Updated doodads for every angler
The latest lure, inexpensive tool or a high-end reel can make this year's angling outings more productive and fun.
Here's a look at a selection of some items that I've put to the test recently:
Chatterstick
Lure designer Joe Renosky of Indiana, Pa., has put a Chatterbait-style blade into minnow- and shad-shaped hardbaits to create the Chatterstick.
Renosky and I recently landed 74 largemouth bass in 2½ hours on a pond. Since then, I've used it to catch smallmouth bass on the Allegheny River and largemouths on Presque Isle Bay.
Chattersticks work best when retrieved slowly and steadily. Using smooth-casting braided line keeps the lure from fouling during the cast.
It's great when the bite is on, but your hands can pay a price. Lip a few dozen bass during the day and you'll end up with a raw thumb. The XTreme Glove provides protection without being cumbersome.Toothy critters like muskies and northerns can be handled more safely with the Lindy Fish Handling Glove, which also is great for handling fish during filleting.
If you like to know how big your lunkers are, a fishing scale is a must. I like the lip-locking feature of the X-Tools Grip-N-Weigh.The Bill Dance Fishing Scale is value priced, seems to settle in to the weight quicker than many digital scales and includes a retractable tape measure for getting a length measurement as well.Regardless of make, if you buy an electronic digital scale, be sure to pick up a spare set of batteries to carry along. Digital scales begin acting funky as their batteries weaken, usually at a most inopportune time.
During the past few years, I've experienced frustration while tying knots and stringing rods. My 50-year-old eyes are to blame.Too stubborn to carry a pair of readers along, I found the answer in Ono's polarized sunglasses featuring built-in readers in the bottom of each lens. Powers of 1.50 to 2.50 are available.It only takes an hour or so to become accustomed to the glasses.
Fishing pliers, scissors and clippers always seem to be buried when you need them. If you are a boat angler, an easy fix is to lash them to the seat post pedestals on the bow and stern of the boat. Buy a couple of those sets that come with a lanyard, thread two or three nylon wire ties through the belt loop and bind them to the post.
For night fishing, negotiating the turkey woods in the pre-dawn darkness or tying your boat down at day's end, this can be the best 10 bucks you can spend.Lightweight LED lights, such as Master Vision's Cap Light, clip to the underside of a baseball cap. They provide a nice, soft light so you can accomplish close-at-hand tasks. As with the digital scale, carry spare batteries.
Tired of dealing with rainwater that always finds its way into tackle boxes, rusting hooks and turning bags of soft plastics into slimy messes? I was.This spring, I've been storing tackle in a Plano 1612 marine box. Designed along the lines of a military ammo box, the marine box has an O-ring in the lid and a solid lock-down latch.One box holds utility boxes containing hardbaits; another bags of softbaits sorted in larger Ziplock-style bags. Not one drop of water has entered so far. Flambeau makes a similar box made of a plastic that emits a rust-preventive vapor.Expect to drop $15 to $20 for a marine storage box.
If you are looking for something to spend a portion of your tax rebate check on, consider stimulating the economy by way of a high-end baitcasting reel, such as the U.S.-made Ardent.Ardent's top-of-the line XS1000 carries a $250 price tag, but does it cast like a dream!If you're not interested in that much stimulation, Pflueger's Round Trion reel comes in at well under $100. I've used this model extensively for both bass and walleyes the past two years with great satisfaction.Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
