All About Bass Fishing - Guide To Fishing Deep With Spoons
By Rick Seaman and Dan Westfall
Jigging spoons are made of lead or other heavy materials. They imitate injured or dying bait fish. They fall rather quickly in the water column and flutter as they fall. You can cover deep structure faster with a jigging spoon than any other lure. If the bass are active they will aggressively attack the spoon. If the bass are inactive they will hit it to protect their territory.
3 Most Important Factors About Fishing Deep With Spoons
- Use jigging spoons to mimic dying or injured baitfish.
- Fish jigging spoons vertically – not cast and retrieve.
- Heavy spoons can be retrieved from cover in deep water with proper techniques.
3 Most Effective Fishing Methods
- 1/4 ounce to 1-ounce spoons fished vertically.
- Use fish finders to locate bass and/or cover on structure at the desired depth.
- Watch for the line to stop, rather than wait for a tug on the line.
Jigging spoons are a great search bait for deep water.
A jigging spoon is the ideal bait to begin your search for bass when they are 20-feet deep or deeper. You can cover lots of water quickly, working a wide range of depths and types of cover. A part of any spoon-bite pattern will include identifying the type of cover holding the bass at a particular depth range. Try to determine if the bass are holding in brush, rocks, timber, drop-offs or other structure elements.
Keep the boat moving between drops of the spoon to cover a wide area. Always fish the spoon vertically rather than casting and retrieving. Experiment with spoon size and height of the lift to determine what presentation creates the most bites. A good starting point would be a two to three foot lift. Reduce or increase this distance until you define the best presentation. Note that this may change throughout the day.
Proper technique is crucial when fishing jigging spoons. Open the bail or free spool to allow the lure to fall until it stops, then immediately lift the spoon with a quick jerking action. This will either raise the spoon for its next fall or will set the hook if it is in the mouth of a bass.
If the bass are biting the spoon consistently, keep with it. If you have caught a couple of bass, but the bite is slow, experiment fishing the same area with smaller spoons or with other, less-active baits like drop-shot worms or small jigs.
AA Bass Fishing Knowledge Base
- Bass Fishing Overview
- Life Cycle Of Bass
- Seasonal Bass Migration
- Bass Migration - Mid to Late Winter
- Bass Migration - Spring
- Bass Migration - Early Summer
- Bass Migration - Late Summer
- Bass Migration - Fall
- Bass Migration - Early Winter
- Fishing For Bass
- It's Now WHAT You Throw, It's WHERE
- Research The Fishery Before You Go
- Review Contour Maps
- Types Of Cover Used By Bass
- Bass Fishing In Grass Beds
- Bass Fishing In Wood & Timber
- Bass Fishing In Brush & Vegetation
- Establishing Patterns
- Learn To Recognize Bites
- Review Lunar Tables
- Choose The Right Lures
- Find Bass Based On Conditions
- Conditions - Fold Fronts
- Conditions - Wind
- Conditions - Cloudy Days
- Conditions - Fishing In The Rain
- Conditions - Water Clarity
- Conditions - Rising Water
- Conditions - Falling Water
- Conditions - Fishing At Night
- Equipment & Tackle
- Equipment - Fishing Rods
- Equipment - Fishing Reels
- Equipment - Fishing Line
- Equipment - Fishing Lures
- Fishing With Live Bait
- Shallow Water Techniques, 0 -10'
- Shallow Fishing - Spinnerbaits
- Shallow Fishing - Crankbaits
- Shallow Fishing - Top Water
- Shallow Fishing - Pitching & Flipping
- Shallow Fishing - Artificial Worms
- Shallow Fishing - Jigs
- Shallow Fishing - Flukes
- Shallow Fishing - Stick Worms
- Shallow Fishing - Swimbaits
- Fishing Mid Range Depths, 10' - 25'
- Mid Depth - Spinnerbaits
- Mid Depth - Deep Diving Crankbaits
- Mid Depth - Artificial Worms
- Mid Depth - Jigs
- Mid Depth - Swimbaits
- Fishing Deep Water & Structure
- Fishing Deep Water - Jigs
- Fishing Deep Water - Jigging Spoons
- Fishing Deep Water - Artificial Worms
- Planning Your Attack
- Bass Fishing Questions & Answers
- Conservation - Protect The Fishery
Bass information by state.
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