Fishing With Spoons, The Basics: Part 1
By: Phil Foo
Here is a question. Should you be left on an isolated island alone with only your fishing rod, reel, and line, and you are only allowed to have one lure with you; what lure would you choose? I will let you think about this for a while.
No, I am not talking about the spoons that you eat ice-cream and drink soup with, although you could if the need arises. Spoons are lures usually made of metal, although there are some made of shell, certain types of wood, and also plastic. They come in various shapes and sizes, with the more popular being the teardrop shaped, concaved spoons, somewhat like the spoons you eat with.
[ Spoons are simply awesome. You can fish them in so many places, for many types of fishes, and in different ways… ]
Spoons have been around for a very long time, since the early to the mid 1800s. Although most of them look nothing like fishes they have been successfully catching fishes for a very, very, very long time. In a matter of fact, they have been catching a large variety of fishes for a very long time too. Spoons are some of the most reliable, tough, and versatile lures in the world of fishing.
The legendary spoon, the Abu Island has been catching fish for decades.
Spoons are simply awesome. You can fish them in so many places, for many types of fishes, and in different ways. You can fish in both salt-water and freshwater with spoons, and I mean with the same spoons. You can fish them deep or you can fish them shallow. You can fish them fast and you can certainly fish them slow. They are indeed versatile.
Last For A Very Long Time
Being made of metal some old (really old) spoons are still awesome at catching fish today. I have spoons going back to the 1960s and 70s that are still in their original shape although a bit faded. With a bit of polishing these spoons will look like new, the way they once were. But even without polishing them they will still catch fish (but it’ll break my heart should I lose any of them).
Spoons come in all sorts of colours and shapes.
Spoons can be cast to rocks and they do not break. They may get a dent or a chip here and there but they’ll still catch fish. They may get chewed on by fishes with teeth deadlier than those found inside the mouth of a tiger and they will still work. They will most certainly outlast most other lures and will still catch fish.
How Do They Work?
Although most spoons do not resemble anything a fish would eat with the exception of those that resembles some sort of a fish or an insect (such as the cicada spoons), fish still hit them. Why on earth does this happen? Fishes are not blind… right? Well, of course not. Fishes can see really underwater. Well, most fishes can.
A cicada spoon, digs about the bottom angering bottom dwelling predators to attack.
To understand this, we need to understand how a fish reacts to its environment of which will be an entire different topic all together. There are things that catch a fish’s attention such as something swimming by, reflection of lights, etc. Fishes need to react fast, be it to catch or ambush something to eat, or to attack something that swims a little too close for comfort.
[ There are weedless spoons that can be used to swim through light weedy areas with a reduced risk of getting stuck in them… ]
Spoons can be used to create excitement, stirring up the adrenaline of the fish prompting an attack. It is like cranking spoons at high speeds when casting for sebaraus (Hampala macrolepidota or Hampala barb). Slow moving spoons usually do not register hits but fast swimming spoons get the sebaraus into attack mode.
Different Actions
Just like plastic lures, spoons do have different actions. There is the drop or fall action, the type of movement a spoon makes as it falls to the bottom. There are the different swimming actions during retrieves, based on the various styles of retrieves used; depending also on the design of the spoons used.
A spoon with lots of dimples to cause more disturbance in the water.
Spoons can be made to resemble dying fishes especially on the drop or fall by the way it flutters as it drops to the bottom. Spoons can also be made to mimic fish “massaging” itself at the bottom, where the fish rubs the sides of its body on the sand creating a sudden flash of light from its scales, reflecting the light of the sun. There are also various wobbling actions during the retrieve.
Using Spoons
Most spoons available in the market are made for casting. They are made for casting toward structures or areas where fishes hideout and ambush prey. There are weedless spoons that can be used to swim through light weedy areas with a reduced risk of getting stuck in them.
Large spoons such as these… I’ll let you guess what they are for. – Reel for size comparison purpose.
There are spoons made for trolling which are slimmer as compared to normal spoons, and are much larger especially those used for big game fishing. There are also spoons that are made for jigging and jigging is not just limited to saltwater fishing as what most anglers may think. One can jig on a lake too, especially the big lakes, or great lakes.
Softbaits, strands of flashy strips, plastic tails, etc. can be connected to spoons by attaching them to the hook or the split ring. These additions can help increase the effectiveness of a spoon especially when the action stops; making them attractive to nearby predator fish that may decide to hit the bait out of curiosity or anger.
A sebarau (Hampala macrolepidota) took my spoon early one morning in Royal Belum, Perak, Malaysia.
Back To The Question…
Which lure would I rather have with me should I be left stranded on an isolated island, and only allowed one lure to choose from, and to have that one lure with me when on the island? Although I am an avid softbait angler, should I be stuck in such a situation my, choice will be the humble spoon. We’ll discuss more in the next issue, so do stay tuned.
