Sometimes I think about the scene in Happy Gilmour when someone called him a golfer and he corrected them and said he was a hockey player. I seem to think of myself as a bowhunter 1st and everything else comes in second. The truth be told I am a better bass fisherman than a bowhunter, or a hunter if I am exposing everything. It pains me to say that, the truth hurts. On a positive note, my mind-set has helped me when maintaining my fishing equipment.
It’s that time of year to start thinking about summer activities. Most of us take the time to pattern our bow or shotgun and make sure everything is in order for turkey season or summer time shoots. What a lot of people forget to do is check their fishing equipment.
I take a day to get everything ready and make sure my equipment is in top shape so when I venture onto the water I don’t want anything that can go wrong, no excuses. I have to double this because my wife, a OCD clean freak, around the house. When it comes to her fishing equipment, that’s another story. I guess she thinks I’m her crew chief when it comes to fishing, I don’t mind but I would like her to know these things so when she goes out when I am not with her she knows her equipment and can fix it.
Some things I do is check the line, grease the reel and make sure the eyes and pole aren’t compromised and sharpen the hooks.
The line we use is Firewire by Berkley. I LOVE this stuff. Some of my buddies do not like this because they say it looks like rope in the water and fish can see it. Let me tell you this I haven’t had one breakage or fish get off because of this line, they on the other hand with them…yeah that’s another story, I think Jeff invented a new swear word once when his line broke. Even though it is as tough as they come and if you have a rest nest you can unspool it with ease it does breakdown over time. The rocks, sand and other abrasives in the water rub on the line and fray. I take the damage stuff off and retie my hook, I get about 3 seasons out a spool of line, confidence, it is a strong tool in your arsenal when fishing.
After I make sure the line is in tip-top shape I make sure that the rod and eyelets are in top form. I check the eyelets to make sure they are smooth and not bent, I also inspect the rod itself also making sure that it isn’t damaged.
Next, I grease all the bearings and gears. My favorite kind of grease is silicone grease, this is a water proof grease you can purchase at Home Depot and is a lot cheaper and cleaner to work with than the standard grease you can get at your local bait shop.
Finally sharping the hooks…Yeah this one takes a while I check EVERY hook I have in both our tackle boxes. The fastest way to check them is taking this hook and lightly bringing across a fingernail. If it scratches it is good to go if not you need to sharpen it. I learned a trick from G5, the best archery company on the market on how to do this. You simply take a Sharpie and make a make on the end of the hook, take a damp diamond stone, DO NOT use a cheap hook stone you can buy for 10 bucks, they don’t do a good job, and simply run it across lightly in one direction until the Sharpie Marker is gone. It will be razor-sharp.
Well that is about it, I hope you take the time to check all your equipment before you venture in the outdoors. It could be a heart crushing nightmare or a memory that will last a lifetime.
Drive safe!
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