When I was a kid (late '60s to' 70s) I always had Daredevles in my tackle box.

[desmobob]

I wouldn't be without Eppinger's standard red and white Spinnie, Imp and Lil Devle spoons in my tackle box.  I even had a selection of their in-line spinners with the "tangle free" offset shaft.  Other than chasing native trout in the local brooks, I did most all of my fishing in the clear, rocky waters of Lake George, NY.  Daredevles were a very popular lure for the lake back then.

 

Does anyone fish this type of spoons these days?

[NYWayfarer]

Yes. Kastmaster and Johnson weedless silver minnows are my favorite for Pike, Pickerel and Trout.

I always had the red and white Daredevils in my tackle box but never had much luck on them. Shiny spoons always worked better for me.

[jimmyjoe]

   Hmmmmm.................

   Yeah, I do.

   3/16 Midget

   1/4 Spinnie

   2/5 Dardevle (least liked)

   3/4 Dardevlet

   1 oz. Dardevle

   1 oz. Dardevle Weedless

 

   Also:

   1/3 Cop-E-Cat

   1/2 Cop-E-Cat

   4/5 Cop-E-Cat

   1/4 Devle Dog Pup  (I've had heavier Devle Dogs and I didn't like them.)

   5/16 Flutter Chuck (somewhere)

   1/2 Flutter Chuck Mag

 

   They ALL catch bass.  ???                     jj

 

P.S. - rain coming in this evening. Caught a small bass this P.M. on hammered brass 1/3 Cop-E-Cat twitched about 3' down in 12' of water.

[cody_ia]

i have a 3/4 oz. red/white dardevle spoon hanging on my rearview mirror that i used at lake of the woods for pike when my wife and i vacationed up there. 

 

[scaleface]

I have never caught a fish on that type of spoon . I had a school of bass located on a point a few years back . I was catching a few with a worm and decided to give  a Krocodile spoon a go at it , figuring it would flutter like a dying shad that they were keying on . Nothing , zilch . I just havent been able to get them to work . I have caught loys of bass on jigging spoons though .

[PourMyOwn]

They certainly do work, I just haven't used one since I stopped riding a bike to go fishing. I've caught a lot of bass throwing Cicadas, which is part spoon, part silver buddy. 

[Ski]

When Gander Mt. was closing up a few years ago I saw these "Johnson silver minnow" for $1.00 and picked up a gold and a silver as we were heading to the lake in Fellsmere Fl. The hooks were terrible and the first thing was to sharpen with a emory file, then put on a small grub for trailer. While fishing the heavy Hydrilla I pulled it out made a few casts and caught a 5+. The hooks on them were so bad I threw them away but for one day they "matched the hatch"

[MGF]

When I was a kid we used to vacation in northern Wisconsin and I caught about a million pike on a red/white daredevil. I don't know why I ever quit using them. I might give one a try again.

[Smells like fish]

The moment you realize you’ve never used or caught a fish on a spoon ?

Except for the ol faithful jigging spoon for stripers!!

[WRB]

2/5 oz Imp in chrome is still a good structure spoon. Change the hook to size 4 Owner feathered treble.

I use structure spoons years around, anytime Threadfin Shad are the bait source.

Tom

[Mbirdsley]

I have a soft spot for daredevils.  They make the best casting spoons. Eppinger still Manufactures every thingin Michigan. 
 

my grandpa took the Eppinger family on a salmon charter in the late 80’s/early 90’s.  When the got on the boat they brought 3 boxes full of trolling spoons.  Some of the spoons are still around up north. 

[lo-fi-hi-fi]

The tiny one, I believe it's called the "Skeeter" size, performs well with SMB. I usually have to land a few bluegills with it as well, but that's a 1st-world problem. 

[islandbass]

I love them! I had practically forgotten about them until this thread. Unfortunately, they’re getting harder to find locally and if a store has them, they’re not the size I want or need. I guess I’ll need to look online. 

[Spankey]

I’m the same era as you. Still use those spoons (smaller versions) for trout fishing. I never got into using spoons for bass. Only spoonish I use for bass is a Mepps/Mr. Twister Timber Doodle. 

[jimmyjoe]

9 hours ago, islandbass said:

I love them! I had practically forgotten about them until this thread. Unfortunately, they’re getting harder to find locally and if a store has them, they’re not the size I want or need. I guess I’ll need to look online. 

 

   Even online, I don't find what I want. I order direct from Eppinger. The people are great to deal with!                    jj

[bulldog1935]

Johnson's Sprite was my go-to spoon, both for bass and fall jetty Spanish Macks.  

When I was 12, walked up to Lake of the Ozarks, cast the sprite across a log, skittered it across the top of the log, let it drop, and caught a 3-1/2-lb smallie.  

That's when my dad bought a semi-vee to take me fishing. 

 

I've seen flats wizards imitate crabs with a black-nickel Johnson Silver Spoon.  

 

Kastmaster is in my surf box.  

[michaelb]

I use dardevles for pike, and I should probably do that more (I use inline spinners and spinnerbaits instead). I troll them at times on my kayak, and smallies hit spoons too which is usually a surprise.

 

Casting a heavy spoon is a surefire way to learn you have line twist or dig in, as you watch the spoon disappear into the distance though.

[Holetail]

  Daredevils hold a major spot in my childhood fishing memories. My grandfather was obsessed with chasing pike and walleye in Canada. He would plan all year for his 2 or 3 trips to Quebec, typically finding small, less know lakes and figuring out a way to get to them. After a 2 day drive from PA, we would then travel up to 100 miles on logging roads to get to a lake he had only seen on a map. Some of the lakes were stupid hard to access. This usually required a chainsaw and rope / pulley to drag his 14’ Starcraft through the brush to get to the lake. One lake we had to drag the boat up a 20’ high dune before portaging another 100 yards to reach the water. The balls it took for him and his buddies to do this hours from any help in another country, where almost no one spoke English still amazes me. 
  I got to go with him for the first time when I was 12. First day we trolled red/white daredevils and I caught several small pike but also hooked into a 10 pounder. Largest fish I had ever caught. I then started using a smaller hammered copper spoon with a double hook instead of a treble and casting it toward shorelines. Hooking those pike like this was mind blowing! 
  Later in the trip, I went with my uncle and cousin to a nearby lake for an hour or so after dinner. As we trolled out of a pocket into the main lake, I hooked into what ended up being an 18 Lb pike. Caught him on a hammered copper daredevil. Up to that point, the largest my grandfather had ever caught in 20 years of fishing this area was 15 lbs so I had some bragging rights until he landed a 19 on his trip later that year. 
  Thanks for bringing up the ole Daredevil OP, brought back some great memories. I have a red / white hanging above my workbench next to a 20 year old can of Labatts Blue from my last trip up North with my now late Grandfather. 

[BrianMDTX]

12 hours ago, lo-fi-hi-fi said:

The tiny one, I believe it's called the "Skeeter" size, performs well with SMB. I usually have to land a few bluegills with it as well, but that's a 1st-world problem. 

Those were the tiny ones with the double hooks, right? We caught bluegills and crappie (and some small dink bass) on those back in the day.