Probably the most versatile lure you can throw for shallow water
bass is a spoon. Spoons come in all sizes, colors and shapes and
each has their own time and place. I’ll offer a few tips and
techniques on how to use a few of the styles of spoons available
today.
Because of the ugly places you can throw a spoon, heavy equipment is required.
I use a 7’ MH baitcast rod for added leverage coupled with a high-speed reel to
cover water fast. When fishing spoons in the heat of summer over thick mill
foil mats or lily pads, a spoon is one of the most effective lures you can ever
use to draw bass out from under the thick vegetation. When fishing this type of
cover, the advantage a spoon has over a rat or frog bait is it can be thrown in
windy conditions and dropped into pockets. I turned a bad tournament day into a
3rd place finish by throwing spoons in wind blown lily pads and letting them
drop into the pockets.
Spoons are a great search lure when pre-fishing shallow water. You can run the
spoon over the pads and mats while dropping the bait over the weed flats and
working it like a spinnerbait. You can easily convert a spoon to a buzz bait
simply by adding an Uncle Josh pork #23 Kicker Frog. Have you ever tried “Dock
Spooning”? The design of the spoon makes it an ideal skipping lure. I like to
use the smaller 3/8 oz spoon tipped with a Pork Frog for added buoyancy, balance
and weight.
Ways to
work a spoon:
Swimming: In
submerged grass, simply reel in the lure steadily as you would a crank bait.
The spoon will wobble and dart erratically and the trailer will dance and
flutter.
Stop & go:
In surface weeds, cast the bait, allow it to sit on top of the pads or
matted grass and pull it along for a foot or so and stop. Allow it to rest
5-10 sec. and repeat. In lily pads, pull the bait across the holes between
the pads and hang-on.
Tumbling:
In lily pads, let the lure cross the top of the pads, then slowly draw it
over the edge by pulling gently with your rod. Then allow it to tumble down
into the pockets and deeper pad edges.
Tips:
