Summer Spooning with Zaldain
If you ask Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain about summertime fishing, the first thing that he will likely bring up is a magnum flutter spoon. These large spoons are deadly for big bass in deeper water, and they’re easily his favorite lures to catch fish when the water heats up. In his mind, there’s no better way to fool bass that are keyed in on large baitfish and grouped up offshore.
Throwing a 7- or 8-inch spoon weighing over two ounces is undoubtedly a power-fishing approach that works wonders for big bass, but it requires the right approach and proper gear. Zaldain shared his summertime spooning system, perfected over the years through trial and error and plenty of time on the water.
When and Where it Works
A spoon is one of the oldest artificial lures in existence, but large, slender flutter spoons are a newer phenomenon, gaining popularity over the past quarter-century on Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reservoirs with defined river ledges. These are still prime fisheries for a large spoon, but Zaldain has found many other instances where they work.
“It’s something that starts in May and June when a lot of the fish get offshore, but you can do it all summer long and catch some really big bags doing it in many places across the country,” he began. “The main thing to keep in mind with flutter spoons is it’s a technique where you are not targeting individual fish; it works best when you have schools of fish offshore on structure like river ledges, drop-offs, rocks, or brush piles away from the bank, not necessarily just in deep water.”
Zaldain says the approach is best with warmer water, starting in the high 70s and as hot as it gets in your home waters. Another key component is the presence of shad, either threadfin or the much larger gizzard shad.
“Nothing imitates a big shad better than a big metal spoon, and when you have groups of fish together, they are all competing against each other, and a spoon falling down to them is one of the best ways to trigger them to bite,” he said.
While river ledges are great, Zaldain also looks for other areas when he picks up his flutter spoon. “Another really good place to fish a spoon is by finding the deepest docks on the lake, which provide shade and schools of baitfish,” he said. “I like flipping it and letting it flutter down to those suspended bass that are down there eating crappie and other big forage. One more prime place is around brush piles, where some might be hesitant to fish a bait with a big treble hook, but with heavy gear, you’ll get the bait back almost all the time unless you hook right into the trunk of it.”
Fishing a Flutter Spoon
Once it’s time for a spoon bite, Zaldain will rig up his favorite spoon, a 7-inch and 2.5-ounce Nichols Bass Mafia Big Larry Spoon for most instances, but he will downsize to the 5-inch version when the bass are focused on smaller baitfish or if the fishery has slightly smaller bass.
“I like to pull up to my offshore spot where the fish are holding and cast directly over that brush pile, ledge, dock, or wherever the fish should be hanging out,” he said. “Then, I let it fall on a semi-slack line; it’s primarily a vertical presentation. The spoon will do the work, and it will move left to right and twirl on its way down, and a lot of times, that initial fall is going to trigger one of the bass to come up and get it.”
Zaldain likens it to a pitching bite with a jig or soft plastic when pitched to a dock or laydown. “Many times, that first drop is what gets them to bite, but if it doesn’t happen, I’ll reel down and get the slack out and pull it up off the bottom 4 to 6 feet with a sweep of the rod and then let it fall again,” he said. “I’ll repeat that four or five times and then bring it up and repeat the process.”
The spoons that Zaldain prefers come in a host of different paint schemes, but he says it’s hard to beat the tried-and-true chrome finish. “It’s hard to beat plain silver for any spoon, and it’s what I’ve caught more giant bass than anything else,” he said. “Another one I like is shattered glass, which has a little more flash and reflection and does well when the water is dirtier.”
Spooning Gear Matters
Fishing a hunk of metal with violent movements and even more violent strikes from bass requires the right gear. Everything must be perfect to hook and land these bass, and it’s something Zaldain has perfected over the years after learning the hard way.
A few years ago, I finished second in an Elite Series event on Lake Guntersville in Alabama, and I lost the winning fish five different times,” he recalled. “I’ve learned a lot since then, and the two mistakes I made back then were using a rod that was too stiff and only fluorocarbon, which has a little stretch. I’ve now found a much better system for landing those fish: a rod with more give and braided line with a fluorocarbon leader.”
Instead of using a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy rod, he’s switched to a heavy-duty crankbait rod of the same length paired with an oversized reel like a 150-size baitcast reel from Bates Fishing.
“A rod that you would use for magnum deep-diving crankbaits is perfect because it has more bend in the rod and allows it to load better, helping you land more of those fish connected to a piece of metal and a big treble hook,” he said. “I also like these cranking rods because they have a longer-than-normal butt section for longer casts, and it allows me to snap the spoon up from the bottom with two hands. The bigger reel helps because you have more winching power and bigger knobs, plus you have a lot more line capacity.”
Another thing Zaldain has changed since his near miss at Lake Guntersville was switching to braided line instead of just fluorocarbon. “My line choice is very, very specific and I’m using 50 lb Seaguar Smackdown in the Flash Green color,” he said. “That does two things: one is that it has zero stretch, and the bright color of the line is also very important for detecting bites. As the bait is fluttering back down, I’m watching my line, and a lot of times, they’ll either stop it as it’s falling or you’ll see your line jump when one gets it.”
From his braid, he’ll add a ball bearing swivel even though the spoon comes with one on the bait to help further prevent line twist from a spiraling bait like a flutter spoon. Then, he goes with an 18 to 20-inch leader of 25 lb Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon.
“The spoon has a swivel on it, but because it spins around so much, adding another swivel makes sure you don’t get any line twist,” he said. “I go with AbrazX because when I’m fishing a spoon, I’m throwing it into cover like shell beds, wood, and brush, and you need all the abrasion resistance you can get. Plus, you’re dealing with a heavy spoon with beefed-up hardware and need a line that can stand up to all of that with a big fish on the end of it.”
If you are looking for a fun way to trigger big bass with an aggressive lure, magnum flutter spoons may be what you are seeking, as these big chunks of metal elicit violent strikes. There’s a reason it’s Chris Zaldain’s favorite way to catch summertime bass: the spoon bite is addictive.
Seaguar Smackdown braid is available in high visibility Flash Green and low visibility Stealth Gray. It is available in 150- and 300-yard spools in sizes ranging from 10 to 65 lb tests.
Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon is available in 200- and 1,000-yard spools from 4 to 25 lb tests.