by Bruce Middleton, September 05, 2008

Light line fishing how to…

If you have ever been out on a lake and have gone for hours without so much as a bite, then it is time to try something new. Now on tough bite days a lot of us will down size our presentation but when it comes to fishing for bass there are about as many ways to go about it as you have lures and baits in your tackle box. But when it comes to getting the biggest bang for your buck, fishing with light gear is a real challenge you need to learn. This form of down sizing is just more than using smaller baits ad lures, it requires you to down size everything. Also with all the cold fronts that we experience her in Washington State it is a real go-to style for taking bass when no other method seems to getting you any results.

Now to start with going light involves a lot more than just using small poundage test lines. You also have to choose or include light tackle, light weights, a light rod and reel and a light touch. If you are going to go light, go light all the way as this is the only way to really down size correctly.

As for a rod, the use a fiberglass rod is not the best way to go with. Graphite and carbon fiber rods and long ones at that are the best choice for this kind of approach. A good 7 to 7 ½ foot rod is called for. This is because you are going to be using smaller and lighter baits and lures and this calls for a long limber rod to give you the casting distance you will need. A soft tip is all but a must have as this is what gives you the ability to cast light objects with ease. Now don’t let a medium soft (or some call it a fast action tip) tip keep you from having good backbone in the middle of the rod. Lets face it, a bass has a hard mouth and you will still need to set the hook on them with serious intent. But instead of a hard jerk you might normally use while bass fishing, with light gear you have to sweep the rod around so you don’t max out the line just setting the hook in one big jerk. A snapping hook set is one sure way to break the line and loose that fish.

Going light also means that you are going to be using an open face spinning reel or a push button closed face spinning reel style reel. These reels are made for light lines where as a bait casting reel is made more for heftier lines and baits. Spinning reels are made for light line fishing. While they can be used for heavier lines and tackle but they shine when it comes to lighter work. The line sails off the spool of a spinning reel with great ease and this helps eliminate drag that can cut your casting distance down when throwing a light plastic bait.

Going light is down sizing from your usual 12 to 25 pound test line down to 4, 6 or at the high end, 8 pound test line. These lines are very small in diameter and a lot tougher than you think. In this case the diameter of the line is more important than test poundage. Most all of us use fishing lines that are oversized to begin with so if we get into trouble we can really reef on the line and not break it. In fact most all bass fishermen use line that is too tough. It isn’t needed all the time and in fact can be a detriment. Fortunately we now have advanced lines are that are smaller in diameter for the given strength verses the test poundage. This has been a real benefit for all types of fishing and light line fishing is no exception. We can now buy light lines in the 6 pound range that have the diameter of 2-pound test line or less. And with light line the smaller the diameter the better. As an added bonus very small diameter line literally cuts through grass and weeds so you can take this gear into some of the nastiest places and still be able to fish it well. But look out for heavy cover like rocks and tree limbs as this is generally very abrasive and light line doesn’t hold up well when frayed. This is one place where you have to be diligent about checking your line for any frayed areas often. If you find a frayed area on the line, cut it off and retie the bait.

Bass have great and large eyes that don’t miss much when it comes to seeing details. So the smaller the line you use the harder you make it for the bass to see. Add to this fluorocarbon lines that are all but invisible under water and you have a combination for real success.

Add to all the above smaller bait and lure size and you get a combination of bass fishing gear that is very attractive to bass simply because they can’t see any lines in the water and smaller baits and lure are attractive to all sizes of bass and not a just a select size. But you will have to make some adjustments to the way you bass fish using this combination.

For one you will be using less drag than normal on your reel and more rod action to fight the fish with. By rod action I mean the flexibility of the rod tip and its properties to absorb shock and have more give or flex taking a lot of strain directly off the line. Keeping the rod up high while playing a bass is a must do. You have to use as much rod tip flexibility as possible in order to take as much of the strain off the line as you can. This can make a small bass look big when hooked and a big bass look huge. But if playing the bass once hooked turns you on then this method is for you.

Now I must add in at this point that knot strength becomes quite critical when fishing with light lines. Since any knot weakens the line it is important to use the best knots you can that reduces the line strength as little as possible. Palomar knots are easy to tie and they offer great knot strength as well as the improved clinch knot. These two knots will be the basics to know and learn how to tie correctly and not leave any curly areas in the line around the knot, as this is a sign of weakness in the line. This curly area is caused by friction when drawing tight the knot and stretches out the line, reducing its strength significantly. Lubricating the line before you cinch it down is mandatory. Any defect in the line around the knot can cause you to loose a fish and or your favorite bait or lure. Always test the knot after tying and look the knot and line over carefully before beginning to fish with it. Never settle for a knot that isn’t perfect. Retie any knot that doesn’t measure up.

So now that we have a light rod and reel, light line and have good knots tied, the next step is to decide what lure or bait you are going to use and why. I would say that plastics are probably the most common baits used with light line fishing although jigs, small mini spinner baits and other lures are used also. And with the number of ways in which you can rig plastics you really do have a wide array of looks, cadences and sizes.

Speaking of size of the baits, light line fishing is not for magnum baits. They are made for regular to very small baits. Now this can be worms, tubes, craws, frogs, soft swim baits and so on. Typically they are rigged Texas, Carolina, split shot, drop shot and weightless. All the other ways to rig them are used but these five are the most used. We also don’t use a lot of 5/0 hooks with this rig. 1/0 is probably the most common size used with a size or two up or down being included. Of course a drop shot rig uses a circle hook as opposed to a worm hook.

Because in most cases you are throwing a weightless rig or a very lightly weighted rig, it is an easier task to get a splashless entry. Light line rigs are perfect for bass fishing when the bass are holding tight to cover, spooky or have reduced strike zone. So between smaller baits, light line and a slow falling rate, this becomes a real go-to style during hot summer days and during a cold front situation.

As for the baits them selves, when fishing the top of the water down to just off the bottom, small tubes, small worms, swim baits and small frog shaped plastics are the most common baits thrown. By small tubes, I mean pencil thin tubes. Fatter tubes can be used with this style but you will find that short thin tubes will get you more strikes on average. Small thin tubes in fish colors attract bass because they actually look like small fish, especially if you match the colors to those baitfish the bass are used to seeing and feeding on. They can range in size from an inch up to four inches. They are interchangeable with swim baits and they both have the same look and profile. Worms also are on average this length too.

The most common presentations are weightless and Texas rigged. Weightless rigs are for surface fishing to just under the surface depending on if you are using floating or sinking plastics. With these two rigs soft sinking plastic baits are used most often. Any where there are a lot of weeds is a perfect place to use them. Texas rigged plastics are for fishing down the water column to bottom. They can be presented with a stop and go retrieve, where the plastic is felt to sink on slack line for a set amount of time then jerked suddenly and left to drift down again. This action mimics a wounded baitfish perfectly and it draws instinctive reaction bites from the bass. A Carolina rig can also be used this way but always use it with a floating plastic bait. This way when the line is pulled the bait dives down and then floats up slowly still mimicking a dying baitfish but with the drift going up instead of down. A Carolina rig is also a great way to present a wacky rigged plastic. Texas rigged also works well but remember to use as light a weight as you can get away with. In fact with a light line presentation the lightest weight you can get use is always preferred.

This brings up an additional thought, if you are using a light line approach it is mandatory that you reduce the speed of your retrieve by at least half. Far too many bass fishermen will fish these smaller baits at the same speed they do a regular sized rig. This is so wrong! You must slow down the presentation to a crawl or it just won’t look natural and this means less fish will bite it. Going slow is the only way to fish this style, so really slow down and move the baits so slow that it almost gives you an anxiety attack. Cold front bass are very lethargic and they need a lot of time to decide if they are going to bite the bait or not. Also recast into a likely area several times to make sure the bass have had several chances to bite.

This leaves you with all the other style rigs to play with and use with a light line style. It doesn’t differ from regular line fishing at all except you are using a lot less drag. When a bass has been hooked it then becomes a game of fighting the bass, trying to keep that bass out of areas that can damage the thin line and still having enough pull to reel him in. So it pays you to constantly check the reel drag and make sure you have it set just right.

If you are using a light line approach then you must check the drag constantly, check the line about every other cast, always check the knot for a perfect fit with no friction damage, use as little weight as possible if any at all, use smaller hooks, fish a whole lot slower and set the hook with a sweeping action and not a big jerk. These are the basics of going light and if you follow them you will greatly improve your odds of catching and boating bass. If you skip any one of these points you will regret it immensely.

Now all this doesn’t affect the color choices you apply to the bait or lure you use. Any of the normal colors you deem appropriate will work with this style and you don’t need to remember any special colors to use with this gear. You only have to remember to fish it a whole lot slower so your presentation looks just right to lethargic or spooky bass. By the way, this is also a great way to introduce live bait to the bass. We have all seen a huge bass setting under a dock or other place, that won’t react to any bait you throw at it because it has seen you and now has lockjaw. A real worm or a real crawfish can often get these bass to strike especially if you move it as little as possible once it is in the water. Just cast it out and let it set until the bass can’t take it any longer, watching live bait wiggle around and he just has to strike it out of habit. It may take a while but he will finally take the live bait every time. Just a thought you might try. This also applies to bass that have moved out from under cover and swim right under the boat. These bass will not follow the contour of the bottom, as it gets deeper. Instead they will swim off at the same depth they were at before they moved. I have tried every lure and bait I own to cast ahead of these moving bass and only a real worm or real crawfish has ever worked. Just a thought you might keep in mind.

There you have it, a quick look at light line fishing and some of the things you have to consider when using this style of fishing. Never look at it as a wimpy set up as it isn’t, it just a scaled down version of heavier tackle. I hope this quick look helps you when you decide to give it a try as it is really an effective tool when fishing during a cold front. With all the changes in weather we have up here in the Pacific Northwest we always seem to see more of this type of weather conditions than does most of the rest of the country. So it will pay you big dividends to learn how to fish this way correctly. Enjoy!


Bruce Middleton
bpmiddleton@peoplepc.com