Spoon-fed.

Splash disguised by a small cascade and landing just upstream of a deeper hole overhung by blackberries, this was a rare perfect cast. As the lure wobbled its way through the shadows a bow wave tracking to intercept indicated interest. A brief pause at the shadow's edge resulted in a solid tug on the line and with a swirling splash, I was on. After a couple of jumps and short runs, a pretty little brown trout was quickly slid up on the wet grass for a quick measure, photo, de-hook and release. At 43.5cm fork length and over a pound and a half in weight, this was a large fish for such small water with the deeply hooked jaw of a mature male trout. This brought my total for the day (about an hours fishing just 20min from home) to three landed and with several others missed or dropped, was a fitting end for a quick post work fish. As with all previous fish, that day along with many from previous and subsequent trips the successful lure was a simple small metal spoon one of the most underrated lures in our hi-tech modern fishing society.

Spoons are an ancient lure form originating in pre-historic times with lures made from shell and bone that were trolled behind dugout canoes. In more recent times these lures are made by pressing shapes from metal sheet with some resembling a spoon with the handle removed (DIYers can make their own like this) hence the name.
There are many different lures that fall into this category, including such classics as the much-copied wonder wobbler and ABU toby. Modern spoons are typically made of brass or stainless steel and may be left plain, painted or plated in bronze, silver, gold, copper, nickel or chrome. Almost all will catch fish though my personal favourites are derivatives of the toby style with a long thin shape to match most local baitfish species and which tend to give less or no line twist compared to the shorter fatter varieties. Specific favourites are the pegron minnow (11g) and the smaller NZ made tango (6.5g) or the slightly heavier locally available Gillies bendback (7g). For heavier tackle saltwater fishing, larger spoons such as bumper bars and spanyids in the 20+g range may be a better choice. As far as colours go I generally prefer gold and variations of gold for freshwater and chrome and variations for salt, with gold varieties a good all-rounder.
 Spoons will appeal to virtually any lure taking species with my personal tally being 47species, mainly caught around Sydney and here in Tasmania. This list does include quite a few non-target oddball species and fish such as bream for which spoons are probably not the best lure choice but still gives an indication of the versatility of this lure type. Here in Tasmania, I have taken brown and rainbow trout, atlantic salmon, redfin, australian salmon, tailor, flathead, couta, jack pike, snook, yellow-eye mullet (quite a common by-catch of flathead spinning), wrasse, 3 different leatherjacket species, and even toadfish, gurnards and eels just on pegron minnows, tangos and bendbacks. Other local species that I am yet to encounter in Tasmania but have hooked on spoons in Sydney are snapper, silver trevally, estuary perch, mackerel and the previously mentioned bream. I am also reliably informed that these lures are perfectly suited to brook trout and have been known to produce snotties. Spoons of 5-15g are a good size for local work in both freshwater and light tackle saltwater with slightly larger and heavier models better suited to casting from ocean rocks and beaches. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that small lures like the bendback can't take large fish, my best trout of 88cm (estimate16-20lb) fell to a 4.5cm tango spoon in NZ. Using larger lures will increase the proportion of larger fish caught but will drastically reduce total numbers.
The main advantages of spoons over other lure types are their low cost, castability, durability, versatility and simplicity. They may be used from tiny streams to the ocean and everywhere between. In small rocky streams, being metallic is an advantage as it allows these lures to bounce off rocks without damage except maybe chipped paint whilst the low cost means you can cast them into scary fish-holding country into which you would hesitate to place a more expensive lure.
Generally, the more pronounced the bend and the thinner gauge the metal fro which a spoon is made, the slower the optimal retrieve speed. However most good spoons will tolerate a relatively broad speed range and even draw strikes on the drop. This means that a good spoon may be fished by a simple cast and retrieve at a variety of speeds from dead slow to flat out or they can be counted down and allowed to sink into a strike zone then fished in a lift and draw manner. Spoons can even be skipped across the surface to simulate fleeing bait or at the other extreme, jigged vertically. Their relative heaviness makes them cast like a bullet, perfect for shore-based work and unlike some hardbodied plugs they are almost impossible to de-tune. They are also ideally suited to trolling on either a flatline, leadline or downrigger.
Whilst spoons will take fish on a straight retrieve, it is a good idea to mix up the retrieve with speed changes and pauses. When fishing deep water, long pauses can be used, allowing the lure to sink back down to deeper holding fish using a sink and draw retrieve. When doing this, hits on the drop are quite common. Alternately when fishing near-surface or shallow water a short pause can often turn a follower into a taker. Occasional increases in retrieve speed can also be used to stimulate strikes in a similar way. For trout a general retrieve would be a slow constant retrieve with intermittent faster winds followed by a short pause of a second or so. A slightly faster version is good for general saltwater work.
Rigging is simple, just tie to the end of the line and off you go (with a suitable leader if using braid). Hook arrangements may be customised for specific purposes though. Replacing trebles with a large eyed single is a good idea for fish that are to be released or in snaggy/weedy areas. A single hook on a dropper from the towing eye can also be used to increase holding power on some species in a similar manner to that used for deep-water jigging. In really snaggy areas, a soft plastic trailer may be added to further weed-proof the lure or just to add scent and a bit of extra attraction. Make sure however that the trailer is small enough not to inhibit the lure's action. One recent development is the Berkley "bladedancer" a kind of spoon/jighead hybrid that seems to combine some of the best features of soft-plastics and spoons. Can't wait to try them out.