It’s almost that time folks. It’s almost here.
Spoon time!
If by now you don’t know that fishing a spoon is a favorite tactic of mine, you might live under a rock. I don’t think I’ve written more about any other tactic or technique.
A few years ago, spoon fishing became an obsession with me and one that caused a lot of frustration before meeting my buddy, Jimmy. Since then, my success rate has soared, and my enjoyment of the spoon technique is even more now than before.
New changes are in store for the 2022-‘23 season. The biggest change I am making is in my personal spoon rod.
I have gone to a BassX rod by St. Croix that is 6-foot-6 with medium-heavy action. It does have some flex but it’s admittedly stiff. I love the butt section of this rod because it’s kind of short and doesn’t get in the way of my BBQ gut.
I truly prefer casting rods here. I do have spinning rods set up now for spooning, just in case a customer wants to use one or is too timid for a bait caster. But in all honesty, the feel, the reaction time, and the fish-ability of the bait caster offer a big advantage.
I’m still using a 20-pound fluorocarbon line (I prefer SunLine FC Sniper), and I make sure every spoon I use has good swivels on it.
Line twist is insane with this technique. To me, the stiffness of this line helps to keep the spoons from getting tangled in the line. Plus, if I hook a big striper or hybrid I’ve got the rod, reel, and line to boat it, but I can still enjoy small white bass and hybrids on this setup.
Spoons: I’m trying two new spoons this year.
The first is called Erratic Shiner by LiveTarget. It’s a radically bent spoon and therefore has a ton of action with it.
The next spoon new to my box is the Strike King Ledge Spoon. This is a heavy chunk of lead, folks.
You need a medium-heavy to heavy rod to handle it. For me, this is a deeper- presentation spoon. It’s an ounce in weight so it’s going to get to the bottom quick! Toward the end of last winter, I was catching some fish deeper than average for Oconee, so I am hoping to experiment with these heavier spoons to see how they might impact my success.
On a recent trip to Florida, I was talking with one of my father’s friends about spoon fishing. He’s a fanatic about it, too.
We have really different approaches, but in the end it came down to this technique really works!
He is much more aggressive year-round with his spoon actions than I am. The colder it gets, the less I will hop a spoon; he never changes really. I never really cast spoons; he will in a heartbeat. To me, once it goes to casting I would rather toss a tail spinner or blade bait; he uses spinning gear. Me, just bait casters for this!
Just remember this: the only truly wrong way is to never fish a spoon! So, get out there and try them.
jameskpressley@gmail.com