what size spoons

[Pat Smith]

I was out this weekend getting nothing on my bucktail jig.

The boat next to me started hooting and hollering and calling me over.. so I paddled over to him. He said his finder has spotted a huge school of bait fish with a bunch of stripers under them... sure enough, they were hauling the stripers in as fast as they could... literally he hauled in 5 while I sat there talking to him.. all were small, but at that moment I just wanted SOMTHING on my line. He said to throw a jig spoon on and join in..

I had never heard of a jig spoon before.. and any jig head I tried came up empty.

So I am going to get a couple jig spoons. My question is, what size do you guys use for your jig spoons? I am looking to get two sizes.. or for the smaller 15" rocks and one for larger fish. If it was you, what sizes would you buy?

[reel-em-in]

Tony Acetta Pet Spoons #17 for large, maybe #15,#14 for small? Crippled herrings are great too, espicially for jigging. 3/4 oz, 1oz, 1.5 oz depending on the situation but I typically use 1oz.

[Frogsauce]

I also use a 1 oz spoon mostly. Sometimes a 3/4 oz. I like the old kastmaster ones, but anything shiny works. Small specs are showing up and they hit a 3/8 oz spoon pretty often. Bigger ones will probably want the 1 oz though.

I have also been using treble instead of single hooks recently. More hookups, less break-offs, and I haven't mortally wounded a fish yet. I'm just very careful when unhooking so I don't hook myself.

[Pat Smith]

thanks guys..
I am thinking about getting a couple of these (http://store.thundermistlures.com/home.php?cat=24). according to them the beeds make a small clacking sound, from my experience with other baits (rattle trap, etc) adding a sound dimension to the bait helps a bit... but that is freshwater pike, musky style fishing.. they hit anything that annoys them.

But those Pet Spoons look good too.

[Jman]

I don't have experience with those, but they look like they might work. I was using a rattle trap trolling on Saturday and caught three 14" rockfish on it. They hit them really hard compared to the paddle tail lures.

[camelbird]

Really like George's (of specialized baits) "lil bunkers" in 3/4oz http://www.specializedbaits.com/ Most tackle shops around the bay sell them as well

[J.A. Veil]

Consider Stingsilvers in 2-oz or smaller sizes. I prefer gold, but the other colors work well too. I fish mine either alone or with a feather jig or fly tied on 1 to 2 ft up the line. Over the past month (with the exception of last Sat), I did very well jigging the double lure rig when I saw suitable marks on the sonar. If you do find working birds or breaking fish, they often are the small energetic ones. In many cases, larger fish are lurking below them waiting for scraps to fall.

If you are in depths that allow you to use lighter weight spoons, try a Crippled Herring in various sizes or a Hopkins spoon.