How To Retrieve A Weedless Spoon To Get More Strikes [Case Study]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on July 19, 2019
Here’s the good news:
My dad and I went out fishing recently and a ton of redfish were brought to the boat.
Here’s the bad news (for me):
Most of them were caught by my dad!
He totally outfished me, but thanks to the video, I know what he did that I wasn’t doing.
Want to know how he outfished me?
Watch the video below.
How To Retrieve A Weedless Spoon [VIDEO]
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Given how much action my dad had those days, I believe that the unique retrieve style he performed was the core reason for the elevated performance.
I have been using it ever since and have found it to work quite well.
Now, obviously fishing with spoons can be very productive (I lost count of all the reds we caught those few days), so you might have some questions about the best ways to use them…
Below I’ll tackle some of the most common questions or ideas surrounding catching fish with weedless spoons.
The Best Weedless Spoons
The most popular weedless spoons are the Johnson Silver Minnow spoons.
That’s the brand my dad and I were using and they’re tough, come in a variety of sizes and colors, and clearly catch fish.
The weed guard works great for repelling weeds from getting snagged by the hook, and it’s curved shape allows it to erratically dart underwater, eliciting strikes from even the pickiest of fish.
The only con with this spoon is that it deteriorates from the saltwater pretty quickly if you don’t spray it down after using it.
Of course, the fix for that is to just wash it off with fresh water!
To see how this spoon moves underwater, watch the Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon review video towards the bottom of this post.
What’s your favorite brand of spoon?
Let me know in the comments below!
What Size Weedless Spoon Do I Need?
1/4 ounce and 1/2 ounce spoons are the most popular when inshore fishing, and I’ve caught tons of fish with both sizes.
I do usually use the 1/4 ounce spoon more than the 1/2 ounce, and coincidentally my dad outfished me with a 1/4 ounce spoon while I was using a 1/2 ounce spoon.
And although it’s easy to look at this trip and think you should only use the 1/4 ounce spoon, one of the most important things to remember is to match the hatch.
If the predator fish are feeding on small baitfish, you’ll likely have more luck with the 1/4 ounce.
But if they’re feeding on bigger baitfish, the 1/2 ounce might be the better bet.
The Best Fishing Knots For Weedless Spoons
My favorite type of knot, and the one that’s most commonly used with weedless spoons, is a loop knot.
Specifically, the non-slip loop knot (a video on how to tie this knot is below).
Loop knots allow for a bit more of an erratic motion in the water, and it’s this erratic motion that causes a fish to strike.
However, it’s important to note that my dad was using a snug knot in the video above, so you can clearly catch fish with either knot.
But it’s also important to remember that my dad was using a twitch in his retrieve, which is what I believe is the real reason he outfished me.
You can see how to tie the non-slip loop knot in the video below.
How To Tie The Non-Slip Loop Knot [VIDEO]
Weedless Spoons: Gold vs. Silver
Finally, you might be wondering what the best color weedless spoon is…
Although the Berkley Johnson Silver Minnow comes in 18 different colors, the two most popular are by far silver and gold.
The general consensus is that gold spoons are good for stained or darker water, and silver spoons are most effective in clear water.
In the past, I’ve typically used gold, but recently I’ve been testing out silver to see how it does.
Obviously, this video could be considered a knock against silver, as my dad was using gold and I was using silver…
Although like I said, I think the retrieve was the big difference-maker.
Either way, I’m going to continue to test gold vs. silver.
How about you?
Which color do you prefer?
Let me know in the comments below!
Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon Review [VIDEO]
You can get this spoon at the link below:
Conclusion
Seeing how much of a difference the retrieve can make has got me thinking…
What else makes a big difference when using spoons?
So I’ll be doing more testing going forward on color, size, knot type, retrieve and anything else that comes to mind.
Also, I’ll be testing different brands against one another to see which one actually does the best for targeting redfish, snook, and seatrout.
Which brands do you want me to test? (By the way, in the video of my dad and I, we were using Johnson Silver Minnow spoons.)
Which brand, color and size would you like me to test?
Let me know in the comments below!
Note: The great thing about being fueled by our Insider Club and not brand sponsorships is that I can do these tests and be totally unbiased.
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Very helpful Luke.;. I would like to see a test between Aqua Dream vs Johnson’s spoons
Here’s a review I did a while back on those two spoons: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/aqua-dream-spoon-vs-johnson-silver-minnow-weedless-spoon/
Thanks for the tips CFA 😀 I use the 1/4 oz gold with a piece of Fishbite attached 1/2” x 3/4”. It is good that you are still learning from dad
Yes, he is continually teaching me valuable lessons.
I haven’t been using spoons since the soft plastics but this segment has spurred up new excitement. I’ll be breaking out the old spoons now. Thanks Luke
So glad to see that you enjoyed this lesson
I am going back and viewing some of the old videos, as I consider them a valuable resource.. I was wondering if you still rig the spoons with a swivel up the leader and a loop knot. Thanks
I now don’t bother with swivels when using spoons after seeing the results of this test: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/using-swivel-with-spoon/
Dang I’m glad I watched this. I was taught to retrieve a gold spoon as fast as you can possibly turn your reel. I actually bought a new reel with a 7:1 ratio to help retrieve it faster. Actually have caught a lot of fish doing that, but now I’m wondering how many my lure out ran😂😂
It’s generally smart to adjust the retrieve speed with all lures to see what the fish are reacting to best… it often changed throughout the day.
These spoons can work even with a very slow retrieve… I’ve caught a lot of redfish while the spoon was just fluttering down to the bottom too.
I use a very sharp jigging motion when I retrieve a spoon, much harder than your dad is doing and I have good results
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Mike!
I want to ask a completely different question, what do you think of using Vaseline as reel lube?
Reel with your rod while holding the handle still.
one huge advantage the johnson has is it is weedless and snagless
Luke, what rod do you use when casting the 1/4 oz, to get the most distance?
I pretty much use the same rod for everything… a 7’6″ fast action rod with medium-heavy (medium for some brands) power. That has seemed to be the ideal blend of accuracy, feel, and casting distance for people like me who use lures most of the time.