The Lucky Cabin

Clinton J Veasey of the Devon Angling Centre tells you how to find the correct fishing tackle

Fishing has become a popular sport and hobby. A lot of people go on fishing trips regularly throughout the year. One of the most important things that you’ll need to buy is carp tackle and you should find a range of options online and in stores.

If you’re interested in buying carp tackle then there will be a few things that you’ll need to think about before you go shopping. Firstly, you’ll need to consider a budget for your purchases and it’s actually easier than you may have first thought, to work out how much you’ll need to spend.

Go to your favourite search engine, whether it’s Google or somewhere else, and type in products that you’re looking for. You should also have a pen and paper with you so that you can write down the prices as you go. Once you have a list of prices you should easily be able to work out a realistic budget.

Make a note of offers and deals as you browse the web and make sure that you keep an eye on the quality of products. You want to ensure that you don’t opt for the cheapest price without considering quality. If you do this, you could end up with low quality products that won’t last you very long.

It can be quite tempting to opt for the lowest prices but keep quality in mind. You may also want to consider heading into your local fishing store to see what they have on offer. However, only do this once you’ve got a good idea of what’s available online.

Buying online will give you access to a much larger range of products and usually the prices are better as well. Just make sure that you prioritise buying online because it’s so much easier to get good deals when compared with shopping on the high street.

Overall, as long as you do your research, buying carp tackle should be easy. It’s simple to find offers online but you’ll have to ensure that you keep your wits about you and look out for deals that could be too good to be true. Keep a pen and paper with you when you’re browsing online so that you can make a note of the offer that you like the look of.

Are You Losing Fish Because Your Hook Isn’t Sharp?

One of the things many fishermen neglect is hook care. Have you ever lost a big fish that was on and wondered why? Maybe, your hook wasn’t sharp.

If you fish brushpiles, gravel beds, rockpiles, log jams, bridge pilings, timber and boat docks you need to check your hooks for sharpness. A sharpening tool should be a regular part of your tackle box. If you’re on your way to fish and don’t have a sharpener go to a drug store and get a diamond-dust nail file at a drug store. It’s important to check your hooks sharpness every time you get snagged.

Here is the way I test my hooks for sharpness:
Grab the shank of the hook in one hand and gently put the point on your thumbnail, don’t apply any force or pressure whatsoever. Now, try and move the hook across your thumbnail, if the point digs in then the hook is sharp.

I also use this method for my pocket knife to test it’s sharpness.

Sharp hooks can make your fishing trip a success or failure. The big one doesn’t have to get away when you have a sharp hook.

Charles E. White has fished for bass for almost 50 years. He has fished from
Florida to California and has caught more than 6,000 bass in his lifetime. His
biggest bass is 12 pounds 14 ounces.

Charles has owned two tackle stores in his lifetime and taught dozens of people to fish for bass.

He now resides in Ohio.
Charles is webmaster for: www.bassfishingweekly.com