Vertical Spoons?

[windycitybass]

Has anyone been working spoons vertically?  I've seen it popping up more and more in magazines and shows.  Has anyone tried this?  Also, how hard is it to swap hooks on baits?  The spoons I have in particular have huge hooks but am interested in learning how to modify lures.  What tools would I need?  Thanks a lot.

[camman]

i use spoons, tail spinners, ice jigs, etc out here in California quite a bit.  They are very good in the winter as well as the summer.  

The number one thing with working spoons is having a good fishfinder or graph.  You need to find the schools of baitfish and the bass will be around them.  Once you find a school, just drop down a spoon and jig vertically.  You need to watch your line very carefully on the drop, thats when a majority of the fish will hit.  If you see your line twitch or stop falling unexpectedly set the hook.  I like the Revenge Spoons, Crippled Herring, or some of the BPS spoons.

[SirSnookalot]

Vertical spoons , nothing new at all, that's what many commerical fisherman use.  banana spoons or diamond jigs for walleye, work great for king or spanish macks

[Crestliner2008]

Spooning for bass works well when they are suspended at specific depths above the bottom. You do not need to vertical fish....you can cast out...count down...and snap retrieve. Works in some situations. If you have them cornered, on the bottom, other presentations are better suited, i.e.: drop shot, blade baits, jigs.

[Mottfia]

This is a subject I have no knowledge of. I'm really hoping to hear from some of the guys on how they go about approaching this type of fishing.

Mottfia

[Zel]

Vertical spooning is one of my favorite techniques.  I key on areas in the 20 30 foot zone, normally on dropoffs, but the zone must have some bottom structure, and nearby path for the bass to shallow water.  When the graph shows fish holding a few feet off the bottom in that depth, the spoonin' rod comes out.  

I prefer the Kastmaster spoons myself.  I usually change out the treble hook for a thinner better quality in one size bigger than comes with the spoon.  The other modification I utilize is not tying directly to the split ring, but thread the line through the split ring and tie to another treble hook (2 trebles on the spoon).  Also, at the beginning of the year before the season starts I get out my fly tying equipment and tie glass rattles to about a dozen trebles (with red line and a few strands of mylar tinsel), and keep them handy to throw on a spoon when I want to change things up (seems to work for me at times when they don't want to cooperate).

Don't rule out blade baits in a vertical presentation either.

[WRB]

Spoons are the oldest lures known, date back centuries to pearl spoons with bone hooks.

Vertical spooning is common deep structure presentation for those bassers who fish out away from shore.

Bassmaster has an article using 4" to 5 1/2" structure spoons and that size is not common for bass, however common for lake trout jigged vertically.

As mentioned, out west we spoon structure for bass when the bass are targeting shad. The spoons should be about the same size as the baitfish; 2 1/2" to 4" and 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz is the size best to represent threadfin shad. Adding white and chartreuse feathers to chrome size 2 treble hooks helps to trigger strikes.

You can cast these spoons and work them back through the depth zone the bass are holding on, it's not always a vertical presentation.

WRB

[J. M. Richardson]

I fish with spoons quite often, but never catch many bass on them. However, they are one of the go to baits for Northern Pike in Wisconsin, especially the DareDevil shaped ones in original red/white.

Also, for some reason, the northerns here seem to like the 1/2 ounce chatterbaits more than the bass.

[5bass]

Vertical is the only way I fish a spoon. Usually when the shad are in tight groups hanging deep at 20' or more. If you can tell what depth the bass are holding, try to keep your lure at or just above that level, especially if the water is cold.

With most graphs you can drop your spoon straight down under the transducer and see it dropping on your screen. This will help you get in the strike zone. Once you get in the strike zone, you can put a small piece of tape on your spool that helps you keep that depth on multiple drops.