BUNKER SPOONS ARE THIN pieces of curved metal shaped like a tear drop with lead keels and an 8/0 to 10/0 hook fastened to the rear. Trolled behind a boat, the metal lures come alive and have fooled many large stripers over the decades. Big striped bass mistake the spoons for adult menhaden (hence the name), a favorite food that can reach 15 inches and weigh more than a pound.
Introduced roughly 60 years ago, bunker spoons epitomize the “large bait, large bass” ethos embraced by many striper anglers. They are trolled on wire line with long mono leaders to get down into the depths where the bigger bass hunt.
Bunker spoons may appear deceptively simple, but getting a piece of steel to flutter and wobble like an erratic bunker involves a ton of trial and error, and many hours of bending and banging metal. Trust me. Others may disagree, but in my experience few
