Materials:
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This way of making spoons was shown to me by Capt Randy Hamilton of Charleston and is offered in the Scientific Anglers line of flies. It is very simple and they really work. The only hard part is trimming the spoon to shape. But that is only if you are really picky about the exact shape of the thing. They are a top fly of choice for redfish. I have caught snook on them. They will excel for spanish mackerel and small bluefish. I am also tying them on small streamer hooks for shad and I bet they will be great for trout and bass (stripers, hybrids,largemouth and smallmouth) in appropriate sizes. |
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Tying instructions: Prepare your ribbon by cutting a long length of it and placing it on a piece of cardboard. Spray with the adhesive and let sit until it won't stick to you but will stick to itself. This may take a few minutes or longer. 1. Prepare your hook by placing it in the vise and bending it up slightly. Then move it in the vise to where the bend is and bend it back down. This should give the shank of the hook a nice curve. Doesn't have to be perfect. (Some hooks already have a bend in them that is appropriate for this.) 2. If you are adding a tail you need to do it now, before you go on to the next step. 3. Cut off a piece of ribbon that is equal in length to the hook shank. Then put it under the hook about 1/4 of the way in. Fold over onto itself and press down tightly around the shank. Trim to desired shape with quality, fine point scissors. 4. At this point I like will often spray the top of the spoon with the spray adhesive and sprinkle glitter on it. You don't have to but it adds more flash. 5. This is when you can add the weed guard if you will be using it in places where you need it. I am making a post type guard with 40 lb mono. Attach a piece at the head of the fly with thread and secure it with a good number of wraps. Wrap in front of the mono so that it stands up in front of the hook point like the wing of a parachute dry fly. Trim it to just the height of the hook point. 6. If you are using 5 minute epoxy you will not want to have more than 2 or 3 spoons ready to coat at any one time. I am using the 2 hour epoxy so I wait until I have a half dozen or so before I do that. I coat both sides of the spoon, including the thread wraps if I added a weed guard, and let sit until dry. Experiment with shapes and sizes until you get what you want. Almost any shape is good. Just look at the variety of spoons that are on the market and they pretty much all work. |
