Ok, so I've bought some Cotton Cordell hammered spoons.  I have NEVER used spoons with a treble hook, so I'm looking for some stuff to make them more productive.  After watching Jason Quinn the other night on some show, I have a good idea on how to work them, but what all do y'all do to maximize the effectiveness of your spoons?

So far I've added a split ring and a swivel to reduce line twist.  I've added a feathered treble, replacing the grappling hook that it came with.  I'm considering adding some stick-on eyes or maybe a few strokes of paint, but haven't decided yet.  Is there anything else that I can do to these things before I try them out?  Thanks for any tips.

I think you've pretty much covered the gamut. What is cool about spoons is that they are still effective without needing to be tricked up.

One thing that I have always wanted to try that I haven't yet is drilling holes into the spoon. I don't know what it might do. Heck, it might even ruin the spoon! I've also wanted to try this with spinner blades.

Oh well, just a thought for the back burner. If you decide to do it, let us know if it works.  8-)

Drilling holes works on buzzbaits.  With spoons, I'd think that it would dampen the action, since water would be flowing straight through the lure, instead of being forced around it.  With spinnerblades, I think you'd get more action, but I don't know.  Try it on a $1 wal-mart spinnerbait. ;D

One thing I do, especially if I miss a few strikes, is to remove the split ring for the line tie (if the spoon has one) from the spoon.  Then I just thread the line through the hole and tie the line to a treble hook.  This gives a little more freedom for the spoon's action, gives it a little different action, and provides another hook to the spoon for hooksets.

My wife and I fished Grand Lake of the Cherokees in Oklahoma for a few days this spring.  The lake was high and very muddy.  Black bass fishing was tough.  We happened to find some shad busting the surface and got into a school of white bass.  We were using the same spoon with a split ring.  The amount of white bass she was catching was twice as many as I was catching and I couldn't figure out why.  I tried changing my presentation in numerous ways and I still couldn't match her catch.  Finally, I asked her to let me see her spoon.  When she tied hers on she wasn't paying attention and accidentally tied to the hole in the spoon instead of the split ring.  This allowed the split ring to click against the spoon and it gave the spoon a different action.  I changed mine to match her's, and, lo and behold, I started catching as many fish as she was.  Moral of the story:  The best way to attach a spoon to catch fish isn't always the recommended method.

Find a thin-walled tube bait and put the spoon inside of it.

Find a thin-walled tube bait and put the spoon inside of it.

I have heard this works well-