throwin metal

[Jackalopehunter]

anyone ever tried freshwater spoons in the surf? how do they hold up in saltwater? waste of time/money? just wondering cause it seems like i can get more freshwater spoons cheaper than stuff made for salt.

[HDW2]

I have used fresh lures in the salt for years now. Just take a bottle of fresh clean water with you and rinse & wipe them real good after every use. They are suitable in very limited ranges though. VERY calm days because they are lighter in weight and dont cast very far. But for boat use they work just fine. If your looking at surf or pier use, dont waste the money.

[TreednNC]

I have used fresh lures in the salt for years now. Just take a bottle of fresh clean water with you and rinse & wipe them real good after every use. They are suitable in very limited ranges though. VERY calm days because they are lighter in weight and dont cast very far. But for boat use they work just fine. If your looking at surf or pier use, dont waste the money.

oh contrare a 3/4oz gold hopkins is great for puppy drum in the suds

[kingfisherman23]

I've used red and white Devil spoons in the surf with light spinning tackle and slayed blues behind the first row of breakers. The color and flash drives them wild. The other thing that I've had good luck with is soft jerkbaits, especially the short jerk shad in gray/silver from Zoom.

Never used Hopkins lures but I have heard great things about them for pretty much anything that swims and eats fish.

Evan

[MDubious]

I'm very interested in trying out that sexy spoon from Strike King in the salt; 3/4 0z and 1 1/2 0z are the available sizes and it looks good.

[BubbaHoTep]

In years past, my dad and I would wade out past the breakers and catch blues on Johnson Silver minnows - light gear like Evan said.

I've also seen people catch Spanish mackerel from piers using spinnerbaits.

[bluefish1928]

spanish on freshwater spinnerbaits?

[kingfisherman23]

Never seen the spinnerbait thing, but I've seen Spanish caught from the surf on Mepps spinners ripped right below the surface.

Evan

[BubbaHoTep]

Bluefish1928, yes. I don't think it was the bait of choice (but what the people had in their boxes - I caught a Spanish on a Chart Thunderstick plug once below an egg sinker off the pier, when that was all I had), but I've seen Spanish caught on spinnerbaits in the past. I also heard last year that some were caught at the MBSP Pier on spinnerbaits last spring/early summer, but I didn't see that firsthand. You know, those "old-timers" out there are the only people I've ever seen who actually cast and "work" those tree rigs, rather than jig them, so it'd make sense they would use a spinnerbait, but I'd think it would be difficult to "work" from a pier. The ones I saw used were pitched out and jigged back.

I've never seen the Mepps thing, Evan, but I have a friend who fishes with large gold-bladed rooster tails or even yellow Evans Shysters with black spots/blotches and silver bladesin the surf pretty regularly. I've caught flounder on 3/8 oz purple roostertails in channels and inlets. I think I even sent sprtsracer a couple for magging an old Penn for me, hoping he could use them down Florida way. :)

Someone over on the SC/GA board right about the time I joined P&S was talking about using spinnerbaits, too, as I recall, but that person didn't say he caught Spanish on them (I don't think).

AJ

[kingfisherman23]

Mepps = Roostertail to me. I just looked it up and it seems I indeed meant Roostertail. Big gold blade, red body and white feather on the treble.

When I first learned about gold-hook rigs it was from an old-timer off Cherry Grove and he taught me to throw it way out with a diamond jig on the bottom and work it back to the pier. I didn't start jigging tree rigs straight up and down until a few years ago. I've even thrown 2-3 pairs of gold hooks above a Gotcha on occasion.

When you're out and there are fish in the water you use what you have. I've seen blues caught on Carolina-rigged Zoom lizards, spot caught on cut-up plastic worms and flounder caught on Rat-L-Traps. I've also personally caught catfish and carp on fly tackle and once, for the heck of it, I fished for bass with perch for bait and a two-rod pin rig ala fishing for kings. (The looks that one got off the dock at White Lake were priceless)

Evan

[racewire20]

I believe you could paint a rock silver and attach a hook and a spanish or blue would hit it on a fast retrieve.

[kingfisherman23]

I believe you could paint a rock silver and attach a hook and a spanish or blue would hit it on a fast retrieve.

Hahaha that's probably true. They aren't the smartest fish.

Unless you stick a live finger mullet out on a two-hook rig. Then they will bite in exactly the right spot to steall all the bait and get none of the hooks. :rolleyes:

Evan

[MDubious]

I believe you could paint a rock silver and attach a hook and a spanish or blue would hit it on a fast retrieve.

LOL! I Love it!

[skunk king]

I plan on finding out next trip:) I plan on attaching a shad spoon behind 2 and 3 oz trolling sinkers and seeing what will hit them. Fishing it just like, well shad! I imagine whiting would tear them up.

[Al Kai]

I like Luhr Jenson Krokodile spoons, Mepps Syclops spoons, red and white Daredevil spoons etc.

This is not a spoon but works well for me in the surf, a Mepps Flying C.
I use the 7/8 ounce one.

[rattler]

spinner baits for trout/pups. just rinse . skirts don't hold up.

[RuddeDogg]

yep I use ftesh water spoons for light metal tossin and they work great.

[shark21]

I use Daredevil 1 oz spoons as well as Mepps Cyclops spoons with much success.

[UOPaul]

Hahaha that's probably true. They aren't the smartest fish.

Unless you stick a live finger mullet out on a two-hook rig. Then they will bite in exactly the right spot to steall all the bait and get none of the hooks. :rolleyes:

Evan

When I was a little kid back on Long Island, we used to fish for snapper blues in my back yard all the time. If we didn't have money to buy bait, and could not get anything in our minnow traps, we would just drop silver winter flounder hooks with nothing on them right in the middle of the schools and bounce them up and down. Still caught blues, even with no bait or lures.