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Spring brass is a good metal and if you obtain sheets of this material in 1/32 in. thickness you'll be able to make varied sizes of spoons for salt-water fishing. Of course, slightly lighter gauges can be used for the smaller spoons and heavier gauges are more suitable for the larger spoons. The metal used should have enough spring so that it doesn't bend out of shape too readily when a big fish is hooked. The first step in making a spoon is to draw and cut out a pattern of the shape and size you want from a piece of cardboard or heavy paper. This way, all your spoons will be uniform in size and you don't have to make a new drawing to follow each time. Then trace the pattern outline on the sheet metal. The lighter gauges of brass or copper can be cut with ordinary hand snips, and the heavier gauges can be cut with aviation snips. The duck bill snips are best for cutting the curves. You can also use a hacksaw or other metal saw to remove excess metal. When cutting out the spoons the best procedure is to cut just outside the tracing, leaving some metal. In other words, cut the spoon slightly larger in size than the finished one will be. Then file the spoon down to the finished size.
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