Part 2

It’s the angler who isn’t hesitant to lay long established procedures aside and try something new who usually wind up with the most fish.

In my last column I talked about a guy who couldn’t buy a hit while trolling for walleye.  He knew the fish were in the shallow, but each time he got his boat in tight to shore the heavy metal spinners he was using ahead of his nightcrawlers flopped down into the muck of the bottom.

He’d heard about something called Smile Blades and had purchased a few that he stuck in a corner of his tackle box.  He’d forgotten about them until finally on the morning in question he got so tired of snagging up that he knew he had to take a different approach.

What that fellow found out on the morning I’m writing about is the same thing a growing number of other anglers around the country already had discovered.  It’s that Mack’s Lure Smile Blades do outperform the metal variety.  Once this fellow got his new plastic blades rigged he found that he could troll slower than he ever had before.

Equally important, perhaps even more so considering how shallow he was fishing was that his Smile Blades were so light they didn’t flop down into the bottom muck even when he got in tight where the fish were holding.

I talked to this guy not too long after he’d had the experience I’m writing about.  “I guess you never get to old to learn something,” he said, ‘if you don’t get so darn set in your ways that you’re reluctant to try anything new.  I didn’t set any catch records that morning because the fish just weren’t that active.  But I did get some action where there had been none before.  I put two fish in the boat and had three of four more hits before I decided to call it a day.  I had no idea those lightweight plastic blades could make such a difference.”

Since that time I expect that fellow has found out a couple of other things.  He’s discovered that the Smile Blades work just as well when boat speed is increased as when it’s slowed down.  Chances are he has also found that because the Mylar plastic in the Smile Blade is flexible it can be bent to better suit your current boat speed needs.

Chances are he’s also found that it’s often good to experiment with different blade shapes.  Try, for example, bending the wings of a Smile Blade slightly outward at faster boat speeds.  Try the reverse if you slow down.  As boat speed decreases it’s a simple matter to bend the wings in slightly so that they turn even more easily.

Smile Blades come in a variety of colors and sizes.  Use a loop in the end of your leader and you'll find it's a simple matter to change blades if you want a different size or color.  These productive little fish attractors can also be bent to give varied action to your lure.

Finally, there’s something else you can do that takes very little time and doesn’t require a complete change of rigging with these lightweight fish-attracting plastic blades.  It’s to change blade color or sizes. 

If you’ve tied a loop in the end of your leader, and it’s a good idea to do so, just pull off the Smile Blade you’ve been using and slide on one of a different size or shade.  You can slide them on or off right over your leader loop knot.

What leader loop knot is best?  The Surgeon’s Loop is a dandy.  It’s easy to tie and you can find how it’s done in almost any knot tying manual.  Several line companies have such manuals.  You’ll be wise to pick one up.  Chances are good you can get one up at your favorite sporting good store.

Use a Smile Blade ahead of your bait and you'll wind up with a smile on your face.

As I recommended in my previous column, keep an open mind in your approach to angling.   Fishing should be fun but it can just as easily be filled with frustration.  Have you tried Smile Blades in your own approach to angling?

Give ‘em a try.  You might wind up as pleased as that walleye angler I’ve been writing about in these last two columns.

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