Wow, great thread gentlemen. Love the increased interest in spoons and spinners for salmon and steelhead. There is really nothing like the take of steelhead on a spoon or spinner. They smash it with some bad intentions.
EVERYDAY makes gives some excellent advice. He's definitely a wealth of knowledge and most importantly experience. I agree with almost everything he says. It is important to swap the factory hooks on most of the locally sold spoons especially if fishing waters with wild fish. Gibbs for example, uses ridiculously oversized hooks which not only are harmful to the fish but in my opinion provide less penetrating power and fish holding ability. The trailer hook method or swivel to hook at the base of the spoon does seem to produce very clean hooksets and better landing ratio. The only thing I don't entirely agree with is the spinning reel suggestion. I have fished with both spinning and levelwind reels and prefer the levelwind/casting for function and fashion. For chinook and steelhead, I find myself feeding line quite often. Some of the heavier and/or deeper water I target requires bursts or steady feeding of line in order to keep the lure near bottom. Another scenario where I will feed line is fishing long seams...especially far side seems with a bunch of dead water on the inside. By applying a slight amount of tension to the reel and feeding line, I can extend my "drift" while maintaining the desired action on the spoon. There is a ton of info online and in various traditional publications. I highly recommend "Spoon Fishing for Steelhead" by Bill Herzog and "Spinner Fishing for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout" by Jed Davis. They are two fantastic pieces of literature. We'll actually be giving away some copies in the new year for orders over $100. Spawn Sack, i'll send you a copy of the book of your choosing with your order if its over $100.
And yes, I concur with your observation of Blue Fox Vibrax spinners not getting down. And they don't cast well. If you're looking for good quality casting spinners that cast well, get down and stay down...try Bent Rod's spinners or obviously the meticulously hand crafted Trophy Tackle spinners. Custom made to your specifications. Featuring genuine gold and genuine silver plating........
Trophy Tackle: I agree 100% that the hook you get on Gibbs spoons are terrible. For one you need to pretty much be fishing a pool cue to get a good hook set, and two, as Everyday pointed out, they often harm/main fish. I swap all my factory spoon and spinner hooks before I fish them. I know Everyday is big on sickle siwash hooks. I tried them this year and yes I like them, but I still think I land more fish with the Mustad Ultra point. Who knows there are so many variables that come into play
I probabaly just like the way the Mustads look more
As far as the books go, thanks but I already have both!
As far as using a bait caster with spoons is concerned I do recall Bill Herzog saying that under certain conditions it may be an advantage to feed line out as your spoon is swinging. I have never tried this, but I'd be willing to give it a go and make up my own mind if I think it is working for me or not. All I have done thus far is fish them on a spinning reel, cast out, flip the bail, and swing through the current. I try to adjust the rod angle, tension on the line, and the angle I cast out at to vary the depth my spoon is at (as well as switching spoons). For coho I'll throw in the odd jig/twitch which sometimes seems to be the ticket. I've never caught a s/h on a spoon but, as E/D points out, to get good at metal fishing you need to put some time in with your spoon rod and leave the float set up at home that day. I plan to put in a few solid days of just spoon fishing this winter and try and up my spoon skills and hopefully get into some s/h with them!
I'll order up some R&B spoons in the new year and give them a go!
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Topic: What are some good lures etc to use on the vedder (Read 10554 times)