REVIEW: PEETZ Hookum Diving Spoon

After roughly 45 years of hiding in the depths of the PEETZ vault, the Hookum Diving Spoon has returned. I decided to test one and see if this age old spoon is still fancied by fish.

Based on the color, size, and action of the spoon I chose to target White and Hybrid Bass here in Central Texas.
The Hookums are produced by PEETZ in Canada. The spoon is known for its erratic movement while trolling for West Coast sport fish. I am not located on the West Coast, but still wanted to give it a chance on my locally accessible freshwater. The spoons cost $11.99, but the price goes down the more you buy. Generally two to five spoons are $9.21, and six or more is $8.29.

I towed it behind my A.T.A.K. 140 through boiling White Bass and actually put some fish in the boat, but I also missed a few hook ups. I found some schools sitting in 30-35ft of water and decided to fish the spoon like a slab, and I pulled out a couple Hybrids. I was excited because I do not typically pull Hybrids off the bottom. Lastly, I found schools at varying depths and decided to fish it like a jig at depth and on ledges. To my surprise I pulled up a Large Mouth Bass of a ledge that subsequently flopped out of my hands and back into the water.

On all the trips I noticed I missed some hook ups. Some were user error, but I wanted to push the test and see if I could increase my hook up ratio. I generally fish with a 2/0 hook, and the Hookum comes with a 3/0 Siwash Hook. I decided to try my hand at craftsmanship, and I put a treble on the Hookum instead of the single hook. I missed fewer hook ups, but did land smaller fish.

My testing came to a hault when my “Padillac Special” treble hook rigged Hookum was snagged 35 feet down while jig fishing and broke off. Apparently Boris Cecil Peetz knew what he was doing when he originally designed the Hookum with a single hook.

All in all the Hookum is a viable trolling lure that can be fished multiple ways for varying species of fish. It comes in 14 colors to match most local hatch. I have no doubt it will continue to be successful on the coasts if I can pull fish out of land locked lakes with it. I do not plan to modify any more so I can keep catching fish.