Folks, have you been out on the water since youve started getting these tips? Did you use any of the advice? If so, Id love to hear from you! I also hope youll post photos of your successes, or at least a note about your outing, on our Facebook page. Once you find and hook a fish, especially a big fish, you have to land it, right? You know that story about the big one that got away? The one weve all told so many times? The big ones get away because ordinary fish dont really stress our tackle, but then we finally hook a big one, and we dont get it to hand because we arent prepared to. The only connection between you and that fish is your line. Yet the top selling fishing lines tend to be plain old, cheap-o monofilament, and most people dont change it out nearly often enough. I asked a friend recently, what kind of line do you use? His answer made me laugh, but it was right on. He just said, new. What he meant was that he re-spools all the time. Even though fishing line lasts a long, long time in the environment, it does start to lose strength pretty quickly. Run your hand along your line. If it feels chalky, rough, or looks milky, its old and should be changed. Most serious anglers are using braided line, fused superlines, fluorocarbon, or a combination of those. Standard nylon monofilament still has its place, but its generally less tough than these other lines. Braids, superlines, and for the most part fluorocarbons are zero-stretch. This means that theyre far more sensitive. More sensitive lines tell you more about what your bait is doing under the water, and when you start using them youll also start feeling bites you never felt before. Much of the time fish are biting your bait and unless you have a good rod and good line, you cant really tell. Braids and superlines are also very low diameter for their line test strength. For example, a 20 pound superline probably has about the same diameter as 6 pound monofilament. Fishing stronger line means you lose fewer baits - and fish - to break-offs. In general, you should change monofilament fishing line at least once a year. Depending upon how much you fish, you might get 2 years out of braid or superlines, but you can extend the life by turning it around on the reel. You can wind it onto an empty reel, burying the used part in the backing and putting the fresh line out on the front of the spool for fishing. A good steward never (ever) throws used fishing line into the water or on shore. Birds, fish and other wildlife get tangled in fishing line litter and die. Discarded fishing line can get sucked up in boat motors and ruin a motor - and a day of fishing. If you ever see used fishing line and dont clean it up, youre just about as bad as the jerk who threw it there in the first place. Clean it up any time you see it, and recycle it if possible. Fishing line recycling is provided at many sporting goods stores and at tubes near many public boat launches and piers. A new addition to the fishing line market is biodegradable fishing line. Bioline from Wright & McGill (Eagle Claw) is the primary offering in the category. It has properties between mono and fluorocarbon, stays strong on the reel for a year, just like mono. The weakest point in a line is always the knot, and most people tie the improved clinch knot, or fishermans knot. Its easy to tie. Its pretty strong. Not bad. But there are much stronger knots. For example, the Palomar knot is strong and easy to tie. The Orvis knot, Berkley knot, and many other knots are stronger than the improved clinch knot and theyll prevent you from breaking off a big fish and increase the number of big fish that make it to your hand. Finally, are you using a net? Lots of fish are lost right at the shore or the boat. A good net can sure help prevent these almost got ems. The main consideration on a net is that it needs to be a knotless, rubber mesh net or one of the coated mesh nets. We like the Frabill conservation series nets because theyre light, have a flat bottom that supports the weight of the fish, theyre knotless so they dont damage a fishs eyes and scales. Weve formally endorsed the Castalia Outdoors Flip Nets because theyre also fish-friendly, plus they fold down small so theyre very portable. Theyre affordable as well - and available in sizes from a kayak net all the way up to a large pier / boat net. In some situations you can do the least damage to fish by not netting them at all - just keep them in the water and unhook and release them. However, in many situations a net actually lets us keep them in the water more, like while prepping a camera for a photo. A good net supports the fish better, keeps them off boat carpet, the ground and rocks. It prevents us from having to swing a fish up into the boat - a bad practice if the fish is going to be released. Netting fish is an art in itself. Jabbing a net into the water will spook the fish, and many careless net handlers have knocked fish off the hook at the final moments of the fight. Hopefully youll have a fishing partner who can hold the net steady in the water at boatside or on the shore, and as you sweep the fish toward the net with your rod tip, they scoop. Next time well look at a fishing strategy that will help you match your tactics to the seasons and help you catch more fish - and more big fish - any time of the year. Until then, how about joining us on our Recycled Fish Facebook page or on Twitter - @RecycledFish.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:12:57 +0000