Simplifying and streamlining tackle and gear helps eliminate hassles on the water and make each angling experience more enjoyable.
Fishermen are natural pack rats. Most of us have a shed or garage full of tackle and supplies, most of it never leaving the shed or garage.
A garage sale is good for reducing the pile, and giving stuff to neighborhood children creates smiles and helps diminish the load.
Tackle boxes are next. Honestly, is all that tackle necessary? The other day at the boat ramp, two men were so loaded down with tackle boxes they could hardly carry them. They crammed them all into a tiny boat, leaving no room to move.
Being thorough is good, but avoid overkill. Picking your top five lures and taking only those increases the number of fish caught. Hours are wasted by tying on baits.
Speckled trout are active and for the most part are stealing the show. Live shrimp or soft-plastic jigs are fabulous for specks. Retrieve your bait or lure slowly. Channels adjacent to grass flats or potholes on the flats are great places to find trout. Light lines and equipment increases the enjoyment and the strikes.
Redfish are holding around residential docks and can be caught on live shrimp. Pitch the shrimp under the shady part of the dock. A small splitshot crimped a foot or so above a No.2 live-bait hook is the standard rig. A quiet approach is necessary around docks, and a good dock can hold many fish.
- Dave Walker charters out of Tampa. Call 813 310-6531 or e-mail at www.snookfish.com
