Spoon Feeding Fish

The love of simple lures

I’m an angler which in this case means I have multiple tackle boxes full of the same shape lures in multiple sizes and colors. I’m at the point now where my rod and reel combos are diversifying into sub-classes of pitching rods, finesse rods, and frog rods. Oh, and that’s just my freshwater gear.

This evolution to gear nut is in part due to my time in tackle shops, but the second part is simply learning more styles of fishing. Having been a freelance writer for the past five years has caused me to read about, learn, try, and report on all manner of fishing. At this point I think I’ve tried and filmed 5 different ways to rig a soft plastic lizard and nearly twice that for the classic worm.

The other day I was shooting a video for a client about bass fishing with spoons.

Despite being one of the simplest lures in my tackle box, I haven’t used one in years.

I’ve trolled with bunker spoons, vertically jigged spoons, and casted spoons to breaking fish, all in salt water and all successfully. But I haven’t tied a spoon onto a freshwater setup in ages. And Holy cow did I miss it.

Tossing a 1/4oz chrome Kastmaster on my light spinning setup I talked to the camera about a straight retrieve vs a flutter. I commented on how the light reflects on the spoons.

And I got smoked by a spotted bass, not a lunker but a good fighter all the same.

Then a cast later I had a large sunfish do the same.

Then I tossed it out into the deeper channel and jigged the spoon. Feeling some thumps I set the hook. I managed to snag a small shad in the process. Three species in as many casts.

I continued to fish with the little spoon for longer than I needed in the video, I had all the footage I needed but it felt fun to fish like a kid again.

I fished like I did when I was 9. However, I was no longer stalking tidal marshes and jetties armed with my 6’ spinning combo from Bennys. A 1-1/2 oz kastmaster crudely tied to monofilament.

I picked apart the lake with polarized glasses, zipping the little spoon with a simple yet well-made rod, line, and action thoughtfully curated for the task at hand.

With my needing to film new techniques and utilizing high tech ch gear I forget what fishing is about sometimes. I spend hours agonizing about video and audio quality, diving into the metrics of when viewers log off and how I can make videos more engaging. But, At its core, it’s about putting a line in the water and hoping for a fish. From hundreds of dollar glide baits to hotdogs soaked in Kool-Aid it’s all about the “tug”. That tug of a fish on the end of my line is the reason I get up early, stay out late, and spend way too long in the tackle aisle of every sporting goods store.

I just needed a slab of chromed metal to remind me of that.