Fishing Sea

The Most Ignored Piece of Tackle

Even though trout season opens this coming weekend, most Vermont anglers don’t really consider taking to the water until after the first of May. Water temperatures in the rivers and streams start to shoot up into the 50’s for the first time then, awakening the rainbow trout from the semi-coma they’ve been in all winter. The smallmouth bass start to move out of Lake Champlain and into some of the tributaries. In the lakes and ponds, these same two species prepare to look for mates, lay eggs and fertilize them. Walleyes are active too, as are northern pike, crappie, brook trout, browns, steelhead, lake trout, and landlocked salmon – even though about half of these species are more interested in feeding than reproducing.

Fly anglers and spin fishermen will be on the move as well, although their behavior is somewhat different from the prey they pursue. Springtime finds them rummaging through closets, seeking out the gear they stowed away close to six months ago. They carefully wipe down the rods and oil the reels, removing dust and any grime that may have settled on them during the winter. They take inventory of their stocks of flies, streamers, spinner-baits, jigs, crank-baits, spoons, and plastic lures.

Strangely enough though, very few of them will ever even look at the monofilament line on their spinning and bait casting reels, the leader material that has sat all winter in their fishing vests, or the fly line that has remained coiled on their reels.

Fly line becomes cracked and kinked if it’s left on the reel all winter, after a full season of fishing. It becomes hard to handle out on the water, difficult to load on the rod and even rougher to gather up while mending. It’s worth your while to replace your fly line every spring. At between $25-$50, it’s a small price to pay, particularly when it will result in straighter, quieter casts to rising fish through the whole season.

Spinning and bait casting...

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