Spoons For Fishing Are Old But Productive Tools
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 PMSpoons For Fishing Are Old But Productive Tools
Supposedly, the spoon fishing lure received its name because way back yonder, an angler adapted a kitchen or table spoon with one hole for line and another for a hook and caught fish with it.
Typical Spoon Lure
LITTLE ROCK, AR –(FishNLand.com)- Supposedly, the spoon fishing lure received its name because way back yonder, an angler adapted a kitchen or table spoon with one hole for line and another for a hook and caught fish with it.
Sounds plausible, whether or not the actual proof is there.
And spoons have been around, in fishing form, for quite a while. New models and styles come out from time to time, and if you are a competent fisherman, the spoon is one of many tools in your tackle box.
A staff member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission tells this story: “As a boy, I inherited a homemade wooden tackle box from a relative. It had a couple dozen lures along with assorted other items like hooks, floats, two direct-wind reels and some more goodies. One of the lures was a red-and-white striped spoon.
“I tried every lure in the box at one time or another over a period of a couple of years, the red-and-white spoon included, and caught fish on some of them. More accurately, I caught fish on a few of them. Since our fish were primarily bream and catfish, with only an occasional crappie and largemouth bass showing up, the old lures weren’t highly effective. I never caught a fish on the red-and-white spoon and finally traded it to a friend for something.”
Today, spoons work as well as they did long ago for black bass, white bass, striped bass walleye, trout and, occasionally, crappie among our Arkansas fish.
The family of fishing spoons has expanded from those actually resembling tableware to metal devices in other shapes. Some are rectangular pieces of polished metal. Some are dressed with tails of hair. Gold and chrome have joined the old silver in spoon colors.
The primary fishing technique with spoons is to let the action take place with the fluttering fall of the spoon through the water. Fish think it is an injured or dying shad or minnow, easy pickings for a meal.
About the Commission
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission plays an important role in keeping The Natural State true to its name. Over the past 100 years, the agency has overseen the protection, conservation and preservation of various species of fish and wildlife in Arkansas. This is done through habitat management, fish stocking, hunting and fishing regulations, and a host of other programs conducive to helping Arkansas’ wildlife flourish.
In November 1996, Arkansas taxpayers passed Amendment 75 to the state constitution. The amendment now directs nearly 26 million dollars annually to wildlife protection and management in Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is committed now, more than ever, to assuring a bright future for the state’s natural resources in years to come!
Our agency is more than just managing “critters”. An essential part of ensuring a healthy wildlife population involves people. Through agency programs geared towards the public, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission works with the human element to generate awareness of ethical and sound management principles. Whether it be educational programs, fishing and hunting regulations, or environmental awareness, the agency understands that working with people is just as important a factor in managing wildlife as any other.
The Commission itself consists of seven Arkansans appointed by the governor to seven year terms. An eighth, non-voting, member sits as Chair of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville’s Department of Biology. It is the sole responsibility of the Commission to oversee the agency’s function as a wildlife management entity.
