Want to know what you guys think???

[hornets nest]

Last season I got wrapped up with the meat rig fishing and put a lot of money in getting set up with a lot of different rigs. The guy I got my flashers and meat rigs from, frowns on running spoons and meat rigs together, as he feels the meat rigs require a lot less speed then whats needed to pull spoons effectively, can see his point to an extent. Anyways the last 5 trips I have taken it has been all small spoon bite, nothing on meat and very few on flasher/fly's, in fact the last 3 trips I haven't even run a flasher/fly except for a trash can and spin and glow once in awhile when the action is slow. Earlier in the season I did get a few fish on one meat I got (green frog meat rig and flasher) but nothing on anything else this year. I know every lure has it's day don't get me wrong I understand that, just like some colors are better than others some days then others.

I do have a probe (X4) and use it all the time and understand that I have to slow down when fishing meat and flashers.

Anyways I thought I would ask you guys a few questions about your thoughts.

Do you run meat and with any great success?

Do you feel that the meat is more a northern port set up, or a deep fishing tactic?

Has your flasher fly been firing this year consistently?

The kings were big this spring but they are scattered right now do you feel that has a baring on the situation?

I'm not slamming anybody or firing anything up for a hot debate, just want to her some responses of how you guys are doing and your thought.

[Nailer]

This was a great pc. buy Captain John of Day Break Charters.

One thing to keep in mind when running Meat rigs is speed! You need to be going slower than nowmal pulling these big rigs. If you go your normal "spoon" speed, its to fast. I think its a big reason many people have issues producing when they just throw a meat rig into their normal spread. If your heavy spoons have the right action in the water, your going to fast for meat rigs. This is why the guys that are very sucessful running meat almost always run a dedicated spread to that tactic, they dont just drop one into a spread of random lures.

My normal meat fishing spread is 2-3 riggers with meat rigs, 2 wire divers with meat rigs, and maybe a few very LIGHT spoons on the leadcore. I will also drop an SWR rig below all rods in the spread to catch any stragglers hanging below the other rigs. Maulers, FINN spoons, and Super Slims are great spoons for slower speeds. You dont need to stack tons of rods into the spread. Better to concentrate on running 5-7 rods properly than to have a dozen just randomly thrown in. I consistantly outfish guys with 20 rods in the water with my normal daytime spread of 5-7 rods. Its more important to run 5 rods properly, than 10+ rods just thrown in with no thought. Keep in mind....they are NOT seperate rods and baits in the water....they are a SPREAD, that should work together, not alone.

I run almost exclusivly the 12" John King Flashers for meat rigs, ALWAYS White or Glow, with the 3 fly rigs and Herring strips or whole Alewife. **Important note...I dont care what anyone says...Fake meat WILL NOT produce like the real thing. If your gonna fish meat, use MEAT! Herring,(whole or strips) or Alewife work the best for me. You should always be running the big flashers with a Meat rigs as well. They give a far bigger and slower roll than the smaller ones and produce 10x more fish on rigs. Remember, unlike a flasher/fly, the paddle on a meat rig is NOT imparting action to the bait behind it, its simply an attractor.

Finally, the most imporatnt part of running a meat rig in getting the correct "roll" of the bait head. A baithead that spins real fast wont cut it, and neither will a head thats not turning. Put the rg in the water next to the boat and watch the baithead. You are looking for 2-4 rolls per second. If it needs to be adjusted, just bend the tab on the baithead to adjust it. This should be checked after every fish, as the head may have straightend out after catching a fish.

The one tip I remember getting directly from John King about running meat that helped me the most was SLOW DOWN! Especially during the day and especially when targeting bigger fish! Hope that helps!

Everything above is just my opinion. I know there are different ways to do things and I dont want to upset anyone. But running meat has won me more money in tourneys and full boxes on charter days than any other single tactic in the water, and I have spent a lot of time trying to perfect it. But its a touchy tactic, as everything needs to be done correctly to really produce.

[j1musser]

I dont fish meat but have had a lot of success lately on flashers/ flies and tin cans. These have outproduced the spoons for me lately bu far.