BAIT~CASTING & LURE CONTROL
written by Tony Escott Watson
& edited by Brian Barwell
BAIT~CASTING & LURE CONTROL
written by Tony Escott Watson
& edited by Brian
Barwell
INTRODUCTION
by Nick Caine,Managing Editor.
Tony Watson’s
a big fan of lure-fishing with a bait-caster-rod and multiplier-reel set-up.
He’s got over 30 years’ experience of fresh-water lure-fishing on
the African Continent, his 
main
target species being Black Bass (Large-mouth & Small-mouth), Tiger, King
Tiger & Kafue Pike. He relates his experiences and passes-on his advice
about Bass fishing in a separate article in our Pick of the Predators section,
but here, first, Tony shares his bait-casting techniques and the methods he
uses to get maximum feel, lure control and results:-
BAITCASTER-RODS
& MULTIPLIER~REELS
If, like me, you are serious about catching pugnacious predatory fish on lures,
you’ll need to get yourself a short, strong, bait-caster-style rod with
a proper pistol-grip, together with a really good multiplier-reel — in
my personal opinion, this combination is unbeatable.
There are really no problems with modern multiplier-reels. For example, my Shimano Curado is equipped with variable anti-over-run technology as well with an absolutely-100% solid spool-lock for when you strike — it’s easy to put your thumb on the spool to lock-out the drag until you’re ready to play the fish.
Whichever
multiplier-reel you use, get the best you can afford at the time and upgrade
if and when you can. It should be constructed of good modern materials and have
a good drag mechanism of course — such a reel should serve you well, as
mine has done.
In my opinion, predator lure-fishing is not about winning long-distance casting competitions, it’s about accuracy and control. Once you have mastered your rod and reel set-up, you can hope for more frequent pinpoint-placement of your lures.
My own rod is based on an old, solid-glass-fibre blank with a pistol grip. I shortened the original rod by cutting-off the top 6 inches. I also replaced the original rings with more modern ones, and added couple of extra ones while I was at it. The result was a stiffer rod which, over the last thirty years, as you can imagine, has accounted for many fish. The rod has plenty of backbone, needed not just to set the hooks in a hard bony mouth but, more significantly, it is more than strong enough to turn a powerful and angry fish away from cover, be it roots, reeds, weeds or whatever, and this requires real strength in a rod blank.
When lure-fishing for fierce predatory species, I believe that a stiff bait-caster/multiplier rod/reel set-up is vital to transmit the action of the lure directly back to your fingers — it allows you to retrieve, while feeling the line running through your fingers, the line travelling in an absolutely straight-line from spool to rod-tip, and thence to your lure.
This
is why many modern bait-caster rods have a cut-out beneath the grip. This cut-out
allows you to easily put your fingertips in direct contact with the rod blank.
This gives you a direct feel for the most subtle of vibrations transmitted along
the line. You should be able to tell the difference between a take and your
lure brushing against a submerged log or other snag or feature — if you
can’t feel what’s going-on at the lure end of your line, then you
could be in for some missed takes and lure losses.
In fact, when I can’t see what’s happening below the water’s surface, I often close my eyes when retrieving deep-running lures, and especially soft plastic types. I find it helps me concentrate on what my fingers are picking-up from my line and lure, by shutting-out other visual distractions – but you have to be wide-awake with every other sense and in-touch with your line and lure, to pick-up the feel of all the underwater actions that your lure is performing.
LURES & CONTROL
A suitable lure,
skilfully presented, at the right time and in a likely spot, may, or may not,
result in a take, which is what it’s all about. For you to anything approaching
an even-chance, many factors have to be in your favour … and even then,
a bit of luck helps a lot!
Choosing the most suitable lure, and the best spots to cast, all come with experience gained by spending time on the water and catching fish, but time spent fishing is most productive if you really concentrate on every aspect of what you are doing, learning all the time. Yes, of course you can learn from books and videos …… Yes, you can learn from friends…… but there really is no substitute for building-up your own practical experiences over the years,
Knowing
the capabilities and limitations of each individual lure is vital, almost as
vital as knowing where the predator is likely to be, and when. If you want the
best chance of success, you have to know what your lure is doing as you retrieve
it, interpreting the tension and vibration reaching your fingers through the
line and rod-tip is your main indicator if your lure is out of sight.
Your
success rate will improve tremendously as you get to know your set-up and your
lures, and how they behave when you alter the retrieve speed, rod-tip height
and angle, line diameter, the lures’ lip-vane angles, the V-wire-angle
of spinner-baits, hook sizes and weights, etc. — all these factors will
have different effects on your lures’ actions. Learning these subtle tuning
tricks will give you a better edge over your quarry, and perhaps, over some
other anglers too.
With this experience for sure you’ll become better able to choose a lure’s suitability for a particular species, venue, season, water clarity, temperature, and so forth. Presenting the lure is another matter altogether — this is down to your tackle and, more importantly, your ability to use it, skilfully …. and skilful lure-fishing means RESULTS when and where they are to be had. Don't miss-out!!
Editorial
Comment — Nick Caine, Managing Editor.
Thanks, Tony, for supplying us with this
interesting article about lure-control bait-caster style. Many thanks too to
our very hard-working Deputy Editor, Brian "Bunny" Barwell
for doing such a good job editing Tony's original text. This article is the
pre-amble to Tony's main article about lure-fishing for Largemouth Bass in Continental
Africa — see the BASS section of our Pick
of the Predators pages, click
here.
Please e-mail any comments
or feedback to us,
Nick Caine (Managing Editor), or Brian Barwell (Deputy Editor)
NickCaine
@ Talk21.com
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