Fishing Spoons for all Seasons
By Capt. Jim Hirt
Fishing spoons for spring, fishing spoons for summer, fishing spoons for fall and winter. Spoons are never the wrong bait. The variety of spoons is the reason they produce. The universal popularity of the spoon worldwide has caused it to evolve to a all species all season favorite. I would need to write a large book to go into all the types of spoons and their applications to different species. When I was done the subject would only be scratched on the surface. The best approach for me would be to cover all season fishing with spoons for salmon, trout and freshwater game fish. Fortunately I have had an opportunity over the past 25 years to try my luck on a wide assortment of species. The three most important factors to consider in lure selection are the action, color and size. I will break this down by season and type of fish.
The preferred water temperature of your target easily defines spoon action. In the times of the year when the fish you are after cannot find the temperature of the water they like you must adjust to meet conditions. For instance, you are looking to hook up with Brown Trout and the water temperature is 40 degrees, twenty degrees below their preferred range of 58 to 66 degrees. A slower lure action is required for this cold water. This can be achieved by a slower retrieve rate when casting or a slower boat speed for trolling. The problem with a slow speed is many spoons loose their fish attracting action. A spoon that solves this problem is the Nestor Wobbler made by
http://www.badgertackle.com The crankbait action of this spoon is deadly in slow presentations. This spoon also has multiple holes in the lip that will allow you to change from a wobbly baitfish action to a vibrating high-speed action. I recommend the Nestor Wobbler for most salmon, trout, bass and pike. It has been a consistent producer for me. Any time your target is in cooler water than they like slow down to improve your catch rate.
Color is very important to your success. Light is the number one consideration in your lure color. This is a good time to talk about color as it relates to the amount of light. You may or may not remember learning the colors of the rainbow in school. The colors are remembered by this acronym "ROY G BIV". These letters mean red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. There are exceptions to every rule. Most of the time I run lure colors of red, orange, or yellow when that lure is presented in the portion of the water column with the most light. The other end of the rainbow blue, indigo and violet are used in darker or low light situations. You may ask what about silver and white? I consider these as neutral or they will work in any type of light. All the other colors fall into either bright or dark. Bright lures are used in bright light conditions dark lures in low light. A relatively new and much improved addition to spoon colors is the glow in dark colors. After charging up the glow paint on the spoons with a bright light, they will take fish in the dark or stained water. You will find several manufactures with this product. I have found the glow on Badger Tackle spoons will last longer than most of the spoons being sold.
Size is as important to productive fishing as any of the other variables. The rules are simple: match lure size to the forage of your target and if fishing is slow or dead go to smaller size spoons. For example the first light bite was fantastic you were on your way to a limit catch. Then the sun comes up bright in a clear blue sky and all the action stops. I believe the reason for this is too much flash produced by large lures turns off fish. This is time to scale down to smaller lures. This approach can be applied any time you find yourself in bright conditions.
Consider all three, action, color and size to become more productive. Fish come in a wide variety of sizes and attitudes and one thing is common to all. You must get their attention if you expect to catch them. Adjust to meet conditions and you will become a better angler. Good Luck let's go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at
http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright 2007, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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