Rigging Your Pole | The Weather Channel

Fishing

So you've acquired some fishing gear, learned how to cast and studied your quarry.

August 9, 2012

So you've acquired some fishing gear, learned how to cast and studied your quarry. Now it's time to arm your fishing pole for action.

Rig for the kind of fish you want to catch

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How you rig depends partly on the kind of fish you hope to catch. Catfish usually search for food near the bottom, so you need weight to keep your bait near the fish. Crappies and many other panfish often swim a few feet beneath the surface, and a bobber will hold your bait up where the fish can see it.

Keep it light

Generally, use as light tackle as you can. Holding your bait on the bottom of a pond on a calm day, for example, doesn't require a large sinker. One or two split shot will do, and the lighter weight is less likely to alert fish that are sampling your bait.

How a drag works

Fishing reels have a drag to prevent the weight and pull of a fish from snapping the line, making it possible to land even large fish with light lines. Before fishing, set the drag to release line before the breaking point of the line is reached. When a big fish is pulling, line will come off the reel, sometimes making a clicking sound. Learn to recognize when the drag is letting a fish run and don't reel during that time, or your line will twist. Avoid the temptation to tighten the drag while fighting a fish.

Use a bobber

Similarly, use a small, streamlined bobber and balance it with enough split shot beneath that the fish can pull your bobber down without much resistance.

Bait your hook

What you should use for bait also depends on the kind of fish you're after. The best all-around bait is probably a worm or a part of a night crawler, both of which will catch panfish and trout as well as most larger species. Hook the worm several times through, or pinch off part of a night crawler and run the hook through it. Keep baits fresh. With few exceptions, fresh bait will attract more bites than old bait.

Improved clinch knot

Run the end of the line through the eye of a hook about 6 inches and fold it back on itself. Holding both pieces of line in your fingers, rotate the hook about ten half-turns. The doubled line between your fingers and the hook will now be twisted. Insert the end of the line through the space between the first twist and the hook eye.

Check the Fishing Forecast

Bring the tag end of the line back through the loop made by the previous step. You'll find it helpful to use the fingers holding the hook to help you guide the end through the loop. Pull on both the line and the tag end to tighten the knot and shut it up to the eye. The knot will come together more smoothly if you moisten the line with saliva before tightening. Trim the tag end about 1/4-inch away from the knot.

Bait chart

Fish Type

Type of Bait

Bluegill

worms

insect larva jigs

flies

small spinners

Crappie

minnows

worms jigs

spinners

small crankbaits

Catfish

worms

stink baits

cheese occasionally take jigging spoons or crankbaits

Bass

minnows

night crawlers

spinnerbaits

crankbaits

jigs

Carp

worms

dough balls usually do not strike artificials

Trout

worms

minnows

grasshoppers spinners

small plugs, esp. crayfish imitations

flies

Walleye

minnows

night crawlers

crankbaits

jigging spoons

Muskellunge

large minnows

bucktail spinners

oversize plugs