Reels are often thought of as a personal preference item. But practical use may dictate a certain reel type.
Spincast
Typically made for smaller line. These reels are simple to use and more error free than other reels. They are capable of taking smaller cats but lack drag size and line capacity needed for larger catfish. The first time you realize this may be the first truly large cat you hook with a spincast reel.
Spinning
These reels are easily cast and come in a wide variety of sizes with many options. Most spinning reels will deliver longer casts than baitcasters with the same effort. Most fishermen can cast more accurately with spinning reels. Models are available to handle all size lines. Line twist can develop and must be avoided because it will fatigue line and cause failure when it becomes severe.
Many manufacturers offer baitrunner reels that are ideal for catfishing. Spinning reels have smaller drag surfaces and typically weaker gears that baitcasters. Using the larger spinning reels made for heavier line will result in success even with larger cats.
Baitcasting
Baitcast reels have long been considered the favorite of catmen seeking trophy cats. The wide spools hold large amounts of heavy line. Large drag systems help control big fish.
These reels are more difficult to cast. Cast controls must be set for the individual weight cast for best performance. Many baitcasters have alarm clickers and freespool options favored by catfishermen. These reels handle both mono and braided lines well.
Fishing hooks also come in several types. Knowing a few of the more popular ones and their uses can help you be successful:
O'SHAUGHNESSY
This hook is named for the specific design of the hook. It・s a standard hook, forged with a very strong bend. This hook is relatively thick, very strong, and not likely to bend out of shape. Generally designed for saltwater, it is good for general bottom fishing use. Sizes range from #3 to as large as 19/0.
ABERDEEN
These hooks, while primarily used in smaller sizes in freshwater, are also used by saltwater anglers. They are generally made from shaped wire. Unlike the O・Shaughnessy, it can and does bend. It can be bent back into shape several times before it becomes too weak. However, once a fish is hooked and the barb has completely penetrated, this hook holds quite well. These hooks are modified with bends in their shanks for use in jig molds.
CIRCLE
Perhaps the best innovation in hooks to come along, circle hooks promote healthy catch and release. The design of the hook itself, when used properly prevents fish from being hooked in the gut. Many anglers have a problem using these hooks because they require no hook set. If you do try to set the hook, it will generally come out of the mouth of the fish. These hooks are designed to move to the corner of the fish・s mouth and set themselves as the fish swims away from you. As the line tightens the hook pulls till the eye is free of the mouth and then the line turns the hook point inward and digs into the fish, usually in the corner of the mouth. Anglers feel a bite and simply begin reeling, slowly at first, then faster as the hook gets set.
LIVE BAIT
These hooks generally have a shorter shank than other hooks. Whether that is to allow the live bait to swim more freely or to be less apparent to the fish is debatable. My vote is to allow the bait to swim more freely. These hooks come in regular and circle designs.
KAHLE
The curve on these hooks makes them ideal for live bait. Made from the same wire as the Aberdeen hooks, they will bend if hung on the bottom of some structure. However, once a fish is hooked, the design of the hook prevents it from being straightened. Kahles can be fished tightline with success but most prefer to set the hook after a run.
Line size
Your choice of hook type and size is definitely influenced by your line size. Eight-pound test line can only exert a maximum of eight pounds of pressure on a hook set. That thick heavy-duty hook will have a hard time penetrating the jaw of a fish with that little pressure.
Heavy line, say fifty or sixty pound test, can easily force that hook home. But a small wire aberdeen hook will likely be bent straight without penetrating the jaw if used with heavy line.
The answer lies in matching the line size, the type of fish, and the type and size of hook as a package.
Small hook big fish?
With all this discussion, you・re probably wondering how we catch such big fish on light tackle. The answer is a balance that has to be struck between hook size and anticipated fish size.
I do catch large fish on lighter line quite regularly. The line is not the problem. A good drag,properly adjusted, puts you on a level playing field when fishing with light line.
The balance is in the hook size. If the hook is too small, it will penetrate easily, but will pull straight even easier causing you to loose a good fish. It the hook is too large or thick, your light line can・t exert enough pressure for the hook to penetrate, hence your fish fights for a second or two and then swims free.
Hooks and bait selection
Bait, both live and dead, plays a major part in hooking a fish. Imagine a huge chunk of cut bait with a number 1 hook buried in the middle of it. Hooking a fish with that scenario is virtually impossible. Conversely, imagine a 5/0 hook with a single small shad on it. I think you get the picture.
The hook you use needs to be large enough to be able to hold the bait and hook the fish, yet small enough that it doesn't actually hide the bait!
Live bait hooks and kahle hooks should be used for live bait. Choose the hook size according to the bait size. Don't get the hook lost in the bait, and don・t kill the bait with a hook that is too large. The smallest hook capable of catching your prey will enable your bait to remain lively longer.
With all hooks I prefer an offset point. This means the point is turned in slightly offset from the shank giving it a little extra chance to hang into fish. Some fishermen bend the points in on straight line hooks but I fear this may weaken the hook by fatiguing or cracking the steel.
I recommend sharpening any hook you use. New hooks can often be made sharper because the coating may round the hook point. Sharpen hooks before each trip and each time you suspect it is not at its sharpest. This will increase penetration and decrease force needed to penetrate. This is always important but more so when baits are at long distances from anglers. Labratory testing has shown conical points require less effort for penetration than triangular points.
Chemically sharpened hooks are normally chemically etched to be sharper than mechanically sharpened hooks. They are most often made from super hard steel and although they do not require sharpening, they are initially expensive and cannot be resharpened if they become dull.
Hook materials
Hooks are also constucted of various materials which will affect their performance. Small aberdeen hooks often made with high brass concentrations are often referred to as crappie hooks. The high brass content allows them to bend out instead of breaking hooks or line to retieve outfits from snags.
Lowest cost imported hooks are often made with inferior metals including high tin content. These often have no rust resistince and use brittle metal that can break. Design and product quality controls often result in hooks that do not meet fishermens expectations.
The greatest majority of quality made hooks use mild steel with bronze coating. The mild steel wire gives the best qualities of strength and flex. The bronze coating gives the most inexpensive coating to resist rust.
Some hooks are made for saltwater fishermen from stainless steel. These hooks will be more resistant to corrosion. Some fishermen believe that because stainless steel has a greater tensile strength the stainless steel hooks will be stronger. In reality stainless steel hooks will break before mild steel hooks because the stainless is more brittle and has less flex when under pressure. Hooks are formed from wire in stamping molds and the bends create deformations in metal texture that causes the bend radiai to be weaker than the straight wire. The less malleable the metal the greater the amount the wire is weakened by bending.
Hook color
Some manufacturers claim that red hooks cannot be seen by fish. Although red is the first color in the light spectrum to disappear in a water column, these same manufacturers sell red lures or lures with red markings to attract fish. Catfish do not seem to be sensitive to visual clues.
Hook coatings
Most hooks have a coating to prevent oxidation (rust). Some coatings are slicker and provide less resistance that helps penetration.
Line
There seems to be an endless array of lines available and manufacturers all claim to have the best line. I hope to unravel characteristics to make your choice of line simpler.
First I will define qualities of line. These include: high knot strength, high abrasion strength, high tensile strength, proper limpness, controlled stretch, and desired range of visibility.
Knot strength
You must have good knot strength or the pound test of a line means nothing. This is not only governed by the inherent properties of the line you use, but also how well you can repetitively tie a highly efficient knot. A good, reproducible, knot doesn't have to be complex. In fact a Palomar can be taught to anyone in a short period of time and is highly reproducible. While it takes a little more practice, a Trilene knot once mastered is a 95 percent efficient knot with each tie. Just remember that superbraids require finishing those same knots with a dab of glue to guarantee they will not slip.
Abrasion strength
The other side of the coin is that the inherent strength of the line is only as good as its abrasion resistance unless you plan to fish in open water. Thus a very thin monofilament is much less forgiving of a nick than a thicker equal pound test product that wears better. Also nicks or abrasion are more difficult to detect in braided lines.
High tensile strength
The answer to providing the smallest diameter line for the heavier pound test and a product with little stretch, thus fast hook set, was a niche that the braided lines sought to fill. An advantage of smaller diameter line is that you always get better feel and have less wind resistance on a cast. Both natural and superbraids cost more and should be chosen with particular applications in mind. Natural braids absorb water and are prone to mildew and rot. Superbraids are slick and special care finishing knots is necessary.
Proper limpness
To cast baits line must be limp to prevent memory and decrease cast length. Excess memory causes backlash in casting reels. To attain the supple limpness for good casting the lines are made softer. This results in less resistance to abrasion. Also a slight increase in stretch occurs as line becomes limper.
Controlled stretch
Monofiliment lines vary in the amount of stretch they have but can be as much as 25% in some limp lines. At long distances this reduces the amount of pressure when setting hooks. This same quality may be a desirable trait when fishing tightline with circle hooks or at spots where close range fishing. Braided lines have much less stretch. This was first apparent when fishermen reported breaking rods setting hooks on fish. This property can be an asset on baits that are far from the angler.
Desired range of visibility
Line color seems to have little or no affect on catfish. In some instances the angler may want a more visible line for bite detection or knowledge of line direction such as multiple lines.
Line size
Line size should be selected for proper size to suit the rod and reel you are using. Heavier test lines help resist abrasion when fishing heavy cover. Your reel will hold less line as the diameter increases.
I hope this article clarifies tackle characteristics and helps making tackle selection an easier process. You must realize that some decisions will be a compromise to get the best overall qualities from the tackle you need.
