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HOW TO STOP HOOKS BREAKING

Lead image: Game Fishing Asia One of the most frustrating things that an angler using lures can experience is losing a solid fish due to a hook breaking or pulling out. Why do hooks break and is there anything that can be done to reduce the likelihood of hooks breaking? Aside from casting damage, the two most common reasons that hooks break are work hardening or stress corrosion … Continue reading HOW TO STOP HOOKS BREAKING

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CHOOSING THE RIGHT JIG HEAD

Featured image: Tim Angeli Arguably the most important factor in soft bodied lure fishing (soft plastics and soft baits) is selecting a jig head that best suits the conditions encountered. Much of what has been written on this subject is fairly generic and it often does not make much sense until you’ve experimented extensively and learned from experience what works best and when. Many people … Continue reading CHOOSING THE RIGHT JIG HEAD

FLY TYING ON A TIGHT BUDGET

There is no doubt that the selection of fly tying materials available today is immense. Every week a new synthetic material seems to appear which apparently has properties better than the last iteration. For those who are fly tying on a tight budget the decisions as to which materials to purchase are becoming mind numbingly complex. Is it necessary to purchase these innovative new materials … Continue reading FLY TYING ON A TIGHT BUDGET

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HOOK PENETRATION

Hook penetration is one of the most important aspects of fishing and probably the least well understood. The aim of this article is to help clear up some of the confusion. The sharpness, length and profile of the point all govern how far the hook point will penetrate into the flesh in and around the mouth of a fish. The barb is the projection extending backwards … Continue reading HOOK PENETRATION

TREBLE V SINGLE HOOKS ON LURES

Treble hooks – do they do more damage to fish than singles? I’ve recently received a few adverse comments about my use of treble hooks on lures. I took this criticism to heart and set out to see if there was a sound scientific basis to the proposition that treble hooks cause more damage to fish than single hooks. I found the answer to this … Continue reading TREBLE V SINGLE HOOKS ON LURES

SAM MOSSMAN – SPINNING WITH SOFT PLASTICS

About 30 years ago Sam Mossman wrote a seminal book on angling in New Zealand called Saltwater Sportfishing (ISBN #0 7900 0095 4). It was a ground breaking book that was years ahead of its time. Many of the things Sam discussed, and the techniques he suggested, are now common place whereas back in the day they were considered radical and innovative. He was a … Continue reading SAM MOSSMAN – SPINNING WITH SOFT PLASTICS