Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
What are the fishing misconceptions that you wish people would stop believing or repeating? I'm talking about topics where credible/objective truths exist and it's not just intuition or personal opinions. But you feel that people are constantly getting it wrong, anyway. I'll start with two:
Jerkbait Suspension:
I'm tired of TW reviews that complain that Expensive-Jerkbait-A or Expensive-Jerkbait-B "is not suspending correctly". Every time I read that, I want to reply with something like "What line diameter did you throw it on? Fluoro or mono? What was the water temperature?" The myth of the jerkbait that suspends perfectly in all conditions is a misguided one; the tolerances on these baits are so small that it can't possibly suspend correctly on 16lbs fluoro in 39 degree water, and then also suspend perfectly on 10lbs mono in 80 degree water. The buoyancy is going to be totally different - that's just physics Of course some baits are also tuned to actually be slow-rising or slow-sinking, but at a base level, I wish people didn't forget the basics: fishing line pulls baits up/down, and water has different density (and viscosity, for that matter) at different temperatures. Of course that's going to affect the performance of each jerkbait, depending on conditions.
Red Fishing Line:
I'm also ready to retire the "red fishing line becomes invisible in deeper water" myth. Nothing could be further from the truth! As light hits water and the red lightwaves are filtered out (the more the deeper you go), red fishing line will lose its red coloration. That part is correct. But the line doesn't become invisible as less and less red light reaches the line, it starts looking grey and eventually black! As a result, red fishing line is actually very visible in deeper water because it's black and has a lot of contrast. So red line is usually one of the worst colors you can use if you're trying to be invisible underwater.
I have more, but let's save them for later What are yours?
Jerkbait Suspension:
I'm tired of TW reviews that complain that Expensive-Jerkbait-A or Expensive-Jerkbait-B "is not suspending correctly". Every time I read that, I want to reply with something like "What line diameter did you throw it on? Fluoro or mono? What was the water temperature?" The myth of the jerkbait that suspends perfectly in all conditions is a misguided one; the tolerances on these baits are so small that it can't possibly suspend correctly on 16lbs fluoro in 39 degree water, and then also suspend perfectly on 10lbs mono in 80 degree water. The buoyancy is going to be totally different - that's just physics Of course some baits are also tuned to actually be slow-rising or slow-sinking, but at a base level, I wish people didn't forget the basics: fishing line pulls baits up/down, and water has different density (and viscosity, for that matter) at different temperatures. Of course that's going to affect the performance of each jerkbait, depending on conditions.
Red Fishing Line:
I'm also ready to retire the "red fishing line becomes invisible in deeper water" myth. Nothing could be further from the truth! As light hits water and the red lightwaves are filtered out (the more the deeper you go), red fishing line will lose its red coloration. That part is correct. But the line doesn't become invisible as less and less red light reaches the line, it starts looking grey and eventually black! As a result, red fishing line is actually very visible in deeper water because it's black and has a lot of contrast. So red line is usually one of the worst colors you can use if you're trying to be invisible underwater.
I have more, but let's save them for later What are yours?
Last edited by Drakestar on Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
"This rod has a nice, parabolic bend..." ... parabola is a shape... all rods bend in the shape of a parabola... what they mean by that is moderate.
To that end "Action" does not equal "Power" ... Action refers to a rod's taper.
"You can balance the rod by putting a heavier reel on it..." - You don't balance an object by placing weight on the HOPEFUL balance point. Unless you're holding your combo in front of the reel, all you're doing is making your combo heavier. If balance is your goal, add counterweights to the end of the rod, or find a rod with the best balance you can for the application you have in mind.
To that end "Action" does not equal "Power" ... Action refers to a rod's taper.
"You can balance the rod by putting a heavier reel on it..." - You don't balance an object by placing weight on the HOPEFUL balance point. Unless you're holding your combo in front of the reel, all you're doing is making your combo heavier. If balance is your goal, add counterweights to the end of the rod, or find a rod with the best balance you can for the application you have in mind.
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Fishing at night requires dark noisy baits like big Colorado blade spinner baits that beat the drum. Nonsense. While I know noisy baits will work, there's been many times I've done very well on a pearl Super Fluke or a tube. Live prey doesn't get noisy after dark and the fish find it just fine. Fish what works for you during the day ... if that's a big noisy spinnerbait, fine, but don't be afraid to be subtle.
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Fishing at night requires vampire eyesuljersey wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:57 pmFishing at night requires dark noisy baits like big Colorado blade spinner baits that beat the drum. Nonsense. While I know noisy baits will work, there's been many times I've done very well on a pearl Super Fluke or a tube. Live prey doesn't get noisy after dark and the fish find it just fine. Fish what works for you during the day ... if that's a big noisy spinnerbait, fine, but don't be afraid to be subtle.
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Eh, this one is 50/50 to me as a given rod will "feel" more balanced the heavier the combo becomes, even if it's still tip-heavy. For an extreme example, a Super Red Demon is still really tip-heavy with a Ryoga 1520, but it feels 10x worse with a Pixy on itCal wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:28 pmYou can balance the rod by putting a heavier reel on it..." - You don't balance an object by placing weight on the HOPEFUL balance point. Unless you're holding your combo in front of the reel, all you're doing is making your combo heavier. If balance is your goal, add counterweights to the end of the rod, or find a rod with the best balance you can for the application you have in mind.
"Braid is more sensitive" it the one that really drives me insane, along with "Fluoro doesn't stretch". The second is really infuriating as its disproved the fist time you have to break off a snag.
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Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Fish have feelings.
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Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Mono stretches ~18%, mono stretches ~10%, braid has no stretch. I think those are objective truths. Braid is more sensitive though, isn't it? I thought that was objectively true, as well
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
if you're holding the combo the same way with either reel on there, I beg to differ but we can agree to disagreeHoundfish wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 4:55 pmEh, this one is 50/50 to me as a given rod will "feel" more balanced the heavier the combo becomes, even if it's still tip-heavy. For an extreme example, a Super Red Demon is still really tip-heavy with a Ryoga 1520, but it feels 10x worse with a Pixy on it
We disproved the stretch deal with fluoro years ago during our original Fluorocarbon Showdown.
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Only if your line isn't slack ... you can still feel that "tick" with fluoro on a slack line
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
I’m not sure where this falls in the spectrum but the snell hook being better for Flippin and pitching but if you flip or pitch a jig the hook never moves
Whatever a person’s preference is their preference and if you adapt that preference it doesn’t make it truth.
Whatever a person’s preference is their preference and if you adapt that preference it doesn’t make it truth.
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible
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Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
Braid is more sensitive during 99.9% of the fishing experience.
Define slack?
Even when braid has a slight bow in it you can still feel light taps it does have to be straight line tight.
I can throw out a 1/4oz jighead with 3.8" fat paddletail and feel hit on the fall with braid.
Dragging a lure across the bottom braid gives much more feedback than FC.
During the retrieve of the fish when hooked braid gives more feel to the fight the movement of the fish than FC mono.
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Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
I can feel my bait get taken on the fall more with fluoro than braid, especially when windy. If you're dragging a lure on bottom, the line is constantly tight. With no stretch, of course we will "feel more" with braid. Fighting the fish is the same thing, no slack and no stretch. I stopped fishing for walleye with braid. Especially on high wind days, where a huge bow in the line is created. No way you're going to feel a walleye with braid in those conditions. They spit that bait the instance they detect weight. Braid doesn't transmit feedback like fluoro does if there's slack in the line due to different properties. It can even feel rather dead at times.QUAKEnSHAKE wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:05 pmBraid is more sensitive during 99.9% of the fishing experience.
Define slack?
Even when braid has a slight bow in it you can still feel light taps it does have to be straight line tight.
I can throw out a 1/4oz jighead with 3.8" fat paddletail and feel hit on the fall with braid.
Dragging a lure across the bottom braid gives much more feedback than FC.
During the retrieve of the fish when hooked braid gives more feel to the fight the movement of the fish than FC mono.
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Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
How about the Senko is the best bait ever. "You don't work them, they work for you" .
Re: Fishing Misconceptions That You Wish Would Die
When 10 inch pieces of line are tested on an Instron device braided line stretches at about 2-3%. This is so low that it is in fishing practically unnoticeable. Another interesting thing is the way FC line and Mono line stretch they seem to exhibit very different curves, Mono seems to be more parabolic where FC tends to less stretch on the frontend and then becomes more and more parabolic as it reaches breaking strength. Just an observation.