I was just reading a couple of fishing magazines I picked up in the
supermarket earlier today. One thing I noticed was a bit of a pro attitude
that I just can't see a weekend angler being able to go with.

One is line strength. Most of the pros listed said things, like, "the
amateurs I fish with use 12-14lb line and think they are fishing with heavy
lines when I am am using 25-40lb line." I can see why a pro would want to
use heavier line after he has had some really nice fish break off. What I
fail to see is why they can't see why most of us amateurs like to use
lighter line. Its simple. We don't fish 3-5 days a week, and if we ever did
it was during our week of vacation last summer. We get more hits on lighter
line. With the skills we have we get more hits. Aybody remember a pro ever
saying anything about confidence? Nah. I have more confidence in gettign a
hot onlighter line.

Another thing I noticed was that a lot of the pros change line on a daily
basis. If they used a rig they put new line on it before going out with it
again. Cool. That makes sense if Yo-Zuri or Berkely or Power-Pro is your
sponsor and giving you free line or even at a substantial discount. It also
makes sense if that is what you are doing for a living, and your off the
water time is also being dedicated to earning a living from recreational
sport fishing. For an amateur angler its is tough. Relatively speaking its
not that big of an expense, but think about it. Most of us semi serious
amateurs have 30 or 40 rods that get regular use. Some a lot more. When I
go out in my own boat I usually have about 15 - 20 rods in the boat. If I
am taking out friends, family, a visiting tackle rep, or the owner of a cool
local tackle shop every rod in my boat will see some use. That can add up.
Now I go out an prefish a tournament. Then I fsih the tournament. Then
next week I stop by the canal bank on the way home to convince myself I can
still catcha fish since I blanked the tounament, or to revel in my own
personl glory becasue I won it. Thats a lot of line to change.

I remember when I was a kid. I had a Zebco 606 on a buggy whip fiberglass
pole. I had it spooled with 14lb mono. I caught 10" trout, 4-6" bream, and
5lb channel cats on that rod. If I was lucky that line got changed once a
year. If I got a snarl in my line, no matter how bad, I sat down and
carefully unsnarled it. Did I break off a lot fo fish. No. I did not.
Admittedly I didn't catcha lot of fish compared to what I can catch today,
but I didn't break them off. In fact the first decent fish I remember
breaking off was a catfish in the vVermillion River when I was 15. Guess
what broke? It was the snelled leader on the hook. You know what the next
decent fish I had break off on me was? It was a big striper off the cliff
face outside of Oak Canyon on Lake Powell. You know what broke? It was the
hook. I was using cheap 17lb line by then, but it wasn't the line that
gave.

Now I understand that going after largemouth bass in heavier cover or over
rock piles subjects a line to a lot more abuse than open water striper
fishing or floating a minnow under a bobber, but think about it. That
generic 10 or 12lb mono I had spooled on my spincaster took more than ten
times that much abuse after a year and a half. If from nothing other than
siting in a storage shed in the Arizona desert soaking up heat and solar
radiation and breaking down.

Now to be honest. I can pretty much afford whatever I really want. Maybe
not every thing I want, but those things I am willing to work for I can get.
Its still hard to break to the idea of throwing away a hundred dollars
worth of line every time I go fishing.

--
Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com
All about fishing in Yuma, Arizona
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