Care For Your Rods!

Many times I've heard or seen of people breaking their rod while landing a fish, and gotten mad at the rod. Most of the time it's not the rod's fault! How you hold the rod and how you use it are a big part of why they break. In fact, I haven't broken a rod myself in such a long time, and I fish a lot! Here's some tips to help you care for your rods, and keep them from breaking when you're landing a fish:

• Always leave about "a rod-length" of line, or at minimum, 6 feet between the fish and the tip. Don't ever reel it all the way up!

• When you bring the fish near the boat or dock, don't grab the rod blank!! If we wanted you to hold the rod there, we would have put a handle there! Your hand belongs on the rod handle.

• Keep the tip up, but not straight up! Keeping the tip up is what keeps tension on the line, which keeps the lure firmly in the fish's mouth. If you pull it too far up, you're bending the rod in an un-neccessary fashion. Just keep it above level.

• With your free hand, grab the line, not the rod. Once you firmly have the line, you can set the rod down and grab your net. Don't try to net the fish with one hand, while holding a long rod with the other.