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Never done much on spoons, but from my understanding on slow bite days a spoon will coax speckles to bite from reaction, this is a method I use occasionally on slow days with small baits on an 1/8 oz Jighead, however I am looking to learn where and when I should be reaching for a spoon, what kind/size and what do I need to be doing? Again I'd rather have opinions from those who do well with spoons.
Fall is a good time for spoon,but you can catch them anytime of year if the fish is a little deep,10 or more ft,in fall i move it fast but most of winter i move it slow,for bass in winter i would pop it up as fast as i could then follow it down,a reaction bite is great but don't forget the couristy strike from just keeping it in front of the fish with little to no movement.i caught crappie on spoon when no one i knew or in books were catching crappie in winter,this was in the 60,they were just starting to say a little about bass on spoon in some areas so i took a 3/4 spoon and caught many bass in winter when back then ,they did not fish in winter but i heard they caught them thru ice so i tried it on bass and caught a few crappies so i decided to try 1/2 and 1/4 spoon for crappies and caught them when i had to break ice or find a ramp on main lake,was catching them one cold day when wind push big ice push me away from spot.would catch them with spoon and throw them at live well and miss it and they would stick to the fiberglass and have to pull them off, stuck to the side,been when my 150 mer and 18 ft bass boat back in lake and it was froze to trailer and had to wait for the trailer to thaw and then it would drop to bottom,trailer was floating, i love it like that but can't handle it too much now,but still go when it not too bad
Gene, That has to be one of the best responses I have ever read on this forum. Your history and combined skill has me awe struck. I look forward to all your information that you generously share with all those lucky enough to be a part of your experiences on and off the water. FB
Good question! I have used them since grade school and I am going to turn 41 in March. Now my Dad fishes for Yellow Perch year round and uses kastmasters year round. He lives up on Lake Ontario and when a pike or bowfin steals one I hear about it lol. Here is what I have found since moving down south. For Crappie I have just as good of luck using plastics. For Perch, maybe its just homesickness, but I like to have a couple spoons out. That being said, The big perch I have caught have come on the smaller spoons tipped with a minnow. This has been while fishing minnow only and jig a s well as spoons. Slow spider rig works good. I will for sure use them at that bash :)
I hope this helps!
What kind of spoons do you guys prefer?CF
Back in the days I would fish 1/2 oz hopkins spoons jigging off the bottom in lake whitehurst for walleye. I would tie a 12" drop on the spoon and add a 1/32 jig and on this I would catch crappie. Most fish came on the small jig. This was my winter method.
CF,I MOSTLY USE A 1/4 ONCE HOPKING STYLE,YOU CAN GET THEM FROM JANNS WITHOUT HOOKS AND O RING FOR ABOUT 5 FOR 6 BUCKS.WITH ALL THE GREAT BAITS OUT THERE I ONLY USE THEM OCCASIONLY,JUST HAVE THEM THERE TO TRY NOW AND THEN,I USE THEM LAST FALL SOME WITH GOOD RESULTS WHEN I WAS ABLE TO FISH,THEY ARE GOOD AT REACTION BAIT BUT USUALLY AFTER A FEW HIT THEN WOULD HAVE TO GO TO MY GO TO BAIT,WHITE STINGER JIG,UNTILL I GO TO ANOTHER SPOT,BUT AS ALREADY SAID MAY BITE IT ANY DAY ,JUST TRY THEM WHEN YOU ARD IN A GOOD SPOT AND SEE,AFTER VISHING OVER TOP OF BRUSH I WILL PUT IT IN BRUSH,IF HANG GET STRAIGHT OVER IT AND JIGGEL IT WITH SIMI SLACK LINE,BUT ALWAYS WHILE JIGGING IT KEEP BOAT STILL SO BAIT WILL BE STRAIGHT DOWN,SOME USE KASTMASTERS BUT IF I AM JIGGING FAST POPS I DON'T LIKE IT ,ONLY WIYH SLOW MOVEMENT WOULD I USE KASTMASTER,BUT I AM SURE SOME WILL COME IN AND TELL ME THEY HAVE GOOD SUCESS POPING IT,SO EXPERIENCE WITH IT,ALL BAITS ON A GIVEN DAY IS BETTER THAN THE NORMAL WAY, IF THERE IS A NORMAL WAY:biggrin
I wonder if those spoons that I use on shad in the spring would produce in the winter for crappie? I've got gold and silver colors and they are about the size of a small minnow. I've tried a variety of lures over the years, jigs, blade baits (silver buddies, and other types), spinners and small crank baits. But I've never tried a spoon. I've found over the years that the fish in the chick prefer smaller baits. One of the smallest lures that has suprised me was a trout magnet (gold head/pink body). What type/name spoons are preferred specifically for crappie, concave style like a daredevil or the jigging type like a hopkins? I'm willing to try but nothing beats minnows for me.
1.To be clear I use what is referred to as blade bait, vibrating lure, or silver buddy. All basically the same style.
2. These are good baits for cool to cold water, Nov-early March seems to be the best times.
3. The downside is the abnormal fondness these baits show for debris on the bottom.
4. Now the upside, when fish are deep these baits allow you to hug the bottom. They also can allow you to cover a lot of water.
5. They produce a mixed bag. In the Suffolk Lakes they are great for YP, White Perch, and pretty good for deep Crappies. They also will produce most anything (even channel cats)
6. These are terrific baits for the Nottoway. Here they produce Smallmouth, Roanoke Bass, the previously mentioned species, and are a great bait for grinnel( so tasty)
I use a lot of different spoons for different applications. Prolly use the Hopkins style the most. Cotton Cordell makes a CC spoon that is cheaper than the original Hopkins. SideWinder is also good at times. I've seen days when a spoon would out fish a jig 5 to 1. I've caught crappie at Buggs as deep as 68 ft, on the bottom, on a 3/4 oz Hopkins. That was in the winter from a mixed school of whiteperch, small stripers, cats ,bass, an crappie. On brush, I've done the best in late fall/early winter with 1/4 oz Hopkins style spoons. War Eagle makes a good white an a chartruese spoon that works better than the usual silver on cloudy days or dingy water. I use spoons a lot around individual stumps that traditionally hold larger crappie. I've caught up to 11 different species on a spoon in the same day before. I like a stiffer mono, 10-15 lb test and a med- med heavy action 6' rod to snap spoons, and thats how I usually fish it with a SNAP! then follow it back down. I put split rings an a swivel on all my spoons and done well this past yr changin the hooks to red Gamagatsus. Sting Silvers, Mann-O -Lures, Dixie Jet also make good spoons.