spooks how ??

[surfcast]

whent out to try my jumping minows and tatoo sea pup . had the same problem with both drown mid way through the retrieve.I'm using 30#pp
40# FLOURO snap and barell . 9 foot gloomis graphite with a light tip were am i going wrong

[cchobot]

I've noticed the same tendency w/ a few of the spooks I fish. Especially in rougher water...

One thing could be the hooks, sometimes when swapping out hooks on plugs (like the JM in particular) the tendency is to go a little bigger to help hookup more, but the larger hook could possibly create more drag? Not sure on that one though...

It is a really interesting question. I have one spook I LOVE to use... But after awhile it seems to submerge... I check it to see if it's letting water in but it doesn't seem to be the case. Any way to "tune" a spook like you would a danny or diver?

How are you tying to the JM? I've been using the rapala loop knot w/ good success... That's not to say the JM never submerges but as it was explained to me it helps get that walk-the-dog style action.

Hopefully someone else w/ more knowledge will chime in here.

[arden]

first guess would be the leader and the rod, more so with the jm then the sea pup....also need to consider the angle of your line...if the line is under water it may cause the minnow to go under as well..

all i can think of for the minute

[merch]

Spooks can be a pain in the ass some times. They get moody in certain water. Some places they just will never fish well but there are a few things you can do to get the to swim a little better.

First thing like cchobot said, tie on with a direct loop. No snap and definitely not a tight knot. You want the spook free to dart and slide in each direction along the surface. A tight connection will impede all but the largest of spooks from moving freely. Fish it with the rod tip pointed at the plug and give the tip sharp downward jerks to get it walking and sliding. If it digs in, drop slack in the line and wait for it to come up.

Second, not all spooks were created equally. The two you are talking about definitely work well, especially the jumpin minnow. I've rarely had the JM dig in, but if you are, lose the snap and maybe go down one hook size.

The sea pups can be really tempermental. Try going down a hook size in the belly and tail or belly only. Try to get the ass down in the water a little better. Buoyancy has been an issue with these guys IMO as well as eye placement in the nose. Usually an eye offset just a little bit ffrom the centerline of the plug (offset down) helps to keep the plug up. Maybe try turning the eye of the seapup horizontal and bending it down. Maybe I'll try that and let you know.

Try yozuri hydro pencils and some of the big heddon zara's. The huge ones. Both have eyes offsett on the bottom of the nose and stay up a lot better than most of the competition. The yozuri especially is a highly underated spook and can hold it's own next to the JM anyday. Works on bigger fish too. They make the hydro pencil in bone color now too.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[mag minnow]

Saw one of the Hydro Pencils in Pearl for the first time at the Goose Hummock last weekend. It's one of my favorite lures and casts great.

Awesome color...

But what's so bad if the lure digs in a little now and then? I would think it adds to the realisism???

[merch]

Originally Posted by mag minnow

But what's so bad if the lure digs in a little now and then? I would think it adds to the realisism???

Maybe for some, but in my experience it's never been beneficial.

[fishr1989]

It's the fluoro leader. Fluorocarbon sinks, and then it pulls the nose of the plug under. try switching to either a mono leader or braid straight to the plug, and it will stop diving.

[Whitetail111]

Make sure you didn't purchase "Sub Walks". They are new from Rapala and look almost exactly the same as "Skitter Walks".

[USS Blue]

I agree with '89. Try a 40 or50# mono leader. Keep your rod tip high at the beginning of the retrieve. Try to pull the spook up to get it started and at any time during the retieve.

Caught a 32" on a zara spook jr. on Friday night.

[merch]

It's the plug and/or the water you are fishing it in. Mono sinks too, jusy not as fast as flouro. Not sure about the flouro sink thing, but maybe a leader stuck under water could have something to do with it.

A zara should never go under. Eye on the bottom and very buoyant. At least the small ones. Great lure. It should stay up even if 400lb test, 49 strand wire was attached to it.

Congrats on the keepah USS Blue.