SPOON FED

PAY ATTENTION to trends in fishing tackle, and you’ll notice that among lure-makers, there is a constant competition to improve upon what has already been working for many years. These days we have spinnerbaits with rattling crystal balls instead of blades. We have plastic worms that reflect UV light. And while they’re more gimmicks than anything (for now, at least), we even have hard baits that swim by themselves thanks to their computer guts. What you rarely see anyone trying to improve upon—beyond perhaps paint jobs and glitz—is the spoon. The reason is simple: There isn’t really anything to reinvent, and it certainly ain’t broke.

Since Lou Eppinger finalized the spoon that would eventually become the Dardevle in 1912, the basic design hasn’t changed. It’s a simple, tapered slab of metal with a hook. Sure, the sizes, weights, and exact shapes vary, but no one has devised a spoon so revolutionary that it makes Eppinger’s classic design obsolete. Ironically, it’s probably the lack of “new” in the spoon category that keeps many modern anglers from using them, and that’s a huge mistake.

Provided you don’t lose it, a single spoon can catch decades’ worth of fish.

Spoons are about as versatile a lure as you’ll find. All you have to do is cast, reel, and catch. You can also make a spoon presentation as technical as you might when using the