TAKEOFF
TECHNIQUES
SPOONING DOCKS
W
WRenchinG Bass out fRoM undeR docKs With a spoon is not foR the faint of heaRt
By Curtis Niedermier
Watson’s 4 Keys
to the bite
1. Water clarity
“this is not a tech-
nique you use in
cloudy, dingy water. it
doesn’t have to be gin-
clear water to catch
them, but they need to
be able to see it 2 or 3
feet away.”
2. docks
“it’s great at deep-
water impoundments
that have floating
docks, not fixed docks
or pole docks, with
cables coming off them
and lots of boat slips.”
3. depth
“you want the shal-
lowest part of the dock
that you’re attacking to
be 20 feet deep.
Anything shallower is
really a waste of time.”
4. season
“i’m not a big fan of
it in February, March or
April. really, the only
bad months are those
three.”
hen he put a butt whuppin’ on fellow pros in a tel-
evised bass tournament at center hill lake in
2016, Missouri’s James Watson unveiled a tactic
that, while popular in the ozark region near his home, had
been waiting for someone to bust it out on the national
scene. that day, Watson waylaid bass after bass by flipping
a spoon to a single dock. Watson showed that the tech-
nique, though frustrating at times, has potential for big
catches in small windows.
“that’s what really motivates me is that i could find, on a
tournament day, the mother lode sitting within 20 feet of
each other or sitting in one or two stalls on one boat dock,
and i could jack them for an hour,” he says.
here, Watson details his approach to the tactic.
two spoons for docks
in the winter, and anytime the water tem-
perature is less than 75 degrees, Watson
uses a 7/8-ounce War eagle Jiggin’ spoon
“i like that spoon because it has a very
direct and fast fall,” he says.
Watson’s theory is that the bass are lazier
in cold water and not as willing to chase. the
straight-falling lead slab plummets past them
and elicits a reaction strike.
his option for warmer months is the Bass
pro nitro flash casting spoon. it’s stamped
from metal with a thin, broad body that flut-
ters around as it falls.
WAR EAGLE JIGGIN’ SPOON
BASS PRO NITRO FLASH CASTING SPOON
Color Choices
Watson uses gold on
cloudy days and white or
cole slaw (white and char-
treuse) on sunny days.
Play the sun
on sunny days, target
shaded areas.
“overcast days are more
difficult and less predictable,”
says Watson. “Most of the
time on overcast days they’re
not tucked up und erneath
the docks. they’re on the
outside of the docks, under
corners or cables. Most
cables are on big blocks.
those cables are great
places to find bass on over-
cast days.”
january 2017 i flWfishing.Com
depth
the depth where bass are
suspending and the depth of
the bottom can be patterned.
also, sometimes they’re on
the deep side of the dock, or
vice versa. trial and error is
the only method for figuring
it out.
the Presentation
spoon fishing is close-
combat work. Watson keeps
his boat positioned just far
enough back that he has
room to maneuver his rod.
then he tries to flip the
spoon in places that other
anglers aren’t willing to go.
“i’m a one-flipper,” he says.
“i’ll flip once on each side of a
stall if there’s a boat there, or
once in an empty stall, and
then i’ll bring my bait back in.”
for the proper free-fall,
hold the rod at 9 o’clock and
keep slight thumb pressure
on the reel spool as the
spoon sinks.
“never leave slack in the
line,” says Watson. “You let it go.
You’ll know when one gets it.”
landing fish
if you get bit in an open
stall, set the hook hard and
simultaneously reel as fast as
possible. if there are obsta-
cles, play the fish before get-
ting it up to the surface where
it can get hung. then reach
out with the net, or, if you’re
brave enough, swing the fish
over and into the boat.
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