They say age is just a number, but a few weeks ago I realized just how quickly my number was increasing.
I was talking with a bunch of younger fishermen and suggested they try spoons for drum and other inshore fish. The shock came when their collective reply was, “Spoons for inshore fish. Are you sure? I’ve never heard of that. Sure, you catch kings and Spanish mackerel on spoons, but reds and trout — are you sure?”
I’ve always heard history repeats itself, and this must be one of those times. Spoon-fishing was a preferred method for catching puppy drum when I was younger, and it is gaining in popularity again. It’s probably due to the recovery of our redfish stocks and the ever-growing number of fishermen discovering they really like chasing those pups, specks and flounder in our inshore waters.
Whatever the reason, over the past six months, I have seen more spoons on tackle-shop shelves than in the past 10 years. In keeping pace with the trend, manufacturers are offering new spoons and adding some twists to older ones.
Three really good reasons exist why inshore spoons should be popular, especially on reds.
• The fish will readily hit them;
• They are very easy to use
• They are surprisingly versatile.
What more could you want?
How about I add that a whole assortment of spoons exists that are weedless? They offer the best of all worlds. No only will weedless spoons track freely through grass and other bottom growth, they have an amazing ability to bounce across oysters, through rocks, along jetties and almost never get hung up.
This allows fishing where the fish are feeding, and that’s the best way I know to catch them.
The spoon that introduced me to this kind of fishing is the Johnson Silver Minnow, which is now part of the Berkley segment of the Pure Fishing Group. I used, and still primarily use, the gold color, but its name is misleading, as all colors are called the Silver Minnow. While they started as silver, the spoon is available in a variety of colors, with gold, black and chartreuse being the most popular. There are several sizes, beginning as light as an eighth-ounce and going to more than an ounce. Typically the quarter- and half-ounces sizes are the most popular for inshore saltwater use.
Spoons are available with some subtle differences in shapes, finishes, hooks and how they are made weedless. Several manufacturers have added spinners to give the spoons more action, and it definitely adds to their versatility.
Start with the Flatsmaster Spoons made by Cape Lookout Lures of Raleigh. Flatsmaster adds a choice of two spinners (different weight and shape) to a quarter-ounce spoon, plus has a holographic eye on the spoon and spinner. Bailey Tucker, owner of Cape Lookout Lures, said the eye was to get attention, and the spinner allows variations in presentation and retrieve speed, while getting more attention.
Tucker said Flatsmaster spoons can be fished in the standard spoon style, retrieving it at a slow to medium speed, bumping it along the bottom and rolling it from side to side. At this speed, the spinner revolves and adds some flash and helps with attraction. He said it can also be fished much faster, like a spinnerbait, by speeding up the retrieve and ripping it through the water column, even up to the surface. This evokes reaction strikes as the fish must decide immediately or it is gone.
Capt. Mike Hakala has developed a reputation for catching lots of big reds and specks in the Mosquito Lagoon region of Florida, between Titusville and New Smyrna Beach. He has designed some tackle to suit his specific needs, and visiting fishermen have been taking that tackle home and discovering it works well in other areas. His home water has lots of growth and obstacles, and he designed his first weedless redfish spoon in 1993.
Hakala heralds his latest version, the Aqua Dream Weedless Spoon, as his best spoon yet. It’s a willow-shaped spoon that has a reflective scale pattern and bright colors, including several that blend to different colors much like fish do, and a slightly different version of the weed guard. Being built to handle the bruiser reds fishermen regularly encounter in Mosquito Lagoon is reassurance they will handle pretty much anything you entice to bite them. Even better, enticing the fish isn’t difficult. Hakala said to fish them as slowly as possible and twitch the rod tip every few feet. Even beginners should be able to handle that.
The Nemire Red Ripper is another popular redfish spoon. Its primary feature is a brass sound tube that takes advantage of its side-to-side rocking motion to make a click that is resonated by the cupped side of the spoon. The Red Ripper also has a skirt trailer than can be changed or removed, depending on the situation.
Another spoon that intrigues me, but I haven’t yet had an opportunity to try is the Norton Brass Rattler. This spoon uses an actual piece of pistol brass to form a rattle chamber in the concave side of the spoon. Johnny King of Norton Lures said it is best used crawling across the bottom and works its magic most effectively in bad water conditions — when the sound helps fish locate it. The Norton Brass Rattler is made in Mississippi and is very productive in Gulf Coast waters.
As regular readers know by now, I like to tinker with lures and rigs to find just the right combination. Politely, it is called Carolina ingenuity, but my fishing buddies simply refer to it as “Jerry-rigging.” However, they never seem to have trouble switching to my modified lures when I’m outfishing them.
One of the simplest things I do to spoons is to add just the tail of a curlytail grub to the hook. I typically use a 4-inch curlytail grub, and chartreuse is my favorite color, but green, white, yellow and flametail will work. I snip the tail off the grub about a quarter-inch into the body and use that little piece of the grub’s body to attach it to the spoon. This works with any curlytail, but may be a little better when using the tail from one of the scented baits, like Fishbites, Saltwater Assassin Blurp, Berkley Gulp and such.
This works fairly well with the curl of the curlytail turned up, but I believe it is far superior when the tail is added so it is turned sideways. It seems to get more water flow when sideways and will begin undulating at a slower speed. This allows slowing down the retrieve and still having good action. It can also be used jigging vertically or hopping across the bottom. While adding the curlytail works well at any time, I find it especially good when the water is hot or cold and the fish are moving slow. The slower retrieve allows keeping the bait in front of the fish longer, while still having a lot of action from the curl tail.
Sometimes it is difficult to fish a spoon in deeper water because it tends to rise on the retrieve. Sea Striker actually made Clark Casters for fishermen who wanted to cast Clark Spoons for Spanish mackerel. However, these small weighted spinners, which are a part of the Clark Spoon line, will help hold a spoon down in deeper water or allow a faster retrieve. Clark Casters are available in eighth-, quarter- and half-ounce weights.
The Flatsmaster Spoons have an offset spinner. There are several different versions of these, but I also like spoons with in-line spinners. In fact, I like them a lot.
For many years, my favorite spoon was a Johnson Silver Minnow with an in-line spinner, but, unfortunately, it was discontinued. While there may be other companies that make spoons with in-line spinners, the only one I have found is Bayou Bucks. They also sell the in-line spinners separately, and you can add them to your favorite spoon.
Fishing with spoons in inshore waters is another trick for the arsenal and often may be a very effective alternative to other baits. All the spoons I have mentioned use a single hook and are designed to be weedless. That’s a big plus when casting around marsh grass and oyster bars. I have found them very productive and trust you will also.
I wasn’t able to mention all the brands of inshore saltwater spoons. I did not want to slight anyone, but there are very many brands and versions, and it’s impossible to use and be familiar with them all. Other brands include: Bagley Sculptured Minnow Spoon, Bagley Chat’r B Rattling Weedless Spoon, B&C Weedless Spoon, Bayou Buck Gumbo Spoon, Cabela’s Diamond Weedless Spoon, Cabela’s Weedless Lunker Spoon, H&H “The Secret” Redfish Spoon Lures, Hopkins Stainless Steel Weedless Spoon, Mann’s Tidewater Spoon, Precision Flats Tackle Intruder Spoon. I’m sure there are more. If anyone’s favorite was omitted, it wasn’t intentional.
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