Some of the best anglers I know are like muscle car enthusiasts. They are constantly tweaking their gear for maximum performance, adding subtle touches you won’t find in original equipment. Some of these upgrades improve nothing more than the comfort of a rod in your hand, allowing you to fish longer and easier. Others may completely change your approach to trout fishing in small streams or distance casting. But they all give you an advantage that ultimately leads to more fish being hooked and landed. These are 8 of the best you can do on your own this season.

8 tips and modifications of fishing equipment

Competence level: Basic
Cost: $ 3 to $ 8
Having a good grip on your rod can make or break a fish fight, especially when fishing for large species like salmon or muskellunge. Even if the cane handle is tucked under your arm, the less it slides and moves, the more control you have.

To increase this grip, try wrapping your shaft like a hockey stick. Start with a spool of fabric duct tape, available at sporting goods stores. Wrap around the end of the rod a few times, unwind about a foot of duct tape, and twist the spool to create a thin string of duct tape. Wrap this rope in spirals an inch wide around the handle towards the spool. Then wrap the ribbon flat along the grip towards the butt, covering the thin string.

Not only does this wrapping style improve your grip when holding the rod; it is an additional protection against the slipping of the rod out of a support on the troll.

Improve your lubricant

Competence level: Basic
Cost: $ 8 to $ 12
Do you remember the time when Grandpa greased his coils with petroleum jelly or machine oil? These general purpose household lubricants are old school for today’s coil technicians. Products such as Reel Saver (mil-comm.com) and Xtreme Reel Plus (xtremelubricants.com) contain micro-polymers and have high heat and cold tolerances. They don’t clog inside the reel, and their densities are scientifically designed to be perfect for reducing friction without slowing the action of the gears. More importantly, as much as they lubricate, these new oils protect internal parts from corrosion. Thus, in addition to increasing performance, they will significantly extend the life of the reel.

Make sure to remove all the old lubricant first. Some companies that produce premium lubricants also make specialty coil degreasers, but lighter or mineral spirits can do the trick.

Expand your gathering guide

Competence level: High
Cost: $ 15 to $ 20 of DIY; $ 50 to $ 80 for a professional payment
Ask a custom rod builder what common requests they receive, and one of them will use a larger pickup guide than the one typically used on stock rods. The collection guide – the guide closest to the reel on a casting rod – allows the line to take off the reel smoothly during casting and return to the spool evenly during recovery.

A wide pickup guide offers several advantages: it will increase both accuracy and casting distance by giving the line more freedom to flow while casting, and allow you to pluck the line more efficiently when you need to place a line. frog between two pads. During retrieval, a wider pickup guide can reduce kinking and memory by adding more tension to the line as it winds onto the reel.

With a wider collection guide, you will also be able to use a reel with a larger spool on a lighter rod. This means that you can increase the capacity of your line without needing to reduce line strength and lure weight. And you can use a lighter outfit for larger fish.

Cut out short strokes

Cut your plastics for more hookups.

1. Miniskirt:

One solution to banging bass on a spinnerbait without a connection is to add a trailer hook. This is fine for open water, but it can cause more snags around the structure. Instead, cut the skirt so that it hangs evenly with the hook.

2. Shaving the legs:

Sometimes the bass will grab the skirt legs of a hollow-bodied frog lure and miss the hook. Cutting the hind legs back even 1⁄2 inch can reduce short strokes and give frogs a smoother lateral glide when “walking the dog.”

3. Rear seat:

How many times have you coiled a curly tail worm with the bitten curly tail? Solve this problem by cutting off part of the front so that the hook is just in front of the tail. Cut a soft plastic shad for the same hook placement.

Rubberize your grip

Competence level: Basic
Cost: $ 6 to $ 10
You’ve probably passed Plasti Dip (plastidip.com) a hundred times in the hardware store, but liquid rubber has excellent plating applications. Use it to cover the end of your reel handle for better grip when burning spinnerbaits or aggressively shaking jerkbaits. Your fingers won’t slip in the rain, sweat or fish slime. You can also coat the front of your reel brake cap for an easier fit.

To increase grip even more, pour the amount you need for coverage into a separate container and mix with fine sand.

Nailed bass

Hammer big and small mouths with these tips:

1. Heavy head:

Make a wacky worm or Senko even more wacky by inserting a small finishing nail into the head of the bait. Soft plastic will wiggle more erratically.

2. Backdrop:

Drive a nail through the back of a soft plastic shad just in front of the tail and thread a single hook through the nose. The decoy drops when you stop the retrieve.

3. Craw sticker:

Insert a finishing nail into the tail of a soft plastic crayfish and hook the bait through the head. The nail holds the bait and hook at a better phishing angle.

Make a small stream trout outfit

Competence level: Basic
Cost: $ 0 if you have components; $ 100 to $ 400 if you buy components
Putting a reel on a fly rod may not seem like much sense unless you understand the intricacies of showcasing small jigs and spinning on small streams filled with easily scared trout. The whipped tip allows light lures to be cast farther and more accurately than a short spinning rod. Likewise, the length allows you to fish tight seams and swirls without casting at all. When a trout hits, the longer, softer rod allows you to maneuver it more gently around rocks and overhanging limbs.

Some steelhead anglers customize these outfits further by installing fly rods with large pickup guides and reel seats; for small streams these adjustments are not necessary. Ultralight or ice fishing reels will fit the seats of most 3 to 5 weight fly rods. If you prefer a longer grip, glue the reel higher on the rod handle.

Convert your deposit to manual

Competence level: Moderate
Cost: $ 0
Professional anglers seldom, if ever, trip the surety of their spinning reels when turning the handle. This is because closing the bail with the handle can spin a bit of slack on the spool, which can cause twisting. The deposit is also the part of a reel that most often breaks down. To avoid knots and malfunctions, unscrew the side plate that houses the internal gears and remove the spring. Some reels also require the removal of small bail release mechanisms, but on many models the spring watering will suffice.

A manual kickstand forces you to close it by hand, allowing you to maintain tension on the line by turning it over as soon as your bait or lure splashes. Mikesreelrepair.com has an extensive catalog of free coil diagrams that can help you get the right parts out.