How To Work A Spoon

[MCTFisher9120]

Might seem kinda funny but i have never used a spoon before. Looking at pictures of Pike (Ontario Angler Awards site) from GBay the lure many were caught on were different spons so when i head up there in late May I'm going to be sure to bring up a few with me. How should i fish these? The cottage I'm going to is in a lagoon type thing and then it opens up into a larger bay and from there the big GBay. Pike will be my target and well how should i fish these spoons?

 

My guess was to cast it out, let fall for a few seconds then reel straight in

Edited April 12, 2009 by Mike The Bass Fisher

[Drew_10]

Eppinger Daredevils, any colour. Cast and retrieve.

[tinbanger]

My fav pike lure.

Straight retrive ,vary speed .try different things see what works.

Try keeping just above the weeds , let it fall into any holes .

Seen guys switch out the treble hooks and replace with a single ( more weedless)

 

Williams wabbler (red/white)

Cyclops

two of my fav's

 

TB

[pike slayer]

just cast it out and do a medium retrieve in. if you get alot of pike go after it but not bite reel in slower, if they are agressive then do a fast retrieve in and they will hammer the spoon!

[tinbanger]

oh yeah and one more thing

 

 

hang on !!!!!!

 

tb

[Ramble]

vary the speed to optimize the action of the spoon some are more suited to faster retrieves and others to a slower retrieve. If you stick on a single push a twister tail onto it. Makes a big difference in teh success rate i find. It's hard to beat a silver/white combo or a gold and orange. The williams trouphy spoon is good if you ar looking for a dirt-slow retrieve. The wabbler is next best for a slow retrieve. If the fish are slow let the sponn hit bottom and then bring it in, keeping the spoon in last 2 feet of water. I've also had succes stopping the spoon, letting it hit bottom and starting the retrieve up again.

 

Also i'd have to say bring some blue fox spinners (#4 #5 or #6) and a couple hollow body swim baits. If you can't find a pike with either of those and the spoons, then your case is hopeless lololol.

 

The bluefoxes are a dream with the single hooks. Again add a twister tail. They become pretty weedless which is another huge blessing.

 

Try the Williams whitefish spoon as well. Pike love them.

 

-Dave

[steverowbotham]

Late May, the water should be into the 60's and the pike should be pretty aggressive. I would cast and retrieve, vary the speeds until you find one that works... once in a while, sweep the spoon and let it flutter down for a couple seconds before you continue your retrieve.

[OhioFisherman]

Mike, if you look at the spoon before you buy them (many brands and styles) a wider thin spoon will run shallower on a retrieve than a thick narrow one. A standard dardevle is what I would call a normal thickness and width spoon. Lots of variations from there, dardevle also made some narrow ones.

 

I have caught pike on a variety of them, a slower retrieve will let them run deeper. Some real thin ones are intended for downrigger use and I have seen people take the back treble off some deep running crankbaits, tie a leader on the eye and a spoon and troll them.

 

Johnson silver minnow is a good one for snaking thru weedbeds, lilies. Caught some pike on little cleo`s, what is considered a steelhead lure here.

 

Kind of like and other lure mix up the retrieve a bit and see what is working best, fast or slow, shallow or deeper.

 

A hook like a Mr.Twister keeper hook or Mustad makes a similar one also can be used to replace the rear treble and makes for easy weedless attachment of grub or similar soft plastic.

[solopaddler]

Standard spoons already mentioned like Dardevels, Silver Minnows, Cyclops and Len Thompsons are great and I use them all at times.....

 

But.... my ace in the hole is using salmon spoons with the treble switched out to a large siwash.

The colour selections are amazing and most importantly they're light.

You'll need a stiff spinning rod spooled with braid to throw them any distance, baitcasters won't cut it.

Unlike standard spoons you can twitch and pause these babies slowly over the weed tops then flutter them down into the pockets.

You can do things with these spoons that are impossible to achieve with standard spoons.

Pike love 'em.

[kickingfrog]

Another "vote" here for the larger single hook on the spoon with a twister tail trailer. Adds action, adds bulk, slows sink rate, less weeds, better hooking and un-hooking of the fish. As has been mentioned, I do the same with most of my pike spinners as well.

[Leecher]

Another spoon you can throw is the 5 of diamonds.... cast out and retrieve.... vary the speed like mentioned and sometimes twitch your rod stop and go type. One of the best lures for pike is the spinnerbait.... I like the white and the chartreuse color.

 

Let us know the results

 

Hope this helps

Leechman

[cram]

I often give them pulls (like a jig) and let them flutter down.....more effective than a straight retrieve, IMO.

 

btw - if its colored water use gold instead of silver. White twister tail on a gold spoon is fantastic, especially if walleye or rock bass are a forage species.

Edited April 7, 2009 by cram

[digitalkreation]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but could someone please explain how to use a twister tail and a spoon together? I know all about twister tails and spoons on their own, just looking for into on using them together.. Google produced no results on this.

[cram]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but could someone please explain how to use a twister tail and a spoon together? I know all about twister tails and spoons on their own, just looking for into on using them together.. Google produced no results on this.

 

If you switch out the treble hook for a single, you work the twister onto the single hook.

[solopaddler]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but could someone please explain how to use a twister tail and a spoon together? I know all about twister tails and spoons on their own, just looking for into on using them together.. Google produced no results on this.

 

I always tip the Johnson Silver Minnows with a 3 or 4 inch twister. They've got a large single hook welded to the inside of the spoon.

I'll sometimes tip my other spoons that are rigged with a large single siwash.

You just thread them on the hook just like a jig head.

The 4" tails are nice, they're a bit fatter but usually you've got to bite off a chunk and shorten them a bit to fit on the hook properly.

Not only do the tails add action but the extra lightweight bulk causes the spoons to flutter down even slower than normal...

[kickingfrog]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but could someone please explain how to use a twister tail and a spoon together? I know all about twister tails and spoons on their own, just looking for into on using them together.. Google produced no results on this.

 

Here is a spinner, works the same for spoons. You can rig it like a texas worm to make it weedless.

 

[Maverick]

I'll second the 5 of Diamonds but make sure you get a Len Thompson, they cost a bit more but they produce way better then the lookalikes. I think it has to do with the fact they have a gold back whereas the others have silver. Both the red and yellow and black and yellow work well but if I had to choose 1 to go with it would be the red and yellow in the 2 3/4 inch size.

[tinbanger]

But.... my ace in the hole is using salmon spoons with the treble switched out to a large siwash.

 

Had my brotehr in law and nephew out last spring and gave him what I think was a salmon spoon to use ( he was tough on my tackle)

He caught 3 pike in 20 minutes and had as many follows.

May have to add a couple to the box!

 

TB

[BigSmallie]

I picked up a couple of these viper spoons for my up coming Pike Tournament.

Similar to the Spoon and twister but you can add any plastic to it.

[NAC]

I always tip the Johnson Silver Minnows with a 3 or 4 inch twister.

 

my personal favorite for casting over top of weeds... very effective.

 

 

I haven't tried the using salmon spoons w/ siwash, but it sounds like a winner. Especially since I have about a 100 of them in defunct colours. Can definitely see how the thinner, lighter spoons will help slow the drop and create more flutter.

Looks like a I now have a hobby before Pike opens.

Edited April 7, 2009 by nomad

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.usangler.com/product.cfm?model=...&type=Hooks

 

I have used these, makes it easy to be weedless. Like mentioned earlier Mustad also makes a similar hook now , 4/0-5/0 for pike don`t know if you can get them bigger. Some of the in-line spinners don`t have a split ring, I just cut the hook off and put one on.

[tinbanger]

I'll second the 5 of Diamonds but make sure you get a Len Thompson, they cost a bit more but they produce way better then the lookalikes. I think it has to do with the fact they have a gold back whereas the others have silver. Both the red and yellow and black and yellow work well but if I had to choose 1 to go with it would be the red and yellow in the 2 3/4 inch size.

 

Was in my local tackle shop this morning and picked up what he had left ( one 2 3/4 and one 4") of the len thompson 5 of diamonds

Couldn't pass them up for the price

can't have too many !

 

Good deal on HH floatsuits too ($199) if anyone is looking.

 

TB

[MCTFisher9120]

First off let me say thanks a lot to all of the great info and sugestions of different lures to use for pike! So i got 3 spoons now. I'm going to be getting a spoon or spinner each weekend until i go so i have a good selection of baits to use. As for hard baits i got lots of HJ's, origional jointed and regular floater rapalas, x-raps etc.

The yellow spoon is a Len Thompson with a Gold backing on it and the red and white is made by Danielson(could not find other brand)as well as the silver/blue Willams spoon...just to let ya know

 

 

Also, should i be using a leader or a snap with these spinners/spoons?

Edited April 19, 2009 by Mike The Bass Fisher

[MCTFisher9120]

I'll second the 5 of Diamonds but make sure you get a Len Thompson, they cost a bit more but they produce way better then the lookalikes. I think it has to do with the fact they have a gold back whereas the others have silver. Both the red and yellow and black and yellow work well but if I had to choose 1 to go with it would be the red and yellow in the 2 3/4 inch size.

 

That 5 of dimonds Len Thomspson that i bought was only 4 bucks at CT, guess it was a good deal eh.

[gone_fishin]

a leader when fishing for pike is always a good idea... a good sized pike (anything over 5 pounds) can and sometimes will take the entire spoon in it's mouth...