Spoons

[steelhead24]

CAN anyone tell how when and where to use spoons I would greatly appreciate any information on the subject.

[Terrapin]

Hi Sal,

Do yourself a favor and go to the bookstore and get a copy of Bill Herzogs book Spoon Fishing for Steelhead.  Great read with enough info to get you started out on the rivers.  Then look up Rvrfshr.com (site sponsor) and order a few spoons from Joe in 2/5 ounce for starters.  I like the Black chrome ones but your mileage may vary.  Then go out and get some TOW with your new knowledge!  I think this is one of those aspects of our sport that takes a little time.  I have had some success on spoons but it took a little time to get it and I am not catching as much fish as I'd like to.  I enjoy fishing them and I think you will too.  It reminds me a little of flyfishing.  Have fun.

Terrapin 

PS:  You can do a site search as well and lots of great info will come up as well.

[thesteelheadkid]

Yea, what he said.....

[dardevle]

To be simple, you can use spoons anywhere, just need to learn to use them properly.  The best way to learn is to use nothing but them for a period of time and force yourself to fish everything well.  Sure some water fishes better than others but after talking to the reknowned expert and having him tell me he uses very little other than the 2/5 oval style, I concluded and he suggested, it's a matter of learning to get the lure to work in all situations and that is half the fun.  There are easier methods and possibly more consistent methods for the masses but I find it fun to challenge myself.  Spoons are more versatile in my opinion than spinners, but I carry both and will change to a spinner in some water types.  But really, I can fish any water with spoons as long as the clarity is favorable for a visual type lure.

[OPfisher]

dang Terp. you sound like a teacher....
and speaking of spoons, give me a jingle if you get a chance, we should toss a game plan up, I got 9days left

[Terrapin]

Will do OPF...  I'll call tomorrow night as Moose and I are wrapping our new rods tonight.  Its getting close and looking good!

Terrapin

[steelhead24]

Thank oyu  guys for your information i will try this out and i will look in local stores for that book.

 Thanks again sal

[Dragfreedrift]

Great question.  Did you know that '"spoon water"= steelhead water? What I mean by that is water that is moving at the perfect walking pace is ideal for swinging a spoon and ironically perfect for a holding steelhead.

Now is the time for spoons, you have aggressive fish in the rivers and warmer water temps.  I have landed my best steelies ever on spoons and would have to say they work great for the big ones!

Best tip:  Read Zogs book.

2nd best tip: position yourself at the top of the run and fish your spoon like a fly fisherman would approach the run....make a couple casts, then step, cast, step, etc.

Make sure you let the spoon flutter all the way to the shore below you....often big fish will follow the spoon across a tailout and hammer it in the shallows.

Good luck, not many guys put in the time to learn how to fish spoons correctly.  One can be fishing with spoons in a few minutes, but it's far more difficult to get to the point where you can really fish them w/ confidence.  Keep trying!

An add'l tip is to help you w/ the right feel in the rod tip that lets you know the spoon is working right.  Do this: Stand in water thats moving approx walking pace.  Dangle the spoon 4-5 ft. from your rod tip in the water and observe the action.  You want a side-to-side wobble, not a spiral motion.  Its the wiggle that attracts the biters!  Now, cast in close a few times where you can watch the action as you let it swing.  Memorize the feel of the rod tip as the spoon hits that perfect wobble.  Once, you have that memorized, you simply duplicate that feeling wherever you go. 

Get the spoon w/ in 1 ft of the bottom, not banging the rocks all the time.


Do not be intimidated by all the bobber & jiggers out there when you approach the river, they leave some fish behind that will never take a jig.  Use the spoon right behind these guys and prepare to get bit!


DFD

[Andrew]

Cool post, DFD.

I have struggled a little with spoons in my first season throwing them almost exclusively. I've browsed Herzog's book, but time on the water is obviously the only way to really learn. I've hooked some good numbers of fish all things considered, but I still have some moments or entire runs through which my confidence takes a nose dive and I'm tempted to reattach a spinner to get the more familiar/consistent tension on the swing. I'll lose touch with the spoon, or get too much belly, or screw up a mend and get way too much lift... The spoon requires more concentration than the spinner, for sure.

That said, I love working the spoon downstream while I still favor most other presentations worked upstream, and spoons seem to provide a totally novel challenge to the fish (especially the bucks, it would seem) such that it's pretty easy to pick up a fish on a spoon in water that's been worked over with something else (by a partner or anybody else).

I've tried a few different spoons, and I really like  r v r f s h r ' s, in large part due to the finishes. The 2/5 silver has found fish for me under heavy tea-stain, green-stain, and glacial-stain conditions, and 2/5 gold has proven an excellent choice for clear conditions.

I'm taking several trips in the near future which will see a lot of spoon tossing. How they go will probably determine my prospects for switching over to spoons this summer in an effort to alleviate spinner mortality (I'll probably make the switch anyway). I just hope I can get all I want out of spoons before I quit fishing. 

Andrew

[rvrfshr]

As long as you can hit a target the size of a mess hall tray with the levelwind you should be money AD ! Silver works in the stained water and gold in the clear huh ? This gives me an idea on a basis for selection... (insert one of those round yellow head guys here, preferably rolly teeth or lightbulb/idea blinker.)

[Fast- eddy]

So, let's see if I have this right. If you use Silver on stained water and gold on clear water,what are the 50/50's for? They must be for where two rivers come together.One running clear and one running stained...

DFD,Very nice summary and tutorial on how to drift/swing a spoon.I just finished reading Herzog's book on spoon fishing and you summarized it well. Sounds like you have fished spoons a time or two.

[Brian]

Make sure you let the spoon flutter all the way to the shore below you....often big fish will follow the spoon across a tailout and hammer it in the shallows

How true DFD!

I've tried a few different spoons, and I really like  r v r f s h r ' s, in large part due to the finishes.

...and the fact the Joe set the poor college kid up with a years supply as payment for using your photo in one of his ads!

[Andrew]

Hey Brian,

 I guess I should also set the record straight... there have actually been about 5 AD-caught or -photographed fish appearing in  r v r a d s  since the campaign was launched last spring. I heard something about a "dual slab twinkler" in the next issue, but it's just a rumor at this point. I just hope the next ad isn't lacking a call to action like the last one was.

Lots of spoons will work... BC, Cleo, -Tac, -Lee, Koho, Kroc, Kast, whatever... but the consensus I've heard (and, in my limited experience, what I have come to believe) is that Joe's work just as well or better, and for less money. Combine that with the next-day service and local company headquarters, not to mention "good" lure tapes, and, well, the choice is obvious.

I could plug for days on end, but I'm due on a river bank in a few hours. Because no matter poor I get, there's always Spring Break.

Andrew

[steelhead24]

that is ture how ture indeed but why wait tilll spring break jsut be liek me and go every day after school and sports practice. heck it is about 5 when i hit the river every day after school and tract practice. sure the river isn't in great shape but as long as i can walk i will FISH!!!

[parker]

...and the fact the Joe set the poor college kid up with a years supply as payment for using your photo in one of his ads!

Ah man, all I got out of joe was a dozen 50/50's for his latest add in STS.  I gotta take a better photo!

Just kidding Joe.  Don't you dare send me anything.  You have already been way too kind to me!