Spoons for every season

A spoon is about the simplest lure there is: a curved piece of metal with a hook on one end. Reel it and it wobbles and flashes like a wounded baitfish; let it fall and it flutters down. That simple design catches pike, trout, salmon, bass and walleye, from the first open water in spring to the last day on the ice. This guide covers the four main kinds of spoon (casting, trolling, jigging and weedless), how shape and weight change the action, which spoon to use in each season, and how to stop a spoon from twisting your line.

How shape and weight change a spoon

Two things decide what a spoon does in the water: its shape and the thickness of the metal.

• Wide and deeply cupped spoons catch more water. They wobble widely and slowly, and they ride higher in the water at a given speed.
• Long and narrow spoons have a tighter, faster wobble. They cast farther and run deeper.
• Thick metal makes a spoon heavy for its size. It casts like a bullet and sinks fast, which suits casting and jigging.
• Thin metal makes a spoon light for its size. It flutters at slow speeds, which suits trolling, where something else gets the lure down.

Finish matters too. Silver and nickel flash like shad and shiners; gold and brass show up better in stained water and on dark days; painted spoons in red and white, yellow and red or chartreuse give fish a solid color to find.

Casting spoons

A casting spoon is thick enough to throw a long way and sink quickly. It is the most useful spoon to own.

• Weights: 1/8 to 1/4 oz for stream trout and panfish, 1/4 to 1/2 oz for trout in lakes and big rivers, bass and walleye, 1/2 to 1 oz or more for pike, salmon and saltwater fish.
• Retrieve: cast, count it down to the depth you want, then reel at a steady pace. Find the speed where the spoon wobbles hard but does not spin. Then vary it: speed up for a few turns, stop and let it flutter down, start again. Many strikes come just after a pause.

The Dardevle Nickel Back casting spoon is a 1 oz red-and-white casting spoon, a size for pike and other big fish.

For trout and salmon, a smaller spoon fits better. The Acme Little Cleo is a 1/3 oz gold spoon, light enough for trout yet heavy enough to cast a long way in lakes and larger rivers.

Trolling spoons

A trolling spoon is thinner and lighter than a casting spoon of the same size. It is not meant to be cast. Behind a moving boat, the thin metal flutters at slow speeds, while a downrigger, a diving planer, lead-core line or an inline weight sets the depth.

• Speed: most trolling spoons swim between about 1.5 and 3 mph, but every spoon has its own range. Run it beside the boat first and watch its action before you let it out.
• Species: lake trout, rainbow and brown trout, salmon and kokanee in big, deep lakes, and walleye on open basins.
• Depth: follow the fish and the temperature. In summer, trout and salmon go deep, often 30 to 100 feet down in clear lakes, and trolling is the most practical way to reach them across open water.

Jigging spoons

A jigging spoon is a heavy, compact spoon fished straight up and down under the boat. Lift the rod tip sharply 1 to 3 feet, then lower it so the spoon falls on a slack line. It flutters on the way down, and most bites come then. Watch the line and set the hook when it jumps or stops.

• Weights: 1/4 to 1 oz for most lake fishing.
• Where: schools of bass, walleye and white bass on deep structure, often seen on a depth finder first. Bass anglers use them most in winter and in summer, when fish gather offshore.
• Flutter spoons are the big exception: long, thin spoons of about 3.5 to 8 inches that sink slowly with a wide wobble. Bass anglers cast them to deep schools that feed on shad in summer and let them flutter down. The Nichols Lake Fork Flutter Spoon is a 5-inch, 1 1/8 oz example.

Weedless spoons

A weedless spoon has a single fixed hook with a wire weed guard in front of the point. It slides over lily pads, through reeds and across the tops of grass where a treble-hooked lure would hang on every cast.

• Weights: 1/4 to 3/4 oz.
• Retrieve: cast over the cover and reel steadily, fast enough to keep the spoon just under the surface or skimming across it. Slow down at the edges of holes in the weeds.
• Trailer: many anglers add a soft plastic grub or a split-tail trailer to the hook for more action and bulk.

The Johnson Silver Minnow weedless spoon is a 1/2 oz silver-plated weedless spoon, a size for pike and largemouth bass over shallow weeds.

Ice-fishing spoons

Spoons are just as useful through the ice. Small rattle and jigging spoons of 1/16 to 1/2 oz are jigged a foot or two off the bottom for perch, walleye and lake trout, often with a minnow head or a few waxworms on the hook. The Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple is a 1/4 oz nickel jigging spoon, a size for walleye through the ice. Browse rattle and jigging spoons, and see ice-fishing lures: spoons, Jigging Raps and jigs for how to work them.

A spoon for every season

Water temperature drives most of this. In cold water, slow down: jig gently, let the spoon fall more, and use smaller sizes. In warm water, fish chase, and a faster retrieve often works.

Line twist and swivels

A spoon that spins rather than wobbles twists your line, and twisted line kinks, tangles and loops off the spool. Three habits prevent most of it.

1. Reel at the right speed. If the spoon spins, slow down.
2. Let it swing free. Tie to the split ring on the spoon, or clip on a small round-nosed snap, not a knot cinched tight to the spoon itself. The spoon needs to move freely.
3. Add a swivel. A small ball-bearing swivel, or a barrel swivel tied 12 to 24 inches above the spoon, takes out twist before it reaches the reel. Keep the swivel small on light spoons, because a heavy one dampens the action. Trolling spoons almost always run behind a swivel.

Browse swivels, snaps and split rings, and see swivels, snaps and leaders for sizes. Pike and muskie can cut light line, so add a wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader where they live.

Rods, line and hooks

• Trout and panfish: a 6- to 7-foot light or medium-light spinning rod with 4 to 8 lb monofilament or fluorocarbon.
• Bass and walleye: a 6'6" to 7'0" medium spinning or casting rod with 8 to 15 lb line. For jigging spoons, braid with a fluorocarbon leader helps you feel the bite on the fall.
• Pike and salmon: a 7-foot medium-heavy rod with 15 to 30 lb line, plus a wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader for pike.

Most spoons come with treble hooks. Some trout and salmon waters require single hooks or barbless hooks, so check the local regulations before you fish. Keep a few split rings and a pair of split-ring pliers to swap hooks when you need to. For line choices, see mono, fluoro or braid, and browse every style in spoons.