The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Evening All, Fred Buller mentions, if I remember correctly, an Abu spoon in 'Pike'. Is he referring to a Toby, or a different design of pike spoon? Plus, out of interest, which traditional spoon was considered the best for pike? Regards Cat

The original spoon looks like this,



The Toby is different and like this,



Both are great lures on their day. I think that in still water, the original will give you a more erratic - injured fish - type of action. I know Bob Church was a fan of them and caught loads of big pike on them.

The Toby is more at home in rivers and is a popular salmon lure. I've used them on the Wye for pike, they get down quickly and can be fished deep or shallow, I've had good days on them.

As with most items of tackle, one man's meat is another man's poison so, you will find opinions split. I only have one big spoon and, as Bob gave it to me, I won't use it in case I lose it. I have plenty of Toby's in different colour combinations and, as I said, they are great in a fast river.

Dave, excellent...thanks very much. Cat

There were lots of types of spoon made by ABU but there was one specifically referred to as the ABU spoon. Without seeing a picture it's hard to know which one is being referred to. The one Dave shows is one called the "Island" which was produced 1957-1975.

You can read about the "ABU Spoon" here - http://www.realsreels.com/baits/ABULure ... raget.html

Thanks Phil...I'll have a look. Regards Cat