Tips & Editorials

One of the tried and true methods for catching more and bigger striped bass and bluefish is trolling bunker spoons. Over the past couple years the number of companies offering bunker spoons has jumped almost as rapidly as the interest in using them.

Unfortunately, many are stamped from thin metal and finished with cheap hooks and weak components. Some bend so easily that even if they had a decent action initially once you use them for a while they get tweaked and become ineffective. So which brand can you trust to work first time, every time? There’s only one—Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoons.

These incredible lures were designed, tested and refined by one of the leading striper fishermen on the East Coast, Tony “Maja” Arcabascio. With forty years of experience fishing the fertile waters of the New York Bight, Tony has used every spoon ever made and knows the strong and weak points of each. He put that knowledge to work when he created his own fool-proof spoons and the reports from the charter captains and anglers who tested the prototypes were raves! They out produced every spoon they were fished against and proved to be virtually indestructible.

Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoons are made from extra thick stainless steel and finished with the finest, heavy duty components. They are strong enough to tow a truck without deforming, but swim with a subtle action that attracts more hits while delivering a higher hook up ratio. The heavy bodies won’t bend, which alter a spoon’s action, even after seasons of use. They weigh more so they run deeper and require only a single keel weight. Even the smallest model is armed with a massive, free-swinging, 9/0 stainless steel Siwash hook dressed in natural bucktail so when a fish hits it’s yours. Forget about missing up to 50% of the bites like with other spoons or having to add a treble hook. Two massive, stainless steel split rings mean there are no weak points to fail. One forms an unbreakable link between the spoon and hook, the other is the point of attachment for the swivel on the end of your line. The front split ring also enhances it spoon’s gentle wobbling action.

Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoons come in four models to match the hatch any time of year. The tiny #1 Peanut Bunker is an excellent fall spoon when the beaches are packed with young menhaden. The #2 Lollypop Bunker/Butterfish is an ideal representation of a yearling bunker. The #3 Herring/Bunker is deadly in the spring when alewives and blueback herring are present. And the #4 Adult Bunker will quickly become your go-to lure whenever large menhaden are around spring, summer or fall. All four are available in white, chartreuse or green chip-resistant finishes.

All four spoons are modestly sized so they can be easily pulled on any length wire line or braided line rod and they all catch big fish!