Stan Fagerstrom
01-01-2003, 11:19 AM
Better Organization Means More Fish
By Stan Fagerstrom
There was a fringe of ice along the shore as I waded out to make my first cast that cold morning. My bait of salmon eggs arched out over the green-tinged water. I felt my sinker bump the bottom a couple of times and then there it was---that hard to describe sensation that something had hold of my bait.
I set the hook and the steelhead came out of the water as if it had been jabbed with a branding iron. Its body twisted over the surface. My drag was too tight. There was a sickening snap as my line parted. The fish came out again and this time I saw the hook and sinker go flying out of its mouth as it jerked its head from side to side.
An angler downstream hooked a fish a heartbeat after I lost mine. His fish also came unpinned. In less than a minute I was fishing again. I was better prepared for the next fish. That one wound up on the bank. As I beached it, I noticed the angler downstream still fooling around trying to get a new rig tied.
I mention what happened that cold winter morning for a purpose. The reason I was able to get back to fishing so soon that cold December day wasn't because I was faster at tying knots. It happened because I was better organized. I had a new rig all set up and ready to go. All I had to do was tie it on and start fishing. I was better organized because I had spent time getting my gear ready before I got anywhere near the water.
I'll never understand fishermen who don't take advantage of down time to work with tackle. Let's face it. The things any of us can do to control the number of fish we catch are limited. We can't do a blessed thing about wind direction or velocity. We can't control air temperature or water temperature. You don't even know what kind of a mood your fishing partner is in. One thing we can do is get our gear ready and the winter months coming up provide the ideal time to do it.
I don't care where you hang your fishing fedora, there will be days this winter when it's useless to go out. Even though the season remains open, rivers may be at flood stage, snow makes roads impassable or there's a sheet of ice on your favorite lake. You can pull a stool up in front of the boob tube if that's your choice. It's not mine. I'll head for my tackle room and work on my gear. It's the next best thing to fishing and I'll eventually catch more fish as a result.
http://www.ifish.net/sfsharp.jpg
When your favorite river is unfishable, use the resulting down time to tune up your tackle.
Anybody who spends much time on the water from spring through fall is a cinch to wind up with messy tackle boxes, worn lines, dull hooks, leaky boots and raingear, beat up lures, rods that need re-wrapping and reels that beg for oil and grease. You don't need a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to make the kind of repairs for the organization I'm talking about. I've got the mechanical skills of a retarded billy goat. But even a mechanical moron can oil his reels, sharpen his hooks and do the other things I've mentioned. And again---somewhere down the line that preparation will pay dividends.
There's no better time than the dark days of winter to check on the condition of your hooks. Chances are some were dulled when you bounced them off the rocks last summer. Is there a barb missing on some of your triple hooks? Replace the hooks that need replacing; sharpen those that are still in good shape.
I also use my downtime to take care of the skirts on my spinnerbaits. Sprays are available to spray on rubber skirts so the tails stay separated and don't stick together. Taking care of the skirts on your spinnerbaits or other lures is another of those little details so easily taken care of when the winter winds are blowing. Do it and next spring you won't lose valuable fishing time when you reach into your bass box to find a favorite black and chartreuse spinnerbait. You find it all right, but the darn thing looks like the last rose of summer the year of the blight.
While hook sharpeners and skirt sprays are great items for getting tackle into shape, don't despair if you don't have them. There are a jillion other things you can do. They range from painting plugs to polishing spinners. You probably found certain lure colors more effective than others last season. A variety of paints are available. I purchase some of mine from auto supply houses. Another great spot to find such items is the Janns Netcraft catalog. If you're really into fishing, you should have one. You can visit the Netcraft website at www.jannsnetcraft.com (http://www.jannsnetcraft.com) and get all the details.
http://www.ifish.net/sfnetc.jpg
This Jann's Netcraft catalog comes in handy for fishermen who work with their tackle. It contains a wealth of items that are difficult to find elsewhere.
The Netcraft catalog contains replacement parts for lures and all the materials you need to build new ones should you choose to do so. I've forever using mine for one purpose or another.
In the next issue of this column we'll get into some of the other ways you can use your winter down time to bend the odds in your favor when the fishing really gets into high gear next spring.
By Stan Fagerstrom
There was a fringe of ice along the shore as I waded out to make my first cast that cold morning. My bait of salmon eggs arched out over the green-tinged water. I felt my sinker bump the bottom a couple of times and then there it was---that hard to describe sensation that something had hold of my bait.
I set the hook and the steelhead came out of the water as if it had been jabbed with a branding iron. Its body twisted over the surface. My drag was too tight. There was a sickening snap as my line parted. The fish came out again and this time I saw the hook and sinker go flying out of its mouth as it jerked its head from side to side.
An angler downstream hooked a fish a heartbeat after I lost mine. His fish also came unpinned. In less than a minute I was fishing again. I was better prepared for the next fish. That one wound up on the bank. As I beached it, I noticed the angler downstream still fooling around trying to get a new rig tied.
I mention what happened that cold winter morning for a purpose. The reason I was able to get back to fishing so soon that cold December day wasn't because I was faster at tying knots. It happened because I was better organized. I had a new rig all set up and ready to go. All I had to do was tie it on and start fishing. I was better organized because I had spent time getting my gear ready before I got anywhere near the water.
I'll never understand fishermen who don't take advantage of down time to work with tackle. Let's face it. The things any of us can do to control the number of fish we catch are limited. We can't do a blessed thing about wind direction or velocity. We can't control air temperature or water temperature. You don't even know what kind of a mood your fishing partner is in. One thing we can do is get our gear ready and the winter months coming up provide the ideal time to do it.
I don't care where you hang your fishing fedora, there will be days this winter when it's useless to go out. Even though the season remains open, rivers may be at flood stage, snow makes roads impassable or there's a sheet of ice on your favorite lake. You can pull a stool up in front of the boob tube if that's your choice. It's not mine. I'll head for my tackle room and work on my gear. It's the next best thing to fishing and I'll eventually catch more fish as a result.
http://www.ifish.net/sfsharp.jpg
When your favorite river is unfishable, use the resulting down time to tune up your tackle.
Anybody who spends much time on the water from spring through fall is a cinch to wind up with messy tackle boxes, worn lines, dull hooks, leaky boots and raingear, beat up lures, rods that need re-wrapping and reels that beg for oil and grease. You don't need a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to make the kind of repairs for the organization I'm talking about. I've got the mechanical skills of a retarded billy goat. But even a mechanical moron can oil his reels, sharpen his hooks and do the other things I've mentioned. And again---somewhere down the line that preparation will pay dividends.
There's no better time than the dark days of winter to check on the condition of your hooks. Chances are some were dulled when you bounced them off the rocks last summer. Is there a barb missing on some of your triple hooks? Replace the hooks that need replacing; sharpen those that are still in good shape.
I also use my downtime to take care of the skirts on my spinnerbaits. Sprays are available to spray on rubber skirts so the tails stay separated and don't stick together. Taking care of the skirts on your spinnerbaits or other lures is another of those little details so easily taken care of when the winter winds are blowing. Do it and next spring you won't lose valuable fishing time when you reach into your bass box to find a favorite black and chartreuse spinnerbait. You find it all right, but the darn thing looks like the last rose of summer the year of the blight.
While hook sharpeners and skirt sprays are great items for getting tackle into shape, don't despair if you don't have them. There are a jillion other things you can do. They range from painting plugs to polishing spinners. You probably found certain lure colors more effective than others last season. A variety of paints are available. I purchase some of mine from auto supply houses. Another great spot to find such items is the Janns Netcraft catalog. If you're really into fishing, you should have one. You can visit the Netcraft website at www.jannsnetcraft.com (http://www.jannsnetcraft.com) and get all the details.
http://www.ifish.net/sfnetc.jpg
This Jann's Netcraft catalog comes in handy for fishermen who work with their tackle. It contains a wealth of items that are difficult to find elsewhere.
The Netcraft catalog contains replacement parts for lures and all the materials you need to build new ones should you choose to do so. I've forever using mine for one purpose or another.
In the next issue of this column we'll get into some of the other ways you can use your winter down time to bend the odds in your favor when the fishing really gets into high gear next spring.