How To Retrieve A Weedless Spoon For More Strikes

[@k-mparker]

I’m an avid largemouth bass fisherman and fish some local and regional tournaments and have these spoons in my boat and usually always have the Johnson spoon tied on or a Nichols flutter spoon. Learned about the Johnson spoon years ago from my Grandad. Also, fish for redfish occasionally in southeast VA. Your right about your Dad and the reason he out fished you bcuz he was imparting more action on his spoon. Something of bass fisherman do with a swim jig when swimmimg it, is the “Alabama shake.” This is a more pronounced version of what your Dad was doing and I employ this technique with my Johnson spoons when throwing them. Another nugget to ensure the fish hangs onto the spoon when hooked is to pit a soft plastic trailer on it to give it some substance. A lot of times a fish will bite the spoon, a spinnerbait, buzzbait, or a swim jig and you end up losing them. I believe with a fish just hitting biting into something hard and soft, the fish realizes there is something wrong and usually thats when they come off. There are a plethora of soft plastic trailers on the market as well as other soft plastic baits that can shortened up to give the spoon some meat for the fish...just my 2 cents.

[@SonRiseforNathaniel]

Dog is so happy to be one of the guys

[@RH-qk5lt]

Salt Strong continues to impress me in a multitude of ways to educate me on salt water fishing. I can't wait until our next trip to try what I think I've learned.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment! Glad to see that you enjoyed this weedless spoon retrieve video.

[@j1s1a1]

What do you recommend for pond fishing?

[@boz065]

Great video! Been fishing a Johnson Spoon in 3/4 oz my whole life. It’s my bread and butter lure.I use a white or yellow (chartreuse) hula skirt to give it more action. You can use pork rind also. There is so many ways to fish it but I’ve found over the years that the slower retrieve gives more flash and with the skirt, it whips back in forth. I live inland so I have used mine exclusively in freshwater on bass. My profile picture is a 9 lb post spawn fish on my 3/4 oz silver spoon. Thanks for posting the video. Enjoyed it.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks so much for making time to leave the helpful comment! And fantastic work on the 9 lb bass!

[@boz065]

Salt Strong thank you guys for putting these videos out. Bass fishing is my passion but I am trying to learn about the inshore fishery and y’all have really helped an old dog learn something new. Thanks for the kind compliment.

[@j1s1a1]

What length? I am trying to catch bass in ponds. Any suggestions for that?

[@tomhath8413]

Same location, same lure, Dad catches all the fish because of a slight difference in the retrieve. Very interesting video.

[@madaxman2112]

i love the dogs enthusiasm!!

[@Saltstrong]

He's always pretty excited!

[@willriley1619]

I think the snug knot works best for these spoons because the eye of the lure is offset which is what gives it's twitch action.

[@rayman7712]

Your father was really kicking up that wobble action, making sure that flash got the fish’s attention! Very cool.

[@bakersoffice]

Spoons are to mimic a crab going sideways. Slow reel, bring rod tip to 10:00 position, reel down and repeat. You need the spoon bumping bottom And coming back up.

[@steiny3353]

Your Dad seems to know his stuff....lol. enjoy your vids

[@2003zq8]

I agree Luke, you should try the Aqua Dream weedless spoons and do fishing review. Ive caught some nice reds here in the lagoon slow rollin' the pinfish pattern.

[@Saltstrong]

Yes. I'll def give the aqua dream spoon sometime soon.

[@russellmayne7157]

Mepp's used to make tiny black spoons; these lures worked great for catching Pompano.

[@manrod4871]

Nice challenge and good info. I'd like to see how effective they really are under heavy covers, specially under trees and branches conditions. Also, you could try an "up and fall" retreive like they use to work worms. Anyway, nice instructive video.

[@WildBill1911]

I have used the Johnson Silver Minnow many times when fishing for largemouth bass. Very effective. I like using a white plastic trailer with it. I caught bass with a steady retrieve and with a twitch and can't tell if one is better than the other. I've never used it for Reds but plan to try it out.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for sharing!

[@rickydavis9317]

I can’t count how many times on a windy day I’ve backlashed trying to whip a spoon as far as I can. More times than not once I finished cleaning that mess and began to retrieve my spoon there has been a red on it. Lol.

[@tylerthorne5980]

I add a swivel with a snug knot and have done well with that setup.

[@jpvcwby]

I am trying to up my game with spoons. I have often tipped mine with a short, curly grub. Is that a good idea or should i stick to the spoon only? Thanks for the great videos.

[@Myancestorsheathen]

I’m a snug knot, do you notice much line twist if you’re using braid with a leader?

[@markbergeron1607]

I was fishing yesterday fresh water with the gold spoon and caught 2 good size snake eyes or mud fish just wanted to learn hand movement cus I don’t usually never uses Lures but great fish day hope to do more today

[@davidstokes925]

How do you feel about using a swivel to cut down on line twist?

[@clydecrashcup9202]

In my experience, these spoons have a tendency to rotate if retrieved too quickly. I think if you are getting a lot of line twist,, you should slow your retrieve.

[@jasondeville1]

Haha I couldn’t pay attention to anything but your dog

[@paulhuval6579]

Good tips when i have fished with the gold spoon i have done good on redfish were i live. It might be just the days i was fishing but with the silver spoon have caught more trout on them.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Paul!

[@CurrituckF150]

A Johnson Sliver Minnow was the bait of choice for fishing Back Bay in Va Beach, VA and Currituck Sound in NC from the late 60's on, so I've been fishing with one for years. These bodies of water were the best bass fisheries on the east coast till the grass died off in the early 80's. I still have and fish some spoons from the mid 70's. The new Silver Minnows appear to have a slightly different line tie than the older models. We used to use 3" single tail grubs for trailers but I don't see that in use in saltwater. Wonder why that is?

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for making time to leave the insightful comment. What color grubs did you feel worked best on your spoons? I'll be sure to give them a try... if they work for bass, they'll surely work for redfish, snook, and seatrout.

[@CurrituckF150]

@@Saltstrong white or pearl but white mostly

[@kremmas2785]

Luke can you please explain what is the right position for the needle in front or behind the hook ,thanks.

[@Saltstrong]

The needle should be behind the hook, it will still remain weedless however when a fish bites down the hook will expose itself and bury in its mouth.

[@kremmas2785]

@Saltstrong kind of confusing, the new spoon that you guys promote has two weedless needles with the screw and it show in front of the hook , can you attach a picture with the correct position if you can, thanks, big fan of your work 💪.

[@CallSignWhiplash]

I’ve noticed in Calcasieu that I prefer Gold for Reds and Silver for Specs.

[@earlewaters1917]

Silver has always been better for seatrout than gold for me🤗the Dupre spoon fly for fly fishing is a scale down Johnson silver minnow and is my go to fly for reds and snook🤗😎🇺🇸

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Earle!

[@walter992]

I have been "pumping" my spoon retrieve for many years, and I can usually out fish others that do a straight retrieve. I always use gold with a loop knot, mostly 1/8 oz. Cats out of the bag.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks!

[@vernervanschalkwyk2280]

Awesome footage! Do you use spoons for bass fishing as well. I live in South Africa and think spoons might work well.

[@bayouburner281]

Nacho Daddy Spoons, y’all gotta try that one.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll def keep an eye out for the nacho daddy spoons.

[@jimsmith4643]

Fresh water angler. Love your vids. Would braid work on Johnson spoon?

[@mr.munsey9322]

one of my favorite 💪🐟Spoon

[@TradIrishHarper]

I wonder if you throw the 4” 1.5 oz spoon in gold how that will perform?

[@Saltstrong]

Check out the full blog on our website at www.saltstrong.com/articles/weedless-spoon-fishing/ and post your question there. That way, our coaches can respond back directly with their feedback.

[@chambourtram]

I wonder if the weedless barb strength / angle of bend effects the hook percentage. Just thinking of your missed strike and if it was a factor. Nice vid.

[@Saltstrong]

I have to imagine that the metal hook point protector on these weedless spoons do cause some missed strikes, so I only use them when fishing near structure. But when fishing near lure snagging structure like oysters, mangroves, docks, etc., the benefit of not getting snagged significantly overshaddows the risk of a couple missed strikes.

[@johnmaggiorino4493]

Good explanations 👍

[@Saltstrong]

Glad you liked it!

[@davehughes53]

White, black chartreuse, curly tail grub, mister twister , tip it!!!

[@danielsmith5351]

Brass spoon is my favorite lure of all time.

[@Saltstrong]

Good choice!

[@walterlee762]

Great video guys! Where can I get a Redfish Strong hoodie? My spirit animal is a Redfish!

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for the kind words Walter! I'm sorry to report that we do not sell the Redfish Strong hoodies. But we do offer an option for this same hoodie without the print on the back for very low price relative to any other sun protection hoodie of this quality... here's a link to learn more in case interested: shop.saltstrong.com/products/strong-angler-performance-hoodie

[@ralphfuller718]

What months are best for a spoon? I fish Texas bays.

[@TheTruth-ge7fj]

winters work best

[@dross1492]

What about adding a ball bearing swivel for line twist? Thanks

[@Inthegrowroom]

H&H weedless spoon comes with a ball bearing swivel & a silicone weedless nose guard. I love it

[@robertstechschulte3719]

What about trying Aqua Dream weedless spoons and using a small swivel for line twists.

[@Saltstrong]

I'll definitely try the Aqua Dream weedless spoon. As for the use of a swivel, I started trying it without a swivel the past couple months using this Johnson Silver Minnow weedless spoon and haven't had any line issues yet.

[@nonyabizness2550]

What strength line should you use for red fish

[@jamesgatlin4162]

Looks like Otis has learned to stay in boat

[@Saltstrong]

He's definitely getting better... he did fall it at one point that day, but at least it was an accident:)

[@walden6272]

Was your dad was using the gold spoon? So gold outperform silver?

[@rollypollyguy3976]

When you're spooning your snuggling close y'all. Always snug, always silver, maybe copper if it's a bright day.

[@jperry968]

Have you ever tried a swivel with about 12”-18” of leader?

[@Saltstrong]

Great question! Make sure to ask this over in the Community (www.saltstrong.com/) where the coaches spend their time.

[@azello9907]

I want a dog like that

[@baileymakinit]

Do you use a swivel or not

[@Saltstrong]

Depneds on the line types used... here's an experiment that shows the details: www.saltstrong.com/articles/using-swivel-with-spoon/

[@bevo7729]

There also a spoon called who’s dat spoon made by bomber which looks killer and put a big worm on the weed gard gold spoon lots of tail

[@richf4673]

do you use a swivel on your leader?

[@bigd7861]

Around my area, they swear on the gold for reds and silver for trout. 🤷‍♂️

[@amblo51]

What about a swivel to prevent line twist?

[@Saltstrong]

I stopped using swivels with spoons this year to see if they made a difference or not... so far, I haven't had any line twisting issues.

[@jasonwilliams6120]

@@Saltstrong Is that a Johnson spoon? Just started fishing with spoons last time out and used a Johnson without swivel no problems. They say their wobble won't twist the line. I used one on the aquadream spoons though. The reds and bass tearing them up. They where liking it reeled fast, I'm try the twitch tech. out next time though.

[@Saltstrong]

@@jasonwilliams6120 Yes, we were using Johson silver minnow spoons.

[@willriley1619]

The Johnson spoon is designed with an offset eye for its twitching/fluttering action. I think a swivel would be pointless and take away from the designed action.

[@tomjones7853]

Actually light line generally doesnt even have the tension to create enough friction to spin a swivel

[@chicwboost]

I had never caught a fish on a spoon till yesterday and it was a 28" red on a red head Aqua Dream spoon. Went on to get a couple trout after that till the weather turned. I'd like to get your opinion on the aqua dream spoons.

[@Saltstrong]

Nice work on the catching yesterday Dustin! I have not yet tried an aqua dream spoon yet. I'll be sure to pick some up and test them against this Johnson weedless spoon.

[@visualedtech]

Ha! Did OTIS go home with your DAD? He certainly hung out by him a lot!

[@Saltstrong]

Haha! Even Otis knew that my dad was the one who was bringing in the fish:)

[@bendingrodsfishing6429]

How about the spoons witha swivel on it?

[@SkinnyWaterVibes]

I love spoons!

[@rjmrg]

Thanks so much for these videos. What confuses me though is that you guys released a previous video where you suggested attaching a swivel to a spoon with a split ring. In this video, it looks like your dad tied on direct. Did your dad use a swivel between the leader and main line?

[@IWillNotArgueWithMorons]

Bummed not to see a reply to this question, as I had the same thought. Salt Strong..would really appreciate an answer. TIA

[@tonysmith8264]

@@IWillNotArgueWithMorons They dont use swivels because they dont see a difference between using one and not.

[@cdbz20]

Does this work at night?

[@miguelmartinez2770]

Never heard of a snug knot? Why don't you use a swivel on the spoon?

[@mikeotto4350]

1/2 ounce gold, snug knot, irregular retrieve brand doesn't matter

[@reharris904]

Try Gotcha plugs

[@Saltstrong]

They are a big difference to weedless spoons... their benefit is long casting distance for open water situations. While the weedless spoon is more for fishing close to structure.

[@JoeSimondsSaltStrong]

Pa-POW!

[@michaelbarquin7243]

How will the retrieve work when u fish from shore instead from a boat ?

[@Saltstrong]

There shouldn't be any difference in a retrieve method for fishing in a boat vs on shore.

[@michaelbarquin7243]

@@Saltstrong ok thanks for the info.

[@nicstr28]

Snug knot slows the action down. Tighter wobble. Loop knot lets the lure swing more creely Some days it makes a diff on the catching. Same with a doa shrimp. Some days a snug knot will outfish a loop knot on the doa.too. Prob every lure.. .

[@ritzasheangler1814]

👍❤🐕