Written By - Nick Simonson - 08/1/2007
Link to Original Article here

Its the little things in life that matter; a couple bluegills on the fly rod to pass a sunny afternoon at the lake or a few golden walleye fillets sizzling in the frying pan for an evening meal. And it is these little things that make angling so much fun. Getting to that point where a fish is in hand or a fillet is in the pan can occur more often if you focus on some other little things.

Sharpening hooks

I never thought much about the hooks on my jigs or crankbaits straight out of the package. I figured they were pointy, new and ready to hook fish. That is, until recently. Upon sharpening several hooks, I noticed an increase in positive hook sets. From that point on, every hook received a once-over before it hit the water.

Finding a dull hook usually isn\'t a matter of seeking it out, but rather through experience of sharpening every hook and noticing the increase in fish landed.

Purchase a slot or conical hook hone and use it on every lure you attach to your line. Run the edges or the cone of the hook over with the hone, being certain that the point is sharp. It only takes a few moments. Test the sharpness by scraping the hook gently on your thumbnail. If it leaves a white scratch, it\'s sharp enough.

Knot a problem

The junction which brings that newly-sharpened hook and line together is your connection to the underwater world. Tying a sturdy knot, be it a clinch knot, a Trilene knot, a Palomar knot, or one of a dozen others, is also of the utmost importance. Make certain that you know how each knot is properly tied to absorb the most shock and retain as much line strength as possible.

If a knot ends up not sitting snugly against the eye of your lure (with the exception of Rapala-type knots where a loop is required), or lines overlap creating friction points where they aren\'t supposed to, try your tie again. The knot is the weakest point in the line and is connected directly to the terminal tackle; be certain to eliminate as much weakness as possible. Practice your knots when you have time, to master the proper technique.

Same old line

I\'ve been a Fireline fan since I first tried it nearly a decade ago. I\'ve tried other brands of superline and even other colors of Fireline, but the one I come back to is the smoke gray variety. As the line gets old, chewed up by fish or damaged by structure, it begins to fade from dark gray to light gray in color. This is my signal to trim the old line off.

Though it may be less noticeable with monofilaments or other brands of superline, they age in a similar fashion due to the elements or toothy fish encounters. Even if you\'re fishing species with tiny teeth, such as bass, expect line degradation with every catch.

Make it a habit to cut and retie your lures after every fifth fish, or whenever visible changes occur in your line. Remove the bottom foot or so of line above the lure and check other areas up the line for damage. Doing so will save you the heartache that goes with telling stories about \"the one that got away.\"

These little suggestions, in addition to understanding more prominent items such as season, weather, forage and fish location will produce bigger and better resultsÂ…in our outdoors.