This article originally appeared in the 2010 Jan/Feb Outdoor Oklahoma magazine.

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/outdooroklahoma.htm.

Keeping it Reel

- The best of the fishing season is not quite here yet, but that doesn’t mean your gear has to waste away in your garage

Due to the relatively mild winters here in Oklahoma (okay, and my fanatical fishing tendencies), my fishing season never really shuts down. Except for that couple of weeks when the pond ices over, I am always fishing. And even then, I have been known to go out and bounce a jig across the ice. But there are a few things I try to do before spring arrives and the fishing activity at my house kicks back into top gear. Some of it might even make sense.

Reel Maintenance

If you have kids, the most important reel in your collection is their closed face, push-button type spin-caster. Do not skimp on this reel. If you do not keep this well oiled and spooled with fresh line, your kids' frustration will quickly become your frustration and the fishing trip will come to a screeching halt.

You go to cast and "zhrrik!" Now there is a big wad of line that you have to untangle with the bait dangling at your feet, and through the barrage of "are you done yet," the fish are really jumping. A little plaque in my uncle's bathroom (of all places) reads, "Anger is one letter away from danger." Well, "angler" is also one letter away from "dangler."

Plus, this is the reel I always seem to end up using anyway when the kids get distracted and go to whacking each other with cattails.

Rod Tips

Avoid car doors. Broken rod halves can be stored for later use as cat toys, cat whackers, or for reaching stuff that has rolled under the fridge. For that matter, Elite BassMaster angler Mike Iaconelli even handed me a broken rod as a souvenir. I must have that look that says I have a jumble of broken rods in a five-gallon bucket in the corner of the garage.

Tackle

Every year or so, I buy a new little plastic tackle box (or just dump the contents of last year's box into the big "catch-all" tackle bag) to restock. On a rainy day when you cannot be fishing anyway, find a clear spot on your workbench. For me, this amounts to the top of the washer and dryer. I gather all of my tackle and carefully equip this little box with the absolute essentials.

Consider the species targeted and time of year. Choose hooks of various sizes, from tiny bait hooks for bluegill to large rubber worm hooks for bass. Remember an assortment of sinkers, replacement swivels and a few critical lures of several sizes and actions to cover the water column from top-to-bottom. With their wide wire gap, spinnerbaits won't fit in most lure slots, so I'll pick a couple, bury the hook tip safely in a rubber grub, and drop them into one of my cargo pockets, along with a fresh pack of my favorite rubber worms.

Then I repeat the process, creating boxes for more specific trips. One for my out-of-state treks, one for just taking the kids and their friends, another for walleye and so on. The remaining stuff in the bottom of the old tackle bag probably will never get used anyway. Eventually this becomes one unique clump. Maybe someday the modern art scene will appreciate my creativity.

Line

For reels with monofilament, I try to respool at least once a year. Through the year, I'll lose line to snags and retying, but I'm also constantly feeling the line for rough areas and, on each new trip, cutting off the bottom 10 feet or so. About every two years, the reels with other "super lines" are respooled, too, but the line is reused by placing the older, color-faded line on the interior of the spool. Now the never-used portion of line is ready for its turn. These “super lines” will have no memory of the tight inner spool coil.

Boat

I think it was Patrick McManus who once wrote: "The two happiest times of a man's life are when he gets his first boat and when he gets rid of it." The list for boat maintenance is staggering; just keeping the trailer lights working is a full time job. But I will share a couple of thoughts.

A universal motor flush tool that connects to a garden hose is handy. This lets me know that the outboard motor won't start in the yard, rather than at the ramp. If the boat is going to experience some down time (a-hem), I once read that you can keep the trailer tires from "pancaking" if you jack it up on cinder blocks to keep the weight off the tires. Oh, and an old tube sock with mothballs in a couple of locations does seem to keep the mice from snacking on life jackets.

Another boat ownership aspect that sometimes bites me is the registration. The yearly state registration expires on the bizarre date of June 30, unless you purchased it for a three-year period. Just long enough to ensure that you really forget to check it. So don’t fall into that category.

And while I'm at it, don't forget to check your fishing license. This critical component of a fishing trip has delayed more than a couple of trips, as friends have had to make emergency treks to license dealers. For convenience, fishing licenses can also be purchased online at wildlifedepartment.com, and if you buy a combination license, that will save you from having to pay for the legacy permit twice. Starting July 1, 2009, the cost of fishing and hunting licenses started including the cost of the Fishing and Hunting Legacy permit that was once required as a separate purchase. However, if you purchase an annual hunting license and fishing license separately, you’ll pay the legacy fee twice. A combination license will save money on both! A few years ago, my parents bought me the lifetime fishing license, and anglers also have the option of purchasing a five-year fishing license. Check it all out at wildlifedepartment.com.

Check the Bait Fridge

There have been some strange odors in the garage and…whew! Those nightcrawlers have been in there too long! Enough said.

Additionally, don't forget to hit the long-nosed pliers with a little WD-40. This tool must be kept working for a number of anglers’ tasks. Oh, and replace those polarized sunglasses that you sat on. Having that extra little bit of vision into that mysterious underwater world can make or break a fishing trip.

Finally, make sure that there are no pressing work projects and that your "honey do" list is significantly shortened. When you do get that window of opportunity to hit one of Oklahoma’s 1,120 square miles of lakes and ponds or 78,500 miles of rivers and streams, you want to be able to relax, focus, and just fish.

A note from the author: