Overlooked Lure Class

[roadwarrior]

Yesterday I read a tournament report from Pickwick Lake.

The winning total weight was 91lbs+ for a three day tournament.

That size bag is unheard of around here!

Topwater was apparently hot, but the key was fishing spoons on

ledges. Is anybody here really good with spoons? If you are,

please describe how, when and where you fish them.

8-)

[Matt 825]

I am not really good with them, but I have caught lots of big fish on them.  We dont have ledges up here really, so I usually fish them in 20-50' around big schools of bait (White Perch,Herring & Yellow Perch).  They work really well when the bait is at least 8' off the bottom and the deeper the water the better they bite it.  

I am very interested in getting better with the jiggin spoon, so looking forward to responses

[tyrius.]

The Bass Pro show had a segment on jigging spoons in last year's season.  It was pretty good but I fish from shore so wasn't really applicable to me.  I think Horton did the segment.

[senile1]

Kent, were these fish mostly smallmouth or were there largemouth mixed in?  There was an episode of "The Bass Pros" early in the year where Jason Quinn was wacking bass with a Hopkins spoon and he gave some good pointers.  When the largemouth fishing isn't going so well on Smithville Lake, a spoon is always good for catching a few white bass if you're in the right spots.  I haven't caught many black bass on spoons but the whites eat 'em up.  

[roadwarrior]

Mixed, but mostly largemouth. Ninety plus pounds is really

hard to believe, in fact I would not believe it if the weights

weren't tournament documented.

8-)

[Wayne P.]

It has become a go-to presentation for deep bass at Lake Fork on humps and road beds. I have used the large flutter spoons there and they work quite well. I do prefer to change out the factory hooks to a smaller wire of the same size with a skirt of white or white/chart. The smaller wire hooks make penetration easier and sometimes are weak enough to bend if hung up. The skirt also attracts the bar fish which can be a good thing to excite nearby bass.

[indy basser]

I wouldn't consider mydelf an expert but early this year I was at KY lake and a friend of mine who lives down there told me that guys were wacking them with spoons (before KVD used them in part to win down there) and I used them back home in Indiana with some good success. The key is structure with little cover (these baits get hung up extremly easy). A bend in the creekbed or a ledge is usually what I look for. The second key is baitfish, if you see shad on your graph relating to the structure then the spoon's got a chance. Basically throw over the structure and quickly rip the spoon off the bottom and let it flutter back down. Reel in the slack and rip again. You can really feel the bait vibrating. BTW I use the Strike King Sexy Spoon

[.ghoti.]

Sounds like I need to reconsider my attitude towards spoons.

I've used them for years, but only for pike, crappie and white bass.

When we go north every year, I always take along a few Daredevil spoons, 1/4oz, and whatever the next size up is. I think it's 2/5oz, not 1/2. Hammered nickle finish, and the classic 5 of diamonds pattern. I catch a lot of pike, and fairly frequent smallmouth.

At home, I have smaller sizes, 1/32oz and 1/16oz, in the same colors for crappie and white bass. I get an occasional lagremouth on these, and have always regarded catching LMB on spoons as an aberration. Looks like I need to re-think that one.

A note on the retrieve; my small contribution to this thread. I catch the most fish using a lift and drop retrieve, but, I do not pump the rod. I hold the rod off to the side, and do the lift and fall using the reel only. This lets me maintain contact with the lure as it falls. Hits come on the fall; very few on a steady retrieve, or on the lift. You have to maintain contact with a spoon. Not moving the rod makes it much easier to do so. You just stop reeling when you want the spoon to drop.

I think there may be no lure a fish will spit out quicker than a chunk of metal. You''l catch a lot more fish if you allow no slack in the line.

Cheers,

GK

[Trick Worm]

I've used them when trolling for spanish mackerel in salt water

[The_Natural]

It has become a go-to presentation for deep bass at Lake Fork on humps and road beds. I have used the large flutter spoons there and they work quite well. I do prefer to change out the factory hooks to a smaller wire of the same size with a skirt of white or white/chart. The smaller wire hooks make penetration easier and sometimes are weak enough to bend if hung up. The skirt also attracts the bar fish which can be a good thing to excite nearby bass.

+1. It's all about the Joe's flutter spoon that Kelly Jordan made famous. That ultimate match fishing show where he caught 5 fish for 25lbs in 5 casts was unreal!

Spoons are not really a part of my gameplan, but they need to be.  I've watched video on how to work them, and which spoon to buy, but haven't given them any TOW.  

[fishizzle]

I've also seen an additional treble hook put on the top split ring to increase hookups

[cart7t]

I'm pretty much a one method pete with jigging spoons.  I've got one lake they work pretty well at.  The lake has around 15 aerators.  During the summer, the shad really school up around these and the bass come and go.  Often they hang down towards the bottom and rush up the middle of the air boil and slice through the schools.  

You can spot the fish around the aeration boils on the graph.  Drop a Hopkins spoon down, around 3/4oz and jig away.  

[Willzx225]

I mainly pull the spoons out for vertical fishing in the winter time but I have tried (very limited though) to learn the structure spoon stuff with the sexy spoons and other flutter spoons.  Vertical jigging a Acme Kastmaster spoon here can put a limit in the boat in 5 minutes which leaves you all day to look for a kicker.  It is a very good technique when you get them fired up.

[kikstand454]

well i dont have specific news on bass.... but many times ive been hunting redfish up  a river or spring creek and caught bass instead. i typicaly throw them like a fluke really. past the cover then reel reel twitch twitch twitch...etc.  occasionally let it pause and flutter next to that current break or isolated stump. around oysterbars and creekmouths a spoon is just bordering on cheating for reds. but like ive said, ive caught many a 2lb lmb on them too by 'accident'

[5bass]

We fish spoons here all winter. Its probably the most dependable bait when the water is cold and the shad are bunched up deep. I dont even have to see fish on my graph to drop the spoon, just shad. The more the better. The bass eat shad all winter long and will move with the shad if they decide to move out.

My partner and I found the shad in a small creek last winter that is around 40' deep down the middle. The shad stayed in there for almost 6 weeks straight. Every time we went in there, they were there. At times we could see the fish on the graph but most times it was just shad that we were seeing......a big black cloud would come across the graph. Sometimes they would be 20' down, sometimes 30', sometimes on the bottom. Once the shad moved out, we saw nothing on the graph. After we rode around for a while we managed to find them again about a 1/4 mile away in another small creek. The bass were still with them.

All we do is drop a spoon down to just below the depth the shad are hanging and start the up and down jigging. Pulling the jig up through the shad will spook and scatter them, with hopes that the fleeing shad will trigger the bass to feed. Once you locate a good school, the bite is very dependable and the bass that hang tight with the schools of bait are generally bigger/fatter than normal. I catch some of my biggest bass of the year during the winter months with a jigging spoon.

I always upsize my hooks and sometimes I even go to one hook (straight shank worm hook) on the bigger spoons. Who'da thunk that a hammered out piece of metal could catch so many fish?

[Stringjam]

I don't fish an actual "spoon" much, but I have spent a lot of time throwing Silver Buddy-style baits.....which arguably can be used in the same conditions.  

I like the blade baits because you can hop them down ledges a little easier than a spoon.......and I replace the trebles with a single hook in the rear to reduce hang-ups (and hold fish better).

They work just as well vertically.....blades fall very quickly and can actually be fished in a slower fashion than a spoon if needed, since they vibrate while being pulled upward.  

 

[Catt]

Jigging spoons are the most underutilized baits on the market, I'm working on writing an article but all this other lures keep breaking my concentration. I thing one reason is because spoon fishing is not glamorous, jigging a spoon is down right boring; but like five.bass.limit said jigging spoon are a staple on Texas lakes during winter.

Here's a short list of what's hot

Bass Pro Shops Strata Spoon

Bomber Slab Spoon

Cotton Cordell's CC Spoon

Hopkins Shorty

Jensen's Krocodile Spoons

Strike King Sexy Spoons

[roadwarrior]

Here is the article from last Sunday's paper:

Commercial Appeal October 26, 2008:

While most anglers have been fishing Pickwick purely for enjoyment this fall, pro fisherman Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., recently used the lake to boost his ever-growing bank account.

Rose fished with Louisiana pro Greg Hackney to win the Professional Anglers Association Corporate Cup earlier this month, earning a $100,000 payday. Rose and Hackney teamed with their corporate partners, Randy Haynes and Tony Browning, to catch 92.86 pounds of bass in three days.

Rose and Hackney targeted ledges, using the Sexy Spoon -- and Rose said they were both impressed with the sheer number of fish Pickwick has to offer right now.

"Tournaments aren't always fun," said Rose. "But this one sure was.

"Now is the time to be on Pickwick Lake."

8-)