spoonin'

[Tackleholic]

Bass fishing with jigging spoons is an art, especially when a body of water is loaded with shad.  I would like to create this topic to gather input from masters of this art with a proven track record.  I believe they are in the minority of regular contributors.

[Mobasser]

I'm not a master but have fished jigging spoons years ago. We used Hopkins spoons, I think they were 1/2 oz.  Find shad schools over some structure, drop the spoon down,and jig it vertically. Snap it up and be ready for a hit on the fall.

[Dwight Hottle]

I  have used jiggin spoons over the years for smallies, walleyes, pike, perch & lake trout. The hopkins shorty was a go to for vertical jigging. They are best fished on braid with a very small swivel attached to a mono leader. Most bites happen on the drop before your upward stroke. The popular blade bait can be substituted equally successful in place of the spoon. I actually prefer it because of the additional vibration it creates.  

[softwateronly]

I just had an epic morning, about 30 bass in a little less than 2 hrs, with the blade runner duh spoon 1.25oz fished horizontally.  I had first tried throwing a flutter spoon toward breaking shad with some but limited success, most fish came after reel ripping off the bottom.  Everything turned when I switched to the jigging spoon and drastically increased how aggressive I was working it, reel ripping the bait 2-3 handle turns when I thought the spoon was 15'-20' down in 25 fow.  Being able to bomb a cast and work fast, I was able to cover the water needed to have such a good run.  

 

I'm really interested in learning more about this technique so I can learn to repeat it.  Here's some pics...

 

scott

 

 

[GreenPig]

 

No master here. I have 40 lbs of spoons and my #1 spoon is the Cotton Cordell in 1/2 & 3/4 ounce with Gamakatsu hooks.

-Don't sleep on gold spoons.

-Sharp hooks are a must.

-Vary your stroke. Some days they want 3' and some days 3 inches.

-After turnover, there isn't any too deep to spoon fish. 

- You can almost always shake a spoon out of a hangup if you take you time.

#SpooningGiaintsOnly😄

[rangerjockey]

You can do it anytime they are bunched up, but I love to do it in the summer months when they get under docks for shade in the boat slips and under the walkways.

 I like a 3/4 oz War eagle or Dixie jet slab spoon and the R2S Watson spoon. The Watson spoon will flutter away from the pitch and get underneath the walkways. 

I like to cut the swivel off. I have to cut my line back at least once a day because of the twist but I think they like to see 'em spin.

[J Francho]

Hopkin's Shorty spoon, strictly vertical, in deep water (15-40'), for smallies. I start with 3/4 oz. and move up 1 oz. If I want a faster fall. Hammered silver on most days, hammered gold on dark days or dirty water. Stroke it about 18-24" and let fall on slack line. As soon as the bait hits bottom stroke it again. You develop a rhythm. I like M/F bait cast rod, not too stout. I lose fish on a moderate action rod for whatever reason. The reel doesn't matter, though I like a faster reel to keep up with runs to the surface. For line, 12# InvisX or similar is fine. Mono or copoly would work too. Braid is no bueno - it tangles up on the drop. Good luck!

[WRB]

If you a search (upper right ) there are 31 pages of posts in this topic.

Suggest reading the related threads.

Structure spoons require a boat because the presentation is more vertical the casting. A short cast a little further than the depth you are targeting, then letting the structure spoon fall on controlled slack until vertical watching for the spoon to stop is my highest % technique. Vertices jigging through Shad schools after making the short cast works well, basically 2 presentations with 1 cast.

I fish structure spoons from Summer to the start of pre spawn, anytime baitfish are schooled. Bird watching to locate baitfish schools and sonar to determine the depth.

I am a fan of adding white and white-chartreuse chicken hackle feather to Owner treble hooks. 

A crank bait rod works good for structure spoons with a moderate action to help prevent the hook tearing out near the boat. 

Take a look at TW structure spoon assortment, lots to choose from. Shad colors, silver, gold, chrome-blue all work. I prefer 1/2-1 oz where fish.

Hooks sets are rod lift and reel with the drag set about 3 lbs using 11-12 lb mono.

Tom

[dave]

When I saw the title I thought, well, never mind...

[J Francho]

[Catt]

 

[Alex from GA]

When ever I see a herd of fish under the boat I'll break out a Georgia Blade 1/2 or 3/4 oz white spoon.  It's also good on boiling fish; they cast a long way and I bounce them back.  One day a buddy and I caught 9 species of fish in a 20 yard place on spoons.  I use 20 lb braid with a 3 or 4' 8 lb fluorocarbon leader.

[WRB]

Structure spoons popularity comes and goes like a yo yo.

Flutter spoons were the rage a few years ago and now the heavier designs seem to be back.

Gone are Bomber Slab, Mr Champ, Megabait, Haddock coffin, etc. still around Acme Kastmaster, Little Cleo, Hopkins and Lunhr Jensen Crippled Herring plus a batch of new mfrs offering some of the proven designs.

Not  fan of braid for spoons as it tangles easily with tumbling hooks and same for mono-FC under .012D.  12# to 15# mono-copoly line works best for me.

My all time favorite spooning rod was Loomis PR845C popping rod, soft tip to prevent treble hooks tearing out and lots of backbone power.

Caught thousands of structure spoon bass over the years, largest was a 9 lb LMB in the Casitas marina while a club tournament was weighing in.

As I have said before adding white or white chartreuse chicken hackle feathers helps!

Basically 2 styles work good, the longer narrow design like P-Line Laser and the wider flatter deigns like Duh spoons.

The longer design tumbles more while wide  adds a wobble to the fall.  Try both.

Tom

[Catt]

@WRB