spoon fishing ??

[ryan772]

i wanted to know what you guys think about using a spoon. how deep of water? what time of year? can you only use a spoon vertical? and what sizes and weights?
thank you guys
[signature]

[trophytrout89]

With spoons, I've caught everything from trout to pickerel. They are pretty easy to use, and you basically can't fish them wrong. You can even use them to troll with. As for size, If fish are not active, I'll go with a smaller spoon, and if they are aggressive, I'll throw out a bigger spoon. Match the size of your spoon to the depth of water. That's the most important. I just experiment different colors. Red/white, Gold, silver, rainbow, yellow are some of my favorites. Good luck
[signature]

[gdn443]

I only use spoon rigs in the fall when temps in the water go below 60 degrees. I only use silver buddys. It's real close to the time up here that I'll throw them . Let them sink to the bottom then jerk them off to settle again. the bass will take them on the drop.
[signature]

[trophytrout89]

I've never tried fishing them off the bottom. Do you get a lot of snags that way?
[signature]

[albinotrout]

I use spoons all the time. I have caught both trout and white bass on them. I usually use the 1/4 oz size but do have other sizes in my boxes. It is a great bait. I have recently been taking the treble hooks off and replacing with a #6 single hook. Don't see the difference in hook ups and easier to remove the hooks too.[][]
[signature]

[gdn443]

Seeing as you have to find structure to use them, yes you will lose some. I bring at least three. For trout I'll use a roughrider. It's my faverite trolling spoon.
[signature]

[trophytrout89]

I grew up using the roughrider lol. My father and uncles swear by it. It is the only lure they use for trout. It's definitely one of my favorites. I think it's safe to say that my family members are obsessed with it. If one of them will say that he caught something during the week, the other will say; "On the roughrider?" lol.
[signature]

[SKGuides]

Blade Baits
— by Steve vonBrandt

Most bass fisherman, because of their use of jigs and worms, have forgotten some of the most important baits that can under the right circumstances catch numbers of hard to catch bass, and many times mean the difference in winning a tournament. These baits don't have the appeal, or tournament winning reputation of such baits as topwaters, soft plastics, and spinnerbaits. Anglers that are just starting out in bass fishing are many times unaware of how and when to use these lures. Even some really good bass fisherman don't understand the role of these hard metal baits. Some of the better baits we use for these techniques are the jigging spoon called a Silver Buddy, and the Strike King thruster tail spinner. These baits can really help you out at times. We never actually won a tournament just using these baits only, but they can really add some decent bass to the bag when other baits fail.
Most anglers use these baits in deep water with a vertical presentation, but we use them in some other ways that really work well in the Northeast. When we fish some of the deeper waters of New

York, and some in the Midwest, we use them in deep water situations such as in Table Rock Lake in Missouri, These work well there especially in the late fall and early winter, but in some of the clearer waters in the Northern Lakes we use them by casting them, since the water isn't really that deep, and we can't get on top of them.
During real cold periods we position the boat on a drop-off or on a deep edge of a flat. Then we cast the spoon towards the edges of the weed growth with thin vegetation. We usually fish them in about 6 feet of water to as deep as 20 feet, and then we work the spoon back to the boat in a yo-yo type motion. We just let the lure fall to the bottom, jerk it up when it hits, and then work it back to the boat the same way. We found a lure called the Crippled Herring works well this way. If we want the lure to fall slower, we just use a heavier line. This technique works real well for us here in the Northeast just before the ice starts to form. You can cover a lot more water with this lure, rather than the jig or grub, which would take all day to search fro the fish. The bass's strike zone is very small in the colder water.

EARLY SPRING TACTICS

In the spring we like to use a bait called a Silver Buddy. We use mostly the 1/2 ounce size. This bait produce much better in the early spring. We have had a lot of luck with this bait soon after the ice has gone out. We fish this bait in short hops in the same locations as in the fall. This bait makes a better vibration and I think that is why we do well in the early spring when the water is cold. We have caught as many as 20 bass from a small area on this bait in table Rock Lake, and other Northern reservoirs. We generally have our best luck with this bait when we fish it in areas that have a chunk rock bank, The best areas is where the creek channel is, and when it sort of swings away from the bluffs, like on the Sassafras, onto sand and gravel flats. This lure also works great fro smallmouth in some of the Pennsylvania Reservoirs, and in the Midwest. I usually cruise back and forth in creek arms until I find the baitfish. You must really learn how to use your electronics properly to accomplish this. When I see a lot of baitfish holding on a deep change, sometimes they will be bass also, so I follow them until I find some structure.
Sometimes in the deeper lakes it is 30 feet or more. When you are fishing for deeper bass like this you have to pay attention to your line, then I snap the lure up, and then follow it back down on a semi-tight line. I learned to do this at Table Rock and Bull Shoals in Missouri after many frustrating trips. The spoon should flutter down, and watch the line, it is a real subtle bite. Set the hook when the line does anything unusual.

TAIL SPINNERS

These best are great because they cast so far. Whenever we see schooling fish pretty far away we can reach them with these baits before the action slows down.
You have to be careful with a lot of tailspinner baits as they cause a lot of line twist. The Strike King Thruster tail doesn't do this nearly as much, and we started using it this year. The ball bearing swivel on this bait eliminates a lot of line twist. Because of the design of this bait, the bass have more trouble throwing the lure, and result in more landed bass. Sometimes when we are using a crankbait, and the fish seem to turn off to this bait, we bring out the tail spinner. You can fish it all through the water column, and a lot of times catch more bass in the same area. It imitates a dying shad real well. Sometimes we even through this bait on a flat where other anglers might be tempted to throw a spinnerbait or a Rat-L-Trap. Sometimes we throw a Thruster tail and work it over scattered grass or a weedbed that is several feet below the surface. We had luck with this technique in New jersey and in the Midwest and Florida. The vibration and flash sometimes draws some

huge strikes. I just use 20-25 pound test to control the depth over the weds or flats, and use 10 pound test if I want it to go deeper.
We have also used this bait successfully over and around standing timber in some Midwest reservoirs also. The design of the lure helps kick it away from some of the standing timber, tree trunks, and even limbs. You can even use it effectively by swimming the bait by the bridge pilings in the Potomac and the Sassafras rivers.

LINE, REEL, AND ROD COMBO'S

I use a 6 1/2 to 7 foot, Medium action Casting rod with a high speed retrieve, such as a G.Loomis, and a Shimano. It is just the right combination for these baits and retrieves like to use "Spiderline Monofilament for this, depending on the particular technique, it will be 12-25 pound test. Don't ever get caught without some of these blade baits in your boat, it can save the day or win a tournament.
[signature]

[sabigfish]

I use flutter spoons from 4 - 6 inch such as Lake Fork tackle yearround to catch lmbs. they are very effective when the fish are holding at 20-30.
[signature]

[fichere]

new to spoons!! where do you buy these spoons?[fishin]
[signature]

[trophytrout89]

They used to be a lot easier to find than they are today. I buy mine at cabelas. I'm sure you can order them on from their site.
[signature]

[Dennis1022]

Try Jan's NetCraft , also Mepps. Check google and you'll see lot of spoons are sold from the northern states.
www.jansnetcraft.com I believe that is the correct web site! If not check google .They will also send catalogs for free.
Dennis
[signature]

[Madman25]

Spoon fishing is very effective. It promises productivety when everything else is not working. It is one of my very favorite techniques fishing. Winter time, fish school around the balls of bait fish, mainly certain types of shad. Verticaly jigging spoon can be most effective during the winter because you can imitate dying shad dropping from the school of bait fish.
[signature]

[fichere]

thanks for all info ,our river is almost down to normal for how long do not know but temp is in lo 40s hi &20s so dont know when i can try the spoons but what colors do u use? thanks again.
[signature]

[fichere]

Where do you find white bass this time of the year? I fish in the Alabama river and I find them in the early spring but not in the winter. Our dam is too dangerous for me to go to.
[signature]

[albinotrout]

Utah Lake year round. Easy to catch through the ice. Easy to catch any time of year actually.[cool] Whties are very prolific. I have caught them in the Jordan River where the Utah lake exits, On utah lake, and in Bountiful Pond where they were planted. They hold to structure like most bass and in moving water they will be near the current where the food is. I have caught them on chartreuse plastic jigs, white jigs work well too. Tipped with a piece of bait work as well. During the ice season use a wax worm on the jig. Rest of the year as well as ice on try tipping it with a piece of white bass and watch the fun. They are very cannibalistic almost as much as perch are.

Also you can get spoons almost anywhere. I prefer the Pot O gold spoons (rainbow plastics)((Yes they are metal)) due to price and they work as well if not better than the daredevils. Also favorite color spoon is made by Pot O gold (rainbow plastics). I have caught fish on it in three different states.
[signature]

[fichere]

thanks for all replys .i will be able to try spoons monday&tuesday so will give a report on tues.
[signature]

[albinotrout]

[quote fichere] but what colors do u use? thanks again.[/quote]

The colors that I use in this order:

Fire orange with white stripe
red with white stripe
rainbow

These are great for trout. Now for bass, see what colors the others are using in whatever bait. I happened to see a few people using spinners in a wierd yellow and pinkish color. Closest spoon I had to that was a three color pink, white and chartreuse. I ended up catching a sweet whitie on it. Have also caught trout on silver, yellow with black spots, and other colors available. Hope this helps.
[signature]

[Madman25]

CENTER HILL LAKE, They are biting on spoons..... Guys, right now is perfect timing to head to Center Hill lake to fish spoons for Largemouth, Kentucky bass and Smallmouth.... Every winter, fish school up around balls of bait fish.... Use your fishfinder to locate the baitfish, you will need the depth so you be able to verticlely place your spoon right below the balls of bait fish.... What this replicates is dying shad falling below the bait fish and fish hovering below will grab the spoon.... Very effective technique down south in few lakes, also I've been noticing up North spoons are being used more and more....
[signature]

[Sited]

[quote ryan772]i wanted to know what you guys think about using a spoon. how deep of water? what time of year? can you only use a spoon vertical? and what sizes and weights?
thank you guys[/quote]
[signature]