Art Berry
Fishing The Jigging Spoon
 

Most tools are designed with specific jobs in mind. A saw cuts wood, a hammer drives nails and a screwdriver turns screws. Each has its own purpose and a carpenter knows which tool to fetch for each given task.

This same concept applies to fishing lures in this vein, the jigging spoon is one of the most specialized tools in bass fishing. It is also one of the most misunderstood and least used baits, especially by everyday anglers. It is probably because it is so specialized, but experts will agree when conditions are right, this is one of the deadliest bass lures ever used.

A jigging spoon is an oblong, dense lure fashioned from steel, lead or other heavy metal with a dangling hook on the business end. It is designed specifically for vertical jigging beneath the boat. The jigging spoons forte is catching bass grouped in deep dense schools mainly in the winter.

This is not normally a “search lure” rather it is employed after fish are located, usually with electronic aids. I will start off idling over likely areas while watching my Lowrance X-38 graph for signals, either baitfish or predators. Once fish are located I will position my boat directly over them, then disengaging my Abu Garcia Revo STX and lowering the jigging spoon in to the school.

The bait will drop quickly toward the bottom with an attractive side to side flutter. Some jigging spoons have small concave dimples hammered in to the sides to reflect more light and attract bass. A popular example would be the Hopkins shorty.

The jigging spoon sizes (weights) range from 1/8 to 2 ¼ ounces however, the vast majority of bass fisherman use ½ or ¾ once baits. By far he most popular finish is silver followed by gold, white and other various color combinations. Some jigging spoons feature buck tail or feather dressings on their hooks.

Owing to where and how these baits are used, tackle for fishing jigging spoons must be heavy. I prefer a B4 Dobyns bait-casting rod. You need backbone in a jigging spoon rod, but you also some comfort factor. Snapping a spoon up and down for 4 or 5 hours gets tiring. The handle on the Dobyns rods gives you better control over the rod and it won’t wear you out. I also prefer the Revo STX bait casting reel, which is essential with jigging spoons because a user must exert some control over the spool with my thumb. When choosing line I almost never go below 12lb Berkley Fluorocarbon, and Ill go as high as 20lb when I’m jigging in flooded timber or brush. This is because a jigging spoon hangs up a lot and with 20lb line, I can bend the hooks and pull it free. I feel there is no disadvantage to using heavy line with jigging spoons. A lot of times your fishing this bait in 30 or 40 feet of water, and its dark down there, so I don’t think line size matters much. I also believe heavier line may even enhance a jigging spoons action. “With heavy line the spoon falls slower, and I feel this is a more tempting presentation than a fast drop”

A lot of people tie directly to the spoon. A split ring swivel allows more movement in the bait, but it will cause more the hook to catch the line more. On the other hand, I tie to a split ring, which I believe reduces line twist and facilitates a tighter more compact knot. Yes a jigging spoon rigged with a split ring or snap is more likely to flip up and catch your line, but I’d rather have that than the severe line twist. So to each his own.

One of the most important things is to always have a new set of hooks and to always check to see if any of the points have turned over while getting hung up. With the spoons today many come with stainless steel hooks that are thick and don’t penetrate well, so putting on a new set of good hooks is essential.

As noted, a jigging spoon is primarily a bait to use in cold, clear water. In late fall, bass feed heavily in shallow embayments, but when the water temp dips below 60 degrees, the fish begin migrating back to deep water holding areas and collect in dense schools. This is when the jigging spoon comes in to its own. Finding a concentration of bass is priority one when fishing jigging spoons.

I like to search with them with my Lowrance X-38. I start out at the mouth of a major creek arm and I zig zag my boat, checking drop offs and bends in the channel. The minimum depth I’m looking for is 25 feet, and the maximum is 60feet. I watch for sharp breaks, the more vertical the better. Also I hunt for any structure-stumps, standing timber, rocks or brush, but the main thing I look for is baitfish. If you find the bait, the bass will be close by.

If I search one creek mouth with out finding fish, Ill move to another location. I never drop my jigging spoon in the water until I see baitfish or some larger fish. Deep bridge ruble and submerged roadbeds can be awesome structure. Also, bass sometimes relate to smooth breaks where no other cover is present. The important structural elements are the depth and steepness of the drop off.

Once I find a promising spot Ill position my Ranger Z520 over it and commence jigging. When you see fish returns just above the bottom, hold your rod tip over the water and push the free spool button on your reel. Let the spoon fall on its own pace, but keep your thumb on the spool, sort of a controlled drop. Once it’s on the bottom, engage the reel and take up the slack until the line is tight and the rod tip is 6 inches above the water. Then start jigging the spoon off the bottom with a pop-pop rhythm, letting it fall down each time you jerk it up. When it falls you want to sort of ride it back down with your line, but don’t impede it from falling at its natural rate.

You jig it by snapping your wrist and shooting the spoon up a couple of feet. You don’t want to lift it higher than this. Also if you’re in to the right cadence you’ll jig it 40 to 50 times a minute. It’s a constant mechanical motion, pop it up, and let it fall, over and over and over.

As you continue this process you can troll over precise areas where fish are seen on the electronics. They may be near the bottom or may be suspended. In either case, the spoon should be jigged at the fish’s level.

During the jigging process it is important to watch the line and keep alert for any sign of a bite. Many times you won’t feel anything, but the line will twitch or the bait will stop sinking. Almost all the strikes on the spoon come when it’s dropping. Whenever you feel anything unusual, any bump or mush feeling, set the hook.

I react to a bite by snapping my rod up overhead and reeling quickly to get a tight line on the fish, but if the hook set misses I immediately drop the spoon again and 99 times out of 100 they will hit again.

To stay over a school of fish Ill drop a marker buoy over the side and slightly away form the school to prevent from spooking them.

Fishing a spoon over featureless structure is easy, but in thick cover the need for finesse increases. I drop my bait right in the cover and just accept the fact that I’m going to hang up every so often, but I know I will shake the spoon free almost every time. The method for doing this is to take up the slack then to pop the bait continually with the rod tip. If you just keep shaking it, eventually the weight of the spoon will jerk it free. This is something you will have to develop a feel for, but it’s not hard to learn.

In the course of a day I will cheek hundreds of yards of structure electronically and test fish a score of places where I see bass and or bait fish. I like to find a school near the lip of a drop off close to the structure, these fish are more likely to be active than the school at the bottom of the drop or suspended out away from the break.
This is the beauty of jigging spoon. you don’t have to waste time and effort. The bait falls fast and it goes to where they are. It really only takes a couple of minutes to check a spot. If biting fish are there you may catch 10 on 10 straight drops.

Remember each day is different in terms of how bass relate to structure. One day they might be on top of the drop, the next day on the bottom.

I always sing the jigging spoons praise in one voice. Just file this in your memory bank. When conditions dictate using the jigging spoon, there is nothing else like it. It’s the best bar none.

Bass Wishes
Art Berry