Stinger Spoons

[Billy V]

Lake Ontario tends to be a Northern King lake. Lots of guys are starting to use Stingers, but I knoiw quite a few guys out there are very anti-Stinger.

[L&M]

Evil

Are you talking Michigan Stingers or the Optimizer version? Either way I have to disagree with the above post ( from V ) as they are and have been great producers for many years. The Michigan's have been one ove the better spoons since they were introduced many years ago. I'm still running some i bought back in the early 80's. Ck out the other boards around, and the Oak. Nothing against NK's as I run a ton ove them. But it's best to be a bit versatile instead ove someone trying to plug just one manufacturer. They are all good at any given time.

K just had my 2 cents

[Fishstix]

I fish a lot with a guy who is a friend of a Michigan Stinger rep. He runs all Stingers and gets a lot of prototypes for us to try. The shansters,tuxedos,NBK green or yellow ,or the diehards were great spoons last yr.

I try to run whats working leaving no mfg. out. I get the best satisfaction out of catching fish on stuff I tape up . Ill paint a bunch of spoons up in the winter and tape them up as I need a certain color.

I know for a fact the Shansters have brought many a brn trout to the derby scales.I would run more but Im on a dodger fly kick right now.

[Guest ReelDiel]

ithink all the different manufactuers ave good spoons the stinger nbk has been kier for me for the last few years...nks froggy glow has also been producing great foryears and billy v's habenaro is awinner...i think King me does work for nk with testing there products so hence he is running all nk as arefriends of friends upon recomendations. If you search the archives..oh s@4! Cant do that i think all brands get a fair shake when they are on fire up here!!! as matter of fact i think we should start a thread regarding this. check tackle descriptions!!!

[Billy V]

I'm not saying that the Stinger isn't a good producer. My point was just that with Northern King being made in Rochester that it tends to dominate the market here, hence the fact that Stingers aren't mentioned here as much as NK's. Stingers are made in Michigan and they tend to dominate the market in the western great lakes. I wasn't trying to plug NK, just stating what I've seen in most tackle boxes around here. I agree with L&M, best to have what's hot in your box rahter than limit yourself to one single manufacturer.

[Mick]

Aren't Stingers a little bit lighter than NK's? No matter what color pattern spoon you are running I think it depends more on keeping your spoons running good in the water and not spinning, or just dead in the water. At times the down currents are totally different from what the lure looks like next to the boat. I think that differently weighted spoons work better in certain conditions than others. A little over 3 months and we can be out there again.

[Iceman]

I have used a few Stinger spoons in the past, & the paint was good for one nice spring king, & then it was gone. I also have had problems with Stinger spoons being bent by a good fish. Once they are bent up, there is no good way to straighten them out so they run correctly. I know the paint has improved, however I still am peeved that they would sell an expensive spoon with defective paint. Guess some of us are very forgiving.

[jimski2]

When water temperatures are lower, the thinner lighter spoons work best at slower speeds. As the waterwarms up, the heavier NK spoons work better at higher trolling speeds. My 2 cents.

[emtystringer]

iceman, i'm with you and had trouble with the junk paint and the spoon bending and i don't forget.the company did not want to make good for the cheap paint job,allthough it had been a productive spoon.

[mikejonestkd]

I tend to agree with the above posts, we run NKs usually because they are a local company, but a few of my stingers do well, particularly at low speeds, probably because they are lighter and thinner.

The only really consistent ones that we have found are the green, blue dolphins, the chicken wing and the NBK. I have a kevorkian that has yet to catch anything in 5 years of washing it behind the boat....

[times two]

Stingers are a great spoon on Lake Erie for walleye. If you take

some of the larger bait fish that get spit up in the box, the stingers

are the closest in size. Spoons like Fishlander and Dreamweaver

tend to be a bit wider, and consequently don't see to do as well.

I have used them some on LO, but honestly, like some of the other

posts, I have a tendency to run the NK's first when I'm up there...

John

[Big Dave]

Mick has the right idea !! The lighter spoons will work better at slower speeds and the heavier spoons at a faster speed. They all have their special place.

[drlfc]

Iceman,

Last summer I sent a fist full of Michigan Stinger spoons back to the manufacturer Advance Tackle. The paint was worn, chewed and peeled off of these spoons and they replaced every one of them at no charge. Try that move and see how you feel about Michigan Stinger spoons!

[RiverEco]

has anyone ever tried laker taker spoons? Or how about mepps scyclops?

[LongLine]

I use mostly NKs but have a couple obsolete R&R’s that became my GO-TO spoons this last year. Basically same shape as NKs but much lighter. Have a few Stingers but haven’t done much with them. My son fooled a nice king with a scyclops with a white trailer once (trolling) but that was it.

I think you guys are right, it’s all a speed thing. Any spoon will work at the right speed - as long as it’s Black/Silver with a touch of glow.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[SkeinMachine]

Silver Streak mags were super hot in april & may this past spring in the niagara area(when the alewife were spawning).

The rest of the season was a flasher/dodger fly bite for us,but then again,that was what we washed most fo the time..........

[Fishstix]

One of the guys I fish with fishes only Stingers.I think they have their finnish problems straightened out. They do work. I think this spoon is called a parrot. Ive had nks that the clear plastic finnish has come off.Usually if a spoon is chewed up scraped up it means its working. And thats a good thing.

I run everybodys everything.