3 Tips To Catch Inshore Slams On Gold Spoons In Fall & Winter
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
What’s your go-to lure when the water gets cold?
We talked about Gulp shrimp recently, but another great option is a gold spoon.
I love slowly retrieving a weedless spoon down a tree-lined shoreline in the backcountry, feeling it wobble through the water, and then having a redfish try to yank the rod out of my hands as it smashes the spoon.
Here’s why these are so effective in late fall and winter:
- They have great flash and vibration to catch fishes’ attention
- They’re versatile (you can fish them slowly on the bottom, or quickly near the surface)
- They’re weedless so you can get tight to structure where the fish are
- And, most importantly, fish love them!
I recently caught an inshore slam while anchored up in one spot using them, and in this article, you’re going to learn three tips for how you can catch cold-weather slams with these lures, too.
Where To Use Gold Spoons In Cold Weather
When the water cools down in the fall, fish start heading toward the backcountry.
You can find them in backwater creeks and bays and residential canals.
When cold fronts roll through, they’ll head to the deeper creeks, canals, and cuts.
And when it warms up a bit, you can find them on shallow flats and shorelines with muddy bottom that are warmed up by the sun.
One good thing about Johnson and Aqua Dream spoons is that they’re weedless, so you can cast your lure under docks or mangroves and around oyster bars without having to worry too much about getting snagged.
How To Retrieve Gold Spoons In Late Fall & Early Winter
When the water is cold the fish are lethargic and hugging the bottom.
Cast out your lure, let it settle, and then retrieve it slowly and steadily just above the bottom.
If the water is deeper, you can use a heavier spoon or slow it down.
If the water is shallow and the fish are aggressively feeding, you can retrieve it a little quicker to have it swim higher in the water column.
Check out this article for more on retrieving weedless spoons.
How To Rig Gold Spoons
Many people use swivels with spoons to stop their line from spinning.
But in the winter, when you’re retrieving your spoon slowly, it’ll wobble and stay upright, so your line probably won’t be spinning that much anyway.
Swivels add extra knots and potential breaking or snagging points, so I’d avoid them here.
If the spoon has a split ring, I’ll tie a snug knot to it, but if it has an eye, then I’ll tie a loop knot.
Catching Winter Inshore Slams On Gold Spoons
I recently used these tips to catch an inshore slam while anchored up in one spot.
I was in a back creek and caught snook and reds up close to the mangroves, and a trout in the deeper part of the creek.
Check out the video below!
Winter Inshore Slam On A Gold Spoon [VIDEO]
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Conclusion
As you saw in the video above, gold spoons are great baits to use in late fall and early winter.
Use them in backcountry bays and creeks and in residential canals, and retrieve them slowly across the bottom.
You can pick up these two gold spoons from our shop here:
Have any questions about using gold spoons in the fall and winter?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you know someone who wants to catch more fish them, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Thanks for the spoon video. One more lesson learned…
I’m already a member.
Thank you for the great feedback Michael!
What area in Florida are you fishing in? Looking for some kayak launch spots when traveling the area.
Hey Jeffrey,
I fish anywhere from New Smyrna down to Sebastian on the east coast, and Crystal River to St. Pete on the west coast. If you are looking for launch locations be sure to check out this video:
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/find-kayak-launch-spots/
My favorite spoon is/was the Rapala Minnow Spoon. All the action of a spoon, but much less weight. It’s great for shallow water. Too bad that it was discontinued.
Good stuff James! I don’t think Ive seen them before but I’ll definitely do a search to see what they look like.
For those that aren’t using a swivel in front of your spoons because the feeling is they are to intrusive, give the Stainless Ultra High Power swivels from Hitena a try. (www.hitenausa.com) Think you will be pleasantly surprised. They are very miniature in size, yet extremely high performance. I’m using their #12 120lb swivel in front of all of my surf Kastmasters (gold and silver). No doubt could go smaller in poundage but their so small I find this size to be the easiest to work with. This company is out of Japan and ordering has to be done online. Their USA office is in Tampa. Shipping is quick and reasonable. (Give them a look Tony and maybe do a review on pros and cons.)
Will definitely check them out, thanks Art!
I have found that using a tiny cut strip of FISH BITES added as a trailer to the single hook gives off scent and has more appeal to entice the fish following the lure. My main spoon is the Johnson Silver Minnow in various weights and sizes. Tony thanks for all the GREAT VIDEOS…Keep them coming!
Good stuff Clifford! Thank you for the great feedback!
Nice tip tony.
Thanks Robert!
hey Tony, Impressed as usual with your videos.
of the spoons you sell eg; the gold and the other other bait looking ones, which would you choose from them all?
thanks,
Bruce
Hey Bruce!
If I could only have 2, it would have to be the 24K gold and the white.
A swivel can easily be added to the spoon without adding extra knots. Do this my attaching the swivel directly to the split ring. This is more effective in reducing line twist as the spoon will spin the swivel much easier compared to having the swivel on the line.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Ryan. Here’s a link to a test on how many twists it takes in a braid mainline for the swivel to start working that I think you’ll be interested in seeing: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/using-swivel-with-spoon/
In the Oak Island NC area, a popular rigging is to cut the tail off of a curly tail soft plastic and hook it sideways on the spoon. It is thought this gives the lure the appearance of a blue crab moving along the bottom. This is also effective when trolling for trout.
Should have also mentioned that adding a Gulp curly tail adds scent to the spoon.
Great tip Forest!
I have used Aqua Dream for 20 years. Back when they were just Mike Hakala’s spoons. 30lb. swivel, uni knot, and go.
Good stuff Jim!