Am also interested in the "spoon method". Though we may not be on the same page here ! I recently picked up the 3 smallest spoons I could find, Acme,Lil Cleo, etc.. Took off the treble and replaced with single red hook. Plan on tippeting on a ft or two of 4lb flouro., and adding a jig/maggot trailer. Two lures, weight to cast.. Hmmnnn... shoulda thought of this myself, yrs ago. Will try in the next week or so. steve b
Bill Musky Mod is the man for that. I would advise you to read through some of the older posts. You will find lots of good info from a bunch of great guys and amongst that stuff you will definitely find Spoon info from the Maestro himself... and a few pictures to wet your whistle.
I've been playing a bit with spoon methods myself this Spring. I found a really neat little "traditional" (tho differant action than any I've seen,and a bluegill turn-on) that is handmade in PA (Pcola's "niti", in St Michael,PA). Then ,just yesterday, I experimented with a 1", 1/32 oz "microspoon" (www.microspoons.com) painted in really neat chartreuse patterns. I tipped these with a waxworm -the only spoon I've ever seen where its action IMPROVES with tipping! On a slow steady retreive with allowed drops (flutter is amazing) I was getting hits from crappie or bluegill on most long casts. Then I switched to a sliver of fresh, bloody crappie strip on the tiny spoon,and begin getting multiple (if I didn't hook the first one) strikes on every cast! Some friends who concentrate on crappies have raved about these simple, inexpensive (60-70 cents each) spoons,and now I see why!
I just joined tonight.I make my own spoons from #2 Willow blades along with a #0 Indiana blade to add flutter on the drop.I use a #8 Aberdeen hook with either Wax Worms or Crickets and have had great luck with this combination.When fishing 4 to 8 foot of water I do not use any split shot but a weighted bobber and let the rig flutter as it drops.I do use split shot when fishing deeper water or drifting.I use this setup thru the ice also, it seems to get the Gills attention.
George H.
One of the best Bluegill spoons that I have found is the tiny "Skeeter" spoon made by Dardevel. They come with a small double hook that I suggest you change to a single. Tipping this very small spoon with bait kills the nice wobbling action it has. It is best to use a very small split ring to tie your 2 lb test line to. They come in a wide color selection. I like the frog green and yellow w/red. An awesome, slow retrieve spoon! Bluegill absolutely clobber it!
I bought some microspoons last year. I had not had much luck on them. Just about decided they were a waste of money. Today, I was fishing one of my favovite 2 acre lakes. Found some shellcracker and gill beds but could not get much action. Tried flyrod, spinning rod/with redworms and some jigs. Decided to troll (fishing from a kickboat) the action was great trolling (with fins) these microspoons tipped with crappie nibble. I was using 2lb test on one rod and 4lb on the other rod. It was almost more than I could handle. The crappie were really tearing the spoons up but I caught gills, crackers and 1 small bass. The spoon was about an inch long and I tried a white color and brass color. The brass was the best. Water temp 72 degrees and clear. Hope this helps someone wanting to try these spoons.