Fishing life hack is maybe the most fun and entertaining form of discussion among anglers. We all like these little tricks that help catch more fish and save money. And in this economy, every possible way to save some money, to make a plastic bait last longer is welcome. No more delay, let’s jump right in:
The first fishing life hack relates to decay or braking spinnerbait skirt bands. It has been the bane of spinnerbait fishing for ages. Modern hand-tied or improved material for bands has largely solved this problem. But the good old spinnerbait of the old days still catch fish as well if not better than premium spinnerbaits. After trying many materials and replacement bands, I found that O ring gaskets are the best solution. It’s pretty much indestructible and very cheap. It allows for skirts to be swapped to match current conditions and its round shape gives more volume and spring than any other band.
Buy a selection of a few sizes to match your spinnerbait skirt collar. You can then use a similar tool for putting the band on as you would use for a wacky rig, just smaller. I use a discarded Bic pen, get the skirt in the tube and slide the ring over the skirt!
I fish a lot of weightless soft plastics, and I go through a lot of lures, Senkos, Flukes, and other baits. However it can be frustrating to waste a lure on a small fish. To fix that you can insert the spring found in a retractable ball pen in the nose of the bait. It only takes about ½” of the spring, then thread the hook through and voilà! The same trick can be used for a wacky rig just insert the spring 90° from the bait. It can also work for nose hooking a worm on a drop shot rig.
The next fishing life hack is again for the drop shot rig. I find nose hooking is the best presentation. But these super-thin hooks tear very easily through the soft plastic of most finesse worms. For this hack, you will need a heavy fluorocarbon line and a lighter. Cut about a 1” piece of FC, and burn one end to create a little ball. Thread the line through the bait across the head about ¼” from the tip.
Cut the line at about 3mm of the plastic. Compress the bait slightly with your fingers and burn the other end of the line to create another ball. Thread your hook just behind the line inside the head of the bait. It even creates little eyes for extra visual effects. It also works to help keep chunk trailer on a jig hook.
Most drop shot weights are equipped with these ridiculous little pinchers. It’s supposed to save some time for clipping on the weight on the line rather than tying a knot. That’s good and well but more often than not, the clip will damage the line. And any extra tension will cut the line resulting in a lost weight. To prevent that, I slightly open the clip with a knife. But be very gentle, the metal has been stressed and it can break very easily. Then just tie your line and it will hold on a lot better. In case of a real snag, you still have a 99% chance of breaking the line at the knot. You will be saving your worm and hook.
The last fishing life hack helps when fishing a Texas rig. You probably use one of those little rubber stop to keep the weight from sliding up and down the line. Maybe you left them at home or ran out, not a problem, you can make one on the go with just a piece of about 10” of line. You can even add it on your rig at any time.
Just tie a simple uni-knot wrap on the main line. Tighten it snugly and it will slide with just enough effort. On the sinker side, cut it close to the knot to provide a stiff barb that will effectively keep it from sliding. On the other side, give it a good inch of tag line, that way it won’t catch little debris when fished around grass.
Finally, I hope you found these fishing life hack useful. Please consider sharing with your friends!
