Leaders for running Spoons?

[Ryno23]

This is only my 2nd year owning my own boat and fishing the Big O and I really need help with the spoon action.

What kind of leader is most typically used for running spoons? On riggers and Dipsey? I'm still having issues with trying to take fish with Spoons, not matter what I do I can not get a spoon to fire off. I've spooled a reel with light line 12# test to see if the action would make a difference, and nothing, I've ran the same brand of spoons together, nothing.

I usually run 30# test when fishing for salmon and was wondering what lb leader is good to try and get the most action out of the spoon with it.

I basically run all F/F and Meat rigs now, I have no issues with catching fish with these. I would really like to get the spoon working in my aresnel in taking salmon and steelies, but I'm really up to my last nerve about this.

Any suggestions would be most appriecated, Im getting very fustrated with the whole thing as I'm about to sell off all the spoons I've bought over the last 2 years as none of them have taken fish I wonder if they even catch fish and all this talk about catching fish with spoons on these boards is just some big hoax. Though I know its not as I grew up on Lake Michigan and we use to kill the steel head with spoons when I was a boy with my dad, but I can not catch a fish with a spoon on the Lake O to save my life.

Please help, Thanks.

[dewey123]

i use 30 or 40 lb big game mono for leaders. I normally put spoons 10 ft give or take a foot off my down riggers. I dont run spoons on my divers because i always have flashers and flys on them but If i was to run them on divers id put a leader the lenght of your rod from diver to spoon.

[Paul Czarnecki]

You don't need any heavier than a 20# leader for spoons. Any more than that will hamper the action of some spoons.

Without knowing "what kind" and "what colors" of spoons you're running its hard to say where the problem lies but my bet is on speed. Spoons are not nearly as speed forgiving as flashers and a spoon run too slow does not work well/ neither does a spoon run too fast.

[hawkeye625]

We run 20lb trilene xt leader and take over half our fish on spoons. Our setup is a 30lb big game main line and about 20 ft or so 20lb xt. Small quality swivel to spoon. GPS speed is usually 2.5 to 3.1, down speed 2.2 to 2.5 - works well for us using dreamweaver regular and super slim spoons.

Try running your spoons just beside the boat and see what the action looks like at different speeds before dropping to target depth. That should give you a good idea if they are running right or not.

Last weekend was primarily a fly bite for us but the week before was 70% spoon bite.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I feel your pain! All of my fish from 9 trips this summer (except one shaker brown that hit a NBK) have been on wire dipseys with spinnies/flies. I've ran my leads off my balls from 10 ft to 20 ft (usually fishing 150-350 fow). I have my rods spooled with 20 and 25 big game with no leader. And others with 30 flea flicker running a 15 lbs floro leader. I run speeds of 1.9-3.0 on the gps. I started out with 12 lbs round balls and recently switched to 13 torpedos. 98% of my spoons are michigan stingers. And i have a full box of some good ones (spent $300-400 this yr). I know another guy on here that hasn't been able to get spoons to go either. I think i'm going to run a stealth spoon way out on a mono dipsey this weekend and see what happens.

[LongLine]

12# mono or copoly requires no leader w/ a spoon on the rigg'r. Straight 30# will kill a spoon. Try putting a spoon about 10-15 behind and below your F/F. You'll be surprised. Remember the aluminum spoons work at slower speeds than the heavier ones. Also, in general, wide spoons slow, narrow spoons fast.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[TyeeTanic]

Guys, I use 40# floro as a lead and 10' of it to the spoon, and have got many fish at the start of the season on this.

I don't understand why we're saying more than 20# will kill the spoon action. I've got Coho, chinook and steelhead on 40# floro lead.

Mark

[carpedium]

Imagine how many you missed, Mark.

[L&M]

Imagine how many you missed, Mark.

[traveling man]

I also run 20# leader for my spoons.

[TyeeTanic]

Guys is this really factual?

Or are you gonna make me change over to 20# leaders based on a fisherman's tail?

Has anyone traid 40# and 20# side by side, same conditions, same day?

[dewey123]

20 lb is alot less stiff than 40 lb line. I use the heavy line for spoons because i dont have any 20 lb line so I use what I have.

[hawkeye625]

Guys is this really factual?

Or are you gonna make me change over to 20# leaders based on a fisherman's tail?

Has anyone traid 40# and 20# side by side, same conditions, same day?

We had a good spoon bite 2 weeks ago and had a king tangle a dipsy line and my 2 riggers...long story short, when my buddy cut the lines he didn't re-tie 20lb leader but went with strait 30lb. Didn't get a hit on the spoons for over 2 hours...til I reset a rigger and didn't see a leader. Put lines back out with leader and hit a double within 5 minutes. Took 8 more shots on the spoons in next 1.5 hours.

I'm a believer in the lighter leader.

[bigbrookie]

try 15 lb seaguar fluorocarbon (or any 15-20lb fluoro) for your leader on your spoons and you'll be amazed at the difference in action from the 30 and 40lb.

[Tim Bromund]

Unless something has changed with his boat rigging, I believe Mark is only running divers, no riggers, so that would explain the heavier leaders. I think it's more important on riggers to run a lighter leader. I run 50 lb big game leaders on my divers and don't generally lighten that up when I put a spoon on a diver instead of a flasher/fly. I was initially worried about the heavy leader killing the spoon action but have had no trouble catching fish on spoons off the divers, so maybe it isn't as much of an issue on dipsys.

Tim

[Ryno23]

Thank you all for the good information guys, not being the only one with this problem makes me feel a little better. I will try some light leaders and see what happens.

Thanks again.

[LakerTaker85]

We run spoons behind the riggers 45-60 foot usually. We also run 25 lb mono with a 17 pound flouro leader (when running spoons).

This year it seems all fish come off the sd&echips/flies but we have had some steelies, browns, salmon hit spoons.

The spoons we run are usually NBKs in both sizes, moonshines, and dream weaver SS spoons and we have caught fish on all these spoons this year.

I also run spoons off the dipsys and have had good luck in the upper water column. 2 weeks ago we caught a nice steelie of the dream weaver SS red ice. when running spoons off the dipsys i usually will not let the diver out any further than 225 foot, targeting steelies, kohos. With the dipsys i also will run smaller size spoons.

I will say that the spoons have been a second to flies this year.

[TyeeTanic]

Ya, I don't have riggers on my boat.

If I run spoons I will put them on a #0 diver, or a 5 oz bass weight (normally troll in the top 30 feet with my spoons).

I can see the action affecting me with the 5 oz bass weight setup, but I don't know, I've had a lot of steelies, cohos and chinook

hit the spoons on the 40 lb lead.

I find the 20 lb lead to be too light especially around knots, where it can easily get kinked and break off.

So, this is why I need to make sure there's good reason to go to 20 lb before I start trying this.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

try 15 lb seaguar fluorocarbon (or any 15-20lb fluoro) for your leader on your spoons and you'll be amazed at the difference in action from the 30 and 40lb.

How long of a leader do you run?

[#1bearsfan]

In summer through early fall we run 30 lb. Ande main line. No matter what we don't ever even run a leader and we boat plenty of fish on spoons. We used to run leaders in spring, but they became kind of a pain so now we run straight flouro, works like a charm.

[Gill-T]

Speed, speed, speed. With spoons a speed/temp unit are very helpful to make sure your spoons are kicking and not dead. If you don't have a speed/temp probe try this ....... Put the spoon in the water next to the boat and make sure the action is right. Send it down. Now bump up your speed until your downrigger wires start to hummmmm. Try to point the boat into the down current so your lines are straight behind the boat and not angled. Any time you make a change in trolling direction you will have to adjust the throttle so the downrigger wires are maintained at a similar angle/blow back. For the silver species it is better to be too fast than too slow.