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Your Guide to Fishing Jigging Spoons for Multiple Species

A jigging spoon fills a critical niche in any angler’s tackle selection. Learn how to best use these highly versatile lures.

Simple and Versatile: those two words describe Cotton Cordell’s CC Spoon to a T.

This venerable lure consists of nothing more than a piece of hammered metal with a rustproof treble hook at one end and a metal loop at the other end. It comes in just two colors—silver and gold—and four sizes—1 1/2, 2, 2 1/8 or 3 inches. Despite having only basic options when selecting a CC Spoon, the angler who drops one of these often-overlooked lures into the strike zone might hook up with anything from panfish such as white bass or crappie to high-jumping black bass or trout to pole-bending saltwater species that could range from sheepshead and redfish to sharks and tuna.

The War Eagle Jigging Spoon offers similar functionality. However, different shaping alters the profile and wobble. It comes in two sizes – 1/2 and 7/8 ounce – and seven colors and comes equipped with a swivel.

CC Spoons and War Eagle Jigging Spoons are at their best when targeting deep fish. Concentrated weight sinks rapidly to a strike zone, even in very deep water, making them ideal choices in summer (and winter, but that’s another story for another time). That said, you can fish jigging spoons effectively in shallow water, too, in muddy or clear water, throughout the seasons and around many types of cover.

Try vertical jigging in flooded timber, count down to fish suspended by bridge pilings or hop the lure off the bottom like a baitfish with the bends. Only your imagination limits the ways you can fish with these spoons.

Deep Bass

Photos by Keith Sutton

 

During summer, many largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass move away from their usual shore cover and into deeper water near bluffs, bridge abutments, rocky points and mid-lake areas. Use a sonar unit or bottom contour map to pinpoint the deepest spots, then position your boat over or beside the target structure.

Put your reel in free-spool and let your spoon fall until it hits bottom or to a depth where sonar shows suspended fish. Engage your reel and take up slack, sweep your rod tip upward one to three feet, then slowly drop the rod tip, letting the spoon free-fall but keeping “in touch” with it at all times. Repeat, and be attentive for pick-ups as the lure drops, usually signaled by a subtle “tick” on the line. Every now and then, crank the spoon swiftly toward the surface. This resembles a baitfish trying to dart away and is sometimes more than a bass can stand.

You’ll probably have to experiment each day to find the jigging action that works best. Some days, a short, fast jigging stroke may prove most effective; other days, a big lift followed by a long pause may be the ticket to success.

Dipping for Crappie

Jigging spoons are great lures for “dipping” standing timber near creek channels and other summer structure for crappie. Choose a “slick” tree with few branches and free-spool a spoon to the bottom right next to the tree. Crank the lure up just above the bottom and jig it, raising your rod tip then letting the lure fall so it flutters down after each upward movement. Fish the spoon slowly entirely around the pole, then reel it up a few feet and repeat, continuing to do this until you’ve worked all water levels.

You’ll usually only catch one or two crappie beside each tree. When you land one, move to the next pole and fish the same depth where you previously caught a fish.

Jump Fishing for White Bass

Small shad, the principal prey of white bass, are usually found feeding on plankton near the surface during summer’s hottest days, especially near dawn and dusk. White bass follow in sometimes vast schools, making periodic raids to gorge on the baitfish. Casting lures to these surface-feeding schools is commonly called “jump fishing” because the white bass, the baitfish and the anglers are jumping here and there during these feeding frenzies. It’s a great way to catch dozens of fish, one after another.

Watch for whites and shad boiling at the water’s surface in coves and backwaters. Then use a trolling motor to follow near the schools. Fire spoon past a school and retrieve it herky-jerky style as it sinks. The lure should wobble and flash like a fleeing shad to get the predators’ attention. When the white bass dive deeper, the same spoon can be vertically jigged to prompt more strikes.

Hold your rod and reel tightly when jump fishing because fish tend to hit hard, and occasionally you could hook a big striped bass or hybrid that’s fully capable of snatching your combo away. You never know for sure what might wind up on the end of your line.

Great for Saltwater

Jigging spoons nab saltwater gamefish, too—almost any species you can think of. Try long-distance casting in the surf for bluefish, redfish, black drum, tautog, flounder, weakfish, bonito, pompano, Spanish mackerel or tarpon.

Vertical jigging around oil rigs and other deep structures could produce snappers, groupers, amberjacks, cobia, wahoo or kingfish.

Choose a spoon similar in size to the predominant forage fish and you might also catch striped bass, mackerel, sharks, snook and more. Gold-colored spoons work especially well in these environs.

Alterations

When action is slow, altering a spoon may bring success. For example, you can bend a spoon with pliers or a hammer to make it flutter more erratically as it sinks, sometimes producing more strikes. In muddy water, super-glue a lure rattle to the spoon. The added sound helps fish find your lure. You can replace a plain treble hook with a feather-dressed treble, or add a plastic tube body, minnow or scent bait to the hook to coax more hits.

If you feel hits but are unable to hook the fish, short strikers may be the problem. In this case, try adding a jig trailer behind the spoon. Tie a 6- to 8-inch piece of light mono to the spoon hook then add a 1/32- to 1/8-ounce jig to the tag end. The smaller offering darting behind the larger spoon often entices wary sportfish to strike.

Tips for Spooning Success

The productive spoon fisherman tends to have a high level of concentration, a fine-tuned sense of feel and quick reflexes. If you fail to pay constant attention when jigging a spoon, if you aren’t accustomed to recognizing subtle strikes or if you don’t set the hook immediately upon getting a hit, you’re not likely to catch as many fish.

To improve your spoon-fishing skills even farther, remember these tips:

  • Pick a spoon that’s the right size for the fish you’re targeting. If you hope to catch crappie or yellow perch, for example, you’ll probably get more hook-ups with the 1 1/2-inch Little Mickey, the smallest of the CC Spoons. When you’re after bigger fish with bigger mouths, increase your lure spoon proportionally. Larger spoons also get to the strike zone quicker, a big plus when fish are holding deep.
  • Jigging spoons can twist line. To combat this, use a high-quality ball-bearing swivel above a leader to which the spoon is tied, or tie to a snap swivel clipped into the line tie. The War Eagle Jigging Spoon comes equipped with a swivel.
  • When fishing spoons, most strikes come as the lure falls and feel like faint taps or a “heaviness” on the line. Using braid or other low-stretch line will assist in detecting these subtle hits.
  • A fast-action rod usually works better than medium- or slow-action models because a too-limber pole decreases sensitivity and makes strike detection and hook-setting more difficult.
  • Keep your line semi-taut, especially when the spoon is sinking. This allows you to know if the lure stops sinking unexpectedly. If it does, a fish may have struck and you should, too.
  • Always watch for twitches or sideways movements of the line, which indicate a fish has inhaled the lure. Wearing polarized sunglasses and using fluorescent line make line-watching easier.
  • Set the hook at the slightest indication of a strike. Fish can inhale a spoon and spit it out again in a heartbeat. Don’t hesitate or you’ll miss fish.

Other Heavy Metal Options

Jigging works great for many deep-water fishing scenarios, but when they don’t produce, try one of these other great lures that sink quickly to down-deep strike zones.

Heddon Sonar: This blade bait, around since 1959, gives off vibrations that jigging spoons don’t have. When fish seem persnickety, retrieve one with quick rips and runs to produce a dynamic, erratic action sure to interest fish in need of wake-up calls. Adjust the line tie for different actions.

Cotton Cordell Gay Blade: This lure’s unique shape produces a pulsating action that could be your ticket to success when fish have lockjaw. Vertically jig it or retrieve with occasional pauses. The heavy metal body carries it down quickly to summer and winter fish in deep domiciles.