http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 103
During the shad spawn in April and May, Johnston fishes
spoons around Styrofoam docks or muddy banks where the
baitfish do their thing.
This is an early morning deal, so the first hour or two of day-
light is the key period.
“I’ll throw a Strike King flutter spoon or a Johnson spoon
and slowly wind it past those spawning shad,” Jonston said.
“Those bass will be looking
to ambush the shad, and that
spoon looks like a shad that’s
drifted out from the bunch.”
Right before or right after
the shad spawn, Johnston
will look for schooling bass
taking advantage of the
groups of shad gathering in
creek channels near spawn-
ing areas.
Vertically jigging a Slab
Spoon or a CC Spoon it
around the bait can be highly
productive.
“That’s when your electron-
ics really come into play,”
Johnston said. “You can see
the bait down there and
you’ll see the fish around
them. You might be in 20
to 30 feet (of water), but the
fish will be suspended 10 feet
down from the surface.”
Another good spoon sce-
nario comes into play around
deeper boat docks. Especially
later in the year, when sunny
days push fish into cooler,
shaded water, probing the
shadowy depths with a jig-
ging spoon will earn you
some bites.
For most of his spoon
duties, Freeman uses a 7-foot
medium- to medium-fast-
action Lew’s rod, a 6.8:1 to
7.5:1 Lew’s reel and 15- to
20-pound Seaguar InvizX
fluorocarbon line.“A sharp jerk up and then a sharp drop on the rod tip will do
the trick,” Freeman said. “When casting, I let the spoon drop
to the desired depth, I give the reel four or five quick turns and
then I let it flutter down.”The flutter and fall of a jigging
spoon fools bass by imitating a
struggling baitfish.When to throw a spoon
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