Bass and Me

There are many ways to lure in fish to your boat. Words like rigging, chumming, and luring come to mind. However, there are many varieties when it comes to lures and trying to decipher between all of them can be a confusing process. In addition, knowing when to “chum” as oppose to “lure” can be equally challenging when you are ready to catch the most fish that you can.

When deciding whether you should lure or chum, you should be aware of what type of fish you are trying to catch. Chum is a mess to make, distribute and to store so be sure that you are using it for the right reasons. Lures are used the majority of the time, but if you are dealing with fish who heavily use their sense of smell, lures may be a waste of time. As a general rule of thumb, chum is used in order to bring fish to the boat and lures are generally used for spot fishing.

When you decide to use a lure, what type do you choose? There are many different kinds of lures and they are used in different regions for a variety of purposes. If you learn the basics then you will not have to look like a novice by reading the back of the package will perusing the aisles in the stores.

A lure is defined as an object, often designed to resemble a fish’s prey, and they usually come equipped with one or more hooks that are used to catch fish. You will attach a lure to the end of your fishing line and throw it out into the water until a fish takes a bite. The one exception to the rule is the fly lure, which is used to float on the water’s surface mimicking the movement of an insect. You can also troll lure behind a boat to create the appearance of a living animal in the water. Some of the different types of lures are classified as jigs, wobblers, spinner, spoon lures, plugs, fly lures, and worms.

Jigs are made of weighted metal heads and a tail that is made from animal hair, soft plastic, feathers, or rubber. A minnow can sometimes to be added or a piece of meat can be attached to the end of the hook. Jigs can be used for almost any kind of saltwater or freshwater fishing.

A spoon is a metal lure that looks similar to a bait fish. These lures are meant to be cast or to be trolled behind a moving vessel. The plastic belts are the most commonly thought of baits. They are the plastic worms that are sometimes scented in order to attract more fish. The plastic belts can be used with or without a weight, but a jig head, spinner, or a spinner bait always accompanies them.

Plugs are made from plastic or wood and can be used on top of the water. There is a separate category of plugs called diving plugs that are designed to plunge into a certain depth of the water.

The spinners have blades that spin around a wire shaft, and they are made of plastic or animal hair. The spinner baits are the lures with more than one blade that spin around a safety shaft. They are characterized by ‘skirts’, which are made of animal hair, vinyl, rubber, and other materials.

Lastly are the poppers and flies. These baits are primarily used for panfish, trout, and bass. Fly-tying is a harder concept to learn, making these lures unique.

Lures are tested and decided upon by the individual. Many lures are determined to be useful by trying them out time and time again. When you become comfortable with a certain type of lure, you will be able to expand on its possibilities, making it more individualized for your fishing purposes.

Until next time — “Keep your lines wet and your bait fresh!”

Berkley® Portable Line Spooling Station

I bought this spooling station in the hope that I would be able to respool my reels easily and not have the line tangle inside the spool. before I get to my review let me tell you what the Bass Pro Shop has to say about the Berkley® Portable Line Spooling Station:

Fill your fishing reels anywhere, anytime with Berkley’s Portable Line Spooling Station. This convenient spooling device helps ensure level filling with constant line tension on spinning and casting reels. The Portable Line Spooling Station allows you to quickly change tactics and includes line stripper and built-in cutter. Hassle-free sets up and stores easily.

And Berkley has this to say:

Easy to use, transport, and store. Comes complete with line stripper and built-in cutter. Sets up quickly and is easy to operate. Accommodates spinning, baitcasting, and fly reels, and up to 1lb. Bulk spools of fishing line.

It does look nice and it looks like it should work. However, after spending 45 minutes trying to put the thing together and another 2 hours trying to spool an old Daiwa ABS Shock 2500 B spinning reel and giving up in frustration I need to rethink the entire purchase. Let me break the time down with you.

The 45 minutes it took to put it together was due to the fact that the snapin spool rod did not want to fit into it’s slot. Then once I got the spool rod into it’s slot the holding brackets did not want to hold on, I think one of the screws was stripped. The two hours spent on the spinning reel was due to the fact that the spool on the reel would not spin. I took the reel apart and it is complete

Tonight I tried the station with the following items:

1. The Berkley® Portable Line Spooling Station
2. Shakespeare Ugly Cast Spin-casting Reel
3. Shakespeare Cajin Red Lightnin’ Line 20 lb. Test

It took 10 minutes to prep the reel and then another 15 minutes to fill the reel. Part of this was because as you know for a spin-caster to reel in you need to put the hood on it. Once the reel was loaded with line I attached the reel to a 6′ Shakespeare Synergy rod and added a 2 oz. slip-shot weight and took it to the back yard to test the casting. After 10 straight casts the line still did not tangle up.

I’m giving the Berkley® Portable Line Spooling Station 3 out of 5 hooks and would recommend it as something to keep either on the boat or in the camper. For $29.99 this isn’t a bad deal. For a home unit I would suggest one of the powered spooling station.

So until the next time — “Keep your lines wet and your bait fresh.”