How Do I Work This Lure?!...Part V

OK, I didn’t really want to let the cat out of the bag, but since I rarely fish competitively anymore, I’ll put it out there. I use to think a spoon was a spoon, and usually just threw a Johnson silver Minnow in gold. A few years ago, while pre-fishing a tournament in Mosquito Lagoon, I happened upon a huge school of good upper-slot redfish that were not only spooky, but very finicky as well.  Later that evening, I met Captain Mike Hakala and we were talking fishing and trading lies… I mean stories.  The subject of lures for reds (only artificials were allowed on this tournament trail) came up.  Well it turns out Captain Mike designed a spoon he was marketing and he tossed me a couple of proto-types, suggesting I try them on the aforementioned spooky spot tails.  As you probably guessed, spoon feeding the reds with this new spoon was the ticket.  Capt. Mike’s spoon, with the enticing fluttering action unique to this design, drove these fish crazy.

As far as technique, it’s hard to beat a steady retrieve, but as with any lure, the fish will often tell you what they want.  On that particular day we were fishing a shallow grass and shell mixture. The spoon, as most of you know, typically has a weed guard, but even the best of spoons will occasionally hang up-- especially when dealing with oysters.  Capt. Mike’s Aqua Dream was different.  The rising action and revolutionary design of the “forked” or” double” guard stayed snag free!  But back to the retrieve.  As I felt the lure make contact with grass and shell, fearing I would lose this gem, I gave it a quick snap. Before I could continue, a red nearly ripped the rod outta my hand.  This lure can be burned, slow rolled, or even jigged like a grub.  To this day, I always keep an Aqua Dream, on the boat--for special occasions. One of the great things about this spoon is the many colors it comes in, which can make a difference on many days.  My favorite is #$@^&  or %#$@*&. J