Purchasing tackle made easy-- A tutorial.

[DDSBYDAY]

      Most people are aware that if you go to Cabela's or Gander Mountain or any of the other of the specialty sports stores you will be able to find tackle or set ups that are in.  If you go to a big box chain such as Fleet Farm you can buy a lot of the same stuff for less.  Why the difference?  The answer is help.  If you know exactly what you want then Fleet Farm is the way to go.  If you need questions answered then Cabela's is the place to go.  My goal with this tutorial is that you can ask questions here and save a few bucks or get a few extra lures with the same money. 

   I do  not want to over load you with information.  This is a thread to ask questions about rigging options and subtle differences that are often overlooked when the significant other gives you a green light on a tackle purchase for your annual fishing trip.   Why not get the most from it.

    Opener will be here shortly.  Time to start planning and asking questions. 

      This is a broad subject so please feel free to ask questions at anytime.  I'm not even sure where to start.   The technology changes so fast. 

       I am willing to discuss everything from the last eyelet on your rod to the tip of your trailer.  The rod and reel will have to be discussed elsewhere.

           Here are some of the topics to be discussed.  Hooks,jigs,sinkers, swivels, beads, blades, spinners, plastics, and bait keepers.  Each one will be discussed in as much detail as needed.  I think hooks would be a good place to start but if anyone else has any suggestions feel free to throw them out there


     Again this thread is not to over load you with information but to make you an informed buyer.  My best analogy would be if you call a car dealership and ask how much for a car?   When we are done you will be able to walk into Cabela's and say " I want a perch colored 1/4oz. jig with a bait keeper  a light wire hook and a  yellow chartreuse non salted 5 inch worm. Better yet, when you have that kind of information you can call the store and ask if they have them.   

       If anyone thinks this would be an interesting  thread respond with a  .  If there is an interest we will do it.   

[Retired on Osakis]

  Two thumbs up. I can always use a little help.

[redbull135]

  I could always use the help

[corny13]

Sounds good...

[DDSBYDAY]

    Corny, we are going to block you.  Kenny too. 

[corny13]

Hey....   Not fair.......

[DDSBYDAY]

    This is a quick overview to try to save you some $.  We are going to start with hooks.  

   The bigger the number the smaller the hook.  A size 18 is tiny and a size 1 is medium.  Once you pass the size 1 the numbers change.  They are then sized over a 0.  Now the smaller the number the smaller the hook.  For instance a 1/0 hook is smaller than a 3/0 hook.

    There are several features on each hook.

          1.  Eye-
          2. Shank
          3. Barb

    Just to make things more confusing the metal used to manufacture the hooks varies.  Each component of the hook-eye,shank and barbs have variations.  It would be too difficult to discuss all the variables in this post.  Now we throw color into the mix.  Most of the colored hooks are dyed.  If you use a dyed hook for any length of time you will see the color wear off.   You must also think about the use of the colored hook.  As a live bait rig it may be advantageous.  On a buck tail, fished with a grub, or using a marabou jig  tipped with live bait it may only increase the price because it is completely covered.

    There are so many hook styles available that you will get a headache  trying to figure them all out.  Look at the eye.  Is it straight, bent forward, or back.  Is the shank straight.  Now we have circle hooks.  The hook set on these is different.  You are to start reeling once you feel the hook up and not set the hook.  Does this all matter?  Off the coast of Florida you can only use live bait if you are using a circle hook.  

    To top this all off we have light wire, forged, heavy wired , hooks just to name a few.  To keep it simple if you want the hook to bend (fishing an area with a lot of snags) the light wire is the way to go.

       Look at the eye.  Make sure it is too your liking.  Are the new surgically sharpened hooks worth the price?  Some will swear by them.  You could just sharpen a hook yourself.  That might just be my opinion.

      Learn the sizes.  Determine if the color is worth the extra money.  Routinely sharpen even your new hooks and you will save some money.

           This is just a quick overview so please feel free to ask questions.  

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[DDSBYDAY]

     No questions so we are moving on to jigs.  There are so many which one is the best?

         We are on a tight budget so let's get the most for our money.  What matters the most.

           1. Size You have to get this part right.  I think it is the most important factor in jig fishing.  If you can't get your bait to the right depth nothing else will make up for it.  What is the right size?  Your favorite size may be 1/4 oz. because you had your best day using them.  That was luck. ( A big part of fishing by the way).  Conditions determine the size.  If your are bottom fishing you need to be on the bottom.  Wind, waves, depth and speed will determine the size.  If you want to be on the bottom you need to have the right size jig.

           2. Collar  Assuming you have the right size jig to get you to the zone in the water column you are targeting you need to have an idea what type of bait you want to present.  If you are using a soft plastic you will want some type of collar or barb to keep it from balling up at the end of your hook.  These are designed to keep your bait in place on your hook.  What type of bait are you using?  If you are lip hooking a live minnow you may prefer a no barb no collar hook.  These are subtle differences but the things you need to think about when you purchase tackle..

           3.Hook  I'm not talking about color.  I'm talking about beef.  If you are fishing heavy snag areas you should have a hook that will bend unless you want to keep retying  It will save you a lot of time and money if you can save your  jig.

           4.Shank length  This was a new concept introduced to me last year.  I always thought a shorter shank was better.  The info I received from full time Canadian fishing guides is that rarely do the fish engulf the bait and jig.  The majority of the time they will try to grab the bait from the jig.  This was new to me but I plan on trying longer shanked hooks this year.

           5. Color   I know many of you will disagree with me but this is not the most important factor.  True, if the first four items are met than it can make a huge difference.   At stage 5 we are into the subtle differences that put fish in the boat.

           6. Head shape   I will end here on the discussion of jigs.  Head shape can matter.  It can make a huge difference.  Does the bait hang horizontally? How does it fall on the drop?  On any day these little things can make a difference.  This thread is meant to get you in the ball park not to show you how to throw a slider.

           Summary-  When you buy your jigs have an idea how you are going to fish them.  Instead of looking for fancy paint jobs look at the collar,barb and shank length.  Pick the ones that will work for your given bait presentation.  If you don't get the bait to the fish it won't matter if your jig has 3d eyes glow stripes and surgically sharpened trochar hook.   

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[DDSBYDAY]

     Dressed jigs-  Once we have the size right we can get fancy.  If we are  in the fish zone the colors and look of the jigs will make a difference.  Which is better.  Rubber skirts, buck tail, arctic fox, marabou or any other jig decorations.  The answer is it depends.  Tied jigs are more labor intensive but do not overlook them.  I like marabou (dyed turkey feathers).  They have a unique look when wet and will undulate with retrieve pauses.  Rubber skirts are great too.  Point is that it doesn't hurt to have both.  The jig is a way to get our bait to the right depth.  It also is a way to draw a fishes attention to our bait.  Think about it this way.  Bait fish are in tight school for protection.  They want to blend in with the crowd.  Predators will try to single out an individual for lunch.  Our jig is designed to do just that. Draw attention.  That is our goal.   Next we will talk about what  type of bait and how to attach it to our jig.

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[DDSBYDAY]

                      Trailers


    A trailer is something you put on your hook or jig to add attraction or scent to entice the fish to strike.    There are many kinds and many variations so these are just the basics.

   1. Live bait-  Minnows, crawlers, leeches, crickets and just about any other live thing you can       get your hands on will catch fish.  

   2. Dead bait - dead minnows, dead leaches-  preserved minnows.  

   3 Artificials- Soft plastics, spoons, spinners, spinner baits and crankbaits.

      I used to read articles about how you want to present your live bait in  natural presentation.  this included injecting your crawler with air.  I always wondered about this.40 years on the water and I had never seen a crawler naturally swimming in the lake.  That is because they don't.  What it all boils down to is you would like to have scent, flash, vibration, to trigger a fish to strike.  Unfortunately a large amount of the tackle you find is designed to get fishermen to strike.  So what do you do?

      First don't assume price means anything to fish.  If you are fishing in an area that you will lose a lot of lures because of snags go as plain as you can.  There  are lure retrievers available to purchase or you can use a spark plug.  Clamp a swivel in the gap and pinch it shut.  Use the snap swivel to clip it on your line and let it fall.  Most of the time the plug will knock your hook loose.  If you are in my boat you better work fast because I rarely ever try to work through a snag.  Snap it off and tie up another.

       Next up is soft plastics.  There are a million out there.  Which do I need? Scented or not?
 Salted or unsalted?    Even some of the pro's get this one wrong.

                No questions yet.  My email is Sarmst1997@aol if you are a non registered member and have a question.  Any registered member just send me pm.  Just so you know I would appreciate questions so that I know what topics to cover.

[The General]

Does that spark plug thing really work?  I tend to just use fireline....that way either what ever you are snagged on is coming up to the boat or if you pull hard enough you'll just bend the hook over.

[DDSBYDAY]

Does that spark plug thing really work?  I tend to just use fireline....that way either what ever you are snagged on is coming up to the boat or if you pull hard enough you'll just bend the hook over.

   It actually does work.  Works great for rocks.  Less for wood.  It depends on if you set the hook into the tree or not.  I don't waste my time anymore unless it is crankbait that I am fond of.  I also use fireline and almost cut my hand off on my first snag.  The only thing I could think of was to wrap it around the down rigger mount to break it off.  I keep a pliers handy to wrap the line around now.

[The General]

When dropping the spark plug down the line how much tension do you have on the line?  Have you already backed you boat up so the line is straight up and down before dropping the plug?

[DDSBYDAY]

    The spark plug acts as a knocker.  You want your line vertical and tight.  It will bump them out of rocks pretty well.  If the hook is buried in wood you will lose both the plug and the lure.

[DDSBYDAY]

    Soft plastics-   Rows and rows of them at any sporting goods stores.  Which is the best?  Where do I start?   

             This is where tackle really can get confusing.  I am going to break it down for you. 

        1. Salted vs. non salted.  Which is better?
             It is really simple.  If you want your plastic to be heavy (longer casts  with no external weight ) and sink then you want salted plastics. You will see plastics caked in salt in the package.  Every grain of external salt will be gone the second your bait hits the water.  It does help keep the baits from sticking together in the bag ,so it does have a function .  Internally salted baits are the way to go if you want a sinking bait.   For now keep it simple.  Salt sinks, no salt floats.  Thats it.

        2.  Scented vs non scented
             Scent can be cooked into the molten plastic or simply added after the baits are made.  A couple of drops in the bag they are packaged in should be enough to cover any human scent.  This stuff is really concentrated.  I guess the rule of thumb is you don't want your plastic to smell like plastic.  Plastic baits will absorb scent.  You probably have heard of gulp baits.  They are designed to absorb the scent they are packaged in .  If you have any old plastics and you are a firm scent believer toss your other plastics in there too. They will also soak up the scent over time. What have you got to loose?


     Moral of the story-  If you want a heavy sinking bait go with salted.  If you are putting it on a jig head or are using external weight of any kind you do not need salted plastics. 

     If you are using a shaky head or want a bait that will float up then you want non salted.   

            Here is a pic of salted and non salted worms and grubs.  They have different colors and glitters.  How can I tell which are salted or non salted?  It's pretty hard to tell by looking at them.  If I pick them up the salted ones are heavier.  If I throw them in a bucket of water the salted ones would sink.  (Thats an easy way to find out which ones float and can be used on the shaky head).  You will want to keep them separate because floaters fish different than sinkers.

     As far as the grubs go some would say the fish would hang on to it a bit longer if salted.  I don't think that is the case.  I think the texture of a soft bait may give you  a bit more time to set the hook than a hard bait. I wouldn't pay extra money for the salt.

            Let me know if this helps or if you have any questions. 

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