Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Josh is right! I love UL and I still use it for the proper target.  I would say that I still fish with lighter equipment than most but it has a backone. As an example, I use a 6' spinning ST. Croix Premier stick that is MHF for big stripers (CBBT). It's light but sturdy and it does the trick!

I did catch a 20 inch striper the other day using UL but I was able to use the boat and net to bring him in...until I saw the sores!

Novahunter:
I too am an ultralight lover. However, I lose very few fish on these rods. I am careful to choose UL rods with a fast tip and a good amount of backbone. My spinning rods are 4 1/2 foot Fenwick G145s. I have caught many, many Baltimore Bluefish in the 15-20# class on them in addition to smallmouth to 7 pounds, channel catfish to 19 pounds, a 5# flounder, stripers and untold numbers of white & yellow perch, hickory, gizzard & American shad, shellcrackers, crappie and even a couple of carp.  I found that 6-7 foot UL rods are made with parabolic action, meaning that the rod bends all the way from the butt to the tip. My Fenwicks only bend in the top half of the rod. This leaves plenty of backbone to set the hook.

On the baitcasting side, I use Bud Ehrhardt 4 1/2 foot UL rods for spinnerbaits and small crankbaits. I have pulled 6# largemouth bass out of buck brush on Buggs Island lake.  Again, these rods have a fast tip, but a stiff butt with lots of power.

The key to UL fish is sweepset the hook rather than a powerful "cross his eyes" type set. When you give a violent hookset with UL equipment, all you are doing is bending the rod and pulling the stretch out of the line. Very, very little pressure is present at the hook point.

I used to do demonstrations at various fishing meetings and shows concerning this point. Prove it to yourself. Take a canvas bag with 10# of sinkers in it. Place it on the floor a good cast away from you. Take a good medium heavy rod, tie a jighead on it and hook it in the bag. Back off a good cast, drop the rod tip and lay a "cross the eyes" hookset on the bag. You will find that the bag will not move more than a foot at most.

Next, take a jighead and tie it on the ultralight rod. Hook it in the bag and back off a good cast. Drop the rod tip, take up slack and just pull the rod to your side. You don't have to do it fast, just steady. You will find that the bag moves across the floor 3-5 feet. This is because you are pulling steady rather than jerking. The rod does not have to bend and the line doesn't stretch as much. Thus, most of the force applied is present at the hook point.

I always set the drag on my UL reels by pulling directly out from the front of the reel. I do not use a scale, just pull. If I can pull line out easily with a little bit of resistance, it is o.k. Once I set the hook, I NEVER TOUCH THE DRAG. I also have never had to backreel, even on the biggest fish. Obviously, reels with good drags are required. I have been very happy with Shimano "100" series and ABU-Garcia spinning reels and ABU-Garcia baitcasting reels. Excellent drags on all these.

Good luck..........
Charlie NHBA

i agree w/ charlie

i caught a 6.8 lmb this spring on 4# test
i played that fish a long time

i caught another 6.0 bass a few years ago on 6 # line

now if there isnt heavy cover present, and you have a good nickless line and knot, you are in business

if you can consistently pull a big bass out of heavy cover w/ UL, you are a better man than me.

i appreciate the reminder on hooksetting technique as well
this has been an achilles heal for me this year

the UL makes the shorter types bales of fun.
i was saying the other day how much higher the little ones can jump on the light stuff
the bursts of power make it more fun than a hawg on MH gear

looked like jasper landed a 20" smallie the other day on 4# line
that is some angling prowess

for me , as long as i am prepared to possibly lose the fish of a lifetime, the UL is a great option
seems to result in mores bites from inactive bass as well

Folks....this is better than any bass magazine out there...I hope you are taking notes!

Most of us are fishing vegetation and most of it very thick. The same principle applies to fishing this type of heavy cover. Once a fish has been hooked, it will fight to get as far back into the cover as possible. The line will prevent it from going too far as the grass will bunch up on the line and create a barrier in front of the fish.

Most anglers will continue pulling on the line, trying to "horse" the fish into the open and then into the boat. The smarter anglers will just keep a little tension on the line and take the boat to the fish. Once that fish is buried in the grass where it cannot see, it will cease fighting.

Last summer I was fishing a tournament when my partner hooked a 6#+ bass. As he was fighting the bass, it buried up in the grass. We took the boat to the fish and as we approached with the net, I noticed the fish with it's head buried in the grass. While placing the net below the fish, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, the lure.....sitting on top of the grass about 4-5 feet from the fish. That fish had thrown the lure and buried it's head in the grass. It probably did not know that it was no longer hooked.

Along that same vein, there are very many stories about how fast you need to set the hook when you feel a bass on the end of the line. I have read lots of stories about how fast a bass will expel a bait after determining that it is fake. While I believe that this is true once the fish determines that the bait is fake, I also believe that this does not apply to soft plastic baits AS LONG AS THE FISH DOES NOT FEEL PRESSURE ON THE LINE!

I frequently like to retest my theory on this by cutting off the bend of the hook and just pushing the hook shank into the plastic worm. I then toss the worm into an isolated patch of grass and shake it a little. Once a bass picks up the worm, it becomes a contest to get the fish to the side of the boat with no hook holding it. I usually manage to do this about 8 out of 10 times. These bass will not let go of a plastic bait once they pick it up, UNLESS THEY FEEL UNDUE PRESSURE ON THE LINE! I use 4#-6# line for this and gently pull the bait toward the boat. The fish just comes along, evidently thinking that the worm is swimming. I have netted many fish in this manner, but the key is to demonstrate that a bass will not automatically spit out a soft plastic bait the minute it hits the back of their mouth. You have plenty of time. My normal procedure when I feel a strike, is to drop the rod tip and take up slack, leaving a slight bow in the line. I wait until the fish takes out the balance of the slack in the line before setting the hook. When the line goes straight and I feel weight on the end of the line, I set the hook. Unless it is a bluegill, perch or crab, that fish is still there, even though I may have waited over a minute before setting the hook.

Sorry for being so longwinded. Just the guide/teacher in me.

Charlie NHBA