| So you think you have done ultra-light fishing- I | | | | you are catching a lot of fish- I had 36 the first |
| bet you haven't. I say that becauseof my trip to | | | | day, change your hooksoften to keep them very |
| the World Championships of fishing in Coimbra, | | | | sharp when using ultralight hooks. One of the |
| Portugal where Ilearned the true meaning of | | | | major factorsin the hooks breaking was the |
| ultralight. When I fished against 185 anglers from | | | | tough beaks that the mullets had. Their jaws are |
| 37different nations, I learned that ultralight meant | | | | builtfor pinching and plucking bits of food from |
| line that is around 1/2 pound,fishing a hook the | | | | between rocks- |
| size of an eyelash, using a bait the thickness of 2 | | | | The line was an entirely different story. When |
| eyelashes -ultralight ! | | | | people say their line is as thin asspider-web, they |
| Ok, so you have not fished ultralight, I win the | | | | have never truly fished ultralight. The line we used |
| bet. When I fished in the World | | | | was so thinthat one bump of the pole would snap |
| Championships, I too thought a little 4' ultralight | | | | it in half. The diameter of the line was .07and your |
| with 4 lb. test or wow, 2 lb. testwas the stealth | | | | average 4 lb. line is .20 and falls outside of the |
| way to fish. This was quickly dispelled as I fished | | | | ultralight category. This isnot to say that 4 lb. test |
| local competitionswith 1 lb. fishing line and until my | | | | is not light when dealing with cover, toothy fish or |
| trip to Portugal, that was pretty stealthy. | | | | largerfish, but for my money, .20 line is really thick |
| The competition in Portugal was vs. the top | | | | line. |
| anglers in the world- guys that wouldmake our | | | | Why the need for ultralight equipment so |
| Bassmasters look like AmeteurMasters - (many | | | | extreme? I wanted to go fly fishing. No,not with a |
| of them). The fishingcompetions there are intense | | | | giant hairy fly, but an actual fly larva. Midge fly |
| with all 185 anglers lining the shores of this canal | | | | larva or "bloodworm" werethe key bait in our |
| andmany using 42 foot poles with 1/2 lb. test line. | | | | competition. I said earlier the hook was thinner |
| The fish that were available to uswere pretty | | | | than an eyelash,the bait was not much more thick |
| delicate feeders that eat very tiny organisms. | | | | than an eyelash. These tiny red larvae are |
| Yes, there were larger fishin the river, but those | | | | delicateto put on the hook. While I didn't need a |
| that were available in large numbers, were the | | | | microscope- I did need to lean over andget real |
| smaller fish. | | | | close to put a couple on the hook. Getting the |
| World-level competitions are 3 hours long and are | | | | hook in without poppingtheir skin was key as a |
| fished from shore where anglersattempt to fill | | | | successful hookup meant that the bait would |
| their keep nets (live fish bags that go down into | | | | wiggle aroundand the fish would respond. A midge |
| the water) with asmuch weight as possible. One | | | | fly larva looks much like a mosquito larva andif |
| spot to fish from, catch as many fish as you can | | | | you have never seen that- picture a half a pencil |
| tobuild your weight. If these anglers tried to go | | | | lead (ultralight). |
| just for big fish, the results would bebad for | | | | While the average angler will never experience |
| most. | | | | ultralight fishing, out there lies manytactics and |
| When using ultralight hooks, we employed size 22 | | | | techniques that are available to you. One thing I |
| & size 24 hooks. Hook sizes getsmaller as | | | | did learn was to not getsettled in with my fishing |
| the numbers go higher so to get an idea of how | | | | knowledge and to always keep looking for new |
| small this hook is- findyour largest eyelash. The | | | | ways to gofishing. The one thing I did learn is that |
| hooks we used were a very thin wire and yes, | | | | sometimes if you fish heavy, you may betipping |
| they are verydelicate. Twice during my first 3 | | | | off the fish. When I fish near home in Chicago, I |
| hours of World Championship competition, I | | | | now fish light and some ofmy biggest fish caught |
| brokethe point off of my hook and had to get a | | | | including a 9 lb. walleye were taken on 3 lb. line |
| fresh hook and leader rigged up. A goodidea when | | | | and size 14hook- ultralight. |