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What To Do When It Goes Bad - Part 1 of 4
(Murphy's Law Re-Defined)
By Dennis Bryant "The Fishing Professor"
Try To Picture This Spinnerbait Fishing Scenario:
You're fishing a busy boat-channel with your best ol' friend one sunny summer afternoon, when he suddenly hollers back to you and says: "Hey George! Pitch that spinnerbait over there at that concrete piling.
I just caught site of a BIG 'UN next to it, but I can't hit it from here!"
That solo piling is about a 30' pitch from the back of the boat where you are so you immediately send it on its' way, intent on hitting the piling above the waterline and letting the spinnerbait helicopter down to that LUNKER waiting below.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz - CRACK/tinkle - splooosh! Flutter, flutter, UUUUUUGH! You hammer the hook home! AND THE FIGHT IS ON!
Ten minutes later that seven pound brute is sitting pretty at the bottom of the livewell while the mangled remains of your brand new $6 dollar, ½ ounce, light-wire, 'super-bumper', long-arm style, piling-smackin' spinnerbait is dangling at the end of your line just crying for help!
You think to yourself Oh Well, at least it caught ONE FISH for me!
So you cut the remains off your line and throw it in the trash bucket.
Then you tie on a brand-new $12 dollar, Titanium-shafted, ¾ ounce, double-bladed, tandem style, 'Hog-Wrecker-Spinnerbait' that you bought from the local spinnerbait wizard at your bass club last week.
Two casts later the darned thing comes back to the boat without the blade-arm attached.
Sound familiar?
Murhpy's Law Rears Its Ugly Head
It's "Murphy's' Law!"
If it can go wrong it will ~ at the worst possible time ~ and the worst possible place!
No!
I'm not one of those west coast, 'fairy-wand' castin', finesse-style, bubble-gum & swiss cheese colored, weightless sumpin-ur-nuther usin', type of guy.
And I guess I'm not a 'Bubba' type a guy neither!
'Cuzz I don't use no broomsticks or shovel-handles with guides taped on 'em, an' toss 2 ½ pound spinnerbaits with hubcaps fer blades, tied to anchor-line to catch all them thar Big-Basses down in the Onion City Swamp either!
I do like using light-wire, WAY downsized spinnerbaits!
Why?
Because they work in places you'd never thought of using a spinnerbait in before.
And they DO catch fish!
They can be retrieved slower and produce more vibration with smaller blades than most of their bigger brothers can.
The drawback?
They require re-tuning after every fish that is caught!
They do become mangled!
But BOY! They SURE DO catch fish!
Summary - So What's A Guy To Do When It Goes Bad?
The Answer:
Learn what makes a spinnerbait work and why.
Then, learn how to keep that ⅛ or ¼ ounce or even a ⅜-ounce and bigger spinnerbait working correctly.
Finally, learn how to restore your spinnerbait or buzzbait yourself after it becomes badly mangled by some little 15-pound Bass or some huge 5-pound Dogfish or Muskie during your next fishing outing!
Stay Tuned For The Next Episode:
"Learning What Makes A Spinnerbait Or Buzzbait Work And Why!"
GOOD FISHIN'!
Dennis Bryant
The Fishing Professor
Look for other articles written by Dennis Bryant in The Fishin Professor's Pro Staff Angler Profile
