12/25/22 Bink’s Spoons for crappie

Daily Fishing Log For December 25, 2022

General Info		Weather / Water Conditions
Date	December 25, 2022	Air Temp	Freezing with minus temps	Current Generation	Minimum
Fisherman	See below notes for more info on Bink's Spoons!	Water Temp	low 30s, iced over in upper ends	Current Generation	Minimum
Hours Fished		Sky	Cloudy	Water Clarity	Clean
Fishing Overall	Good	Wind	Light	Water Clarity	Clean

Fish Caught
Total Caught	Total Keepers

Size/Weight (Pounds)

Baits Used
Keepers	Other Fish
Bink's Spoons

Bait Colors
Keepers	Other Fish
Assorted colors - shad pattern spoons working well

Location/Presentation/Structure
Bink's Spoons has been around since the 90s and used across the country, but especially in the midwest from Arkansas all the way up to Minnesota and Wisconsin. We will have a post about Bink's Spoons every two weeks until February talking about how to effectively use them on Truman Lake and beyond for crappie and many more predator species. Bink's Spoons were made popular by their creator, Darrell Binkley, on Norfolk Lake. There, he uses the spoons to target many species including crappie, walleye, white bass, hybrids, and stripers. You'll even catch some big blue and flathead catfish as well. Dipping trees with a minnow tipped on the spoon can yield many crappie and is the most popular usage of the spoon on Truman Lake.

Location/Presentation/Structure

Bink's Spoons has been around since the 90s and used across the country, but especially in the midwest from Arkansas all the way up to Minnesota and Wisconsin. We will have a post about Bink's Spoons every two weeks until February talking about how to effectively use them on Truman Lake and beyond for crappie and many more predator species. Bink's Spoons were made popular by their creator, Darrell Binkley, on Norfolk Lake. There, he uses the spoons to target many species including crappie, walleye, white bass, hybrids, and stripers. You'll even catch some big blue and flathead catfish as well. Dipping trees with a minnow tipped on the spoon can yield many crappie and is the most popular usage of the spoon on Truman Lake.

Fishing Notes
The crappie bite is very good right now. Folks are getting them with minnows and jigs. Jigs have become more and more productive in the last couple weeks. But sometimes it seems like you get into an area that is pressured more than others and the fish don’t want to eat as readily. So what do you try? Well, breaking out a Bink’s Spoon might help. The Bink’s Spoon with the single Aberdeen hook is specifically designed for crappie fishing and easy snag removal. It is most effective when tipped with a minnow, and could give those fish the different look they need to see to entice a bite. Most of the guides and anglers are finding fish back in the creeks and cove pockets, especially when you make your way up the river arms. The fish will stay there for several months. Brush Creek in the Tebo arm is famous for holding huge numbers of fish in the winter time. We filmed a Bink’s Spoon video last February in Brush Creek and caught dozens on the spoon tipped with a minnow. Some were even caught through skim ice! Schools of fish will be seen the size of houses as we’ve described in previous reports. Look for this to be happening soon. All the creeks between Bucksaw and Otter Creek are holding fish as well. Start halfway back or further, making sure to stay in at least 10 feet of water. You’ll make your presentation a lot like a minnow or jig. Drop the spoon down and hold it steady along the trees and wait for the thump. In the Grand, it’s really been taking putting that bait right in front of the fish to get a bite, but they have been a little more aggressively recently chasing the bait a foot or two. Fish are sitting all over the water column, even as shallow as 2 feet down. But majority are in the bottom 1/3rd. If you’re looking to try something different, the bluffs on the lower end of the lake around the dam and up into the lower Grand, lower Pomme and lower Osage can be very good places to drop your Bink’s Spoon. Simply cast the spoon tipped with a minnow up to the bluff and let it fall to the bottom. Raise it up a couple of reel cranks and just kind of let it bounce along the bottom in 18-22 feet of water. The bluff right by the dam is very good for catching crappie in the wintertime. If they are sitting higher up, try to swing that bait above the school of fish and one or several should come up to get it. The lake is back to normal pool. We will see how long it stays there. Water is stained to muddy in the upper ends but fairly clean on the lower end of the Grand and dam area. The Tebo up to Windsor Crossing has about 1 foot of clarity. All colors of Bink’s Spoons are reported to be working, but favorites are Albino, black/white, all white, chartreuse, blue/white and green/white. You can visit this link to browse the Bink’s Spoons Catalog: Bink’s Spoons Website

Fishing Notes

The crappie bite is very good right now. Folks are getting them with minnows and jigs. Jigs have become more and more productive in the last couple weeks. But sometimes it seems like you get into an area that is pressured more than others and the fish don’t want to eat as readily. So what do you try? Well, breaking out a Bink’s Spoon might help. The Bink’s Spoon with the single Aberdeen hook is specifically designed for crappie fishing and easy snag removal. It is most effective when tipped with a minnow, and could give those fish the different look they need to see to entice a bite.

Most of the guides and anglers are finding fish back in the creeks and cove pockets, especially when you make your way up the river arms. The fish will stay there for several months. Brush Creek in the Tebo arm is famous for holding huge numbers of fish in the winter time. We filmed a Bink’s Spoon video last February in Brush Creek and caught dozens on the spoon tipped with a minnow. Some were even caught through skim ice!

Schools of fish will be seen the size of houses as we’ve described in previous reports. Look for this to be happening soon. All the creeks between Bucksaw and Otter Creek are holding fish as well. Start halfway back or further, making sure to stay in at least 10 feet of water. You’ll make your presentation a lot like a minnow or jig. Drop the spoon down and hold it steady along the trees and wait for the thump. In the Grand, it’s really been taking putting that bait right in front of the fish to get a bite, but they have been a little more aggressively recently chasing the bait a foot or two. Fish are sitting all over the water column, even as shallow as 2 feet down. But majority are in the bottom 1/3rd.

If you’re looking to try something different, the bluffs on the lower end of the lake around the dam and up into the lower Grand, lower Pomme and lower Osage can be very good places to drop your Bink’s Spoon. Simply cast the spoon tipped with a minnow up to the bluff and let it fall to the bottom. Raise it up a couple of reel cranks and just kind of let it bounce along the bottom in 18-22 feet of water. The bluff right by the dam is very good for catching crappie in the wintertime. If they are sitting higher up, try to swing that bait above the school of fish and one or several should come up to get it.

The lake is back to normal pool. We will see how long it stays there. Water is stained to muddy in the upper ends but fairly clean on the lower end of the Grand and dam area. The Tebo up to Windsor Crossing has about 1 foot of clarity.

All colors of Bink’s Spoons are reported to be working, but favorites are Albino, black/white, all white, chartreuse, blue/white and green/white.

You can visit this link to browse the Bink’s Spoons Catalog:

Bink’s Spoons Website

12/25/22 Bink’s Spoons for crappie

Truman Lake Fishing Reports

Resources

Videos