Must-Have Bait: The Northland Fishing Tackle Eye-Ball Spoon
It’s common knowledge amongst ice anglers that fish eyeballs get hit. However, it’s often illegal to harvest eyeballs from gamefish to repurpose for the next catch. Moreover, the practice is taboo to conservationists and, well, pretty revolting. Eww…
Northland has a solution: The Eye-Ball Spoon. Perfectly mimicking the real thing, the innovative spoon sports a full-body, taxidermy quality eyeball on the front side, while the backsides offer an array of matched colors, including metallic and glow patterns. The Eye-Ball Spoon’s heavy body and compact design mean you’re getting to fish fast, too, making it an incredibly versatile bait that’s perfect for panfish and hungry predators alike. The NEW Eye-Ball Spoons are available in 3 sizes (1/16 oz., 1/8 oz., and 1/4 oz.) and 10 different fish-catching colors.
Northland pro Brian “Bro” Brosdahl comments: “The Eye-Ball Spoon is an absolute original with its gigantic, realistic orb. I’d been waiting for years for something like this. And in the right situations, it outperforms everything. It’s compact, which allows you to shake the minnow at the fish and it falls fast, just like a jig-spoon.”
He continues: “Some of my favorite colors are UV Purple, Rainbow, and it’s really hard to beat Glow Perch. On Minnesota’s Leech Lake, Glow Perch is a favorite. If I’m going to Red Lake, I like UV Pink or Glow Red. Gold and UV Pink are also killer on Lake of the Woods.”
Bro drops the Eye-Ball Spoon fast, pounds the bottom, and lifts it up about a foot and lets the dust collect. When the walleyes or perch come in, he slowly raises the bait and lets it drop back to the bottom. “The fish absolutely destroy it,” says Bro.
St. Croix pro Joel Nelson comments, “When I was younger, we made our own tear drop jigs. We would solder gold hooks onto small willow leaf blades. I was taught by my grandpa that any bait you fish has to have an eye on it. The eye is the head of a baitfish. And after years on the ice, I truly believe that walleyes focus in on that. There’s no more realistic-looking lure than the Eye-Ball Spoon. You’ve got to touch it to make sure it’s not a real fish eyeball. The cool thing about the Eye-Ball Spoon is it’s a great jigging spoon as well as a great stationary offering you can put on a rattle reel or a deadstick. No tackle box is going to be complete without several Eye-Ball Spoons.”
The Eye-Ball Spoon is outfitted with a wickedly sharp red treble hook, yielding immediate hook sets and versatility. For perch and panfish, anglers often gob the individual barbs with wax worms or maggots. Jigged in the water, the meat pumps like an octopus while laying a debris field of parts, pieces and scent. Bro calls the technique “chandelier-ing,” referencing the bait’s appearance with grubs dangling from the hooks.
Another option is doubling up on eyeballs by adding the head of a shiner, chub, or your local bait shop offering. Now you’ve combined alluring looks and action with the real thing to close the deal.
Parting Words
Still, assembling your winter boxes and looking for that new bait to put your fishing over the top? Look no further than the Northland Fishing Tackle Eye-Ball Spoon.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.