Spring clean your fishing tackle and scratching tactics

SPRING CLEAN UP
With fishing in most areas fairly quite now, this is the traditional time for spring-cleaning your tackle. I keep fishing without any break, so my kit needs constant attention on the "little and often" theme.

My rods get washed monthly in soapy water and when dry given two coats of car wax polish. This keeps salt at bay and protects the blank a little. Alloy reel spools are stripped of line, washed in petrol and then soapy water, and again given a light rub over with wax polish. It doesn't harm the line but helps protect the spool from salt left on the line after fishing.

Giving your tackle a good scrub up

Discarded rigs are stripped, the good bits salvaged and the rest discarded. I carry six rigs of each type for normal shore fishing, but double that for rough ground rigs.

Headlamp connections and leads get a good going over and spare bulbs checked. The lens is removed and cleaned with warm soapy water and left to dry before refitting.

My main tackle boxes and rock rucksack are emptied monthly, washed to get the sand out, and WD40 applied to the hinges. Long nosed pliers work best if you occasionally soak them in diesel, wash them in petrol to get the smell off and then lubricate with WD 40.

I check my small accessory boxes and top up light items like swivels, hooks, line and leads on a weekly basis. I only carry what I need, so regular restocking is essential.

This simple maintenance plan is now routine and keeps my kit and confidence in top form.

TIPS AND TRICKS
I met Bill Harriman, a retired mechanic from Chester on Pwllheli Beach recently and he suffers from arthritis in the hands and was finding getting his rod apart at the end of session difficult. He tells me he got round the problem by fitting 6 inch lengths of shrink tube either side of the spigot joint which gives him much better grip without effecting rod performance.

Clued up tournament casters use furniture polish to polish the lips of spools on fixed spool reels to minimise friction. Even alloy spools benefit.

SCRATCHING TACTICS

Scratching for what you can get

First off, if you have plenty of room between you and the other anglers choose a lightish plain lead rather than a wired one and let it roll around with the tide flow in a big arc slowly bringing it back inshore. Do this by keeping the rod in the hands and retrieving a little line as it goes slack. This moving bait attracts static fish as it passes by, but also locates small fish holding areas that static casts are less likely to do.

Night tides in darkness will be much more productive than fishing in daylight. Fish move closer to shore under the cover of darkness, especially in shallow water.

On shallow marks, try to fish either side of low water. Fish don't move far at this time of year, as water temps are still cold and food fairly scarce. By fishing low water you are putting baits over ground more likely to hold resident fish. Fishing high water makes you more reliant on fish moving inshore to feed, which wastes their energy for little reward.

In calm seas and daylight, drop the strength of your hooks snoods to just 10lb clear mono. Also go down to size 6 hooks, maybe 8's if need be. Lighter snoods and smaller baits act more naturally than large ones, plus semi dormant fish may just be sparked in to taking a titbit but not a full snack.

Blow lug, peeler crab, mackerel and mussel can all catch but tip these with harbour ragworm tails to add movement. Small white rag is excellent in daylight and clear seas.