Spoons...

[burnsy22]

I basically pretied most of my spoons around 6 feet or slightly under 6 feet....Is that going to work with pretty much most spoons? I mostly have silver horder, coyotes, zurtro and a few tomics.

I fish with a buddy all of the time so having to net something by myself with a 6 foot leader won't be an issue.


Thanks

 

[scott craven]

You may not need a 6' leader, i quite often run 4' and 5' leads on spoons...
with the shorter leader you'll get a faster action.
personal preference and whatever works best for you.

 

[greenhornet]

I run mine at 60 to 75 inches depending on your speed,current etc 6ft will work just fine,if nothing happens shorten it up a bit.I troll at 2.8 to 3.3 mph thats definately my gettem speed going a little faster helps to control the boat in tough conditions.If Im fishing anchovies also do the same,good luck..

Tight lines
Billydoo

 

[tubber]

I find I can stay better organized (less tangles) if I keep my naked spoons in Plano boxes and my swiveled leaders wrapped on 3 foams in 5, 6, and 7 foot lengths with swivels on. If you trust your main line, and there are lots of fish, use a dummy flasher and just tie your spoon on and go.

 

[Karma-Kazi]

I run all mine at 4-6 ft leaders most of mine are 5 footers though. Easier on the netter and it seems to work fairly well.

I also troll fast too. in the 2.8-3.8 kt range

-Steve

 

[muttley]

5 ft. leaders for me. 2.3-2.6mph.

For guys fast trolling, how do you control downrigger line angle or do you worry about it?

 

[Karma-Kazi]

Never worried about it, we fish in such strong currents i usually just look for 45 degrees and stick with it. Spoons work at fast and slow speeds they just work better at some speeds.

-Steve

 

[greenhornet]

I prefer to troll fast fishy guy is right on 45 dgree angle when we didnt have gps in the old days I would go fast enoght that 1 inch of air bubbles of the downrigger lines worked very well for me.I can recall when fishing Kirby point one time I was trolling quite abit faster then everyone else one guys says to me if we all troll the same speed we wont have any problems of my boat passing others etc.I said to him how many fish have you caught this trip he replies none,I then said I have 4 in the box already this morning maybe you should speed up.He was thanking me later when he started to catch a few including a 35 lb beauty,he even pulled up and threw me a six pack!!! So just a little lesson also makes it alot easier in heavy seas,current and wind to troll fast,when I use hootchies I like to go 3 to 3.5 get lots of action on then dont worry the fish will catch up if they want it,besides if you were a bait fish swimming for your life wouldnt you be going as fast as you can??????

Tight lines
Billydoos

 

[Enniberg]

3.5-4.5 mph with a big Tomic spoon and no flasher works like magic on the WCVI during the month of August, but I find it difficult to keep a 45 degree angle dragging a flasher at those speeds.

 

[Pippen]

Question for you "spooners". When you are running a big Tomic spoon on it's own....do you tie right on to the spoon or do you use the one of the many kinds of "snaps" out there. I am having a brain fart and can't recall what the snaps are that I use....but you have to squeeze them to push them together...and you have to attach whatever to it kinda like putting a key on to a key ring..........MASSIVE BRAIN FART!!!!

 

[Dogbreath]

Straight tie no snap it might dampen the action.

You mean these?

McMahon snaps.

 

[Pippen]

These thingies!!! Easy snap...Quick snap?? I am gonna have to go look in my box and look for a package before I punch myself in the forehead.

This pic from Tomic shows either a straight tie or using a "thingy snap".

http://www.tomiclures.com/rigging/flashers_with_spoons.htm

I keep one with a bead chain on the end of my line.....was just curious about the action though too.

 

[likwit]

a buchanan clip is what i believe they are called.

 

[Dogbreath]

a buchanan clip is what i believe they are called.

McMahon snaps

There are all kinds of nicknames but the common name is McMahon Snaps

 

[pescador]

I'd love to see some photos of spoon set ups. I'm a chovy man but have started using more spoons in recent years in particular on the WCVI when I run out of anchovy. I'm always wondering about whether I should tie direct to spool, add a bead chain/leader, tie direct to the lure, should I run a flasher etc etc. I've done all the above, but, it seems some spoons come with rings/swivels and others don't. What are the general rules? Am I changing the intended action by adding more pivot points?

 

[Dogbreath]

.....Am I changing the intended action by adding more pivot points?

From what I've seen Yes you're slowing down/dampening the action.

Remember when all the big old commercial spoons came with big crane swivels attached to the ring?

Didn't make much difference since they go @ a pretty good clip-then came along the sporties Great Lakes style thin bladed spoons that could be trolled @ any speed but more or less died if a swivel was added.

Most of the spoons we use now are somewhere in the middle and I cut any/all swivels off.

 

[IronNoggin]

I simply call them quick links.

I usually leave the swivels on the front end of the spoons. Tie that to ~ a 6 foot leader then to a stainless barrel swivel, then to mainline. Longer makes it a tad more difficult on the landing end of things.

Commercial fishing here are the "rules of thumb" we employ as far as speed;
- Hootchies and Spoons: 2.7 - 3.0 knots. Generally try to stick around 2.7 - 2.8.
- Plugs: 3.2 - 3.8 knots. They like these Fast!

Pretty much follow the same when sport fishing as I am very comfortable with that and it's production levels. For bait (on the very rare occasion I use that stuff) I generally slow it down to 2.4 - 2.5 knots.

All of that is for springs. Can speed it up a tad for Yo-Yo's, and of course slow it right off for sox.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[pescador]

Doesn't that picture of the white Tomic spoon (Pippen posted above) show a swivel on nose? So If I'm getting this right, tie direct to lure (ring), no other hardware required.....

 

[Pippen]

I simply call them quick links.

I usually leave the swivels on the front end of the spoons. Tie that to ~ a 6 foot leader then to a stainless barrel swivel, then to mainline. Longer makes it a tad more difficult on the landing end of things.
Nog

Nog....if you aren't running a flasher why don't you just tie directly to the mainline; why the leader and another swivel?

 

[Business Time]

I leave the swivel on the front of the spoon.

There are so many variables to think about... Find something that works for you and go with it.

BT