Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
You see it every year during the last few days of July - fishing teams bouncing around their cockpits and on the dock behind their boats, respooling reels, making leaders, sharpening gaffs, twisting wire and rigging lures. Much of it is a redo of what they did just a couple months prior in preparation for their first trips of the new season. Now, like then, crews are doing what they can to ensure that their tackle is as good as it can be with knots strong, reels oiled, and drags nice and smooth. No hitches, glitches, or nicks - everything is prepped for flawless action.
Leaving nothing to chance is what fishermen do when they really-really want to catch a fish. In late July anglers are preparing for the White Marlin Open where there can be (both literally and figuratively) millions of dollars on the line, so most folks will do their absolute best to help ensure that their boats, equipment, and tackle will provide the best opportunity to not only get a fish to bite, but also to get it "to" and then "in" the boat after it's on the line.
Yes, fishing for big money can be a great incentive to ensure all of your tackle is squared away, but if paying such attention to details is good for a tournament, it’s something all anglers should consider doing every time they prepare for any fishing adventure, whether big or small.
Everyone knows that there's a lot that can go wrong when you're trying to catch a fish, and there's nothing you can do that will ensure that you're totally prepared for every opportunity that comes into your wake or within casting range of your bow. But there are a million and one little things that anglers can do that will at least eliminate a few issues that could spoil the chances of catching a fish with one of the most important being “terminal tackle”.
Ever wonder why, even though everyone on the same boat or pier are using the same bait or lure, one guy seems to be catching most, if not all, of the fish? Or maybe you're the "only one" not catching fish even though everyone else is fishing exactly the same way as you are. And to make matters even more confusing, you’re using the exact same terminal tackle you did last week and the week before when you were catching the heck out of fish. What’s going on?
It could just be bad luck on your part, but it's more likely that there's something the fish don't like about what you have at the end of your line. It’s probably not your bait because you’re using the same as everyone else. But what about that leader? At first inspection a leader might look OK with strong crimps or knots, no kinks, and the same diameter and material the successful anglers are using. But look closer and you might find that after some use, the leader is simply not as transparent as it was when it was new. Over time a leader will often get a dull "smoked" look to it and might even feel a little coarse. With the loss of it’s slickness and transparency it’s more likely to be detected by fish that can now more easily see it and possibly even feel the vibrations in the water generated by its rough texture. Monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders simply don’t last forever and need to be routinely replaced if they are to maintain their fish catching effectiveness.
Other things to consider with terminal tackle is the condition of any hooks or lures you're using. Most hooks we use these days come pre-sharpened but they don’t stay that way. With repeated use that fine needle-like point will become dull or even corrode away. The same holds true with the hooks on lures - they don’t last forever and should be replaced as necessary. With repeated use, lures can also lose their “tune” if the lips get bent or chipped, if the body gets any cracks or water in it, if the lure loses some of it’s bucktail, or if a soft plastic gets any cuts or tears in it.
One of the best ways to help ensure success on any fishing trip is to have all the terminal tackle you know you’ll be using or even think you “might” be using in the course of the day rigged before you go. Don’t wait until you get out there to start putting rigs together. Obviously, if you’re heading offshore for marlin and tuna you’ll have all your baits and lures ready for action as soon as you get to your spot, but what happens if you suddenly encounter an opportunity to bail dolphin off some floating debris? Will you have rigs and baits ready for that or will it take you a little while to tie hooks to leaders and rig them on spinning rods? If you’re bottom fishing and suddenly a cobia swims up to your boat or a school of something starts breaking the water within casting range, will you have something rigged that you can quickly pitch out to them before the opportunity swims away?
Just as important as having terminal tackle pre-rigged is having it quickly accessible. Proper tackle storage is crucial for effective tackle use. If every time you go for a lure or rig you have to dig around for it in the bottom of a tackle box or drawer and then it comes out in a big tangled mess, you’ll end up spending too much time untangling and not enough time fishing. Just as rods and reels need to be stowed in such a way they’re safe from damage and quickly accessible, it’s crucial that terminal tackle be put away so that when you need it you can get on the line and in the water fast. There are a lot of options for anglers who care to make the effort such as Zip-lock bags, plastic containers, separate tackle boxes, tackle drawers, and leader wheels, but whatever storage solution someone chooses to use, it’s always important to get in a routine of properly cleaning and putting tackle away at the end of each trip so that tomorrow, just like today, you know exactly where it’s at and that it’s in prime fish-catching condition when you need it the most.
I don’t fish tournaments but I do run charters, and I know that when I leave the dock with terminal tackle that’s properly rigged, maintained, and ready to be quickly deployed, I’ll be fishing with confidence that my clients will be in a good position to take advantage of whatever comes swimming our way that day, even if it’s not worth a couple million dollars!
