It might sound trite, but each year I make a fishing-related New Year’s resolution. In 2011, I’m upping the ante and making two. One is a lofty goal that will certainly take longer than a calendar year to perfect. I’m just hoping to get the basics down and begin to feel comfortable. The other is simple and can hopefully be conquered within a few weeks.
My simple fishing resolution is to learn to properly tie a fluorocarbon leader to braided line. Two years ago, my resolution was to begin using braid. Last year, it was to bring fluorocarbon into play. Now I want the best of both worlds. I want the strength and manageability of braid with the translucent properties of fluoro. I’ve tried a bunch of knots (Palomar, Uni) and I’ve even tried swivels, but the knots will either slip or the swivels will interfere with my casts. I’m thinking I’ll attempt the Surgeon’s Knot, the Double Uni and possibly the Alberto Knot. And I’m very open to reader recommendations.
The main reason I want to learn to tie fluoro to braid is because I want to become a flipper. Check that, I need to learn to flip; it’s my lofty goal. And because the nearby lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin are largely clear, I can’t just use braid. I fished a Weekend Series event last year on a lake where there was just enough matted milfoil where flipping (or “plunking” as it’s called up here) was clearly the deal. But I don’t know the first thing about flipping (I can hear our southern readers laughing). I was raised with a spinning rod in my hand and just about the only time I even use a baitcaster is for winding big deep-diving crankbaits or musky bucktails. I was at a clear disadvantage in that tournament and I didn’t like how it felt.
I brought up this topic with several knowledgeable fishermen and they convinced me that I absolutely need to learn this technique. They said after getting your first bite, you’ll never go back as flipping completely changes the way you fish. You begin to feel how the bait falls through the grass. And when the fall doesn’t feel quite right, a bass is probably holding your bait. That feeling and subsequent power hook set is so much fun it causes addiction. So cheers to a New Year and to continuing to get better as fishermen. By this time next year I hope to be a plunking fool.