By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan
Spoon-fed.
That’s a term often applied to those who have it easy. Well, largemouth bass anglers rarely have it easy, but the fall feed-up comes pretty close. There are many ways to enjoy such spoon-fed opportunity, but one of the best is the namesake of our little analogy – the spoon.
Reason: It resembles the bighead’s primary forage – shad. Whether you’re trying to match the 3- to 4-inch threadfins or the hefty, googly-eyed gizzard shad, a spoon matches the profile, the look and – with proper presentations – the moves of this mealtime mainstay.
“If you had to pick one bait to fish year-round, the spoon would be the one you’d have to choose,” said Texas angler Stephen Johnston. “You can fish it in shallow water, at mid-ranges and deep in the cold of winter.
“Anywhere you go in the South, the main forage for bass is shad and that spoon represents a shad. It can be a regular Johnson spoon that you throw out there and wind, a vertical spoon like a Cotton Cordell CC spoon, or a flutter spoon that you fish in the mid-range.”
Louisiana's Glenn Freeman adds this: “One of the most overlooked (benefits of) the spoon is its ability to catch the smaller fish which bass feed on. Any fish will hit the spoon – especially a small spoon. The smaller spoons (like the 1/4-ounce CC Spoon) will catch crappie, bream and yellow bass, all of which are big-bass favorites. If we find them, we find the bass.”
Techniques
Favoring a Cotton Cordell CC Spoon in the 1/4- to 3/8-ounce sizes and the Strike King Sexy Spoon in the 4- and 5-inch models, Freeman sticks with the chrome patterns. He might mix up the colors during a tough bite, but starting with a flash that looks like darting baitfish is always a good bet – particularly in the fall.
“Techniques vary from jigging straight up and down to cast-and-retrieve.” Freeman said. “Most of the time we have to let the fish tell us which way they want it.
“When we can see the bass on our electronics, then it's time to drop the spoon directly under the boat to whatever depth they are located. A sharp jerk up and then a free fall to give it a fluttering action can be deadly. Casting to a structure area using the same technique will also be very effective.”
No doubt, a spoon’s fluttering action makes a killer presentation, but Freeman puts a ton of faith in vertical jigging under the boat.
“A sharp jerk up and then a sharp drop on the rod tip will do the trick,” Freeman said. “When casting, I let the spoon drop to the desired depth, I give the reel four or five quick turns and then I let it flutter down.”
Slip it In
“When the shad start schooling in the backs of coves in preparation for their fall/winter patterns, there are large, large balls of shad moving through these areas,” said veteran Missouri guide Tom Murphy. “On sunny days they like to get underneath those docks.
Missouri guide Tom Murphy focuses a lot of attention on docks on sunny fall days because they can hold enormous concentrations of shad.
“The key to me is the depth of the dock. I don’t even start looking until it has a minimum of feet on the bottom of it. A dock with 20 feet, all the way out to 170 feet is a great dock.”
Favoring the Dixie Jet Flutter Spoon for hitting the corners of floating docks, breaker walls, etc., Murphy uses a Dixie Jet Slab Spoon for his slip work. Working a slip while the boat owner’s out enjoying the lake, that’s certainly not the only option.
“It’s always easier to spoon an open slip, but some of your biggest bass are on those slips that have a boat lift, with a boat on top of it,” he said. “That’s why I use 20- to 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon.
“I’m flipping that spoon way back in there, over those lifts, letting the spoon free fall down and then taking my chances on bringing that fish out and dragging it over those lifts.”
Tackle It
For most of his spoon duties, Freeman uses a 7-foot medium- to medium-fast action Lew's rod, a 6.8:1 to 7.5:1 Lew’s reel and 15- to 20-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line. Fluoro, he said, helps him detect a strike a lot easier than mono.
“One of the challenges of the spoon is the exposed treble hook,” Freeman said. “Where there is any kind of timber, there is a great chance of hanging up. If this happens – and it will – the trick is to position your boat directly over the spoon and give it short, quick jerks. The weight of the spoon will usually knock itself loose.”
Johnston also wrestles with the occasionally overzealous treble hook, but not for long. If he’s snagging too frequently, he’ll replace his spoon’s treble with a weedless single hook.
On the flipside, Murphy said it’s often wise to retrofit your spoon with a stinger harness affixed to the top end. His choice – a No. 1 Gamakatsu G Stinger, which doesn’t interfere with the spoon’s main treble or the bait’s fall rate.
“Not only can you (occasionally) hook two fish at a time, but it’s also good if you have one big fish that’s going to fight a lot,” Murphy said. “That second hook will stick somewhere else and pins him down pretty good."
Worth considering: The flashing, twisting motion that anchors the spoon’s baitfish impersonation can also become its greatest vexation via frustrating line twist. Johnston nips this in the bud with some proactive surgery.
“I recommend you always put a good barrel swivel on the spoon’s split ring and that’ll eliminate line twist,” he said. “Also, if I’m throwing a hammered spoon (with a built-in line tie), I like to put a split ring on the spoon and then add a swivel.”
