Well, since no one is using this forum I thought is was time for another how to article. With summer coming soon I thought I would share what I know about jigging spoons and how to fish them. So lets get started.</p>
Jigging spoons are typically chunks of metal that don't look very apprealing. They are designed to be fished vertically, however they can be fished by casting them with a hopping retreive. The technique we use is verticle fishing about 90% of the time. We use two types of spoons, depending on the area and fish we are targeting. One is the Cotton Cordell "chunk of metal" spoons and the other is the Silver Buddy knock off spoon baits. The whole point of these spoons is to mimic an injured or dying bait fish.</p>
Cotton Cordell: What are they?</p>
Thesecome in two sizes and two colors. The larger size, 0.75 oz I think, is good for deeper water or when you have a lot of current. They also present a larger target and will attach fish better when the fish are in a more aggressive mood. The smaller size, 3/8 oz maybe, is a great all around spoon when you want to catch numbers. On the small spoons the stock treble hook is not very good. On these we replace the treble with a 2/0 finese hook and add a split ring to the nose. This will increase your hook up and landed fish 100%. The treble on the large spoon is ok, but if you get a bass on they will throw the spoon if they jump so boat flip them or have the net ready at all times. </p>
Color is debatable. Sometimes the gold works better than the chrome but really I don't think it makes much difference. The color you have the most confidence in is the one that will catch the most fish.</p>
Cotton Cordell: How to Fish</p>
Typically these are fished vertically. Drop the spoon to the bottom until you get slack line. Reel up until the spoon is no longer in contact with the bottom and start jigging. What you want to do is keep the spoon as close to the bottom as possible. Jerk up about 3-4 feetwith the quick motion then lower your rod quickly so the spoon fall on slack line. If the line is not slack, the spoon will have no action and will not catch any fish. At times a shorter jerk of only 1-2 feet or even just shaking the end of the rod will produce strikes using the smaller spoons. </p>
I recommend a 7 ft medium action rod for jigging spoons, 6.5 ft when using spinning tackle. You want plenty of play in the rod as the strike/hook set is very violent and you will actually rip the hooks out of the fish with a stiff rod. I also use light line, 10-12 lbs for the big spoons, and 6-8 lb for the small spoons. You want the spoon to have as much action as possible and the smaller the line, the more action.</p>
I'm hung!!!! Don't panic. All you need to do is shake the rod tip aggressively with a little slack in the line and 90% of the time the spoon will come free. You want to try to use the weight of the spoon to dislodge the hook.</p>
Knot. I recommend always using a polyamar (sp?) knot. Why? When jigging the spoon will rub on the bottom and this wrecks havoc on knots. Using the polyamar knot gives you two wraps of the line around the spoon eye, increasing the knot strength against wear.</p>
Silver Buddy Type Baits:</p>
You can fish these the same as the CC spoons but these are much better when using a casting method. They are designed to be fished with a casting method and have a killer flutter when stopped and allowed to sink. We have good luck using these vertically, however you will lose more of these as with the two trebbles you cannot shake them free like the CC spoons. Basically you fish these using a yo-yo retrieve. The fish will almost always hit the bait on the fall and unless the fish are schooling you want to keep the bait as close to the bottom as possible.</p>
What do you look for?</p>
Any time you are fishing spoons vertically you better be marking fish on your depth finder, or you are wasting your time. We troll around an area we know is holding fish until we start marking them. Once you mark them, it is usually automtic. I recommend depth finders with 4000 Watts of power. Why? You get better target detail with these and less noise. You should be able to see your spoon jigging up and down on the graph, if not you need to upgrade. Drops, holes, channel ledges all are prime jigging locations. And don't be afraid to go deep. We jig spoons in water as deep as 40 feet and as shallow as 8-10 feet. We catch smallmouth under the boat in 8 feet of water on spoons quick regularly. </p>
Fishing for Suspended Fish:</p>
If you mark fish that are suspended you can still fish a spoon. Just drop it down to the same depth as the fish and start jigging. You don't have to keep the spoon on the bottom to catch fish but most of the time that is where the fish will be.</p>
What eats a spoon?</p>
We have caught the following on spoons: Largemouth, smallmouth, spots, bluegill, redbreast, skipjack, google eyes, green sunfish, warmouth, buffalo, blue cats, channel cats, flatheads, drum, yellow stripe, white stripe, stipers, sauger, carp, crappie, ..... I know I have forgotten something. I have posted some pics below of fish taken on jigging spoons. Having 100-150 fish days jigging spoons is quite common on the river.</p>
Other spoons:</p>
I am sure you have seen the Bass Pro catalog and seen all the different types of spoons. There are hundreds of different models and brands. Keep it simple to start and find the cheapest ones as you will lose a lot of spoons as you learn to fish them. The CC spoons are about the cheapest you can find, which is why we use them. The trend in bass fishing now is to use large, 4-8" spoons. I have yet to try these but can see where they would work.</p>
So next time you are out during the dog days of summer, tie on a chunk of lead and start jigging. You never know what it going to eat it.</p>
Jigging spoons are typically chunks of metal that don't look very apprealing. They are designed to be fished vertically, however they can be fished by casting them with a hopping retreive. The technique we use is verticle fishing about 90% of the time. We use two types of spoons, depending on the area and fish we are targeting. One is the Cotton Cordell "chunk of metal" spoons and the other is the Silver Buddy knock off spoon baits. The whole point of these spoons is to mimic an injured or dying bait fish.</p>
Cotton Cordell: What are they?</p>
Thesecome in two sizes and two colors. The larger size, 0.75 oz I think, is good for deeper water or when you have a lot of current. They also present a larger target and will attach fish better when the fish are in a more aggressive mood. The smaller size, 3/8 oz maybe, is a great all around spoon when you want to catch numbers. On the small spoons the stock treble hook is not very good. On these we replace the treble with a 2/0 finese hook and add a split ring to the nose. This will increase your hook up and landed fish 100%. The treble on the large spoon is ok, but if you get a bass on they will throw the spoon if they jump so boat flip them or have the net ready at all times. </p>
Color is debatable. Sometimes the gold works better than the chrome but really I don't think it makes much difference. The color you have the most confidence in is the one that will catch the most fish.</p>
Cotton Cordell: How to Fish</p>
Typically these are fished vertically. Drop the spoon to the bottom until you get slack line. Reel up until the spoon is no longer in contact with the bottom and start jigging. What you want to do is keep the spoon as close to the bottom as possible. Jerk up about 3-4 feetwith the quick motion then lower your rod quickly so the spoon fall on slack line. If the line is not slack, the spoon will have no action and will not catch any fish. At times a shorter jerk of only 1-2 feet or even just shaking the end of the rod will produce strikes using the smaller spoons. </p>
I recommend a 7 ft medium action rod for jigging spoons, 6.5 ft when using spinning tackle. You want plenty of play in the rod as the strike/hook set is very violent and you will actually rip the hooks out of the fish with a stiff rod. I also use light line, 10-12 lbs for the big spoons, and 6-8 lb for the small spoons. You want the spoon to have as much action as possible and the smaller the line, the more action.</p>
I'm hung!!!! Don't panic. All you need to do is shake the rod tip aggressively with a little slack in the line and 90% of the time the spoon will come free. You want to try to use the weight of the spoon to dislodge the hook.</p>
Knot. I recommend always using a polyamar (sp?) knot. Why? When jigging the spoon will rub on the bottom and this wrecks havoc on knots. Using the polyamar knot gives you two wraps of the line around the spoon eye, increasing the knot strength against wear.</p>
Silver Buddy Type Baits:</p>
You can fish these the same as the CC spoons but these are much better when using a casting method. They are designed to be fished with a casting method and have a killer flutter when stopped and allowed to sink. We have good luck using these vertically, however you will lose more of these as with the two trebbles you cannot shake them free like the CC spoons. Basically you fish these using a yo-yo retrieve. The fish will almost always hit the bait on the fall and unless the fish are schooling you want to keep the bait as close to the bottom as possible.</p>
What do you look for?</p>
Any time you are fishing spoons vertically you better be marking fish on your depth finder, or you are wasting your time. We troll around an area we know is holding fish until we start marking them. Once you mark them, it is usually automtic. I recommend depth finders with 4000 Watts of power. Why? You get better target detail with these and less noise. You should be able to see your spoon jigging up and down on the graph, if not you need to upgrade. Drops, holes, channel ledges all are prime jigging locations. And don't be afraid to go deep. We jig spoons in water as deep as 40 feet and as shallow as 8-10 feet. We catch smallmouth under the boat in 8 feet of water on spoons quick regularly. </p>
Fishing for Suspended Fish:</p>
If you mark fish that are suspended you can still fish a spoon. Just drop it down to the same depth as the fish and start jigging. You don't have to keep the spoon on the bottom to catch fish but most of the time that is where the fish will be.</p>
What eats a spoon?</p>
We have caught the following on spoons: Largemouth, smallmouth, spots, bluegill, redbreast, skipjack, google eyes, green sunfish, warmouth, buffalo, blue cats, channel cats, flatheads, drum, yellow stripe, white stripe, stipers, sauger, carp, crappie, ..... I know I have forgotten something. I have posted some pics below of fish taken on jigging spoons. Having 100-150 fish days jigging spoons is quite common on the river.</p>
Other spoons:</p>
I am sure you have seen the Bass Pro catalog and seen all the different types of spoons. There are hundreds of different models and brands. Keep it simple to start and find the cheapest ones as you will lose a lot of spoons as you learn to fish them. The CC spoons are about the cheapest you can find, which is why we use them. The trend in bass fishing now is to use large, 4-8" spoons. I have yet to try these but can see where they would work.</p>
So next time you are out during the dog days of summer, tie on a chunk of lead and start jigging. You never know what it going to eat it.</p>
Attachments
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Cotton Cordell Spoons.jpg -
Modified Small Spoon.jpg -
Silver Buddy Knock Off.jpg -
Wiskers Spoon Box.jpg -
Bait-Fish on Screen.jpg -
Fish on the Graph 2.jpg -
Fish on the Graph.jpg -
Jigging Spoon on Screen.jpg -
David 53lb Blue Pic 2.jpg -
Michael 4.1 lb smallie.jpg -
Michael 20lb Flathead Pic 2.jpg -
Michael 30lb Blue Pic 2.jpg
