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Backlashes and Snags - by Tommy (Fishin Bucky) |
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| Every fisherman has to deal with them sooner or later, some sooner than others. In this article, I’d like to give some tips to dealing with these pests. Backlashes: I can remember when I was first learning the ways of the baitcaster reel. Almost every one of my first 30 cast ended up in a Crow-Sized bird-nest. After a summer of “training” I could make 20-30 cast before I’d have to start “picking’”. There have been many sorts of products designed to help anglers have fewer backlashes. We all know of a popular Abu Garcia reel that said it could reduce the amount of backlashes with some sort of a bar thing to stop the tangles from forming or something. Well after reading numerous poor product reviews for it, I lost interest. Bass Pro Shops has produced a pick “pen” that can help sort through the mess with less trouble. I have never used one, but I’d like to own one to see if it works. The best tip I can give that I personally will use often and trust is the “cast-n-tape”, which is what I call it. First, find a heavy lure, about an ounce, and make the longest cast possible. Once the lure hits the bottom, grab a small strip of electrical or masking tape and place the strip along the length of the spool covering the line on it. Now reel back in, tie on a lure and start fishing. With that tape being there on the spool, if you are to backlash, the tangles would not go farther then the piece of tape, thus making it quicker/easier to get un-tangled. Snags: “Ahhhh! I think I got a fish! Wait…..aw it’s snagged on something.” This line is very familiar to fisherman. Being an avid jig fisherman, I say it often. Let’s give three situations and some resolutions. 1: You are throwing a “weedless” spoon through some Lily Pads and saw some bass boiling in the distance. You get really excited and toss the spoon 40 feet too far to the left. As you reel in to make another cast, your line gets tight, oh no…a fish? Nope, you just put that hook 2 inches deep into a Lily’s stalk. When your done cussing’ it out. You think, “Hey, those fish might still be over there, I better not use the trolling motor, but how will I be able to get it?” Well, there is one choice I can think of. First, don’t try to use the pole to get it back, instead grab the line, but only use it with 17pound test or more. Wrap you hand in a towel and then the line, next give steady pressure increasing every five seconds until it pops through, luckily the stalk pops, not the line. Or, just forget the fish and get your 3 dollar plus spoon. 2: You got a new crankbait and you can’t wait to use it on those monsters in Burnt Mills, etc. You tie ‘er on and heave it 3 miles into air and wait for the “splash”. Once it hits the water, you start cranking. Right as you feel bottom, those trebles snuggle themselves deep in a 10 inch thick sunken log. You pull and pull but that baby isn’t reeling up without some effort. Now this situation has two possible answers. First, try using a “Plug Knocker”. Just pop it on your line and let it slide to disengage it. Second, reel up the slack and grab the line between the reel and the first guide. Next pull back on the rod like your fighting a 30-pound Striper. Then pull the line back like a bow-and-arrow and release it while simultaneously pointing the rod right to the snag. After a few “pops”, it should become loose. 3: Like in #2, you toss the crankbait 3 miles up and instead of hearing a “splash”, you hear some leaves shiver. Well that wasn’t the wind hitting those leaves, that was your crankbait latching onto the highest branch of the 50ft Maple Tree on the shore. Well, you can only do one thing, cut the line. That baby’s gone. Next, just hope Bob’s in the boat to loan you a new one! Tommy Richardson |
