General tips on choosing the right spoon color and spoon weight
The selection of spoon color and the correct spoon weight follows some basic rules. However, this does not mean that these rules are necessarily correct and will work in every body of water. They merely serve as a general guide. Many factors influence success on a fishing day and in a fishing environment.
The first step is to identify and interpret the general influencing factors.
What factors play a role here?
- General environmental factors
- General water factors
General environmental factors include weather, season, and air pressure. All these factors have a significant influence on the biting behavior of fish.
Probably the most important environmental factor is the season. Trout behave very differently throughout the year. Since trout are more at home in cooler rivers, summer is not the best time for trout fishing. Many fishing lake operators completely refrain from stocking trout in summer due to the high water temperatures. Winter is also not the best choice. Most lakes are frozen, making fishing almost impossible. Besides, who wants to freeze their paws off? In spring and autumn, trout lakes are booming again. Here, the trout have optimal water temperatures to really get going. This influencing factor has no effect on color choice. However, it has a much greater effect on the correct spoon weight. In summer, if trout can be stocked, they will tend to be sluggish near the surface due to the water temperature. This is where lighter spoons (0.6g to rather 1.5g) or rubber lures weighted with lighter tungsten beads come into play. In spring and autumn, the fish will tend to be in mid-water. Here, the lure weight should be 2.0g to 2.5g to be able to actively fish for them. In late autumn, the fish will tend to stay near the bottom. This is where spoons around 3.0g to 4.0g are used.
The weather conditionally influences the spoon color; in sun and bright skies, spoons with glitter particles can be an absolute hit. It is also important to find a good contrast to the sky with the spoon color, as fish usually attack from below. This means, for example, fishing with shock colors in overcast skies and opting for muted colors in clear skies. Rain usually brings additional oxygen into the water, which makes the fish more active. Active fish are more likely to be enticed to bite with shock colors.
Regarding air pressure, it is said that it should be as constant as possible. If it fluctuates sharply, it can happen that the fish completely stop feeding.
Let's move on to the general water factors. These include water temperature, water turbidity, and oxygen content.
The water temperature is crucial for the water depth at which trout are found. It primarily influences the spoon weight. Generally, the higher the water temperature, the shallower the fish are, and the more sluggish they become. This means, in turn, the shallower the fish are, the lighter the fishing needs to be, and vice versa.
An important factor for choosing the spoon color is water turbidity. The principle here is, the murkier the water, the more shocking the color choice must be.
The oxygen content strongly influences the biting behavior of fish. The more oxygen-rich the water, the more active the fish are. And as already mentioned, active fish respond better to shock colors.
The second step is to combine the 4 phases of the fishing day with the factors mentioned in the first step.
The first phase describes fishing before fresh stocking. Here, the goal is to convince the rather sluggish fish from the previous day to take our lure. Since the fish are rather shy, it is advisable to fish with rather muted colors with accents of shock colors.
The second phase describes fishing after stocking. Now new active fish have entered the lake, which in turn greatly stimulate the remaining fish. Now is the time for shock colors. Active fish love bright colors.
The third phase describes fishing during the calm period around midday. If you want to continue with spoons, muted and natural colors are now the trump card. Otherwise, this is the best time to switch to rubber lures to outsmart the fish that are becoming sluggish again.
The fourth and final phase describes fishing in the afternoon hours. If you have managed to get through the calm phase, you can catch one or two extra trout in the afternoon. Here, spoons in natural and muted colors with additional accents in shock colors play the main role. But fishing with rubber lures can also score points again here.
However, it generally helps to go against the current. If everyone else is fishing with yellow, just take green. This plan can also work very well from time to time. Furthermore, it is important to present many different lures. Whether wobblers, Praesten, Bulldog, spoon or rubber. Not every day is the same, and the fish will show you what is currently the hit of the day.
