Spoon Fishing Article

I was reading a new article by a familiar author and a very familiar magazine and ran across this...did any one notice the name of the Sporting Goods store? I found it interesting, in a "did I just read that right" kind of way.

Here is the article..



Here is the name of the Sporting Goods store.



Big Johnson's huh, never heard of that sporting goods store before.

Funny I think.

That's allot of writing to describe spoon fishing, William. Here's my version.


SPOON FISHING
By: Sol_on_the_fuc%ing_Duc

Huck your spoon out into the water and yank hard when something pulls on it.

And if something does pull on it, try not to coil one up in your waders.

In all honesty, spoon fishing is literally idiot proof, which is why I've done so well with it.

Bill and I always try to add some humor and hidden words in our articles. I can promise you that's NOT a mistake.

Bill has quoted Dr. Craven Moorehead, has written about Pip boxes and their similarity to "my hairy sack"

A couple of years ago I did aa small blurb that mentioned an Alaskan river - the Licatwaat.

Gotta have some fun in this life.

Licatwaat

I fished that, even though the waters were flowing nice we got skunked.

Bill is cool. He's just a regular guy who loves to swing a spoon, unfortunatly, in the writting buisness authors are too often scrutinized by the public who assume they are promoting themselves as elite athorities when in fact their true motivation is simply love of the sport.

"unfortunatly, in the writting buisness authors are too often scrutinized by the public who assume they are promoting themselves as elite athorities when in fact their true motivation is simply love of the sport. "

True that...getting a little money on the side by writing about something you love...hard to find fault in that.

Fish on...

Todd

I'd like to see, or read an article by Stam, all half page of it, but I'm sure I'd get the point and enjoy it.

I'm currently working on a spooning piece for Penthouse Letters.

I was hoping you'd bite on a good line Sol, that was good, but I was looking for a comment toward Stam or Todd....something like this....

I am hoping to see or read a MAGAZINE by Todd on pink worm fishing.

Dear Penthouse: I never thought this would happen to me . . .
They pay $75.00 per letter. I did one for them years ago. Had a friend who sold them in bundles of five at a time.

I believe Todd is the diffinative autority on the pink worm since fishing them is even more retarted than spoon fishing. Throw it out and hang on.

All fishing is just "throw it out and hang on"...some techniques just involve a little more attention to the "throw it out" part than other techniques do!

Check SSJ's Winter Steelhead Special in January.

Fish on...

Todd

I'm a pretty good retard then 'cuz I use pink worms a lot more than spoons.

In your case when you use the pink worm you're too far away to spoon!!

When God passed out the pink worms, Richard was standing in front of the line. I was somewhere in the middle, and I can only imagine Vedder was in back.

That's where I met Dave! Thanks Sol. I've been trying to figure that out since Thursday.

Actually, I was first in line at Big Johnson's Sporting Goods store, in the pink worm aisle.

God is a comedian, seriously.

BTW: If there is a God, I'm Jesus Christ, and I ain't savin' NOBODY!

I am envious of those of you who can write well enough for these magazines(Sol,Todd,Vedder,FnP,Robbo,Reiter Rat,& others I don't know of). I am the worst writer ever and its cool you can write about something you like so much and have it published.

Middle fork of the Danni Ashe I presume...

I suffer a "flash flood" everytime I see a picture of that chick. Hottest broad on the face of the earth.

She's all right for sure. This is the only board appropriate pic I have of her.

I'd still have to go with my avatar chick.

You should see her in action. She's bi, but she only does girl/girl on film.

BTW: Neither of these pictures do her justice, you HAVE to see her naked.

AA- I gotta agree, I wouldn't mind going on a spooning trip down the south fork of the elisia cuthbert

Ok, I have just seen her naked and AA and Sol are correct to truly appreciate her you must see her naked.-T

Nekked AND in motion illustrates her hotttttness best.

Sol, would you mind sharing what your favorite spoons are, and in what weights, colors you carry? Also how about gear, rod and line for feb. march fish. Thanks.

I don't get too caught up in the spoon color or finish game like allot of guys. I mostly use chrome or nickel, or occationally half brass and half nickel or chrome. If you are motivated to hit some chick, are you really going to let the fact she is Oriental, Caucasian or European stop you? Doubtfull.

I think my go to spoon under most water conditions is the 2/3 oz. oval PenTac. Spoons in 2/5 are nice to have for spooning shallower tailouts, but I like to know I'm getting down and if I'm being too aggressive I just angle my cast a little more downstream. Occationally, on big, deep, or swifter runs I'll go to 3/4 oz., and on rare occation 1 oz. I like the Gibbs spoons in these heavyier weights.

In BC during September and October when it's not so cold I like to use 30 pound PowerPro. We make long casts and using braid to minimize stretch during hookset has yeilded a higher ratio of landed fish. When it's freezing I just use 20 pound mono. This last trip I used 20 pound Suffix and I think it's the best heavy mono I've used to date. Reels? Levelwind only if you want my opinion. And my favorite spoon rod for the last 10 years has been the GL2 STR1086C, although Lami is now making one I like better. Heavy in the butt and semi-sensitive in the tip with a nice parabolic arc is what I look for in a spoon rod.

Hope this helps.

BTW: I read Bill's spoon article last night. It's worth reading if you're a beginer. I think he just about has that article down to a cut-and-paste version that he reconstructs under a different tittle every year. I bet he's been paid for the same article a half-dozen times now.

I was talking to Zog last nite about his trip to the great white north, didn't get into spoon/color selection but I'm sure he was running his 2/5 to 2/3 oz. PenTac most of the time.

But, as for gear he was using the Lamiglas X10 MHC rated for 10-20 lb. test, screwed his beloved Bantam 201 SG on & loaded it with what must have been a minimal amount 17 lb. Stren hi-vis blue. Gotta get that chap a Bantam 351 so he can put more than 60 yards of line on.

He said he lost a few monsters who freight-trained the bank bound soul, leaving him with empty spool & smoking drag while the boat was gone, so back to the gear bag for more 17 lb. line.......ahhhh poor guy!!

Zog also stated it was his best trip north...EVER.

I'll leave the #'s of fish & the size of them to your imagination....


C/22

Can you say, "Easier than getting laid in a womans prison?"

I looked at his spoon one day. He was chucking a quarter-oz. Copper PenTac glued to a quarter-oz. half brass half nickel Pentac. Apparently he's a fan of women with multi-national bloodlines.

For us spoon newbies you got a photo of a PenTac spoon? Never heard of one.

I'll echo most of Sol's comments...good post...I find the selection of the spoon's finish to be, mostly, an exercise in personal preference of the angler, not the fish. That being said, I'm tossing either silver plated, silver/gold 50/50, or I stack a silver and gold one together. I do all of those with Rvrfshr spoons.

The other spoons, like Sol, that I use are Gibb's...but just the really heavy ones, as I have the lighter weights covered with the Rvrfshrs. Occasionally I'll toss a Ltl Cleo, too...those were my go-to spoons for years.

Depending on the size of the river I'm fishing, I either use a Lamiglass X96JC, a Lamiglass X10MTC, Lamiglass X10MHC, or the new Lamiglass XMG50 120 (10 foot, 8-17, and especially kick ass now that they come with cork handles from the factory).

Line is pretty simple for me...fifteen pound mono in most situations, seventeen or eighteen pound mono in the bigger or more extreme situations. If the water I'm fishing is shallow enough that I'll be fishing with what I would consider a pretty light spoon (1/4 oz to 1/3 oz), then I'll often drop down to 12 pound test...but I don't use those little spoons in the winter very often at all.

I also like to use a fairly visible monofilament line so that I can monitor the "pulse" in the "bow" in the line...I fished for two days with a guy from the board a couple of weeks ago who saw first hand what using a slack line approach with visible line can do for ya...six fish to one fishing the same water...you never feel the hit, you just see it in the line.

I do not like the action that braid gives spoons, so I don't use it for spoon fishing, and I don't have a problem getting the hook set even when I'm fishing huge rivers like the Thompson or Skagit, though I'll admit I've been known to set the hook while running backwards fifteen feet just to make sure! The thickness of the heavy mono allows the spoon to flutter around rather than swing on a tight line...more important for winter runs who like to see the lure fall in their face, less important for summer runs who will come up six feet and chase it twenty feet across the river.

I also agree that levelwinds are the only way to go...besides the accuracy in casting they allow, you can also wing 'em across the run without twenty feet of parabolic slack line ending up in the air, and allowing your $4 or $5 lure to nestle right into the rocks. Also, in deeper water, you can let 'em swing with the bail disengaged and feed it line as it goes, slowing the swing and allowing the spoon to get even deeper in the slot.

A lot of the above doesn't apply when talking about fishing for little summer runs around here...which I mainly use spinners for, anyway.

Like Tim said above, it ain't rocket science...but he was being a bit facetious about "huck it out and wait for something to yank on it!"...it does require a bit of an experienced feel, but once you get it and start hooking fish, it becomes second nature pretty quickly.

Go hear one of Bill's seminar talks about it...the information is even easier to understand than in his articles.

Fish on...

Todd

Here ya go.

BTW: I wish rvrfsr would die-cut 2/3 oz. spoons. Why not, Joe?

Great post Todd... but I'm wondering what you mean by "monitoring the 'pulse' in the 'bow'?" As a relitively new addict to spoon fishing I'm intrigued by this theory. Up untill now I've tried to maintain direct contact with the spoon and kept as little line 'bow' as possible. I guess I didn't figure it mattered much as long as the spoon was throbbing and swinging in the bottom foot or so of water. I have been seeing some success on salmon and trout with the 3/8oz. rvrfshr but have yet to sore-lip a steelie with a spoon. ~josh

What do you put on them for a ring and hooK?

I'll give it a go.... I like to hold my rod tip about chest high while my spoon is working downsteam, if you doing it right the line will have a "bow" or bit of slack dropping from the tip to water.... & slack line & rod tip SHOULD be pumping or "pluse".
Thump, thump, thump is what your looking for. You need to place yourself in the right spot streamside as the spoon is only going to work correctly across & downstream from you. Your going to want to get it to pass thru the holding water your looking @ downstream... that will = a fish, in a perfect world.

Hard-core spooners love reels with a direct-drive switch, if you have one you know how they work. For you others keep the reel in free spool with your thumb fast to the spool. This will allow you to FEED line to the spoon as it works downstream, you can feel when the spoon WANTS to go. Let it, a bit at a time. This will kill the LIFT that your going to want to stay away from, as it will pull your spoon up & away from the strike zone. When you get bit, hang on, clamp down on that spool & fight it out, sooner of later you will need to click over the reel handle to fire-up your drag.

Clear as mud??

For you new spooners do yourself a big favor & pick up 1 Gibbs Ironhead spoon, its a big oval spoon that weighs in @ 1/2 oz. even though the package sez 3/4 oz. Fish it thru a run with water moving @ a brisk walking speed & about 4-6' of depth.

That spoon WILL tell you if your doing it right, right now. Huge thumps...

C/22

"I wish rvrfsr would die-cut 2/3 oz. spoons."

Me, too...

C/22 covered it pretty good...picture this:

River is going left to right, good spoon water is slightly across and below you. Toss yer crap out and downstream anywhere from 20 to 45 degrees...even steeper down, if that's what it takes to hit the right water.

Do what it takes to get the spoon to the right depth...be it feed it bunch of line, mend the crap out of it, or just let it swing...whatever it takes.

Once it's in the "zone", the current either activates the spoon all by itself, meaning the spoon starts to wobble, or I activate it by either lifting the rod tip or reeling in a crank or three.

As the wobbling spoon is swinging across the current, the fairly thick mono line is being pushed by the current and a slight bow will develop in the line between the rod tip and the lure...the lure will not be facing directly upstream, but will be poining slightly towards you, following the bow in the line.

The throb of the spoon will be transmitted up the line to the rod, and you can see it in the rod tip and in the "bow" in the line...for light hits (they do happen), or intentional slack line fishing (like I was doing last week to get some sluggish fish to bite), you may not "feel" the hit in the rod, but will first see it in the bow...it might twitch, hop, or just stop throbbing when you know it is not sitting on the bottom.

That's the reason why I don't like to use braid...it's lack of stretch and thin diameter make it hard, if not impossible, to fish that way.

Fish on...

Todd

Thanks to both c/22 and Todd on the explanations, I can see now exactly what you're talking about.

So, there are basicly two schools of thought on the presentation of a spoon... both require the spoon to be working near the bottom and swung 'down & across' the holding water:

The braided line junkies like to keep full contact with the spoon by minimizing line diameter/stretch... and thus orient the spoon almost parallel with the current as it swings through the holding water. Advantage: quicker hook-sets and maybe a bit more ability to detect a bite for the novice spooner?

The heavy mono guys use the stretch and drag to swing the spoon through the same water in a line more perpandicular to the flow. Advantage: seems a little more versitile way to fish, may not be as aggressive a presentation to the fish, but it seems like it takes a bit more practice to master?

I currently belong to the braided line sect, but I must admit I prefer to fish using mono so I'm anxious to give the 'pulse-bow' method a try. Thanks again Sol, Todd and C/22! ~josh

Don't forget that Herzog will be at Three Rivers teaching a how-to on spoon fishing on Dec 7th at 5:00 P.M. He will be giving away one of his spoon rods as well. Oh yeah, it's free and they have lots of other free stuff!

Air/water temps when fishing will play into line selection too. Note that Sol fished a braided line this fall when it was warmer, then switched to mono later during the same fall when the air/water temps dropped, also Zog stated the water temps were running 37 degrees during his 2 weeks on river. He fished mono, as did Sol & I'm sure Nick too.

IMHO, its MONO only when its gets cold. Braid will lead you into a frozen "charlie-foxtrot" mess.

C/22

Braid floats, but I don't think it's a factor with spoons. One reason I switched to 20lb braid for spinners is to get down quick and it does this well. The floatation is offset by how skinny braided line is.

Canada is like America's hat, and I can't wait to wear it again next fall.

"Don't forget that Herzog will be at Three Rivers teaching a how-to on spoon fishing on Dec 7th at 5:00 P.M. He will be giving away one of his spoon rods as well. Oh yeah, it's free and they have lots of other free stuff!"

Rumor has it that there will be some dude there talking about floats and such, and some other good lookin' fella handin' out free hammered 50/50 spoons

Fish on...

Todd

I fished braid for the first time this year. I have to say, the strikes are electric, and you feel every twitch. When you hook a fish, it's there immediately. That being said, I felt like I lost some of the action and the ability to control the speed of the swing. I'm going to switch back to mono. I like the feel of fishing with rubber band better

I've fished spoons for last 7-8 years and have experienced most of what has been said above. I use yelow 20# power pro with 15# flourocarbon-Pen-Tac gold-1/2 and !/2- or copper in 2/3 for heavy and 2/5 oz for lighter water. Whatever it takes to get it to the bottom-but not banging. It is a fine line between being in the penthouse and the shiat house! On the rivers I fish, if you aren't loseing gear-you probably aren't in the penthouse. The one thing I haven't heard said-is that the take will be very suttle-it feels like a leaf-when the wobble stops-set the hook. I released 13 Kings in Oct-2over 20-1 over 30- and 1 over 40- all chrome, all in the mouth, and all after a very soft take. I too would like to see RVR FSHR make a 2/3 oz spoon.

I've fished spoons for last 7-8 years and have experienced most of what has been said above. I use yelow 20# power pro with 15# flourocarbon-Pen-Tac gold-1/2 and !/2- or copper in 2/3 for heavy and 2/5 oz for lighter water. Whatever it takes to get it to the bottom-but not banging. It is a fine line between being in the penthouse and the shiat house! On the rivers I fish, if you aren't loseing gear-you probably aren't in the penthouse. The one thing I haven't heard said-is that the take will be very suttle-it feels like a leaf-when the wobble stops-set the hook. I released 13 Kings in Oct-2over 20-1 over 30- and 1 over 40- all chrome, all in the mouth, and all after a very soft take. I too would like to see RVR FSHR make a 2/3 oz spoon.

Thanks Todd and Sol, and those asking the questions for turning this goofy thread into an excellent informative read. Just kicked on the computer, started reading this and can't believe it went from those chicks pics getting posted to this, this is some good stuff.

I'm thinking something along the lines of, "wait, should I be writing all of this down"... Blue flowers.

I like you, Joe, mostly because I never understand a damn thing you say.

That's my boy...good call, Joe.

I'm not sure what's worse; that he writes stuff like that, or that I actually understand it when he does?

Fish on...

Todd