After a slow day of trolling Saturday (1 release) we decided Sunday was the day to try to get a first sail for Madison (my 6 year old daughter) given the amount of bait we had seen. Live bait fishing for us means switching to spinning reels, Shimano Bait Runner 4500's, and with circle hooks it's a good combination for any angler. The circle hooks have resulted in far fewer fish 'jumping off' so we feel they're very forgiving should the angler not be able to keep the line tight. For Madison we backed the drags off to about 3 lbs.
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Well the fish cooperated. We located several in shallow water, and what started as dirty green started bluing up later in the morning. She got her first, second and third, with one other jumping off. All IGFA legal- all she had to do was pick up the rod and click off the bait runner drag, keep the rod tip low and let the fish come tight. With circle hooks I could run the boat up to the point of putting slack on the line. Perfect combo for anglers learning.
Well the fish cooperated. We located several in shallow water, and what started as dirty green started bluing up later in the morning. She got her first, second and third, with one other jumping off. All IGFA legal- all she had to do was pick up the rod and click off the bait runner drag, keep the rod tip low and let the fish come tight. With circle hooks I could run the boat up to the point of putting slack on the line. Perfect combo for anglers learning.
Contributed by T. Wichers
