spiders

[cold waters]

How much weight are people fishing on spiders....

i have tried a 4oz cigar and that seems ok (when trolling slow)... i have also dropped them on a z-wing.

unwieghted they just wont stay under at any speed...

[IglooMan]

Ed,
We have run up to 12oz in front of the Spiders. On the smaller Bars (up to 6") 8oz should be enough to keep them running 3-5 feet under the surface at "normal" trolling speeds (6-8 knots).

Try experimenting with different sized inline trolling weights until you figure out what works best in your spread.

Planers and downriggers are also an option.

Oh and thanks for the Sand Eel photo!

[Lamna]

Doesnt hurt to run them on the surface w/o weights either!

[Keta]

I've been running Spiders and Ruckass Raisers, in freshwater, off of my downriggers.

[timb]

How about using a planar? anybody have experience using this setup for albies? Which planar model is prefered, and what depth to target? troll speed? length of planar line?

[Keta]

I have a pair of Old Salty 36 oz. plainers but I haven't been able to contact Old Salty for a few months about a pair of 24 oz. ones.

[Fred Archer]

Ed,

My belated thanks too on the sand eel photos.

One of the unique and very cool things about Spiders is their versatility. Yes, they make terrific deep trolled lures that put whole schools of bait with a vulnerable straggler trying to catch up. Here they can be fished several ways...with various size trolling sinkers or heavy ones if you choose, off downriggers (my favorite way because I can precisely put those "schools of bait" right among the real stuff and whatever is feeding on them), or off of planers, which I consider more trouble and less accurate as far as precise bait placement is concerned. Their main advantage is that they allow you to cover a bit more water than the downriggers because you can troll them faster.

To us and many who have been using them, the really cool thing about Spiders is that they also double as terrific, hell-raising spreaderbars up top, so you can fish the entire water column with one type of lure. That offers the kind of versatility and value that is a very rare combination when it comes to lures.

And speaking of versatility, perhaps the very best thing about the Spiders is the huge variety of fish getting caught on them, including saltwater fish like albies, other tunas, dorado, wahoo, yellowtail, halibut, striped bass and others, plus freshwater species like trout, inland salmon, large and smallmouth bass, walleyes, pike, you name it, if it eats other baitfish, it will jump all over a Spider.

So this is a lure that you should not only have with you on the salt, but on the lakes too. And yes, the very same lure, rigged the very same way, heavy leaders and all.

Okay, hope that helps, good luck with your Spiders and send pictures!

[cold waters]

Originally Posted by Lamna

Doesnt hurt to run them on the surface w/o weights either!

personally i love the spider but i really dont like how they look on the surface. but i will keep playing with the presentation of stripers (this is often my testing groung for the Blue Fin Tuna, the bass have been eating them like chocolate chip cookies) i tend to find often if a bass eats it a Blue Fin Tuna will too... i get some fun testing in without all the cost!!!


i have used them off of z wing planners and they workgreat... Using a Z-wing with release clips is the best method of fishing a planer IMHO. if i had a downrigger that would top it (but i would still use the z-wing instead of the ball i think)


thanks for the info fred and everyone else

[Fred Archer]

Ed,

A lot of folks really like how the Spiders run up top. To us, they look like a really hysterical bunch of panicked bait running for its life and sometimes that's what it takes to turn non-feeders on, especially with a bigger chasebait after the teasers. At the very least, it makes them more versatile than any other dredge that I've ever seen...or is it more versatile than any spreaderbar that I've ever seen?

Todd Eady found the exact same thing as you did as far as the stripers eating them like "chocolate chip cookies" last year out on Stellwagon. He reported that the big stripers were all over them and making him nuts because they were beating the tunas to them! Never thought that I'd see such a thing, let alone on Stellwagon. But then again, I never fished up there that much and when I did I was after cod and haddock (yum!)

Send us some picts of those bass if you get a chance...I'd love to see them and so would others.

Thanks for the heads up.

Hey Lamna...time for dem albies, no?

[brntrout]

Keta...Please let me know if you are able contact Old Salty. I ordered a planer kit in October and still have not received it. Spoke to someone twice and was told it would be sent- but nothing yet. Something must be up. What ever you do don't order those planers online.

[Keta]

I sent Old Salty an e-mail yesterday, I hope they are ok as I like David and his products are top rate. I will be in the Neuburg, OR area sometime in the next few weeks, I'll stop by and check on him. I shouldn't have "loaned" my other 24oz. planers out before replacing them but they are in good hands.

[Fred Archer]

Sadly, the original founder and owner of Old Salty died not too long ago and naturally, that has left things in a state of disarray. Last I heard, things weren't certain about the future operation of the business. Like many fine tackle companies, it is small and takes a dedicated individual who loves what he's doing to do all of the hard work and settle for the meager financial returns involved to make it go.

Please stand by while the family decides what they are going to do.

And my condolences to them for having lost a good dad and grandad.

(I know of an alternative source, but considering the circumstances, I don't believe it would be proper to mention them in this post.)