Iron Head,
Come by Sportco, talk to the General himself!!! Over the years I've only dabbled with spoon fishing. Only up until 3 years ago I've became a little more proficient with them. I like using spinners more, but as the General Zog would say at least its metal!!! Have fun, try something new, you might enjoy it!!!
Winterun.
notice the avatar!!!

I generally prefer longer rods for their line control and distance-casting ability, but for casting spinners and spoons all day long, I've found that a shorter rod is much more comfortable and even more accurate. During the past Coho season, I used a one-piece 6'6" casting rod and it was a blast.

I also feel that color/finish matters little in most situations, so instead of buying the gold or other pricey finishes, I use fluorescent tapes on the spinners and spoons. My favorite color is green and blue, perhaps because those colors are more visible in deeper depths than red and orange.

Guys thanks for all of your positive replies.
You are honest true fisherman.

I am now set for the challenge and want to get intimate with the spoons this year.

I am ready to load up with some spoons and have 2 manufacturers set in mind.
They are MorTac and PenTac.

Which of these do you prefer?
I have not seen these spoons yet so I don't know the physical differences b/w them.
If you are familiear with them, please describe for me the types of actions/performances of these two brands.
I am not bias against the other brands, I just simply not hearing too much about them.

Also, on the MorTac site they stated that you can sandwiche two spoons together to achieve additional mass and actions.
Have you ever done this?

Thanks

Go with the one that's hangin' off the maw in Winterruns avatar. Sweet Little Cleo!
Just like Mr. Allen says, don't fix it if it ain't broke. But then if you're really broke do what Berkely says and find anything shiny and cheap. They all work just fine.

Rob,
Switch to braids for spinners and spoons you won't regret it.

wolverine,
Good points on the braids. There has been alot of good material and discussions previously posted on this topic for those that want to check it out.
I use a tippet for alot of reasons not least of which I don't like breaking off braids like you mention. But another is because mono is more abrasion resitant and is easier to cut and tie knots with at the terminal end. Also because I discovered the tippet can be used as an excellant indicator of the depth my lure is working. This is an advanced tip that heavy metal dudes can definately appreciate. I do not use it to disguise my leader as some guys like to wax on about. I've found that fish that bang metal aren't usually the shy types.

Iron Head,
Best thing you can do is fish with someone, like litlcleo, who really knows what they're doin'. You can really learn alot in a very short time. It's a beautiful thing. It certainly hepped me.

Ironhead,
I am going to sugest that you get what you think looks "fishy" out of the three ltlcleo,pentac,or mortac.

Its a confidence thing!If you are not confident in what you are fishing then chances are that you will not catch anything.

I recomend Bill herzogs writings HIGHLY! His book on spoonfishing became A writing of inspiration as a kid.Alot of the true art of spoon fishing for steelhead is time spent swinging bent metal over and over again.Being stubborn and lucky enough to both learn and witness the interaction of our spoons and the fish.You are not going to sit down and learn how to spoon fish in a week end from that book.Use his basics and you will, years down the road, find your self shaking your head.The man is one of the few that has actully been able to capture years of experiance and put into words.Thankfully to understand that captured experiance takes experiance itself.

How do you guys connect the two?It seems in some of Brads other writings he brings up a tie master tool or some such critter?Do any of you use one?

Float fans love braid because it floats.This same con,I believe can be a boon to a sppon chuckar.I always feel,especialy on the longer presentations that the line actually holds the sppon up in the water collumn,because of its bouyancy.Anybody else feel this way?

Dave
the price will depend on size and model. Yes some of the largest spoons will be $7.00cnd. Most likely Riversportsman had the large saltwater trolling spoons at that price. If you were to try Berry's bait (richmond) or Hub's sports (abbostford) you may find the steelhead type spoons at better pricing.

The easiest and best way because of the disparity in the lines is to use two uniknots that will slide down the lines to meet each other. These are very strong knots and you can tie them in the dark if you have to. They also allow the line to go through the guides easily at the knot. Forget the surgeon, the nail and all the other fly knots! They are a pain.

The bouyancy thing is a VERY subtle but effective tool in the arsenal of advanced tips. For me it depends on the water. I relate to it like a flyfisher does and use the braid sort of like the floating line, adjusting my mono leader like one would for nymph fishing. Longer mono for deep and low thru big water and and shorter for boulder gardens and deep slow pools. The upright attitude imparts more wobble during a dead drift in fast current or working really deep slow pools. Another way to say it is longer tippet on boat water and shorter tippet on canyon water.

OK, I just ordered a boat load of them.
Smooth bodied BCs and hammered bodied MorTacs and the powered coats.

I am convinced and will be spooning this whole year and hopefully be good enough to used them for life.

Thanks for all of your help.
I am in debt to you all and will post results and new findings.

Thanks again.

LC: The twisted surgeons knot is very strong but a pain to tie. Uni knots work fine. The only thing else that I do is put a dab of a flexable head cement on the knot. It helps lock it and lets it slide thru the guides a little easier.
I like braid better for the long casts as it doesn't stretch as much as straight mono. You get a better hookset, and have more control.

Because braid doesn't stretch you may have to relax on your hookset a little, as soon as the line straightens out you are tight to the fish. Braid is an amazing line, when out fishing for halibut (with darts) you can tell if the bottom is gravel or mud and can feel a bite like the fish was only 10 feet down.

Iron Head,

Regards to doubling up on spoons to increase the mass, yes it's possible, but I would just buy the 2/3 oz. spoons instead of the 2/5 oz. Doubling up with the 2/3 oz. spoons would be too much. You'll be hanging up all the time. Another issue is the cost.

I bought dozens just before Pen-Tac first went out of business, and I think the prices were about half of what they're now. The thing I find with the B.C. spoons is that the finish is not very durable, so they get a lot of scratches and get dull just from the movements inside the tackle box.

Too late Nymph.
I ordered all 2/3s.
Maybe on my next purchase I will have enough experience to define a variety of sizes.
Thanks for the heads up on the BC finish because I only purchased 10 of them.

Oh, I did talked with the General and he is all on BC spoons.

What about home made spoons, tools, and materials needed to create spoons?
Do you have any references for these components?
I just thinking ahead because I love to create my own rigs.

Thanks

I have had a lot of success with the 2/5 oz Mortac silver hammered. I have always pulled multiple summer steelies out of the lower deschutes with these spoons. When all the rivers ban bait, this will be my goto set-up. Just my 02 cents.

Well!

Certainly does my heart good to see all this spoon talk...perhaps I should try this technique a few times this winter. Perhaps I'll order a few of those BC Steels, now that Pen Tac is back on line.

Heavy metal rules, dude!

What GZ said, welcome.

I picked up a TBS from the discount bin at Sportco(YES! Another one of my exciting treasure discoveries), but I don't know how to rig it. Since I know that there are few if any out there, I have been hesitant to fish it on the bottom for fear that I would lose it without hope of ever getting it back. I don't have Herzog's Spoon book and was hoping that somebody who does have could perhaps tell me how the TBS is supposed to be rigged.
Much Appreciated

GZ-

If you had to choose between the 2/5 oz and the 2/3 oz, which would you carry? Or which do you find yourself using more often?

I've settled on the silver and 50/50 already. Just need a size to start with.

I heard there was a new spoon out manufactured by A.M. Tackle ( Ass Monkey) Tackle. Have any of you seen it or fished it yet?
Peace Superfly