Aqua Dream Spoon Vs. Johnson Silver Minnow [Experiment Results]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
It’s Saturday morning and you’re heading out to your favorite honey hole…
It’s got mangrove islands, seagrass and an oyster bar where you can always find hungry redfish and snook.
Of course, you don’t want to get snagged, so you want to use a weedless spoon.
Which spoon are you choosing?
The Aqua Dream or the Johnson Silver Minnow?
To help you decide, I put together this lure experiment.
I rigged up each of these spoons on identical setups (same rod, reel, line and leader) and over three trips I would cast each one three times and then switch to the other.
Want to know which spoon performed best?
Check out the video below for the results.
Note: We are not affiliated with any spoon or other lure company, so you can be sure this is a totally unbiased review.
Aqua Dream Spoon vs. Johnson Silver Minnow
Mentioned links:
How To Retrieve A Weedless Spoon To Get More Strikes [Case Study]
Conclusion
Here are how these two lures stack up against one another based on what I saw and felt during the 3 days of testing:
Total Catches: Advantage: Aqua Dream
- Aqua Dream: 3 redfish, 3 snook
- Johnson Silver Minnow: 3 redfish, 1 snook
Casting Distance: Slight advantage to Silver Minnow (most differences came when having to cast into the wind)
Skip-ability: Advantage: Silver Minnow
Weedlessness: Tie
Vibration: The Silver Minnow puts out more vibration, which I would say is a positive in cloudy water, but it’s a negative in clear water.
Twist Factor: Advantage to Silver Minnow. The Silver Minnow seemed to twist the line a little bit less than the Aqua Dream.
Both spoons work well and can catch fish!
When I first got into fishing I was so concerned about which lure to use.
I was constantly wasting money buying new lures and wasting time switching them while I was out on the water.
But an experiment like this that proves you can catch fish with a number of different lures, so the most important thing is to find the feeding zones!
Now here are my questions to you:
Have you experienced different results than I have with these two lures?
Or found a certain situation where one of them really performs well?
Have any suggestions for making this a more accurate test?
Let me know in the comments below!
The benefit of us being funded by the Insider Club (and not brand sponsorships) is that we have the freedom to do these tests and give you unbiased feedback and recommendations.
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Equipment Used:
- Test Lure 1: Aqua Dream Spoon– 1/4th oz
- Test Lure 2: Johnson Silver Minnow – 1/4th oz
- Rod: Toadfish – 7’2″
- Reel: Florida Fishing Products Osprey – 2500
- Line (Mainline): PowerPro Slick – 10lb
- Leader: Ande Monofilament – 30lb
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Related articles:
- How To Retrieve A Weedless Spoon To Get More Strikes [Case Study]
- How To Rig Shrimp On A Jig-Head Like A PRO (VIDEO)
- The Best Lures For Redfish [Answer With Video Proof]
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Thanks iam going tomorrow to Aripeka great day last weekend 10 trout biggest was 19 in SLAM SHADY got the Alabama leprechaun give it a shot tomorrow
Luke, Have you ever compared these or other spoons to Acme Kastmaster spoons. I have used then near shore to busting fish but not inshore. Thanks.
Has anybody tried the Nacho Daddy Spoon yet? A guy out of Corpus Christi makes em for the Laguna Madre. It’s a weedless spoon made from colored resin. I picked one up but I’m not the best spoon fisherman. Anyone got tips on retrieving?
Luke, great info. It is awesome to see the pros and cons with each spoon. I agree, areas are way more important than a certain type of lure. Good work.
Up in nw. FL. A couple of friends and myself use the copper colored ones. Both in Cajun thunder and Johnson. Work great, give em a shot.
I live on a small river and was thinking about trolling one of these lures. Could that be effective and could you do it without a planer board?
You should try it! Experiment with various distances behind the boat depending on water depth and how often you will have to adjust your course. I’d start with a long cast distance behind. However, before you start moving you will have to dial in your speed both up and down current. If you move too quickly, the spoon will just spin and twist your line in a hurry, even if you use a swivel. Keep the spoon close enough to the boat to see it, and try to get your speed about the same as a slow to moderate retrieve. Have fun!
I started out many years ago with the J. SS for largemouth bass. When I got back to NC and saltwater in 1976 I found that here the gold version was the gold standard for red drum (no snook here). I heard about the AD on CA’s show and have had success with several colors, but have not done any controlled experiments. Excellent video!
Great video, Luke!
A few comments:
You’re right. If you’re not putting the lure in front of fish, it doesn’t make any difference what lure you use. I let the water I fish (hopefully with fish in it) drive my lure selection. So, if the water you’re fishing has a lot of weeds, the best choice isn’t a Mirrodine / Treble Hooks. That’s good water for a weedless spoon. If the fish are on oyster bars, maybe the deep diver with treble hooks isn’t the way to go.
I found that I get a lot less line twist when I use a good ball bearing swivel AND use a LOOP KNOT. I know that you’re tying to a split ring on the swivel, but for some reason I get a lot less twist when I use the loop knot. I’ve also found that the Silver Minnow is less likely to twist my line trolling behind a kayak. Also, check a used swivel to make sure it’s not locked up. When you twist a line trolling from the kayak, there’s no way to untwist it, so goodbye line.
When casting I like to reel both of them slowly — so they just nick the bottom now and then.
I’d be interested in what everyone’s experience with different AquaDream colors is. I’ve caught fish on all of them… I never know if I would have done better with another color.
I’m also interested in color preferences with the AquaDream. Thanks for the tip on trolling them and reeling slowly.
This was a really nice comparison video and one short segment summed up most fisherman’s problems. ” I was focused on the lure and not as much on the spot”. That is the key and so easy to forget. Thank you again for a great video series.
Great Job Luke! I Really enjoined watching!