3-Way Spooning is a technique used on most great lakes to utilize a crankbait to bring a spoon down to to the level that the fish are at. This method has gained a lot of popularity in the Walleye fishing arena over the last 6 years because of the added accuracy that we have with the Precision Trolling dive curve book. (This book shows you the dive curves of most of the crankbaits used today in walleye fishing. All you have to do is pick your crankbait, look on your graph to see where the fish are located, and set your lure back the distance the book tells you to achieve that depth.)
The Crankbaits you need to use for this needs to dive fast enough to keep it below the spoon. Some of my favorites are the Storm Hot n tot and Thunderstick Deep Jrs., Reefrunners, and the #8 and #9 Rapala Shad Raps.
The Spoons need to be very light weight and flutter even at slow speeds ( around 1.2 mph) The reason for the light weight is to keep it above the crankbait. The 2” Scorpion spoon made by Michigan Stinger Spoons is my favorite one to use, it is very lightweight and comes in a tremendous amount of colors.
The connection to your rod consists of a 3-way swivel to which you attach a 16 to 20 inch leader of 10 lb. test mono for the crankbait. The other leader that goes to your spoon should be about 36 to 48” of 17 to 20 lb. test mono. (The larger mono on the spoon leader is to help keep it higher away from the crankbait.) Make sure you use a ball bearing swivel at the 3 way end of your leaders, this will help if you get a weed on the crank or spoon so you do not get a huge mess. The other end of the leader can just be a crosslock snap.
Tips:
One thing I like to do is match up the color of the spoon with the color of the crankbait.
One thing I like to do is match up the color of the spoon with the color of the crankbait.
When you let the combo back behind the boat keep it somewhat tight to keep the crank diving. If you freespool it back the crankbait will float up and tangle with the spoon.
Try the larger 4” Stingers when on the great lakes they will also catch big walleyes, just remember to use a larger crankbait to compensate for the heavier spoon.
