GOLD SPOONS
In the Texas bays the redfish is our ROCK STAR! We hunt these beautiful fish year round from the back lake marshes and flats to the mid bay oyster reefs. There are many things to consider when seeking to connect with a Texas redfish but today we will focus on my favorite lure.
In today's saltwater lure market consumers have an overwhelming selection. Everything from the old school classics like the MirrOlure 52M to the modern ultra-lifelike patterns offered. However, for well over 40 years I have always carried and often use a weedless Gold Spoon for catching Redfish. Whether I'm sight casting on the flats behind the Lighthouse in Port A or drifting the oyster reef in the middle of Christmas Bay I'm likely to have a gold spoon tied on.
It's the quick erratic wobble combined with the slow flutter that makes the gold spoon such a deadly lure. Additionally, the compact and aerodynamic properties of the weedless spoon offer exceptional casting distance and allow precision placement. While I prefer to rig a spoon on a spinning rod it's just as effective on a baitcaster. I like to pre-rig all my spoons with a split ring and swivel at the connection point. I believe this simple upgrade gives the lure better action and significantly reduces line twist. I prefer to use an 18" fluorocarbon leader (reduces line visibility and provides abrasion resistance) connected to my mainline with a small swivel but tying braid straight to the swivel on the spoon produces results in the off color waters of the upper coast.
The best part about fishing a spoon is there is no wrong way to work it! However, I believe the best way is a steady quick retrieve making the spoon wobble combined with frequent but brief pauses causing the spoon to flutter down through the water column. I find most strikes occur at the beginning of the pause. Other ways to work a spoon include a continuous quick twitch retrieve making it dart side to side, a jigging style of sharply raising the rod tip and slowly reeling in the slack as you lower the rod tip, and of course the steady retrieve. Variations in speed and pause duration can make all difference and allow you to explore different layers of the water column.
So to answer the question from our Instagram post on Saturday, I have now moved from a smooth mirror finish spoon to a hammered spoon. This is not to say a mirror finished spoon is a bad lure but the hammered spoon gives you noticeable advantage. The dimples give the spoon extra surface area creating additional flash points and produce greater vibration leading to more strikes. This change has given me more confidence in what was already one of my confidence lures and earned its place in my tackle box forever.
GOOD LUCK & TIGHT LINES
