King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah
Fishing ? Instructor!
Hello all, been a minute since I've come up with another article and I just got my newest set of size 3 rapala original floater minnows and decided why not write about using the small stuff. There are a lot of fishermen that only go for a certain species of fish or who only like to fish a certain way, but many out there also just plain like to catch fish and with as many of you out there who enjoy panfish, this should be right up your alley. So, let's get started!
WHY ULTRALIGHT TACKLE?
The first thing to point out when talking about using the small stuff is how enjoyable it is in comparison to gear we would consider "normal" today. These days, we most fish loud, fast and heavy but there's a lot to love when scaling down. You can cast smaller and lighter baits a lot further and just about any fish big or small puts up a heck of a lot more of a fight on light gear. It's also a multi species thing you can do and enjoy. When most people hear light or ultralight fishing, they have a tendency to think just fishing for bream in a pond or creek but there is much more than that. You can choose any panfish like sunfish or crappies, but you can also bass fish, trout fish, go after white bass, yellow bass, perch, carp, catfish and more using the same tackle and it would give you quite the challenge! It's also a test of skill when scaling down in gear. That same 2lb bass is a lot more of a battle and test of angling skill on 4lb line than on a flipping stick with 50lb braid. Ultralight fishing also commands more appreciation for the fish we catch because it gives them a real chance to showcase their fighting abilities at the end of a line and it really trains you over time how to actually fight fish and successfully land them. This is great for inexperienced anglers because it lays the foundation for building confidence in their ability to catch fish and to be able to battle and land larger fish later on.
WHAT IS ULTRALIGHT FISHING?
To define ultralight fishing, we'll keep things simple and just consider any reels 3000 size spinning or 50 size baitcasting or smaller to be pretty light gear. Likewise, any rods medium light and lighter in power are also considered light tackle. Ultralight gear and even micro light gear is available though for using even the very smallest of baits. I do recommend you spend more on the reel than the rod because you could at any time hook a larger fish than intended and you'll be glad you have a reel with a better and smoother drag system. Spend a little more and get a reel with backreeling capability as well. If your drag fails you or can't be adjusted fast enough, backreeling will help you in a bad situation. Fishing lines down to 1lb test are available and baits weighting as light as 1/200 of an ounce and less than an inch long are out there. Most ultralight fishing is done with a monofilament line, but braid is available as well, with the most popular and arguably the best being Sufix nano braid. This truly is as small as you can get without stepping down to fly fishing and using size 22 and smaller flies or using tackle popular in Japan for Tanago or Bitterling fishing where they're literally trying to catch on hook and line the more overlooked and underrated species like minnows, mosquito fish and such.
WHERE TO FISH ULTRALIGHT
You can use this kind of tackle pretty much anywhere, although it is primarily a freshwater technique to use, as saltwater is a much harsher environment. Any stream, lake, river or pond all have plenty fish you can catch on this kind of tackle. A favorite summer activity of mine which has kind of become a guilty pleasure is to wade small creeks in the summer time and throw light tackle for redbreast sunfish. A good size redbelly on 2lb test is one of the hardest fighting panfish we have in the state! Walking the edges of ponds and casting for large bream and bass is also a very exciting and relaxing way to fish for me. If you've never seen a topwater bluegill bite, it's actually very dramatic! You can scale the size of your tackle up or down to match the fish you're after and really have a lot of fun. It helps that a lot of the natural forage many of these fish are eating in many of our waters are small food items anyway. For example, the threadfin shad in lake Allatoona are notoriously tiny and it's always a good idea to have a very light spinning rod rigged with a small bait to cast to schooling fish at long distance. If you want a real battle and test of skill, try carp fishing with ultralight tackle, or maybe spotted bass, hybrids, striper, or even big trout on the light gear. Whether you actually catch the fish or not, the adrenaline rush you get and the enjoyment of the fight you get are both incredible feelings.
LURES FOR ULTRALIGHT APPLICATIONS
So what kind of lures should you actually use for this kind of fishing? Well there's a much smaller version of most every lure out there today. Anything from grubs to poppers, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and even larger plugs are out there. Personally, I prefer tiny floater-diver crankbaits when chasing bream and bass on light gear and fish them with a stop and go retrieve. I also enjoy digging y ultralight spinners like tiny rooster tails for them. Another reason to ultralight fish is that all of this tackle is very cost effective and pretty cheap for what you get. Rapala has several ultralight lures and even sells an ultralight kit for a fair price. Both Woordens (rooster tail) and Mepps have an ultralight kit as well with spinners. You can find curly tail grubs for less than a dollar at the local store, and many popular brands have the small stuff go on sale more often. Mister Twister lure company will sell you a panfish grab bag of several plastics at a low price as well.
Ultralight fishing is cheap, easy, and just plain FUN! Bream will be getting on bed soon and you'll be able to catch a bunch of them, then summer will be upon us and the light tackle opportunities will be boundless!
Set some time aside and take a kid fishing, or just set some time aside for yourself and unwind and just have fun throwing light gear. Either way, it's all a good time.
WHY ULTRALIGHT TACKLE?
The first thing to point out when talking about using the small stuff is how enjoyable it is in comparison to gear we would consider "normal" today. These days, we most fish loud, fast and heavy but there's a lot to love when scaling down. You can cast smaller and lighter baits a lot further and just about any fish big or small puts up a heck of a lot more of a fight on light gear. It's also a multi species thing you can do and enjoy. When most people hear light or ultralight fishing, they have a tendency to think just fishing for bream in a pond or creek but there is much more than that. You can choose any panfish like sunfish or crappies, but you can also bass fish, trout fish, go after white bass, yellow bass, perch, carp, catfish and more using the same tackle and it would give you quite the challenge! It's also a test of skill when scaling down in gear. That same 2lb bass is a lot more of a battle and test of angling skill on 4lb line than on a flipping stick with 50lb braid. Ultralight fishing also commands more appreciation for the fish we catch because it gives them a real chance to showcase their fighting abilities at the end of a line and it really trains you over time how to actually fight fish and successfully land them. This is great for inexperienced anglers because it lays the foundation for building confidence in their ability to catch fish and to be able to battle and land larger fish later on.
WHAT IS ULTRALIGHT FISHING?
To define ultralight fishing, we'll keep things simple and just consider any reels 3000 size spinning or 50 size baitcasting or smaller to be pretty light gear. Likewise, any rods medium light and lighter in power are also considered light tackle. Ultralight gear and even micro light gear is available though for using even the very smallest of baits. I do recommend you spend more on the reel than the rod because you could at any time hook a larger fish than intended and you'll be glad you have a reel with a better and smoother drag system. Spend a little more and get a reel with backreeling capability as well. If your drag fails you or can't be adjusted fast enough, backreeling will help you in a bad situation. Fishing lines down to 1lb test are available and baits weighting as light as 1/200 of an ounce and less than an inch long are out there. Most ultralight fishing is done with a monofilament line, but braid is available as well, with the most popular and arguably the best being Sufix nano braid. This truly is as small as you can get without stepping down to fly fishing and using size 22 and smaller flies or using tackle popular in Japan for Tanago or Bitterling fishing where they're literally trying to catch on hook and line the more overlooked and underrated species like minnows, mosquito fish and such.
WHERE TO FISH ULTRALIGHT
You can use this kind of tackle pretty much anywhere, although it is primarily a freshwater technique to use, as saltwater is a much harsher environment. Any stream, lake, river or pond all have plenty fish you can catch on this kind of tackle. A favorite summer activity of mine which has kind of become a guilty pleasure is to wade small creeks in the summer time and throw light tackle for redbreast sunfish. A good size redbelly on 2lb test is one of the hardest fighting panfish we have in the state! Walking the edges of ponds and casting for large bream and bass is also a very exciting and relaxing way to fish for me. If you've never seen a topwater bluegill bite, it's actually very dramatic! You can scale the size of your tackle up or down to match the fish you're after and really have a lot of fun. It helps that a lot of the natural forage many of these fish are eating in many of our waters are small food items anyway. For example, the threadfin shad in lake Allatoona are notoriously tiny and it's always a good idea to have a very light spinning rod rigged with a small bait to cast to schooling fish at long distance. If you want a real battle and test of skill, try carp fishing with ultralight tackle, or maybe spotted bass, hybrids, striper, or even big trout on the light gear. Whether you actually catch the fish or not, the adrenaline rush you get and the enjoyment of the fight you get are both incredible feelings.
LURES FOR ULTRALIGHT APPLICATIONS
So what kind of lures should you actually use for this kind of fishing? Well there's a much smaller version of most every lure out there today. Anything from grubs to poppers, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and even larger plugs are out there. Personally, I prefer tiny floater-diver crankbaits when chasing bream and bass on light gear and fish them with a stop and go retrieve. I also enjoy digging y ultralight spinners like tiny rooster tails for them. Another reason to ultralight fish is that all of this tackle is very cost effective and pretty cheap for what you get. Rapala has several ultralight lures and even sells an ultralight kit for a fair price. Both Woordens (rooster tail) and Mepps have an ultralight kit as well with spinners. You can find curly tail grubs for less than a dollar at the local store, and many popular brands have the small stuff go on sale more often. Mister Twister lure company will sell you a panfish grab bag of several plastics at a low price as well.
Ultralight fishing is cheap, easy, and just plain FUN! Bream will be getting on bed soon and you'll be able to catch a bunch of them, then summer will be upon us and the light tackle opportunities will be boundless!
Set some time aside and take a kid fishing, or just set some time aside for yourself and unwind and just have fun throwing light gear. Either way, it's all a good time.
