is close enough to 1/2" to call it good. They come 15 to a pack as I purchased them, and here is what they look like in the package... 

    These foam balls have a fine nap surface, a soft, "micro fuzz." Think of it as a very fine, suede-like finish. I don't consider this finish a problem; I rather like it.
    But some of you reading this want a glossy, smooth finish on everything. If that describes you, odds are you probably won't like these as they come from the package. But, these foam balls are quite solid, and they will probably take epoxy or UV resin. In that way you could make them as shiny as you like. 
    Or you could use them, as is... who knows, they may grow on you.

Tying steps
    In short, you first affix the ball to the hook, to make a body. Then, you dress the pattern.

1. Mount your hook in the vise and measure the ball diameter against the shank. You want the hook shank at least twice as long as the width of the ball, with the eye just protruding from the ball.

2. Push the ball onto the hook, over the eye, and move it all the way to the rear, at the bend

3. Wrap a base line of tying thread along the hook shank, and make it double or triple thick in the area where the ball will seat, starting behind the eye. 

 
Alternatively, you can wrap the thread first, then slide the ball to the rear. Either way works.

4. Apply a drop of super glue to the thread base, and quickly slide the ball from the rear right up to behind the eye. Do this in one smooth movement, as the glue sets fast!

NOTE: Super glue cures within seconds, and together with the foam, it creates an amazingly strong bond. Seriously, you can't dislodge the bodies, once you've glued them on.
Should things go badly with this step, you have to literally rip and cut the body off the hook...so make a few trial runs before committing to the glue. 
    But once secured, these things won't be coming apart on you - that's for sure!
I'm calling them bullet proof.

5. IMPORTANT: Once the adhesive is set, cut a small, flat section from the bottom of the ball. I recommend a large, sharp scissors to do this. Center this cutaway on the shaft, to clear the hook gap. This will ensure better hookups.  

    You can run a production line this way, turning out all the hook-and-body components you want. Fill a box with 'em!

    Then, just sort out whatever dressing you want to apply.

   
    Best of all, no hump shank hooks are needed with these foam balls. This saves the step of cutting slots for the hooks, and the foam doesn't don't need filling and paint prep like cork!

Dressing the Fly
    First, we add whatever decorative touches are wanted. Eyes are a must, of course. Then maybe a few lifelike, "camouflage" bits. To do these things, a combination of common materials were used:

• Enamel paint
• Permanent marker
• Nail polish
• Fabric 'texture paint'

    I suggest keeping this part simple, with a "less is more," approach. 

    But as always, you can get as creative as you wish. Try some of that UV resin if your the kind who wants it on everything.
    Rubber legs are traditional on this pattern, but I'm a little outside the box on this topic.

Over the seasons, I've discovered that flowing, sinuous hackle and deer hair are just as enticing to the fish as anything else. Fish were caught on nothing else for centuries, after all, well before rubber legs were known. Plus, long rubber legs are often nibbled at by the fish without them really taking the fly. So the rubber was left off, with feather and moose hair chosen as dressing.    
    Moose hair went down first as a tail.
    Next, our household feather duster donated some thick bunches of ostrich barbules for wavy movement.* 
    After that, sparkly dubbing was wound on.
    Lastly, long pheasant and hen soft hackle was palmered on to, "round out" the fly (pun intended) 😀.   

* PS If you don't have a feather duster just for fly tying, it is time to get one. Use it to dust your house, because you know it probably needs it. Then, keep it handy for fly tying. 

Pattern Materials List

> Hook - # 4 Aberdeen, from the Eagle Claw dispenser I wrote about here... 

Eagle Claw Hooks For The Win!

The important thing with the hook is to have enough shank length to accommodate double the ball diameter. This way your work on the fly is eased, you get a good rocking motion, and the hook point won't be much blocked by the body.
Lets call it 3X or longer. 

> Thread - 6/0 Danville flat

> Foam Ball for body - 1/2" (12mm) foam EVA carp pop-up ball 

> Dubbing - Hareline Ice Dub; "Peacock" was the chosen color. It doesn't matter what you use, though; just get some sparkly flash peeking out through the dressing.

> Dressing - Moose tail, ostrich plume, dubbing, pheasant and hen soft hackle.

> Decoration - permanent marker, nail polish, paint, etc....

UPDATE: It occurs to me that something to minimize snags might be wanted on these flies. Either a weed guard, or reversing the hook so it points backwards? Hmmm,... more development to come.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned something. If you enjoyed it, a like and share is appreciated.

PS if you are interested in a no drama, Facebook fishing page, visit us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish 

Tight Lines,

David
Palmetto Fly n Fish

©2022 All rights reserved. You are encouraged to duplicate all, or any part of this, with proper attribution and affiliate links.

references

1. "Tying Warmwater Flies," C. Boys Pfeiffer, 2003

2. "Fly Tying, Spinning, and Tackle Making Manual and Manufacturers Guide," George Herter, 1968 edition

3. Breambugs.com

4. Aliexpress.com

5. PanfishOnTheFly.com

The "Buck Perry System," ... or Spoonplugging - Part 3

Edited from an article series in the long-gone, regional newsmagazine, "Fishing News," 1967

This is the fifth in a six part series that outlines the fishing methods of Buck Perry. This method is known broadly as, "structure fishing," or, as Perry called it, “spoonplugging." When first published, this was a barebones summary. I added modern updates and reinforcements for today's more sophisticated reader. All credit given the original authors

Intro 
If you have made it this far, you may have what it takes to be a structure fisherman! Just coming in? I encourage you to read parts 1 and 2, and open your mind.

Everything discussed so far is in a purposeful sequence, leading you to consistently CATCHING big game fish. Some have called these methods, 'dogmatic,' or inflexible, and they are to a degree. Like a golfer, or painter, we focus on knowledge and specific actions that deliver success for THIS method.
    Once understood, get as creative as desired thereafter.

    We concentrate on the largemouth bass, not because he is fashionable, but  because he is universal and is the model species for this work. But this applies to most gamefish in both salt- and freshwater. In short, you can't catch them if you don't have a repeatable system for finding them where you expect.    

    On the flipside, I say very little about tackle, or gear brand names, or where to buy stuff. This is because we are not trying to sell you tricks, tips, or trendy, "flavor-of-the-week" tackle products. 

Buck Perry avowed that certain gear and tackle TYPES are best suited to this work, but his main focus was that knowledge is the key to success, not gear.
Our ultimate goal, then, is to educate and increase your fishing success.
To do this...

You - Eliminate dead water
You - Locate the fish
You - Concentrate on productive areas

You - Know why

In this installment, we take The Way Back Machine to 1967, 55 years ago... 

Part III: Finding The Hot Spots... Keeping Track

  In part two of this series, we clearly covered the idea of using maps to find suitable structure in a lake, upon which you might practice the method known as spoonplugging. Several Key Facts were added to our study of this methodology. These had to do with where big fish live, and how to identify the structure in an area that fish will use in their movements from, and back to, their deep water homes.

    To review, the would-be 'spoonplugger' is advised to accept the following Key Facts as they relate to catching big fish:

Part 1
1. The deepest water in an area is where big fish spend most of their time.
2. These fish migrate from this deep water, once or twice per day, following the same, recognized routes along underwater bottom structure.

Part 2
3. Big, adult fish rarely come very far into the shallows, and they may not come into them at all, depending on water and weather conditions.
4. Your fishing problem is an open water problem - how to find and catch big fish away from shore.
5. Using lake maps to guide you, you focus your efforts on structure that leads all the way to, or which is adjacent to, the deepest water in an area. In this way, you intercept fish in their migrations and movements, to and from deep water

    No longer are you tied to the common thinking that you catch big fish in places where they MIGHT end up - if they happen to go that far. You are going after them before they get there.

------ ------ ------ ------

Finding The Hot Spots... Keeping Track - Part III

    Maps, Maps, Maps. These help guide you to underwater structure; the bar, the reef, the drop off. These are crucial features you can't see below the surface, but which the fish can. You need to know where they are, and you use maps to get you in the vicinity.
    Once there, however, the fun is just beginning. That's because the maps don't tell you everything about what's below... they lack details and their highest purpose is to get you close to the structures location. You have to then discover and pinpoint what might be of value on that structure.
    Added to this is the fact that the schools of big fish may not use the structure you have selected, at all. If they are using it, they don't just roam around, all willy-nilly.        Rather, they are quite habitual in their movements, because they are moving to what they perceive as the the next spot. To do this, they follow particular paths upon the structure to get where they are going.
That was Key Point Number Two, if you remember

The Rest Stop - "Breaks"
    Along these migratory paths there are also familiar features the fish use as waypoints. I often describe this whole movement scenario with the example of deer following a trail; it is really no different. And just as on any trail, there are landmarks along these migration routes that the fish can see and use as marshaling points.
    The name Buck Perry gave to these changes, objects, and landmark spots where the school pause in their movements is, “breaks.”
It is as good a name as any, and we will stick to it hereafter.
    Think of these 'breaks' as rest stops along the fish's travel route.




    At breaks, they take a literal break to orient themselves to the route, and to ascertain the weather and water conditions in that area. If all is favorable, they move on. If conditions are not to their liking, they may go no further. We shall say more about that in following installments.
    However, there must be a break along the way, or no fish will be congregatin'.
    These breaks along the way can be most anything, too, and they may be quite small compared to the surroundings. 
    What ARE breaks, then? Well, they may be just a few rocks, or a small hump, maybe an old sunken log. To further exacerbate our fishing problem, these breaks are generally small, and the water is big - so they are also NOT found on the maps that get us to structure. That kind of detail is not possible yet.
Still more, the difference between these landmarks being there, or not, can be a matter of yards.

    Now you see why we are so interested in precisely locating and defining structure...it is so we can narrow down further and find the breaks.

    But once these stopping points, or breaks, are found, they produce fish reliably time after time.

    What it boils down to is, these spots have something that differs from the rest of the structure - BUT they are associated with the breaklines migration routes the fish use on the structure.
The fish move up the structure breaklines like a sidewalk, or trail, but the small breaks on the route are way points that hold their attention and assure them they are on the right path.
They may be big, or small, but they exist and attract the fish as they move up.
                                                

    If I sound like I'm repeating myself, I am. This is important.

Finding The Breaks
    These breaks are sometimes found using sonar, but that's not assured.
Just because you see something on your screen does not mean the schools of migrating fish use it as a break in their movements.
    The break has to fit into the larger structure puzzle to be something the fish are using. 

To solve that puzzle, you have to work the structures methodically to ascertain how they run, to verify the maps accuracy, and learn if there is anything there worth spending time with. Looking at them on a map is one thing - working them in person is another.
    When Buck Perry started all this, there was NO sonar. How the heck did he figure out what structures were down below, if there were breaks on them, and if the fish were using them?

    It may seem magical without the modern technology we take for granted, but Perry learned what the bottom structure was like by casting, drifting and trolling the breaklines along the structure.
    If you recall, we introduced you to the breakline in Part 2. 

Breakline: “A line running along structure where there is a definite increase/decrease in depth, either gradual or sudden."

    His primary tool for this was trolling parallel to the shore, along the breaklines - and this is where many of us will fall flat.

    You have no doubt heard of trolling, but almost no one is taught to troll this way, and not for this reason. If we do it at all, it is usually mid-water, hoping for striper, walleye, lake trout, and so on. Pretty much no largemouth bass angler does it, at all - they're throwing lures at weeds and docks. You know, like everyone else is taught to do.
    But trolling breaklines is exactly how Buck Perry made spoonplugging into a nationwide success, with no sonar to guide him.
    Here is how it goes, in a nutshell.

Troll to Probe, Learn, And Contact
    Perry starts by running near shore, observing his surroundings and looking for suitable structure; let us say he discovers a good point and its associated bar.

    He begins his trolling pass at one side of the point, where it starts jutting out from shore. He motors along the shallow shore of the point, first, running his lures at about 2-4 feet and parallel to the shore... following the first breakline out from shore, in other words. 

    Because he knows big fish only rarely penetrate deeply into the shallows, Buck's goal at this point is not so much to catch fish - it is to keep his lure in contact with the bottom as he trolls.

- If it plows too hard into the bottom, he moves out from shore until it is just tipping bottom.
- If the lure starts free running, losing bottom contact, he turns back towards shore until he feels it just touching again.

    He continues this snaking path along the breakline, trolling his lure behind until he rounds the point and reaches the other end, where the point rejoins the shore.
    If he catches no fish during this run, he is not surprised. He knows it takes specific conditions for them to come this far, so he will work out, step-wise, in successively deeper trolling passes. 

     He turns the boat around, switches to a lure that runs 4-6 feet, and moves further out. 

He follows the same shore paralleling process....tick, tick, ticking the bottom and learning the depth on structure. 

     With each of these passes, he goes out a little deeper. 

    In this way, he forms a mental image of the structures shape, depth, and relative size. More importantly, he is running parallel to each depth breakline. If the fish are moving in across the breaklines and if a break os there where they are pausing, he will intercept them eventually.

    If he reaches 25-35 feet in depth without contacting any fish, the features of that structure are noted and it is abandoned for now. This depth is where your ability to control your lures starts to falter, so it is a benchmark to change tactics.
    The temporary premise at this stage is that the fish aren't moving on that structure AT THAT time, so he moves to the next one.

    If he DOES encounter fish while making these runs, he lets out a WHOOP!, and stops trolling. A marker buoy is immediately thrown out behind him, before the boat has even stopped; this marks the contact point. 

     Now, he drifts the spot and fan casts around the marker, using a lure that gets right down to the bottom where the first fish was caught. If he catches one or two more fish, he knows he has hit a school on a break, and the anchor is laid out.
    This is when the action starts. He keeps casting to the break area until the action slows, or dies. This usually means the school has spooked, or continued on its way.
    But by then, he may have put half a dozen fish in the boat. 

     In one instance, he made 40 casts to a break, and caught a fish on each cast. Unbeknownst to Buck, there was a tournament going on that day and a couple of baffled pro anglers were watching him do it…

     When he saw them there, he waved them over and coached them to do the same. But they were stuck in thier ways and wouldn’t follow his instructions. They kept right on fishing their usual way.

    Buck Perry - 40
    Pro's - 0

    Such is the degree to which we have been indoctrinated by the industry.  

    Okay, back to trolling the breaklines. 
    With the mental imagery developed in this way, Perry forms a picture of the structure he was working, and he knows he has found a "break" on the structure where fish are congregating. He doesn't really know, or care, WHAT the break actually is - just that it is there.
    He has quite literally intercepted them as they move in from deeper water, while they are stopped at a break along the breakline. 

        If he intends to return, he will probably draw out the structure on paper. He will mark the location on the structure map, including any pertinent details that he discovered along the way, as well.

    And all this was done without ever seeing the first dock, rock, weedbed, or nosy Karen homeowner!

    In summary, when you catch a fish on a suspected break, mark the spot with a marker buoy. Then, if you catch several, maybe even on different days, you've got a hot break. Now, you will want to return to that spot in the future, but he the spot is down below - somewhere - and it is probably small.
Precisely caturing its location in your notes, and on your map is important.

Marking Hot Spots - "X" Marks The Spot
    So youve caught a couple of nice fish in a spot. But wait... can you actually find it again? The spot is small, remember, and the water is big.
Just how DID you take note of the exact location?

    The first thing you have to do is stay alert to your track, and current whereabouts. That way, you know exactly where you are when you catch a fish. Watching Buck Perry in action, its obvious he does this.

    Unfortunately, in our day, you are probably distracted by any number of things while on the water.

- Maybe your cellphone goes off.
- Perhaps you're fiddlin' with your GoPro mount.
- It could be you're keeping a safety eye on an approaching pontoon boat…, you expect the pilot is drinking and is himself distracted by the bikini babes on board.
- But just as likely, you are constantly peering at your fish finder looking for fish, and forgetting what you are trying to do in the first place.

    There are lots of distractions.

    So first off, you must keep your head on a swivel at all times, and be able to pinpoint with accuracy where you catch fish on the 'breaks' down below.
Once you've caught several fish in one place, and have tossed out a floating marker to pinpoint it, you can use one of two methods to capture the precise location.

Marking Location, Method #1 - Old School
    The first marking technique is the traditional, "rifle sight," or, “bi-lateral sight line.”
This is the surest of the two methods we cover here.

    To do it, look around and line up 2 objects some distance apart on the shore, and be specific. For example, you spot the peak of a boat house roof where it lines up with the center of a cottage window.
Make sure you select objects that are permanent, too, things which won't be gone by tomorrow.

    Then, turn 90 degrees and select two more objects at right angles from your first "rifle sight." Mark and note these sight line points in your notebook and on your map.

   To return to the spot later on, pilot your boat back to the same area and line up the first two objects you noted.
Then move out along this line until you line up the the second two. Adjust your position until you have created the exact bilateral sight line you initially observed, and Voila! You can't miss.

    In practice, this is easier to do than it sounds. Once you get used to doing this, it becomes second nature. And you want it to, because the next method has some inherent flaws.

Marking Location, Method #2 - Techno Tricks
    The second method is the modern techno version, and it uses global positioning satellite technology, or GPS.




    You may wonder why I said the old-fashioned sight line is the surest way to mark your position. After all, we have GPS nowadays, so that must be the better choice.
Right?
    I mean the satellites do the triangulation for you.... score one for technology.

    But the GPS method has some drawbacks:

1. The GPS method requires you to have a capable gadget on board.
    It may be a hand-held sat-nav, or more commonly, a fish finder with GPS plotting functions. And while this is a "no-brainer," it is yet another thing you have to buy, it must work under any conditions, and you must know how to use it effectively.
The sight line technique, by contrast, needs no gadgets.

2. You may not be “tech savvy.”
    Surprisingly, I hear this one a lot in local fishing groups. Some people are just “old-school” and aren't into gadgety things. They get baffled by the tech stuff, and would rather fish simpler, or cheaper, and something like GPS just complicates things.
The sight line is self-supporting and uncomplicated.

3. Your electronic GPS gadget can fail.
    The battery may die, your fat friend might sit on it, or the device can stop working for several other reasons you may know nothing about.
    It is a radio receiver that depends on a microwave RF connection to satellites somewhere overhead.
    It demands unobstructed line of sight reception, an operating environment free of EM interference, proper set-up and installation, and who know what else.
    It is not likely to happen, but if it craps out - then what?
    Yep – the sight line.

4. The GPS still only gets you close
    After all that, it is somewhat sobering to find out that the average GPS accuracy is about 20-30 feet on a good day, and that is on land under ideal conditions. Still pretty good. But if a break used by fish is maybe a few yards in size, well...on the lake we'll have to call our GPS close, but not pinpoint precise.

    All you tech-geeks out there are probably howling about now. But don't take this as a black eye for the GPS. In fact, even low-end GPS set ups offer a strong benefit, and here it is....
    Once a marked point is logged into your GPS unit, you can retrieve it at any time and steer a course directly there without any other reference or sightings.
You can have an entire library of these hot spots in digital format, at your fingertips.
    You can have that with a notebook, too, and you should be taking notes for future reference. But the GPS unit makes location data available with just the click of a button. And unlike a notebook, your GPS probably won't be hurt by a sudden rain shower or spilled beer. Probably.
    Regardless, it gets you in the ballpark and is a big player in your efforts to get back on good fishing spots.
    Then, once GPS gets you in the vicinity, use a sight line bearing as a cross check to ensure you are in exactly the right spot.... which is why I made sure to explain it so you can use it.

"X" marks the spot

To review, the would-be 'spoonplugger' is advised to accept the following Key Facts from part 3, as they relate to catching big fish...

6. Use maps to find the likeliest "trails" on structure that the fish might use to migrate from, and back to, deep water. They are habitual in this usage, and predictable. 
7. Look for specific breaklines on structure that lead to deep water, and scour them with lures.
8. Seek the stopping points along the breaklines where fish congregate in their movements - these are called "breaks." Pinpoint them by trolling, drifting, and casting lures to them.
9. Learn to PRECISELY mark the locations of these breaks where you catch fish, so you can return to them time and again.

In Part 4, we'll get into the meat of fish movements - just what constitutes a good movement, and the factors that influence it.

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something. If you enjoyed it, a like and share is appreciated.

If you are interested in a no drama, Facebook fishing page, please come visit us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish

Tight Lines,

David
Palmetto Fly n Fish
All rights reserved, 2022

references

1. The "Buck Perry System," or Spoonplugging, 'Fishing News,' 1967

2. "Spoonplugging," Elwood 'Buck' Perry, 2nd Edition, 1974

3. Mr Peabody, Sherman and The Wayback Machine open sourced, J. Ward Productions 

4. The internet

The "Buck Perry System," or, Spoonplugging - Part 2

Edited from an article series in the long-gone, regional newsmagazine, "Fishing News," 1967

This is the second in a six part series that outlines the fishing methods of Buck Perry. This method is known broadly as, "structure fishing," or, as Perry called it, “spoonplugging." When first published, this was a barebones summary. I added modern updates and reinforcements for today's more sophisticated reader. All credit given the original authors

Intro  
If you have made it this far, you may have what it takes to be a structure fisherman! Just coming in? I encourage you to read part 1, and open your mind.

Everything discussed so far is in a purposeful sequence, leading you to consistently CATCH big game fish. Some have called these methods, 'dogmatic,' or inflexible, and they are to a degree. Like a golfer, or painter, we focus on knowledge and specific actions that deliver success for THIS method.
    Once applied and understood, get as creative as desired thereafter.

    We concentrate on the largemouth bass, not because he is fashionable, but  because he is universal and is the model species for this work. But this applies to most gamefish in both salt- and freshwater. In short, you can't catch them if you don't have a repeatable system for finding them where you expect.    

    On the flipside, I say very little about tackle, or gear brand names, or where to buy stuff. This is because we are not trying to sell you tricks, tips, or trendy, "flavor-of-the-week" tackle products. 

Buck Perry avowed that certain gear and tackle TYPES are best suited to this work, but his main focus was that knowledge is the key to success, not gear.
Our ultimate goal, then, is to educate and increase your fishing success.
To do this...

You - Eliminate dead water
You - Locate the fish
You - Concentrate on productive areas

You - Know why

In this installment we take The Way Back Machine to 1967, 55 years ago...

Part II: How To Find Structure... Use A Map 

    In PART ONE of this series, we were introduced to a total concept for fishing called, "spoonplugging." As would be 'spoonpluggers,' we were also advised to accept two Key Facts as they relate to catching big fish:

    1. The deepest water in an area is where big fish spend most of their time.
    2. These fish migrate from this deep water, once or twice per day, along recognizable routes related to the underwater bottom structure.

    With that in mind, the would-be spoonplugger's next question is this: "How do we find the structure within the area that the fish will use in their movements from, and back to, deep water?"

Look and Think
    By using observation and simple logic, we can start to understand the bottom structure. We just have to look at what is right in front of us - the shore line.
    It is everywhere around a lake, and you now know from part one that the fish will sooner or later move towards the shallows along the shore. How far they come into the shallows, how they get there, and when they make their move will be discussed later. But for now, you can accept that they will move in that direction. So look the shoreline over; it gives clues to the bottom structure.

    In fact, back before the days of electronic technology, this sort of 'shoreline logic' was all they had... and the very system we are examining was developed to great success using only this logic.

    For example, do you see a steep shore, one that drops quickly to the water?
There's a good chance this steep shoreline continues falling sharply into the lake, and deep water is right there. This doesn't mean the steep bank is good FISHING water, by default, but you know it is at least deeper.

    By contrast, maybe the shore slopes flat and gently towards the water? This normally means shallow flats are leading out and away from the shoreline. These "flats," by themselves, are generally not good fishing water, so assume that much until you know different.

    Right there, we have two general shoreline observations you can go by. However, they can be quite variable, so we consider them notable, but imprecise. 

    But, there is one often encountered shoreline feature that is almost always reliable - THE EXTENDED POINT.

    Points that extend out from shore normally continue to run underwater for some distance. Followed to their end, we commonly find them dropping off into deeper water.
On one end of the point, you have the shoreline shallows. On the other end, you can expect deeper water. Does this sound like a possible migration route for fish? 

You bet it does!
    If you focused solely on points, you could probably do pretty well. So consider them Numero Uno among structure, when you have nothing else to go on.

The Best Way To Find Them - MAPS
    However, here's the next detail about the fish's behavior you'll need to accept, if Mr. Perry's methods are gonna work for you:

Big, adult fish only rarely penetrate far into the shallows; they may not
come into them at all, depending on the water and weather conditions. 

    This means many of the good fishing spots - if not, most - are unrelated to visual shorelines. They are out in the lake.... what many will call “open water.”

    Because the fish don't see the lake as we do, they go where they need to in order to find the deep water safety they seek. And these places are often far out from shore... and often the best spots. This means our fishing problem is how to find and catch big fish in open water, away from shore.
    Okay, fine... how do we find them with no landmarks to work with?

    Well, scuba diving is one idea. It's also costly, time consuming, a bit dangerous, and very much hit or miss. 
    We might try covering the lake with a sounding line. That's pretty good, it is safer and much cheaper than scuba diving, but it's VERY time consuming and tedious.
Lucky for us, someone else has already done exactly this, electronically– with modern sonar.

Excellent Maps For All
    This electronic mapping is accomplished with the aid of dedicated depth sounders, but more lately, with electronic fish finders that double as digital data recorders. These devices scan the bottom wherever the boat goes, they store what they "see" in memory - then this bottom scanning data is uploaded to a database server. Finally, this recorded information is compiled into bottom contour maps. 
And any angler with a boat can have this technology for $250-300!

    Nowadays, most medium to large lakes are well mapped in this way. 

    But it gets even better.
    Once created, these bottom contour maps are available online to anyone with internet access. Basically, our fellow anglers have uploaded what their hi-tech fish finders scan over, and you can use this data in the form of maps to mark likely fishing spots in advance.

    How about if you're old-school, broke, or not into the electronic gizmos needed for this? Well, you're in luck - you can still get actual paper maps of most lakes.
These are as valuable as ever, they are waterproof, and they are another great way to know the good areas, down below.
    One potential problem with paper maps is they may eventually go the way of the dodo, as we become increasingly linked to the Internet of Things. But, as long as they are in hand, maps ain't dead yet. And they are good backups should your fancy technology conk out for some reason.... 

    There is another excellent source of information tied to mapping that we normally don't think to use, or we use it badly if we do think of it, and that is asking other anglers about their catches.
    It borders on the taboo to ask, and you may cringe at the idea. But be respectful, and don't go for the throat. Questions about precise location, exact lures, etc., will make most people clam up. Besides, things change quickly and trying to duplicate exactly what someone did days ago may be pointless.
    What you need to know is general location, depth info, and something about the conditions at that time. Generic questions of this type aren't very threatening, and responses should be compared to your maps. Once you have it sorted, record the information in a notebook of some sort, and reference it to your maps.

Record and reference your own catches this same way, too. 

    Do these things consistently, and you create a pattern for fishing your lake(s).
Before long, people will ask YOU how you always mange to catch the fish.

Using Maps To Find Them

    But, you can't always get information straight from other fishermen. That's a helpful shortcut, but it isn’t needed it if you have adequate lake maps.
So, lets have a look at one of these lake maps...

from bass fishing source (see link #1 in references)

    This is not a course in map reading, and you've been patient enough to get this far, so I'm not gonna push it.
    But there are several basic things worth noting on one of these maps that can be reviewed in this space.
    The first thing that grabs your attention are all the curvy lines - these are officially called, "contour lines," and their purpose is to indicate changes in depth. 

     Long before we had all these maps, however, Buck Perry referred to them as "breaklines."  They are defined this way:

    "A line running along structure where there is a definite increase/decrease in depth, either gradual or sudden. A breakline can also be a weed line, the edge of a channel, or where where two bodies of water meet which differ in temperature and/or color."

    The essential piece to this is that they are longitudinal, and we fish along them as we progress. I will stick to using the term, "breaklines," and think of them as lines along structure that define depth and shape of the structure 
    You will also note numbers associated with the breaklines - these are soundings, or depth readings.

    For our needs, you are looking for abrupt changes in lake bottom structure.
In a shallow lake, this may be just a foot or two change; in deep lakes, the drop off or reef may be 20 feet or more. These abrupt depth change areas are indicated by the breaklines drawing close together, or bunching up on the map.

    These breaklines can also define rises, or elevations under the water, such as submerged islands, often called "humps." These usually include a depth indication.
    Pockets and inlets are shown by the breaklines bending in and out.
    Dips, depressions, trenches, or "holes" are usually shown by a circular arrangement of the breaklines, much like the hump. And like the hump, they include a sounding that indicates a depth that is deeper than the surrounding area.

    This is the maps greatest benefit - it shows structure that contrasts with surrounding bottom terrain.

    With a marked map, then, a fisherman can check lots of areas within a lake. He can go from one, "hot spot" to another, playing his hunches to see if the fish are home, right?
    Well, not so fast. These areas of depth contrast on the map are *potentially* good fishing areas; it doesn't automatically mean they ARE good areas. 

     Many people make that mistake. There is another element needed for that, which we will mention next.

Not Random - Spoonpluggers Prioritize

    As exciting as it may be to have the lake mapped out, it overlooks another key point in the 'spoonpluggers' tool box... our “checking” isn't just going from one tempting place to another. The map shows so many possibilities, and you want to check them all....  and that's both counter-productive, and wastes valuable fishing time.
    Instead, what you must do is apply a method to this madness, and prioritize your efforts on certain structure.
    We prioritize the structure we want to spend our time fishing over by going back to our key point: “deep water is the home of the fish.”
How many times have I said that, by now? It’s probably burned into your thoughts at this point.

    With this ‘deep water’ idea out front, the structure to focus on is that which is next to, or which leads to... where? 

The structure we focus our efforts on 

leads all the way to, or is adjacent to, the deepest water in an area.

    Take that previously mentioned hump, for example. If it is isolated on an open flat, and doesn't run to deep water, it may very likely be devoid of large fish.
Because it rises closer to the surface and gets more of the suns energy, it may hold a localized population of smaller fish. But the big fish in deep water can't see it, and won't go looking for it, if there is no route leading to it.
Their interests lie in structure that is close at hand, which they can see and use as travel routes in their migrations and movements. 
    The way most anglers are taught to think, you run and gun, hammering places where they MIGHT be, under what are, hopefully, ideal conditions that you probably can't describe.
     But we will push that training to the back of our minds, because we will intercept them before they get there.

    Now, lets review the Key Facts we have been introduced to, so far...

   1. The deepest water in an area is where big fish spend most of their time.
    2. These fish migrate from this deep water, once or twice per day, following the same, recognized routes along underwater bottom structure.

    3. Big, adult fish rarely come very far into the shallows, and they may not come into them at all, depending on water and weather conditions.
    4. Thus, our fishing problem is how to find and catch big fish in open water, away from shore.

    5. Using maps, we focus our efforts on structure that leads all the way to, or which is adjacent to, the deepest water in an area. In this way, we will intercept fish in their migrations and movements, to and from deep water

Armed with these concepts, examine the map below....

- Where is the deepest water in the area?

- Can you identify breaklines and structure that lead from that deep water, all the way to the shallows?
- If the big fish only go to, say, 10 feet or so, where would you seek to intercept them?  

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something. If you enjoyed it, a like and share is appreciated.

If you are interested in a no drama, Facebook fishing page, please come visit us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish

Tight Lines,

David
Palmetto Fly n Fish
All rights reserved, 2022

references

1. https://www.bass-fishing-source.com/bass-fishing-using-topographic-lake-maps.html

2. The "Buck Perry System," or Spoonplugging, 'Fishing News,' 1967

3. "Spoonplugging," Elwood 'Buck' Perry, 2nd Edition, 1974

4. Mr Peabody, Sherman and The Wayback Machine open sourced, J. Ward Productions