SUrF spooNs
lb fluorocarbon Berkley line on my 7.3 Powell pitching stick and a curado left handed reel . i am right handed by the way.
Gold spoon if the water is stained or cloudy. Chrome spoon if clear water or sunny.
Next select your target, pitch right to it within an inch or so. Now the moment your spoon hits the water and your rod tip is at the 9 o’clock position… keep your reel in free spool and in a quick motion pull your rod tip back to noon position, dragging your spoon across the surface back to you. once your bait is back as far as you could drag it on the surface, then in a instance snap your rod tip back to your target as fast as you can, leaving all the slack line on the surface. This action will cause the spoon to SUrF back in the direction of your target, sort of darting and dashing, in a shiner like fashion that is very hard for most bass to resist.
on large flat docks, such as a marina store dock or house boats, where large numbers of big bass hang out,
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this bait can surf 20 to 30 feet horizontally before it finally starts it’s normal decent to the bottom. Sounds strange but true. i know, i’ve won many tournaments on lake Shasta on the docks, before they were put off limits in tournaments, by applying this method. But you can still do it for fun there. and apply it in so many other places.
Next, and this is a blast… running and gunning willow trees surfing spoons. First you need to modify your spoon a bit, but only in the trees. Just take the treble hook off the bait and replace it with a single 3/0 owner or similar strong good hook. Still using a Hopkins spoon, you use the same method as before but a little different target. These willows we have in some of our lakes can be overwhelmingly appealing to fish, especially in the early spring, before the water drops too much. i prefer the isolated trees or the furthest one out from the group, even if it’s several hundred feet away. as long as it is the first place a group of big bass can get a good vantage point to nail their target or in this case your spoon.
i always like the shaded side of trees, even if it is in
the back, the shad is key. Just pitch to the
back of a shady pocket then quickly drag
it back to you as far a your rod can reach,
then snap it back to the bush, allowing
the bait to surf back into the bush,
crashing into the bush ( if it even makes
it to the bush). Then, if not an immediate
response, don’t just let it go to the
bottom, but stop it over the first limb
just into the bush and hold it there for
a second or so. Then slack line again to
flutter further into the bush and spoon
as normal in the middle of the bush for
one or two drops.
Then pick up and head for the
best spot on the next bush. only
fish the prime spots on the most
prime bushes, as if you were running
points. This is a deadly and very fun
way to fish spoons. You can also do
this on vertical walls, allowing the
bait to surf directly into a wall as it
sails down, once it hits the wall be
ready for the reaction. remember,
in open water use good treble
hooks and in the trees, a good
single hook.