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Hey all.. been thinking of throwing out a spoon or 2 in the spread this spring for coho. 1st is it a waste of time early and secomd.what size? Heard that scorpion stingers were popular at 2 1/4" wondering if standard 3" stinger spoons are too big early? Just see more colors available in standard size. Thanks

Sure, spoons will catch some fish, however they are far from a "go to" presentation for me. I can't saw I've ever had a spoon be a game changer. If I'm running 12 lines in the first month of the season, maybe NOT ALWAYS, one of them will be a spoon. One the rare chance it catches 3 or 4 fish, I might add another to the spread - might. More likely, if I've caught 3 or 4 on the spoon, that means the fish are "hot" and I've probably caught the rest of my limit on the plugs, spinners and dodger/flies I'm running on the other lines. The three-inch stingers should be just fine, perhaps better than the little walleye spoons.
The reason spoons are down the list is because the normal water clarity in March and April is chalky to muddy. The fish can't see the lure 10 feet away, but they can detect the rattling plugs and whirring spinner or spin/thump of a dodger that far with their other senses.
Once the water clears, out comes my spoons.

I second BN where we will maybe throw a spoon in the mix and catch a few fish but not a major producer. But when it's really early and the hoes aren't quite in thick yet I'll get a small spoon right at the bottom and majority of the time you'll pull up some browns. Money puke is my go to color. It has saved the day many a time.

When fish are active early in the spring seems like the top 5 to 10 feet are the most productive with thinfins and rapalas. For me if the fish are not active and its slow, I run spoons off riggers 10 to 15ft maybe deeper if I'm marking them. Super slims and regular size stingers in mixed vegies or uv orange will put some in the box. If I got enough to run 9 rods, I will have spoons in the water if I haven't caught my limit. Mike