Respooling my reels

When I respool my reels, putting on fresh line, I only use a top shot of fresh line. A top shot, is, what saltwater anglers call it, a section of a specified line atop the normal spool of line. Using this technique of top shotting, I can make a new spool of line stretch quite a bit further than if I were to strip the entire reel’s worth of line off, putting fresh line on. Let’s break it down a bit. Continue reading

Swimbaits and their clear water connection

One of the perks of bass fishing in the ultra-clear waters of northern Michigan is that we get to fish with visual bait styles. One of my all-time favorite presentations are swimbaits. There are a huge variety of swimbaits on the market. Just to name a few:

Soft bodied styles like the Jerry Rago, Sebile’s Magic Swimmer, and Castaic.

Hollow-bodied styles such as the Basstrix swimbait (which started the whole hollow body craze), Strike King’s Shadalicious, Berkley Hollowbelly, and the Bass Magic. Continue reading

Let the Drag be a Drag

Big or small, fresh or saltwater, knowing how to fight a fish is crucial to upping the odds of bringing the fish boat side. One common mistake that I see most commonly is reeling against the drag. By this, I mean that as the fish is pulling, the angler is reeling. If I did my job well as a guide, the drag is set so that the fish will still be able to pull the drag, despite the angler’s efforts. Despite this, though, there are reasons not to reel against the drag when a fish is actively pulling drag. Continue reading