Part 3

I don’t care where you are or what the time of year is---you simply can’t catch fish unless you’ve got a line in the water. 

As I’ve endeavored to point out in my last two columns, the advance preparation you make in your down time this winter pays big dividends when you get back on the water come spring.

I’ve talked about a number of things that help the preparation process.  Here are some others.   A couple of other items I use to great advantage in my tackle workshop are duct tape and electrician's tape.  I prefer to tape my reels in place with electrician’s tape on my rods that don’t have a fixed reel seat.  It’s light and keeps my reels right where I want them.  The one thing it doesn't do is make it easy to remove the reel for cleaning.  I do that in my winter down time.  When I put a cleaned reel back on the rod I use new tape.

I mentioned duct tape.  I use mine for a dozen purposes.  One is as a means of labeling what's inside my tackle storage boxes, especially those that don't have see-through lids.  I simply cut off a strip of duct tape and stick it on the outside lid of such a box.  Then I use a Sharpie permanent marking pen to list what's inside.

Chances are if you've fished panfish much you've discovered crappie, bluegill and yellow perch often can be caught on miniature plastic grubs.  If you catch as many as I do, you also find you’re often having to change grubs because the fish keep pulling them down on the tiny jig hooks it's necessary to use.

If you're into panfish angling you're aware these little scrappers often grab miniature grubs.  They also often manage to pull these grubs down on your jig hook.  You can remedy that problem in your down time.  Just add a drop of glue to your hook where the head of the grub will be before you pull the grub into position.

You can do much to beat that problem in your spare time this winter.  Get some super glue.  Put a drop right behind the head of your panfish jig.  Now slide your tiny grub into place. You'll find it stays where it’s supposed to and you'll catch more fish because you'll spend more time with a line in the water.

Use the glue and then you pull your panfish grub into the position as pictured here.  Now it will stay where you want it.   Advance preparation like this lets you keep a line in the water more of the time and that means more fish.

I could go on for the next 10 pages detailing the reasons to polish spinners or wrap guides, but anybody who knows a salmon from a shark recognizes those needs.  One thing that isn't as apparent is what a great help it is to have a space in the house you can use for working with your tackle. 

These days I have an entire small room for that purpose.  It hasn't always been so.  When we lived in a duplex many years ago, I talked my wife into letting me have one corner of a bedroom for the desk I used to house my fly tying materials, tackle tools, etc.  In another house I managed to set up shop in the attic.  I couldn't walk around up there, but I'm almost always sitting when I work on my gear anyway so it wasn’t a major problem.

Having a place where you can keep your tackle repair tools in one spot is a tremendous help.  You can walk away and leave a project and come back to it at your convenience.  A second hand desk with lots of drawer space is ideal.  Be sure it has room to mount a couple of small vises. 

You’ll need two vises.  One should be the fly tying type, the other just a miniature of a big vise.  Both are super tools for those many times you'll need a third hand.  Set up a light that can be adjusted to different angles and you're in business.

A small vise and a fly tying vise are among the tools you'll find lots of use for in your down time tackle repair and preparation.  I'm forever using one or the other for a variety of purposes.

One final thought: If you've lived long enough to know girls aren't just soft boys, you also know anticipation is half the fun of doing almost anything.  Certainly it applies to fishing.  Find that place in the house I mentioned, get a couple of rugs for the dog or cat to lie on, plug in a small radio and go to work.  I've got to believe you'll enjoy it every bit as much as I do.

Best of all, somewhere down the line it's a cinch to pay off in more fish.

 

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