Spoons for Game Fish
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools
Inc.
Spoons have been around for more than 50 years and beginning as well
as experienced
anglers
learned
to catch
almost
all game fish on these deadly baits. With a wide variety of sizes, shapes
and colors, spoons should be an important addition to any tackle box.
And these little wonder baits can catch almost any fresh water and many
species
of salt water fish.
The spoon was used during the depression as a simple
replacement lure. Many anglers could not afford any other baits and there
were usually a lot of old spoons in the kitchen. The kitchen spoon was
the first time this lure was used.
Anglers are a curious breed finding
lots of ways to make something out of nothing. And the spoon is one of
the best examples of the industrious nature. Pulling out an old kitchen
spoon his mother figure may not miss, the anglers would simply drill
a hole in both ends of the spoon. By adding an old hook to the fat end
and
a split ring to the narrow end, the anglers learned that this simple
device would catch fish. The natural curve in any kitchen spoon reveals
a wobble
in the water that looks like a shad to game fish. A slow retrieve will
work best for this lure.
Spoons have come a long way in development over
the years. With materials in these lures from leads to plastics, spoons
can be adapted to almost any fresh and salt water applications. And colors
and as infinite as the anglers imagination.
Spoons can be used all year,
a fact that a lot of anglers overlook. Several years ago, the vertical
jigging technique in the dead of winter caught tons of deep water bass,
stripers and even crappie. But the spoon is not just a winter bait.
One
of the world’s best anglers, nine time B.A.S.S. angler of the year
Roland Martin of Clewiston Florida, lives and guides year round in
central Florida.
Martin uses the Johnson Silver Minnow, a popular spoon used world
wide, to catch fish in the dead of summer.
Spoons for freshwater fishermen
can be used all year to catch almost any fresh water specie. From small
mountain
streams catching trout to lakes catching muskie, the spoon is a simple
and deadly bait.
