What's you experience?

[huntley]

I spend a lot of my salt water fishing time throwing spoons and have noticed a lot of different methods of cleaning spoons. Some guys just scrape their spoons with a knife, others rub their spoons in the wet sand while others use steel wool. I clean all my spoons with steel wool and then bottle/glass them and I was wondering if I get to much shine on them. All my spoons are cast with WM90. Would like to know what you guys think.

[John F]

Not much of a "spooner" myself ( ), but the way I see it, you can't have too much shine out of a spoon!! That's their main attraction factor isn't it? Then it's vibrations from wobling, rolling, etc.?!?!

[REEFMAN]

Ya definitely the more shine, the more glint in the water from sun's rays, the more effective. Your method is good too.

[huntley]

I remember talking to an old Indian guy at Salt Rock about 20 years ago and his opinion was that spoons had to be white metal and not chromed. After bottling or glassing white metal it does shine a bit like chrome. I don't seem to get to many fish hence the question. I don't fish often enough to try the other options and give it a fair run.

[SAfish]

I have an idea I'm working on to shine spoons but I have to do some tests first. I will post my findings once I am happy with the results. Watch this space.... 

[Plugger]

The only silver spoon I use is the Abu Toby which is chrome and doesn't need a shine up. My favourite is my last purple Onde Onda original. I also use the Flanker stick bait,Cuta castling and Magic Missiles a lot. Shad can't leave the stick baits alone, even got picked up by a seagull the other day, fortunately no hook up.

[John F]

even got picked up by a seagull the other day, fortunately no hook up.

Yeah birds can be real a-holes sometimes.... had my fair share of attacks from the wing gang whilst trolling half-beaks offshore...

[huntley]

Got 7 shad this morning  (kept 2 before I get a chirp lol) mostly on a copper backed spoon I was trying before the copper came off.  Also dropped a number close to the rocks. Things slowed with a glassed very shiny  spoon so maybe it is better not to over shine spoons. 

[MichaelK]

For your chrome, white metal, copper or brass spoons try this mixture to get a shine going chop chop.


1 packet tertaric acid (get it at baking section in supermarkets)
half teaspoon sunlight liquid
1 cup (250ml) water

a little bit of elbo grease and bobs your uncle.

I use this mixture on all my brass at home and it works 100 times faster than brasso

[huntley]

Thanks for the PM visinvryheid. I don't seem to be able to reply to you direct but thanks for the info and your experiences. Your comments made a lot of sense and backs up what I have experienced with my limited knowledge of a very complex subject. Thanks once again.

[Half-Pint]

Thanks for the PM visinvryheid. I don't seem to be able to reply to you direct but thanks for the info and your experiences. Your comments made a lot of sense and backs up what I have experienced with my limited knowledge of a very complex subject. Thanks once again.

Come on Visenvryheid why not post the tips here so that we can all learn? Kind of the point of the forum?

[Zak-e-Boy]

Got 7 shad this morning  (kept 2 before I get a chirp lol) mostly on a copper backed spoon I was trying before the copper came off.  Also dropped a number close to the rocks. Things slowed with a glassed very shiny  spoon so maybe it is better not to over shine spoons. 

I know there is a lot of hype around all the lovely shiny, brightly coloured spoons and other lures being used however, I would just like to add that we still have the "old timers" along our coastline here in Durban and on the South Coast that have been throwing their white metal or tin spoons for shad and garrick with a lot of success. I am talking about chaps that have been "beating" the water for 50/60 years now. One of our oldest anglers who is now 81 still patrols the beaches with his favourite scarby and a 3.5 oz v-back and guess what.. the spoon only gets a dull shine in the
sea sand. The theory is that a bait fish under threat will not run with it's "lights" on.  I'm not suggesting that you don't shine your spoons just pointing out what has worked for many years for the older generation of anglers.   

[huntley]

After last week episode and comments posted here I'm going back to rubbing up white metal in the sand or steel wool and not going to finish off with a glass which gives a spoon an almost mirror finish. Thanks for all the comments and thoughts guys.

[Visenvryheid]

Thanks for the PM visinvryheid. I don't seem to be able to reply to you direct but thanks for the info and your experiences. Your comments made a lot of sense and backs up what I have experienced with my limited knowledge of a very complex subject. Thanks once again.

Come on Visenvryheid why not post the tips here so that we can all learn? Kind of the point of the forum?

I am more of a private person, and keep my opinions to myself generally, unless it is in the public interest or someone is deserving of them. With the" take as much as I can, irrespective of the true cost" attitude that prevails in the SA fishing culture, I do not think it is in the public interest (or fish stocks' interest for that matter) to give up all ones' tricks on a public forum. In any case the nature of a public forum means that it all comes out eventually, so whether we all share all our info is not that relevant anyway, and even then the above topic has probably been discussed in length in the past on numerous forums, for anyone who really wanted to know to re-search and find the nuggets of information themselves instead of having them handed over on a platter. That is why. ;)

[Zak-e-Boy]

Huntley, do what you feel comfortable with....most importantly "catch a big one" ...tight lines !!! 

[huntley]

Trust me I am trying. Hopefully get lucky sooner rather than later.

[Kent]

  I will just leave this here...