Five Must Have Spoons Guaranteed to Catch Salmon!
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
Fishing with spoons is one of the easiest and most effective methods for catching Pacific salmon. Spoons can be fished “naked” that is, just on their own, or behind a flasher, or on their own with a dummy flasher below.
In most instances, spoons are as effective, if not more effective than bait. One simple reason that spoons (and other types of artificial lures) can work better than bait is that they can spend longer periods of time in the fishing zone.
When fishing bait, if you happen to miss noticing one little strike, your bait might have been stripped, or damaged to the point that it is no longer effective. So if you were looking the other way, you would end up dragging bare hooks until the next time you decide to check your gear. Spoons and lures on the other hand, just shake off those missed strikes, and keep on fishing!
Over the past 30 plus years, I have fished and guided for salmon from one end of the BC coast to the other with a wide variety of spoons, and the five listed here are standouts. Every salmon angler should have one or two of each in their arsenal.
Gibbs Skinny G - No Bananas
Gibbs Skinny G - Outfitter
Gibbs Skinny G - Herring Aid
Gibbs Coho Killer - Herring Aid
Gibbs Coho Killer - UV Violet Green Haze
The Skinny G and Coho Killer spoons come in a variety of colours. These five are my personal favourites, but I firmly believe all of them will work. In fact, I have fished Skinny G’s that have been a little bent up with literally all the paint worn off from countless battles with salmon, that continued to catch fish consistently. Of course on any given day, or any given tide, some patterns will outperform others, so having this minimum selection is a good base to start with.
For me, the most effective and efficient setup for spoons is to tie them all on six foot leaders of 40 pound monofilament with a bead chain swivel at the end. Spoons should be fished about that distance behind a flasher, and even if you choose to not use a flasher, a six foot leader is a good length. Having all your spoons tied up this way means they’re always ready to go, and make for fast and easy gear changes whether you fish them on their own, or attach them to flashers. (click here for 5 top flashers for salmon)
Product info and links:
Gibbs tackle is synonymous with salmon fishing in BC, and has been one of the most trusted brands on this coast for over 100 years.
Skinny G - all colours available here:
Coho Killer - all colours available here:
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