Ferrules

If there is dirt on your ferrule it can contribute to rapid wear. Make a plug out of wood to help keep female ferrule clean.

Is your ferrule stuck? Use “Liquid Wrench”, which you can get at any auto-parts store. Just spray it around male ferrule and let it drip down. In a few minutes you will be able to pull it apart.

Getting Out Line Tangles

Use a pair of large fabric needles to work out these tangles. They have a smooth finish which won’t damage line as you work mess out. They are also handy to sew canvas tarp, leather, or carpet strips.

Pocket Tackle box

Attach a cord to your pocket tackle box, so you don’t worry about dropping it in water or leaving it behind. Just drill an undersized hole near back of box and insert a small eye-screw. A know will stop cord from slipping through eye. Just put a clip on other end so that you can secure rope to a belt loop or buttonhole.

Avoiding Line Twist

Line twist is leading cause of fouled fishing. To check for it, pull off enough line to span your outstretched hands – about 6 feet. Next, bring your hands together in front of you, causing line to drop into a loop. If loop wraps around itself, you have line twist. Remove it by trolling about 100 feet of line behind a boat. Next install a ball-bearing swivel to prevent future line twist.

Knots Are Key

One of most important things in losing or landing a hooked fish is your knot. Be certain knot you are tying is strong and properly tied.

To make sure, tie your usual knot and test it against other knots. A good test is to take two four-inch sections of a broom handle with screw eye in center of each. Tie a knot in each screw eye and pull steadily until you see which knot survives. Do it 10 times to get an average. The knot that holds best should be your new knot.

Anchor Pulley, Keep it Quiet

If you use an anchor pulley, you risk spooking fish as most pulleys eventually start to squeak. Try this alternative to a pulley:

Get a large U-bolt, a few nuts and washers, and an old-style glass or porcelain fencepost insulator.

Slip insulator on a U-bolt, drill a couple of holes to accommodate bolt, and tighten it to mounting surface. The anchor rope will slide freely in insulator’s groove, and anchor lowers and raises as effortlessly as with a pulley, especially once rope is wet.

Casting Poppers

Casting poppers with a fly rod is awkward. To get better distance bore a slightly undersized small hole in popper, just big enough to fit a BB in. It should fit snugly and will give you another 30 feet of casting distance at least.

Cheap and easy depth finder

Using two felt-tipped markers (red and black) mark an anchor rope as follows: A single red mark around rope at five feet, a red and black mark at 10 feet, a single red mark at 15 feet, two black marks at 20 feet, a single red and two black marks at 25 feet and three black marks at 30. Use color code red for every five feet and multiples of black for 10 feet.

Netting baitfish

Increases efficiency of your minnow scoop by putting a bend in it. Just turn wire handle down 90 degrees, then push net back on line. The forward-positioned net makes it much easier to trap a baitfish against inside of an open-top bucket.

A Cheap Anchor For A Fishing Boat

For holding a good-sized boat over a rocky bottom, use a large swivel snap to fasten four fee of heavy chain to a standard mushroom anchor. You can get one from a junkyard. The chain boosts anchor’s weight and holding power, provides convenient handles for lowering and raising, and gives extra leverage when an anchor jams in rocks or snags. When he brings it aboard, he coils heavy chain on a bed of old foam-rubber pads so it doesn’t rattle around or dent his boat. In calm water, he simply unsnaps chain and uses mushroom anchor by itself.

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