The cat’s more than halfway out of the bag on this one, with amazing catches coming in from all over Western Canada and Ontario the past couple winters. Spoons are nothing new, that’s for sure. But handfuls of winter jiggers have been quietly refining a new spoon jigging method, centered on large, lightweight flutter spoons traditionally used for trolling. About three years ago, I started jigging with flashy, slower-falling baits for lake trout on Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe and a few other large, inland lakes in north-central Ontario. They’re easy to fish, in a league of their own as far as ‘calling’ fish over to you and more than anything, fish just pummel them! Got a favorite trolling or downrigging spoon? I bet you can take fish on it this winter.
The size to weight ratio of a flutter spoon is a huge reason for its effectiveness. In plain English, most of these baits are large (three to five inches long) but sink slow for their size. You’re able to show fish‚ be them walleye, lake trout or pike‚ pile of flash and vibration in a big, meaty target that’s easy for them to grab. Most have a delicate, seductive wobble on the way down and being lighter weight, be careful when you tip them. Less mass means you can rob them of their action, if you go too bulky when tipping. All you’re really trying to add is a bit of scent and extra appeal. A small minnow head or tail is plenty.
Soft plastics work, too. Custom Jigs ‘n Spins Wedgee is under two inches long, but adds beautiful whipping action. Soaked in your favorite liquid scent, this style of plastic trailer is absolutely perfect. This winter, I’m going after lake trout using a single, Mister Twister Exude Egg threaded on the hook. All I’m looking for is scent, and these babies are potent.
As with any other winter jig, ‘working’ fish on your graph or flasher is the name of the game. Right away, try to establish the upper limit range fish are willing to move for your lure. So far, flutter spoons definitely eat up big chunks of water, drawing fish well off bottom to hit. Not only that, they also attract fish in laterally. In 2-line situations, they’re a tremendous tool for bringing predators close to your tip-up, jig and minnow or slip bobber rig. All that flash and thump on their slow ride down really stirs the pot. Lake Winnipeg ace Roger Stearns was one of the first guys to popularize flutter spoons on big walleye. The lower drop speed and extra flash gives him an edge on Lake Winnipeg’s big flats, where a heavier spoon can fall too fast, essentially evading a walleye’s senses. “Never forget a fish’s willingness to look and feed up in the water,” Roger likes to say. “Walleyes will mill around on flats, swimming side to side. Those fish just has extra time to find a slow-falling flutter spoon, it gets more time to be seen.”\
My early success came on the size 35 Williams HQ, which is designed and marketed for downrigging. Spiced up with a small shiner head, I caught lake trout on it in the first hole I ever dropped it down. Confidence up, I started reaching out to bigger spoons, like the Savant Crusher, with the same results. At four inches in length, that Crusher falls with a pounding, rocking flutter and comes in some terrific Glow and UV patterns. I started to develop good mojo on UV patterns the last couple winters. If you’re fishing bright days with minimal snow cover anywhere down to about sixty feet, send one in! UV finishes on high-action spoons is a match made in ice-jigging heaven, believe me. Glow finishes have always been consistent for me. I typically work flutter spoons with lots of two to three foot hops, to uncork that wild action, on the fall. They’re good motionless, too. Watch for fish to creep in on them after pauses up to a minute long.
Experimenting, tinkering and crossing seasonal/species boundaries is one of the things that makes fishing fun for me. If you’re into getting cracked on a jigging rod, give flutter spoons a rip where you fish. They might be designed for other methods entirely, but fish don’t know that. First ice is prime for this system, too.
