How to Fish a Weedless Spoon

How to Fish a Weedless Spoon

Picture this: you’re fishing on a scenic lake with a friend enjoying the end of summer season. You drop a weedless spoon into the water and start to work it with a few quick hops. At first, nothing. Then you feel that sudden sharp pull and know that a big bass has taken your spoon. Soon enough, a squirmish ensues. Now it is up to you to bring that beautiful bass to shore.

Fishing with a weedless spoon allows scenarios like the one above to occur more often than not. Unlike similar types of fishing spoons, weedless spoons are amazing options for catching bass in the grass in the summer months or in grass that remains in late fall. Though considered cold water lures, they tend to work well anytime there are bass in shallow grass, weeds, or any kind of cover.

What’s the difference between a weedless spoon and say a jigging spoon or something similar? It all comes down to the shape and overall design. Immediately upon buying a weedless spoon, you’ll notice a curved convex bottom belly area. This allows the spoon to dynamically work through thick cover without becoming caught.

This is the exact reason why a weedless spoon is every fisher’s choice when dealing with thick weed beds or unruly brush piles. While other lures get caught up in such vegetation, weedless spoons cut through like a hot knife through butter. What’s better, bass lurking below such thick vegetation will almost always explode through the bottom layers to strike these lures.

In other words, think of a weedless spoon as your best asset if you’re looking for that prize-winning bass. Now that you know a bit about the basics, let’s get into actually fishing with a weedless spoon. If you’ve only used other lures, this may prove foreign territory. Let’s break down the basics below.

When to Use Weedless Spoons

Like any lure in your arsenal, there is a time and a place to use a weedless spoon. Generally, knowing when to bust out your weedless spoon is going to be very dependent on actual water temperature. Current recommendations are to use a weedless spoon when water temperatures are 70 degrees Fahrenheit or above. It is never really too hot to use a weedless lure. 

This is due to the fact that areas with thick grass or water lilies often run cooler than the surrounding water. Bass will seek out these areas as a form of refuge from warmer waters at the same depth. With that said, the best time of day to use a weedless spoon is early morning or late afternoon. It is also recommended to bust out these lure types on cloudy days rather than not-a-cloud-in-the sky days. Another best practice is to strive to use the lures in clear water rather than muddy water. This will help you to determine where to best place your lure and how to jig accordingly. 

What Size Weedless Spoons Do You Need?

Now that you know a little bit about when to use a weedless spoon, let’s touch on what size weedless spoon you actually need. Generally in our opinion, if you’re doing more in-shore fishing, a one-fourth ounce or half-ounce spoon is going to take you the furthest. The rule of thumb is to “match the hatch.” If the predator fish like feeding on small bait, you’ll enjoy more luck with the quarter ounce weedless spoon.

If you notice the bass or fish enjoys feeding on larger bait fish, you’ll have better luck with the half-ounce. With that said, keeping both in your tackle box is probably a good idea. Try both and see which brings you the most success while out in the water. Some people swear by the smaller size, while others enjoy the bigger size.

Best Techniques for Using Weedless Spoons

You’ve got the right size and know when to use them, but what are the best techniques for utilizing weedless spoons? Let’s start by breaking things down into the two primary weedless spoon techniques: grazing and submerged.

Grazing Technique

With the grazing technique, you’re literally going to graze the grass with your lure. To do this, simply retrieve your weedless spoon just over the top of the surface grass or surface leafs. There is no need to fully submerge in the water.

Submerged Technique

The second technique for using weedless spoons is the submerged technique. Unlike grazing, you are going to dip just below the water’s surface, but just below the very top of the submerged vegetation. You will not be skimming over surface grass or leaves. 

Which Technique Works Best?

Both techniques will work well, as long as you know bass behavior. As a species, bass have a tendency to hang very close to the edges of  large expanses of vegetation. This is where they will lie in wait for prey. They don’t typically wade into the middle of these areas of vegetation, except on very sunny days. Most of the time, bass will almost always cling to the sides of these patches waiting to feed. That’s where you can go in with your weedless spoon and make some big moves!

How to Set the Hook With a Weedless Spoon

Learning how to fish with a weedless spoon is pretty straightforward. The only thing that has a tendency to catch some anglers up is actually setting the hook. Since bass are pretty terrible about short striking most spoons, you need to take a few precautionary measures to set yourself up for success.

The first thing you can do is bend the hook. To accomplish this, simply bend the hook out ever so slightly. This will up your odds of penetration. Do not bend the hook so much that is beyond the protection of the guard. Otherwise, you risk making the entire weedless spoon rather useless.

Once you’ve done this, take your lure out for a test drive. Try to cast out in a place where you found plenty of bass prior, but couldn’t land the big catch. If a strike occurs with your weedless spoon, go ahead and drop your rod tip. Take a beat or two and then snap up. If you pull the line tight to feel the bass too soon, you’ll risk losing your catch.

Final Thoughts on Fishing With a Weedless Spoon

Weedless spoons are the best way to access bass who tend to hide in grass, leaves, or other vegetation. Unlike normal spoons, a weedless spoon can easily cut through the muck without becoming entangled. The result is a much more effective lure that entices prize-winning bass without all of the headaches.

When using a weedless spoon, remember the two main techniques “grazing” and “submerged.” Then bear in mind the best times of day to bust out your lures and when to seasonally assume one lure rather than other. If you keep these tips in mind and go with your angler’s intuition, you’ll be catching high bass yields in no time!

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