Article & Images by Martin Schoonhoven & Magnus Beukman
show me that swimming through grass with long fins isn’t impossible, and would be best left to anglers without knee and ankle problems.
When positioning your pontoons before launching, always place the pontoons with the valves in easy to reach positions and do not inflate the pontoons (or any air containing bladder or pontoon) until rock hard. As the temperature rises, the air inside the pontoons will slowly expand and increase the pressure inside the pontoons. Periodically feel (do the thumb test) the firmness of your pontoons or bladders and release air as needed to prevent the pressure inside the pontoons from damaging the structural integrity and reducing its life expectancy. The thumb test is when you use your thumb to press against the inflated bladder/pontoon. The general rule is that if there is still a little “give” in the bladder/pontoon you are good to go and if there is no give in the bladder/pontoon, release some of the air.
Another great addition to any fishing craft is at least one anchor point where you can attach an anchor. The type of anchor point will depend on your craft, ranging from a material loop with an attached metal karabiner to an eye bolt. With space being at a premium, use a large hand fishing reel to wind up your rope attached to the anchor. When you feel the need to anchor, just release the anchor and make a loop in the line when it has hit the bottom and connect it to the appropriate anchor points on your craft. When using a proper anchor, always remember to cable tie the rope to the eye at the opposite end of the anchor blades. If the anchor gets stuck against the blades, you can simply pull and break the cable tie, allowing you to pull the anchor with the blades to collapse them and release the anchor.
TACKLE: Your fishing tackle coupled with your fishing talent, forms the business end when trying to convince Mr. Bass to join you for a spot of lunch.
Always try to rig all your fishing rods before going on the water. This will not only save you time and effort of rigging on the water, losing valuable fishing time, but will cut down on the risk of accidentally losing terminal tackle or even a rod and reel.
When you have a limited number of rods available to take on the water,
a simple tip to
switch easily
between a Texas
rig and Carolina rig
is to put a gummy
stop in front and
behind your bullet
weight. Now you
can switch easily
between the two
rigs without having
to re-tie. Quick snap links can be used on your crank bait rods to enable you to switch between different baits swiftly.
BATTERY CARE: For those readers who fish with electric motors, be sure to invest in a decent battery charger. Remember to always keep your deep cycle batteries charged. Do not let your batteries stand on, for example, the garage floor. Place some sort of non conductive material such as a wooden plank or a rubber mat underneath the batteries to prevent the batteries from discharging.
A final tip regarding battery care is to always charge your batteries the minute you get home, this will increase your batteries’ lifespan and ultimately save you money.
RODS REELS AND LINE: For most anglers, the bass angling season is the better part of nine months, only taking a break in those frost bite months, while the die-hard angler fishes the whole year round.
Arguably the two most important weapons in your fishing arsenal are your rod and reel. Reels need to be serviced at least 2 or 3 times in a season, this will ensure that all the important parts stay lubricated thus
Bass Digest/January, 2014