Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Years ago while working in a tackle shop, I had a customer come in and announce that he was rigging up for an offshore shark fishing trip and asked me to strip the 12-pound line off the spinning reel he’d been using for flounder in the bay and replace it with 100-pound test mono. But despite my explanation that neither his rod or his reel was designed to handle such heavy line, and that something bad was sure to happen if he actually hooked a shark with it, he insisted that I put the thick line on the reel. And so I did – all 35-yards of it because that’s all the little spinner would hold! He left the shop content in the thought that he was now prepared for his shark fishing adventure.
I never saw that fellow again, but someone else who worked in the shop said that he returned a few days later and bought a new spinning rod and reel and had a bandage on one hand. When asked if he caught anything his only response was “I’ll never go shark fishing again!” I can only imagine what happened…!
Just as advanced preparation of our boats will help ensure a safe and successful fishing season, proper setup and maintenance of our rods and reels can spell the difference between ending the season with a photo album full of fish or a just a bunch of memories of missed opportunities. Anglers know that on most days it can be difficult enough just to find the fish and get them to bite, the last thing anyone wants to do is to have to worry about losing a fish due to a tackle malfunction. From the time they first get hooked-up until the fish is to hand, the angler should have no concerns other than properly playing the fish and enjoying the moment. A tackle malfunction should not even be a consideration.
Whether under-gunned or over-gunned, going out with the wrong tackle is usually a recipe for failure. It works both ways in that just as my customer made the mistake of trying to catch a shark on a flounder rod, he would have been equally handicapped if he were trying to cast for flounder with a 50-pound stand-up conventional rig. Though we might accidentally get a bite from the wrong fish on the wrong tackle and still end up with a favorable outcome, there’s very little wiggle-room for the cross-use of tackle, therefore, anyone who wishes to pursue species that range in size from minnows to monsters is simply going to have to cough up the extra bucks to purchase an array of appropriate tackle for the different sizes of fish and type of fishing they’ll be engaged in.
It used to be more difficult to mismatch line and tackle because when anglers tried to put on line that was heavier than the rated capacity of their reels, they would find that the reel would barely hold enough line to adequately fish with, as was the case with my shark fishing customer whose reel would only hold 35 yards of the thick 100-pound line when it would normally hold 250-300 yards of 12-pound line. But thanks to the new generation of braided lines these days it’s not always so obvious when the wrong line is put on a reel. We all know that an advantage of braided line is its ultra thin diameter which allows someone to pack a lot more line on a reel than if they were spooling up with monofilament. This is great until someone abuses it by loading a reel designed for 8-12 pound line with 50 or 80-pound braid. Anglers must remember that the reel and the rod can only withstand so much force by the line before something is going to break. Usually that weak link would be the light line, but with heavy line – hook a really big fish that takes off on a run and “look out!”, the reel could very well break off the rod and rip the guides right off the blank!
Besides making certain that they have the proper size line on their reels, anglers should also give their drags a preseason checkup to ensure they will slip smoothly without any jerky startups. A lot of drags these days are made of some pretty high tech stuff and can take a lot of abuse but keep working just fine. Some of them are even sealed from water intrusion if the reel is totally submerged. However, there are also a lot of high tech and low tech drags that work great under ultimate conditions, but add a little moisture or salt to their surface and it’s all over. They’ll stick and stutter and do everything they can to break a line or pull a hook.
Regardless of the price or quality of the reel, each one should get a preseason check of the drag system. Personally, I like to open up every reel and visually inspect for any crud or corrosion that might have worked its way in among the drag washers. Anglers who don’t feel comfortable taking apart their reels should, at the very least, test their drags by putting the rod in a holder, adjusting the drag to a good working tightness, and then take a fast walk down the dock while holding the end of the line. As line is pulled from the reel the rod should stay bent over in a steady arc and the tip NOT bounce up and down. A bouncing tip indicates a sticking drag, which probably needs to be cleaned or possibly replaced. Either way, someone is going to have to open up the reel for service.
Reels should also be given an overall checkup for corrosion, which will usually show up as a white powdery substance or some form of pitting. Much of this can be cleaned away with an oily rag or maybe a light 3M pad. It’s also best to remove the reel from the rod to inspect and clean the reel foot, as the underside of the reel is a location where a lot of salt and corrosion will accumulate. Those who properly serviced their reels at the end of the last season will usually find this preseason check to be little more than a formality, but they should still go through the motions in the spring just in case something went amiss over the winter.
Anglers would also do well to give each of their rods a thorough inspection prior to starting their season. Check the reel seat and locking rings for cracks or corrosion and that all parts that “should” move will do so freely. Guides should be inspected to ensure that all rollers will roll and all ceramic rings are free of grooves or cracks – particularly the rod tips. Stuck rollers can often be loosened with some penetrating oil and a pair of needle-nose pliers. If they’re really in a bad way, they might need to be disassembled and cleaned or even replaced. Replacement “Aftco” rollers are available at some local tackle shops.
Proper setup and preseason inspection of tackle to make sure everything is in good working order can be as critical to success as not forgetting to put the bait cooler in the boat before leaving the dock.
Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
