From the
folks at Cape Cod Outdoors. The best, area specific, outdoor site.
From the
folks at Cape Cod Outdoors. The best, area specific, outdoor site.Everything is relative. So too "ultra-light".
Ultra-light (UL) for giant bluefin tuna may be 30 pound test. Ultra-light
for yellow perch may be 1 pound test (ever see this stuff? It's spooky it's
so fine.).
For the purpose of this article, we'll consider a saltwater ultralight line
for stripers, blues and bonito to be about eight pound test. Freshwater
ultralight for perch to largemouths to be four pound test. This is just
a jumping off point and should serve our purpose of exploring the advantages
and limitations of UL.
The first practical limitation of ultralight is line strength versus lure
weight. This means a line that won't break on the cast but can withstand
the run and head shake of a fish heavier than the line's tensile strength.
In saltwater, eight pound test line has a practical lure weight limit of
about 3/4 of an ounce. Exceed that weight and you will frequently snap the
line on the cast using a seven foot pole and some wrist strength. Still,
this line can land a thirty pound fish or better given a light drag and
patience.
In freshwater, four pound test line is really at the heavy end of UL and
can handle a 1/2 ounce lure on a short and whippy four foot UL rod. But
where UL shines in freshwater is casting tiny spoons and spinners weighing
as little as 1/24 of an ounce and jigs as light as 1/32 or smaller (for
the really tiny ones you may have to drop to three or even two pound test).
Whoa, you say. That light line and those tiny lures are hard to use and
harder to land a big fish on. Why go untralight at all? Good question.
The good answer is that while many fish leap for the opportunity to get
a mouthful of forage, they habitually have to settle for bits of this and
that.
Bits? Freshwater bits are mosquito larvae size stuff, tiny snails and the
flies and beetles that land on the water's surface. Saltwater bits are tiny
grass shrimp, sand eels, sea worms, crabs and chubs. Since these bits are
their usual diet, the fish are most inclined to bite without hesitation
at these smallest of meals or lures.
It works out that in general, where you can catch three fish on the big
stuff, you'll catch ten on the UL. And that's when they're biting. When
they're spooked or uncomfortably or fed up, UL is the only method that may
work to trigger a strike.
A quick example. Under the midday sun you can frequently see stripers lounging
around shallow bars or the bottoms of channels. Can you get 'em to bite
on anything? Sometimes not even bait. But tie a 3" sluggo or an 1/8
ounce white marabou jig on the UL and twitch this within their sight and
you are back in business with follows and strikes.
The reason for this is that their experience and genetics direct them to
the easy catch of tiny prey. Your lure just doesn't have a chance at getting
away. Darn.
Another good example is perch fishing in the spring. Small yellow wet flies
and pieces of garden worms work well on these early season fish. Checking
their stomach contents shows tiny yellow/brown chironomids about 3mm across.
Match these colors in a 1/64 ounce jig and you can leave the bait at home.
What these examples show is that the key to ultralight is your ability to
tease a fish into biting out of instinct with no hesitation at all. To do
this you need to toss out a very small offering and work it back with just
a bit of the right action.
Lets take a look at matching ultralight tackle and lures to the fishing
conditions.
Freshwater UL rods have become wonderful tools in the past fifteen years.
The cost has decreased too. In the early eighties a good ultralight graphite
stick cost about a hundred dollars. Today you can find that same quality
rod for about forty.
The usual length is four and a half feet with a very fast "light action".
You want that very soft tip to cushion the line on the cast and to give
you the feel of the lure at a distance. The stiff spine allows you to set
the hook with a light drag and still fight bigger fish without bending the
rod much more than 90 degrees.
An ultralight reel is a thing of beauty. Fin-Nor has one coming out that
is gold and titanium plated for about $600.00 but you can get a good Shimano
or Diawa for about fifty dollars. (Why Japanese? They simply produce the
best small gearing around.)
Matching the reel to the rod is important. With two fingers on each side
of the reel post, the rod ought to balance horizontally in your open hand.
This will allow you to cast more accurately and fish with more feel for
what your lure is doing.
Drag is everything in a UL reel and it should be as smooth as silk with
no jerks or hesitations when you pull the line off by hand. The line strength
you choose is up to your risk tolerance.
If you are fishing only perch and sunfish and small trout then two pound
test may be enough and will let you cast smaller lures farther and get better
lure action. But if you think you might tackle a few largemouths or bronzebacks,
an occasional pickerel or the larger brown trout, then four pound test is
indicated.
Lure choice ends up depending upon what you discover by experience you have
the best feel for working. But to start, put together a selection of the
following:
1) Marabou jigs in white and yellow, 1/8 to 1/32 of an ounce.
2) Spinners (roostertail or vibrax), white/chrome 1/8 to 1/24 oz.
3) Spoons (acme fiord) in 1/8 to 1/16 oz. Silver & Gold.
4) Balsa plugs, floating, the smallest you can find, silver & gold.
5) Tiny snaps. (Swivels aren't necessary if you allow the line to unwind
at the end of your retrieve when using spinners and they can actually hurt
lure action.)
This should get you started out on the water successfully for everything
we have in our Cape ponds.
Saltwater ultralight is essentially just a step up from the
freshwater gear. Rods will be longer, in the six to seven foot size but
still have a very fast "light action". Reels can be the same as
you use for freshwater but with the slightly heavier line, 8 pound test,
that you may need for the occasional bonito, big blue or keeper striper.
While UL in freshwater is often meant to be used to catch the
smaller species alone, UL in saltwater is sometimes the only means of catching
the biggest fish around.
As I mentioned above, stripers under the noon sun can often
be teased up to a sluggo. This is true when sight fishing the flats too.
In addition, bonito and false albacore sometimes show a distinct preference
for the smaller lures that are very hard to cast any distance on standard
spinning tackle.
Putting together a collection of the following will prepare you
for whatever you are chasing on the water.
1) Sluggo, 3 to 4 1/2 inch, alewife color.
2) Fiord spoon, 5/8 ounce, blue/chrome.
3) Deadly Dick, 3/4 oz long., green & blue.
4) Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, 1/2 oz. blue/silver.
5) Bucktail jigs, 1/8 - 1/4 oz, white.
These lures will work for the schoolies and tuna you are bound to want to
try for and can handle the keepers you may tie into. If you are looking
to catch bluefish, you will need to add a steel leader, 6" and 10 pound
test is enough.
Ultralight technique is beyond the scope of this article but a few
principles are nearly universal.
Successful ultralight fishing in any water is a lot about stealth. But you
don't have to belly crawl up on the fish to be successful. Just walk softly
or drift within range and cast gently.
Use the smallest lure you can comfortably cast the distance you need to
reach the fish. This is always a tradeoff and your judgement is supreme.
Retrieve slowly, remember you offering is small and therefore slower by
nature. Always be prepared for the strike.
Play your catch easily with a light drag to patiently bring it to hand.
Follow these guidelines and you will open up a whole new world of fishing
fun. One filled with lots of catching and titannic struggles.
Fishing success is so much more common and so much more entertaining using
ultralight tackle, that you may find it hard to go back to your medium spinning
tackle. Ultralight bridges the gap between spinning and flyfishing, while
taking advantage of the best of both.
After ultralight, your old boat rod may feel like a pool cue with a bumper
winch on it. Of course, there are times when such things are handy too.
But not always.
Give ultralight a try when the fishing is tough and you'll find yourself
catching while others are complaining.
Check the fishing reports for up to the minute info and ask at the local tackle shops.
Hiring a charter guide to find blues is always a cinch. This year you might even find a record.
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