I’ve always wondered about what I would do if I had to choose just 1 setup to go fishing with for the rest of my life. I know, for sure, that it would be an ultralight setup, but it did take me a while to come to a final decision about what I’d be taking with me. What did I figure out? A 6’0” rod, with a nicely built high quality reel, some sturdy 4lb test line, and 1 specific set of soft plastics. I feel like this setup will let me catch fish almost anywhere, and under any conditions. Let’s get into the specifics of what I think the perfect ultralight setup is, and why I think I could use only it for the rest of my life if I had to.

The Rod: St. Croix Avid Series Spinning

Since I’m going to be using this rod for the rest of my life, in theory, I want something that is built to last and comes with a lifetime warranty. I’m fairly hard on my gear, so I need to make sure it can be replaced, no questions asked, should I do something dumb and break off a tip or snap it in half somehow. The rod that I’ve used that I feel fits into this category is the St. Croix Avid series spinning rods, in a 6’0” Ultralight Fast action.

The Avid series ultralight rod is a 1 piece setup, which helps with the levels of sensitivity you get when you’re using it, and is extremely lightweight – I’m talking slightly over 2 ounces – which makes it incredibly easy for you to cast all day without feeling the fatigue in your wrist that other rods can cause. The rod may cost $150 but it is a rod that is going to perform flawlessly when you need it to the most. The tip is sensitive yet flexible, and the backbone helps give you the confidence you need to turn a bigger fish’s head and bring them back towards you.

The Reel: Tica SB500

This was a tough choice, and came down to either the Tica SB500 or Pflueger Trion GX7 spinning reels. I’ve used both, and was highly impressed by each model for different reasons, but since I have to choose a reel that’s going to be the last UL reel I ever use, the Tica wins out hands down. Again, it is on the pricey end of the spectrum but the build quality is flawless and it feels like it was designed specifically for the Avid series rods that I’d be using.

The Tica SB500 series reels are lightweight with a high gear ratio, to help give you the extra power you need when you need it. They’re also designed with 7 ball bearings that help maintain a smooth retrieve even when the drag has been screaming from the fish taking off large amounts of line. Another aspect I like about the SB500 is the design of the knob. It’s large enough that you don’t have to look down at where you’re grabbing when you need to keep an eye on your line, and comfortable enough to keep from causing sore spots on your thumb or finger like other reels have caused me. It may cost $55 but the level of quality that goes into Tica products made this reel win out over the Pflueger, hands down.

The Line: Sufix Siege 4lb Test

I’ve tried a ton of different lines, with varying results and levels of frustration. When you get into heavier lb test you don’t really have to worry so much about the faults in a manufacturer’s construction of the lines. Once you start getting into 2lb and 4lb test though, you really get to see where the manufacturers dropped the ball and left you hanging. There is one line, though, that has consistently performed above the rest: Sufix Siege. This line is hard to find, but I’d be making sure that I bought it in large quantities when I did purchase it, in both clear and moss green colors.

The 4lb test is .008” in diameter, making it incredibly thin but also very strong at the same time. It casts effortlessly and doesn’t coil up on the reel when you don’t use it, like some other lines that I’ve tried. It is pretty strong, too. When you’re banging it around on structure you want to have the confidence in knowing that you’re not going to have small, invisible nicks and cuts in the line that are going to cause you to break off fish. The Sufix Siege is one of the only lines that is capable of standing up to my punishment every time I go out, and doesn’t force me to change the lines every couple fishing trips.

The Hooks: Gamakatsu G-Lock Wide Gap

This was a fairly simple choice. If I were only allowed to use 1 set of hooks for the rest of my life, it would be a Gamakatsu. Gamakatsu’s G-Lock worm hooks are excellent for fishing soft plastics, my preferred type of bait. In a size 1, or 1/0 these hooks are very hard to beat. They stay sharp even when you’ve been banging them around structure and rocks, and won’t bend like other smaller, ultralight sized hooks will do. The light wire design on the hooks makes it easy to set into a fish’s mouth when you feel the tick on the end of the line, and the offset shank helps keep from hooking anything on the fish other than the corner of their mouth.

The Weights: Walmart Colored Bullet Weights

With my preferred baits, and hooks, you’re going to need to use some weights in a couple different sizes. You can get these at any big box store, but make sure that you get the colored version. It is easy to match the colors up to the color of soft plastic you’re using, which greatly increases your hookup ratio. The weights that I’m talking about are available in a small circular disc, with a door that you spin to get access to different sizes. They’re bullet weights, and will need to be pegged to the hook and soft plastic, with a toothpick or something similar, and you’ll need to keep at least 1/16 and 1/8 ounce sizes with you at all times.

The Baits: Zoom 4″ Finesse Worms

Now for the fun part. If I had to pick just 1 bait that I was going to fish in all types of waters, everywhere in the world, it would be Zoom’s Finesse Worms. These worms are built just like Zoom’s bigger, ultra successful worms – The Trick Worm – but in a smaller bite sized model. It is available in a large amount of colors, and can be fished both weightless and with a pegged bullet weight. I’m going to take the easy way out and say that I can’t pick a favorite color, so I would need to have at least 1 pack of every color available, but I’d still be fishing with the same bait for the rest of my life!

You know, that was easier than I thought it was going to be. Out of all the ultralight gear that I’ve used, I figured I was going to have a hard problem coming to a final decision on which parts of the gear would be my end-all, be-all final fishing setup. Turns out that the cream of the crop really does set itself apart from the rest. It may be slightly on the expensive side, but when it comes to being a master of your waters, only the best will do. Take it from me, I’m the Fishing Fool and if there is one thing I know, it’s ultralight fishing!

It’s funny how in the excitement of the moment, when you catch a large fish, there is a higher chance of accidents happening. For example, loosing your footing and tumbling down a steep bank. I have seem multiple examples of this, like the woman you threw her pliers into the water twice in one fishing trip. (Video Here)

Another point. That is a very interesting way of catching fish (in the video). Using a long stick with a wire snare at the end of it, these anglers were able to catch a fairly large pike (I think). Enjoy the video.

Finding fish is one of the biggest problems anglers have.  It doesn’t have to be such a huge issue, though, because I’ve learned over the years that there are certain things to look out for when you’re trying to figure out what the fish are doing underneath the water and you don’t have a fish finder to tell you what’s going on.  You need to pay attention to what the sun is, or isn’t doing in order to find them.

Mornings: In the morning fish are going to be very active.  Coming off of the darkness from the night before, fish will be able to see what they are chasing and go after it more aggressively.  The sun is not blasting down on them from above so they feel much more secure when they’re moving around.  You can typically spot fish hitting the top of the water during the mornings.  The general rule in the morning is that fish are going to be actively moving around in search for food.

Sunny Days: This is when it gets somewhat difficult to locate fish.  When the sun is blasting down from overhead the fish are going to be in a weary mood because larger predators are able to spot them when they move around.  On days like this you are going to want to look for structure that will cast shadows down into the water and start looking for fish there.

Cloudy Days: Cloudy days give fish a big advantage for staying cloaked and hidden underneath the water.  They are going to act in the same ways that they do whenever the morning sun has yet to hit the water’s surface.  Cloudy days make the fish more aggressive and they will be moving around searching for a meal without worrying about larger predators spotting them and putting themselves in danger.

Dusk: Dusk is an excellent time to fish because the sun has left the water, but the water’s temperature is still warm enough to be comfortable for them.  Much like in the morning and on cloudy days, you will be able to see fish cruising around looking for a meal, even busting the top of the water when they want to trap something.

Night: Night time is a bit more difficult, but not nearly as hard as finding fish when the sun is beating down onto the water.  At night you will have some fish cruising around while others are sitting around their favorite piece of structure.  You will want to try to get out before the sun has completely set so that you can find some structure to fish once night time hits.  Another method for catching fish at night is to patrol the banks (quietly), casting out parallel to the bank and retrieving back to you.

Check out this awesome video clip made at Lake Saarijärvi in Vaala, Finland. I guarantee you will like it. It made my day!

Every experienced ultralight angler can tell you that micro crankbaits are excellent for catching a lot of fish, on a consistent basis. These tiny baitfish replicas are perfect for targeting tight lipped, line weary fish especially when the predator fish are in the mood for a quick bite. If you’ve ever used micro crankbaits though, you can probably attest to the fact that the hooks included on most models are simply not up to snuff. In fact, on most models you can actually end up bending the light wire hooks if your drag is set too heavy. This is a recipe for disaster whether you’ve just caught your first fish of the day or the fishing is on fire.

You can keep these problems from happening to you by making a few small adjustments to the design of your UL crankbaits. The biggest way to improve these tiny lures is by changing out the snap rings on the bottom side of the bait. You can put on slightly heavier models that will hold onto your hooks better and give you a much better action when the bait is moving through the water column.

Another way to improve the performance of the lures is to swap out the super-light wire treble hooks that are included in favor of some heavier, but still lightweight trebles. While you’ve got the hooks and snap rings off, you might want to test different setups such as a single rear treble hook, a front treble hook and a rear wide gap hook, or even take off both trebles and replacing the rear with a wide gap trailer hook. The different hook setups will give the lure a different wobble underneath the water, and some setups will cause it to run lower or higher in the water column, depending on the amount of weight that’s attached to it.

The next time you’re out on the water, give these changes a shot and see for yourself how much they improve the performance of your ultralight crankbaits.

Hi Guys, I found a pretty cool music video about a girl that loves to fish. It’s the official music video of Craig Cambell’s hit single “Fish”. I’m not really into country music, but I can relate to this song. So I decided to share. Check it out.

It’s nice to have a companion that has the same passions as you. Same is true when it comes to fishing. I’m happy my wife enjoys fishing almost as much as me. That way, there is no explaining to do. She’s happy to let me go and usually comes along with me.

After eight years of fishing together, her beginners luck if finally wearing off. I sometimes do better than her. lol.

I’ve recently had the chance to to try out some polarized sunglasses from BTB Sport Optics. I’ve tested them for about a month in some of the most rugged conditions, interior Alaska in the beginning of “winter”. This is what I think about them.

At first glance, the sunglasses I got from BTB seemed very average. I would know, since I’ve owned about 10-15 pairs of sunglasses in the last few years. But after a few fishing and hunting trips, I really started to like them.

Tint: The lenses that I got had the perfect amount of tint. They were dark enough to shade your eyes from the bright sun but yet didn’t compromise your vision. It’s very important, in my opinion, if you’re upland game bird hunting or sight fishing.

Polarization: I found the the polarization filter applied to these glasses did a great job of reducing the blinding glare when I was salmon fishing (pic above). It helped me clearly see the fish so I could place the lure right in its face, therefor increasing strikes.

Quality: After using these glasses for about a month, I realized that they are well built. I dropped them a few times and even stepped on them once. All that caused only minor scuffs on the frame with no damage to the lenses. The lenses are actually ballistic grade polycarbonate, and can handle a direct hit from a 12 gauge shotgun a 50 feet. Tough Lenses! Check out the video:

Conclusion: I would definitely recommend these glasses to a friend. At under $50, you can’t beat them. To get glasses this nice you would have to pay more than $100. Here is their official website: Fishing Sunglasses

I have never heard of back reeling until I came across this video on myoutdoortv.com. It’s an interesting concept, where instead of relying on your drag, you reel backwards to give the fish line, when it makes a strong run.

I can’t believe I never though of this myself. I’ll have to try this next time I hook a large fish, to see if it has all the benefits mentioned in the video.

Watch the video here: Back Reeling to Success by Wade Bourne

Here is another video from YouTube that demonstrates the Technique:

I searched Google for the “world’s smallest game fish”, and came across an interesting article on Fishing Fury. The article is about tanago fishing in Japan. Tanago are tiny freshwater fish that are targeted by anglers using super light bamboo rods, human hair as fishing line, and micro hooks. The point is not to catch the largest one, but rather the smallest. The smaller the tanago you catch, the more skilled you are considered. This is surely ultralight fishing taken to the extreme.

Anyway, I don’t want to ruin the article for you. It’s definitely worth a read. Here’s the link:

Tanago Fishing in Japan – Fishing Fury

Check out the size of this brown trout, caught on Lake Michigan. This would be the perfect sized fish to test out your ultralight fishing skills. If you can get a fish like this in, on 4 pound line, that would make you the king of all UL anglers. Anyway, enjoy the vid.

Based on personal experience and a few fishing forums I visited, the “release vs. keep” subject seems to be a touchy one. There are anglers on both sides of the spectrum that have extreme views on this matter.

The catch-and-release extremists believe that all fish caught should be released immediately. And if you want to eat fish, you should go out any buy it, rather than depleting a resource. These people have a problem with others that keep their full legal limits and may even confront those anglers with verbal out-lashes.

On the other side, there are those anglers that keep every single fish they catch. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 2 incher or a state record, they are keeping the fish “to eat”. Yet, their freezers are packed full of them. Many of these anglers believe that there is no point fishing if you don’t keep the fish.

Put two of these extremes into one room together and you’re sure to get a fist fight.

What do I think? I fall somewhere in the middle. I believe that as long as the angler follows the law, it’s none of my business if they keep or release. I think that the state fish and game departments do a good job of determining the limits of the fish you can catch. Therefore, I don’t really care if you decide to keep every fish you catch (within the limit) or release them all.

What do I do? I catch and release about 70% of the time, and keep about 30%. I would probably release all of my fish caught because I really don’t like to clean them, but MY WIFE CAN COOK. Every fish I catch is a potential gourmet meal (Pan-Fried Trout with Orange, Mint, and Fried Capers), so you can see why I would keep them. Just thinking about it gets me hungry, even though I just ate.

Plus, I like the idea of providing for my family and having fun at the same time. I go out fishing and bring back food for the table. There is a certain satisfaction I get from that.

What do you think about Catch and Release vs. Catch and Keep? Share your opinion in the comment section below.

Check out this funny/cute video of a 3 year old boy catching his first fish. It definitely brought a smile to my face. I though you guys would like the video as much as I did. Enjoy.