Sutton Substitutes???

[DJ 17]

I put this question out on tackle and techniques and was wondering if I would get more of a response for some Finger lakes guys. Does anyone know of a good substitute for a sutton since they are out of business?? I heasrd they may be making some more, but it is just a rumor. I am especially interested in the 44's. I just got some Plasma 44s but they are an inch longer than the real suttons, and I am pretty skeptical about how they will work in comparison. Any thoughts??

DJ

[Huntin' Trout]

The Plazma is as close as I believe you can get.

[TrapperBrooks]

I have had good luck with luhr jensen 44's

[FLXTroutman]

They are still in business, they had to find a plater, but they have one now,I just spoke to them Friday May 1, 2012.

She said they are behind on some types but you should be able to still get them. Try calling BE Tackle Ontario, NY or Suttons Hardware in Naples, 585 374 2628

[DJ 17]

thx troutman

[irishbailey86]

sutton has been back @ it since late winter....theyve got everything but the heavy spoons.....no material supplier left for them to get the heavy guage for the 88 22 23 35 heavy singles...everything else they should have on the shelves unless someone like me has just been down to naples to empty em out!

[Rippin'Line]

BnE. filing tackle on 104 in Ontario has some. I seem to have good luck on scorpion stingers and smaller Dream Weavers.

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[fish-on]

Guy out of Ithaca NY, Makes some pretty awsome flutter spoons, Very similar to suttons. Don't recall his his name. He goes by Bluetop on LOU.

[MikeyP]

I put this question out on tackle and techniques and was wondering if I would get more of a response for some Finger lakes guys. Does anyone know of a good substitute for a sutton since they are out of business?? I heasrd they may be making some more, but it is just a rumor. I am especially interested in the 44's. I just got some Plasma 44s but they are an inch longer than the real suttons, and I am pretty skeptical about how they will work in comparison. Any thoughts??

DJ

There is a seller on ebay who has most of them, but as I recall, he didn't have many 44's. I did buy some from him in the past when they were hard to come by and he is a reliable seller. His prices aren't cheap though. PM me and I can give you his ebay name if you are interested and can't find what you are looking to purchase.

[bluetop]

Thanks for the kind words, Fish-On. My spoons are available on Ebay. They're only about $3 each and they work great for me. I used to use Suttons exclusively, then started making spoons myself. For anybody interested, on Ebay select "flutter spoons". Then, if you click on the "auctions only" tab, it will narrow the field. Out of about 30 listings, I have 10, under the seller name "blutop3".

[Blue Heron]

Guys

Watching this thread made me curious about what I had in the old Cayuga box that my father and I had from back in the 80s. I checked and there were a number of suttons in there as follows

9 - sutton 44

5 - sutton 22

10 - sutton 71

4 - sutton 88

3 - sutton 5

1 - sutton 6

They are in good shape , there is a mix of all silver and silver with gold backs, there are also a couple of hammer finish in there

Growing up in the fingerlakes I realize that there are a revered spoon but to be honest I never had much luck with them

So I will let the entire bunch go for $40 ( 1.25/spoon) - Buyer pays shipping or picks up in webster ( these will fit a $4.95 flat rate box ) I will not separate. If no one here wants them I will post them on the classifieds on Mon

PM me here if interested

Ted

[JBoock]

Ted,

I'm interested in the Suttons if still available. PM sent.

Jay

[Blue Heron]

spoons are sold pending payment

[DJ 17]

I tried a couple of the Plazma 44s on sunday. They don't really compare to the actual suttons. I'm glad they are back at it.

[stf65]

I went to Sutton today...

they don't plate anymore, they send them out to be plated

they didn't know what they had or want to take an order/request

it was really sad that a treasure such as this fine lure may soon be lost

to make matters worse, most other manufactures have such poor quality

I watch as leatherstocking lures went out and the machines where sold

I was told someone bought it just for the name, its a shame as I would consider producing these lures

does anyone have any good substitutes for these lures???

[Sk8man]

It is unfortunate indeed that the Sutton spoons aren't being produced right now and although I don't have an easy answer as far as a "substitute"  I will say that there isn't anything magical about the Sutton 44 but they have always been popular. I've used nearly all of the Sutton's over the years and at one point had nearly 300 of them of varying size,weight, and type (some for copper jerking etc.). On the Finger Lakes these spoons have been very effective for many many years...possibly not so much on Lake O  because of the higher general trolling speeds frequently for salmon and steelies. The larger the Sutton and the wider  in general the less tolerant of higher speeds they seem to be. The Sutton 44 is sort of a middle smaller sized spoon (compared with something like the 88 for example) and as such it approximately represents the size of a medium stage alewive. This is possibly one factor in its success because there will be medium sized alewives present for quite a bit of the life cycle during the boating season.  A most important factor regarding any of the Sutton spoons is that they are silver plated on a brass blank and are quite thin in thickness making them appear to"flutter" in the water at depth and because of the silver plating they can be seen at greater distances than say chrome plated spoons. Suttons also have shallow "cups" at the rear that don't really dig down in the water like some spoons.  These are the critical attributes that you need to look for in anything considered as a "substitute".  I have also done as well over the years with similar sized Sutton's other than the 44 such as the 22 (a little wider), 31 (a little narrower), (the irregular 29),21(little wider). Some of the smaller ones such as the 8, 9 and even the real small 6 work very well immitating the immature alewife and can tolerate greater speed variations than the other sizes of spoons. They work particularly well on rainbows, landlocks and browns on leadcore or copper. What I'm leading up to here is the fact that often these other very effective Sutton spoon are often overlooked in favor of the 44 and they may be present at yard sales, tackle flea markets etc. One of the things about the finish of Suttons is that the silver finish is very thin and easily tarnishes and water spots especially with extended hard use so when they appear in these "sale" situations they are often in poor shape appearance wise but they still function fine. Those of mine that have tarnished over the years I have used thin prism tape (often silver) on to cover the blemishes that don't respond to silver polish with a soft cloth. Sometimes it is difficult to "bring the spoons back" as they have had a clear varnish like substance applied over the silver to "protect" the finish. Another thing to consider with Suttons is the quality of the hooks that come with them....they are not very strong or durable and I have always changed those trebles for hardened single siwash salmon hooks of appropriate size to the spoon with the exception of the tiniest 6's and 8's which I am reluctant to tamper with because of weight difference issues affecting the action. I never mess with the soldered rings on the rear of the spoons as they are more solid than split rings I merely sacrifice the trebles and then replace them on the solid ring with singlel It is often noted on here that the Suttons are to be used for slower speeds and this is generally true especially for the larger lighter flutter spoon versions (not so much with the smaller spoons). They are relatively easy to tune because of their thinness and this can often make them run better at speed (careful bending of them). Suttons also come in medium and heavier weight spoons in many of the same numbered versions as well as other sizes and shapes. The common spoons are the plain silver, silver with brass under side, plain brass, and hammered finish versions of these (my favorites) as well as silver with copper undersides (primarily heavier weight spoons) which seem to be very attractive to brown trout in the Fingers. I guess the long and short of it is if you can't find substitutes look around for overlooked "gems" used ones....it is primarily the action of them that you are really after.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Sk8man

[Great Lakes Lure Maker]

Great lakes lure co makes #44 and #35 spoons. Very similar to Sutton. There will be more to come in the near future, we are now producing West Rivers and others will follow. Our n44 is a different bend however if you specify 44 we will form it in the typical 44 form.

Jason

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Edited March 8, 2015 by Great Lakes Lure Maker

[alex1young]

Hey guys while we're on the topic, anyone know the number of the spoon in the right? I have it next to an 88 for reference.

Also this is a 33 and I catch a lot of fish on it. I've never seen another or heard anyone mention them. I was wondering if anyone had some for sale?

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[bandrus1]

I found a 22 today in an antique store for $3 

[Great Lakes Lure Maker]

Hey guys while we're on the topic, anyone know the number of the spoon in the right? I have it next to an 88 for reference. ImageUploadedByLake Ontario United1425860436.236789.jpg

Also this is a 33 and I catch a lot of fish on it. I've never seen another or heard anyone mention them. I was wondering if anyone had some for sale?ImageUploadedByLake Ontario United1425860522.727179.jpg

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Hard to tell from the pic. Help me out here. What is the metal like. Looks to me, because of the bolt and nut, it is a GL # 35 with a fixed hook. I will post an example tomorrow. We still make them.

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[Great Lakes Lure Maker]

Is it hammered finish? Hard to tell. Some of its characteristics stand out to me as a GL35. not many others, if any use that nut and bolt.

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[alex1young]

It's a Sutton with the same metal and thickness as all their other models.

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[Great Lakes Lure Maker]

I don'T think its a Sutton. Back in the 80's we made similar lures. Made from brass and silver plated. As the years went on we switched to chrome plating, then eliminated plating all together. After that, we went from .010-.012 to .015 stainless. Very possible its an older GL 35. I will post some pics Tuesday as I have to work outside the shop tomorrow.

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[Great Lakes Lure Maker]

Also, Kausch called it a different# and we didn't# them until we had the dies to logo them. I'm not a Sutton expert, but I don't believe they used nuts and bolts. We did and still do.

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Edited March 9, 2015 by Great Lakes Lure Maker

[alex1young]

It says Sutton Spoon Co, but the number is covered by some adhesive...

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