Eric Haataja is a full time guide, tournament angler, and world record holder out of the Great Lakes. In this tip, he shares one of his favorite baits to use in the summer and fall – a jigging spoon.
One of the biggest benefits of using a jigging spoon is it’s versatility. Not only will nearly anything eat it, but it can be used both vertically and casted. This time of the year, a lot of fish are eating perch, shiners, or shad and a jigging spoon is a perfect option to mimic these baitfish.
Eric’s setup for casting a jigging spoon includes 10 lb braid tied to a 5-6 ft 10 lb fluorocarbon leader. When casting jigging spoons, Eric typically uses his forward facing sonar to identify schools of fish to target. However, for those without forward facing technology, simply identify structure on sonar to cast at.
Then cast the spoon out and let it sink. As soon as it hits the bottom, snap it and keep the rod tip up to maintain a tight line as the spoon falls. Continue to snap, pause, and reel it back to the boat.
A common mistake Eric sees when people are casting a jigging spoon is just giving it small pops like a regular jig which often results in under-fishing it. With a spoon, it’s important to have a quick, short snap to drive that bait up and let it flutter down. This is different then fishing a glide bait. When fishing a glide bait like a Tikka Mino or a Shiver Minnow, snap it up similarly but then drop the rod tip down to allow the glide bait slack to swim back and forth as it falls.
If you haven’t tried casting a jigging spoon in the fall, be sure to give it a try.
