One of the most effective ways to catch fish is to use ultralight equipment, which means your rods, reel, line, and bait/hooks. Ultralight fishing simply means downsizing your approach from what most people normally think of as fishing equipment. When you ‘downsize’ said equipment it makes your approach much more natural and realistic in my opinion. I can tell you from experience that this approach matters to the fish as well.
Using ultralight fishing tactics is very effective, and after you experience catching a three pound rainbow trout or smallmouth bass on four pound test and an ultra light rod and reel, you’ll understand why I’m so partial to this form of fishing. I can tell you from experience that the previously mentioned scenario is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on, and is something that should be experienced by everyone.
So let’s get down to some actual tactics, shall we? The first thing I want to discuss about ultralight fishing is your line. When ultralight fishing you are going to be using line that seems very light, in some cases it will seem too light. Actually, you line will be matched for the fish you’re fishing for. For example, when trout fishing I use four pound test. This means that the line can hold four pounds of pressure before breaking, at its weakest point. How often do you hook and land trout in the four pound range? This is exactly what I’m referring to. Four pound test is more than heavy enough fore almost all trout fishing. The point is that lighter line, no matter which type or size you use, should be changed often. You want your line to be “fresh” when ultralight fishing.
The next ultralight fishing tactic is to always make sure that you’re on the water at the most opportune time. The best way to make sure that you’re on the water at the most opportune time is to pay attention to the weather and moon. These two forces of Mother Nature have as much to do with the feeding activity of fish as any two factors. Pay attention to the weather and moon, and you will get more bites while ultralight fishing, there’s simply no doubt about it.
The next thing to keep in mind is your visibility. This might sound strange, but watching your line while ultralight fishing is incredibly important. That’s why one of the most important ultralight fishing tactics is to wear polarized sun glasses. Polarized sun glasses make seeing your line that much easier. These glasses also help you to see into the water and see fish. The point of this tactic is that you get what you pay for when purchasing polarized sun glasses. This means that you will probably have to spend over a hundred dollars on a pair of quality polarized sun glasses. For example, I paid $150 dollars for my polarized sunglasses, but the good thing is that was 8 years ago. If you amortize my purchase, that’s under twenty bucks a year! You see, quality lasts.
The last tactic to consider when ultralight fishing is the use of gang hooks. If you fish with live bait (and this goes double for live worms) gang hooks should be employed. These hooks allow you to present live bait in a completely natural manner, which is a key when ultralight fishing.
Begin employing one or all of these tactics sooner, rather than later and you will have much more fishing success. How am I so sure of this? Simply because I’ve been using all of them for more than 20 years and know how effective they are.