There he is! Ahh man he’s a big one too,  get the net!  What the hell? Dude that fish just came off. 

Have you ever been in that situation?

Sometimes fishin doesn’t always turn out the way you want it. Even with the seasoned anglers, mishaps will and still can happen. Even some of the smallest details that are sometimes overlooked, may jog your memory as to why your standing there lookin at your buddy holding an empty net,  but don’t sweat it! It can happen to the best of us. To this day I  can remember most every big fish Ive lost do to anglers neglect of the small details and wondered and dreamed as just to how big he was. Just last week i had my memory jogged real good, with a lesson that i learned long ago in a similar situation, and i knew better but for some reason this day i had overlooked the small detail of checking my hook point before i placed it in the river, resulting in a big fish not getting hooked. Thinkin what the hell just happened, i pulled my line in to inspect it to see if the line broke or what and as i got the bait in my hand, i see a big scale from the herring i was using for bait stuck to the point of my circle hook, which didnt allow it to penatrate the fishes mouth.  i learned this lesson a long time ago, but didnt pay attention to one of the small details that had haunted me once before, a lesson learned but apparently neglected and now im standing in the middle of my boat with a dumb look on my face, like danm i knew better than that. 

so in this article im gonna re-visit some small details that when put in play together will definently increase your chances of landing that trophy catfish.

1.  SET YOUR DRAG BEFORE YOU SET YOUR BAIT:

For some reason when you dont use your reels for a few days especially weeks, the star drag will stick or lock, and not work properly when needed. One way to prevent a loss of a trophy catfish is to check your drag on every fishing trip. I like to grab my line before I set my baits and pull the line out with my hands, breaking loose the drag from being sticky so that im sure the drag will fuction properly just incase a big fish decides to hit.  now you dont want it to be too loose of course,  you want to make it tough for a fish to pull your drag but not so tight that he pulls your rod holder off your boat or breaks your line. So you definently dont want it locked down tight. Once youve got the rig in your hands and your fighting the fish, you can then start to re-adjust your drag if needed.

2. BE SURE TO CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK YOUR LINE AND KNOTS

Periodictly throughout your trip be sure to check your knots and line for freys and abrasions, especially the mainline where the sinker slides up and down on your fishing main line. The first 2-3 foot of main line will take the most beating so when you retie be sure to cut a little extra line off to get above the worn line.  Also inspect the leader material for abrasions due to getting hung up on  structure on the bottom and pulling it loose, this will also weaken the leader line.  Also be sure to tie the knots properly, dont take shortcuts, if the knot you tie requires 5 twist and back through the loop, dont get in a hurry and just twist it 3 times and back though the lopp and expect it will hold.

3. HOOK INSPECTION

Be sure the point of your hook doesn’t have a scale attatched to it after you’ve threaded it on the hook, and be careful as to what bait cut you use. Bait cut a certain way will sometimes hook back on it self and cause the hook point to be buried in the bait rather than the point extruding from the bait. just spin the bait cut around on your hook , if it acts like it would be able to hook back into the bait, re hook it in a way that will not be able to hook back into itself. There no getting around it, you just ain’t catfishing if you don’t get hung up from time to time, and this will sometimes cause your hook points to get dull or bend, so be sure to inspect the hook point thoroughly and sharpen as needed through out your fishing day. 

LESSONS LEARNED 

Sometimes we lose sight of the little things or just take for granted that every thing will go our way.  Nothing is ever guaranteed in fishing  but a little preventive maintenance can make the difference between takin photo’s or cussin like a sailor. These are just a few small details that Ive learned over the years that may help some of you NOT lose a fish of a lifetime and also help some recall the small details that also caused you to jump up and down in your boat because you lost what you felt on the other end of your line.