are moonshine CASTING spoons any good?

[james83]

Hi, i live along lake huron. I wouldnt say im new to fishing lol i catch tons of fish. But when it comes time to catching steelhead and salmon (coho and chinnys) off a peir i find myself a newbie. Please note i do not float fish ever. Dont know how, cant master slip floats cant afford float rods. Anyways i recently was given advice from a freind to use spoons. I recently saw moonshine spoons, They have 2 sizes..the short but fat 3/4oz ers and the longer but skinny 5/8 oz ers. Our fall salmon along lake huron barely avg 12 lbs if were lucky. Ive tried cleos off the peir for yrs, no luck on cleos! id chuck cleos for hours and hours on end wing out reel in. nothing!. i heard moonshines actually catch fish... but looking at the moonshine casting spoons 3/4oz the short but fat ones i dont think a 10lb salmon or even a steelhead could fit it in its mouth? same with the 5/8 oz casting spoon by moonshine, its longer but skinnier then the 3/4 size...but again looks to long for a salmon or steelhead to fit in there mouth?

please give me some advice on moonshine casting spoons what sizes actually work (the short but fat one or the longer but skinnier 5/8)

do i just wing these spoons out and retrieve soon as they hit the water or should i let them hit bottom, evident by my line dropping before retrieve? and during retreive do i simply reel in or do i reel then twitch my rod tip then reel etc.

do steelhead and other trout (lakers browns) hit moonshine casting spoons too? if so what ones?

should i use a good old fashioned swivel with the spoon, black or gold swivel? or should i use "snaps" with the spoon instead of a normal swivel?

sorry for all the dumb questions lol. its just ive always line ran my salmon but thats not fun to me, i wanna feel the thrill of a salmon or steelhead or trout smash it reeling in.

[Steelhead#1]

 

3/4 oz is fine. The bigger ones are fine too. 

I have caught a steelie on the moonshine 3/4 oz RV blue Jackal. It was just after sunset. I was casting for kings. Caught a steelie.

 

My #1 spoon for steelhead. That if I could only use one spoon the rest of my life it would be this.

http://lurepartsonline.com/Online-Store/Casting-Spoons/Premium-Tear-Drop-Casting-Spoons.html

#33 in C3 aka 5/8th size.

The paint on them do not last. Rubs off easily. Try to find them locally, otherwise you've got to buy split rings & hooks and split ring pliers. Normally they're like $1-2.5 a spoon depending on the baitshop you find them in.

Just cast them out, let them sink a little. Reel them in. Play around with how far you let them sink and how fast you reel them in. 

My #1 spoon for brown trout are a little cleo 2/5th ounce gold and orange

The swivels I buy cost more than $1 a swivel(overkill). They're silver. IDK if it matters that much. If you don't see expensive ones at your baitshop. Ask the guy behind the counter. You don't need expensive swivels tbh.

 

Have you tried shrimp like 6 feet under a bobber? 

 

 

[james83]

Thanks so much for the advice. Ive always line ran my salmon up river but thats not fun anymore to me amd i wanted to get in on when there off a peir chucking a spoon. Buddy said trout and salmon rail a spoon hard when they hit off a peir. Do little cleos work? I hear the 1/3 oz cleos are perfect size for steelhead and use the 2/5 for chinnys

[Steelhead#1]

From my very limited personal experience from casting spoons for steelhead. If I was talking about in just the last 365 days.

My #1 spoon which i talked about above. I saw catch over 100 steelhead.

a solid orange ko wobbler i saw catch about 10 steelhead.(seen both the bigger size and smaller size work)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acme-Gold-Fluorescent-Ko-Wobbler-Lure-2-4-Lb-Test-Ultra-Lite-Light-Spinning-/151723912249

little cleo maybe 2 or 3 steelhead max. The blue/silver

I don't know anyone that uses 1/3 oz small spoons. If its windy you're not casting that far at all. Don't take what I say as gospel. You're not fishing where I fish. Find guys in your area and copy those who are successful.

[FBD]

Back in the days of heavy king runs in Huron, most pier fisherman threw plugs.  Barimundi Mailers, Ping a Tees , and deep thundersticks or J13 rapalas were choice in glow or fire tiger. I interned in the thumb in 1997 and caught many a pier king on the above baits, took that technique back to da west siiiide and it worked over here too.

[Northmen4034]

They are very very good, great results for any kind of trout night or day


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[james83]

Even from shore? I see ppl slay trout and salmon trolling the trolling moonshines. I don't own a boat. I'm limited to chucking from shore. I bought the 3/4 oz size glow bloody nose and flounder pounder. There short but fat tear drop shape. However they look to fat for anything to hit it. I seen the other one there the 5/8 oz one its longer then the 3/4 oz one yet 5/8 oz is lighter then 3/4 yet moonshine made there 5/8 spoon so long. I think the 5/8 one is to long for anything to hit it from shore. And the 3/4 one may be to fat for anything to hit. Yes salmon and trout hit giant spoons downrigging that's different. I have no access to boat so limited to shore only so these moonshine casting spoons either are to fat (3/4) or wayyyy to long 5/8. Its depressing. Shit even the 3/4 oz Cleo's now are made way to big!!!! Someone bought little Cleo company. The new company who took over acme tackle and the Cleo production in the past year have made all sizes of little Cleo's much longer then before. Don't believe me? If u have an old 3/4 Cleo from more then two years ago compare it to a new 3/4 one in the store today. You'll see the new 3/4 are much longer and wider then the old stock it's sad  lake Huron Chinook are almost extinct thanks to quagga zebra mussels filtering out the alewives food plankton which in turn alewives have all dIED out in lake Huron ten years ago so chinooks have no food left. Govt plops two million dam Lakers a year in Huron. So what little chinooks are left hanging on by a thread and only averaging ten lbs in fall run.. tackle company's like acme and moonshines make there spoons bigger. Sad

[Northmen4034]

Heck yeah! As good out in the boat as from shore


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[Northmen4034]

Wonderbread


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[james83]

So even with both moonshine and acme making there spoons way to big u still have luck from shore on them? And do u throw the tear drop shaped moonshine from shore?

[Northmen4034]

Of course! The wonderbread 3/4 ounce has been as consistent as possible for me. 5/8 size hasn't done anything. The teardrop shape is the way to go from shore


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[james83]

OK cool well hopefully the bloody nose and flounder pounder will work lol bought them yest 3/4 oz. New to moonshines just thought the 3/4 looked to fat for a salmon or steelhead to hit. 

 

Also have u ever heard of a lake trout being caught from a pier?

[Northmen4034]

Bloody nose should work. Heck yeah I think I caught 86 lakers last fall in Lake Michigan from the piers. Crazy crazy numbers


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[james83]

Guess I shouldn't listen to some YouTube videos lol the guy from spot on fishing said in one of his videos its very rare to catch a laker from a pier on the great lakes. I'm a newbie to piers as I'm a upriver kinda guy but I'm sure later in October and all of November heck probably until freeze up there will be Lakers galore off lake Huron peirs like your piers along with browns and steels

[Northmen4034]

Heck yeah! It's been obnoxious. Just find piers with rocks and you should be golden. Casting for them has been my favorite fishing and that's over salmon fishing...never though I'd say it


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[james83]

The Lakers should hit the moonshines and ko wobblers. Do u have better results in Oct Nov when Lakers are off peirs at night or daytime?

[Northmen4034]

Middle of the day when the water is the warmest and second best would be the evening is say. I have caught them at night but where I fish it's dangerous walking when you can't see so not worth it for fish out of season. Try anything silver really


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[james83]

Always around the time when the steelhead first arrive at piers around first second week of October onwards eh

[james83]

I have 3/4 oz blue silver ko wobblers

[Northmen4034]

Over here it's 3-4 week of October usually through mid-late November


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[Northmen4034]

Those spoons should work


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[james83]

OK thanks. Ya ur right cuz I remember something bout Buddy saying Halloween night every single year kids r out trick or treating his son is with his gf trick or treating he's hammering lake trout on spawn sac off bottom Halloween night laker laker laker laker bow laker laker laker every year Halloween night he says now that I remember it. 

[Northmen4034]

Yeah should be an interesting fall with the water being so warm but they'll be here


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[james83]

Ya water is warmer then usual for this time of year dunno bout ur side but here on huron side in Ontario we r in a record drought. Very little rain since may. Our spring run off was in Feb this year by late April creeks and rivers were at almost summer time lows and since then very little rain so most creeks and tribs salmon and bows go up to spawn each yr r now bone dry. Warm dry fall like last yr predicted too by weather service means late salmon run and no water in the tribs. Shud be fun

[gmfishon]

all you have will work! No other atta boy or misc crap needed. Plain and simple.