Outdoors with Don Q: Don't understand rule No. 2? See rule No. 1

With winter weather creeping around the corner, and with many California waters closed for the year as of November 15, this is an annual reminder for those fishermen who are done fishing for the year.

Many of you prefer not to fish during the winter months or have absolutely no interest in ice fishing, so this article is specifically written for you. (Hmmm, come to think of it, this article is also worth reading by those of you who plan to continue fishing until the weather warms back up, again).

With the above information as a lead-in, this is a good time of the year to spend a quiet Saturday or Sunday, working on your fishing equipment and getting everything neat and organized. Here are some Don Q suggestions on what you might want to do:

Fishing Rod:
Clean your rod with soap and water to get rid of any grime.
Check all the eyes to make sure that they do not have any line groves, and if they do have groves, replace the eyes (or have someone else do it for you) to avoid any problems in the future.

Fishing Reel:
If you know what you are doing, and only if you know what you are doing, carefully take your reel apart and oil and/or lube all of the necessary locations, and replace any worn parts.
If you don’t know what you are doing, take your reel to an expert who can do it for you. You won’t regret it.

Fishing Line:
Rule No. 1: Remove all of your fishing line and throw it away.
Rule No. 2: If you don’t understand Rule No. 2, go back to Rule No. 1.
Fishing line is cheap and easy to replace.
Why take a chance on your old line breaking when you are busy fighting a trophy-sized fish?
We use 6-pound test monofilament line on all of our reels, and always replace our line a minimum of 3-4 times each year.
Let me repeat: Fishing line is cheap, replace it on your reel.

Fishing Vest:
Empty all of the pockets and see if you can get your wife to wash and dry the vest and to also patch any rips or tears in it.

Then, when that vest is squeaky clean and repaired: Replace any items that are missing or in short supply, such as: Sinkers, snap swivels, bobbers,
Hooks (I always carry at least two packets of each hook size from No. 02 all the way down to the tiny No. 14),
Small jars of Salmon eggs, Power Bait, Power Bait Nuggets and fish scent,
Spare leaders, spare line (always carry a spool of spare line),
Lures (I have two of every color and type of lure in the event that I am into hot fishing and lose that particular lure to a big fish or a snag),
And, all kinds of artificial flies, etc.

Also make sure that you have: Fishing regulations for both Nevada and California, a fish stringer, tape measure and scale, knife, small screwdriver and pliers for any emergency reel repairs, plastic bags for carrying fish home, toilet paper, etc.

Don’t do as I did many years ago when I carelessly threw my fishing vest into the corner of a closet to stay there for weeks and weeks. When I finally went to use the vest, I felt something mushy in one of the side pockets, reached in, and pulled out a zip-lock bag containing a very smelly and rancid tuna fish sandwich that I had forgotten was there. Yuk! It was nasty!

Tackle Box:
Do the same as when taking care of your vest, with the exception of emptying all of the tackle box compartments, and then carefully cleaning the entire tackle box, inside and out, with lots of soap and hot water.
When you begin to put all of the items back in the box, try to put things back in some sort of order that makes it easy, when you need a particular item.
All of my hooks, snap swivels, lures, flashers, bottled baits, etc. are always together, making them easy to find, particularly when out on a boat that is pitching up and down in the waves.

Special Tip:
Once you return from a fishing trip, be sure to replace any items that have been lost (such as hooks, lures or flies) or used up (such as Salmon eggs) to ensure that you are prepared for your next fishing outing.

Finally:
Once you have done everything that I have suggested above, you are ready to enjoy fishing in 2014. There won’t be any excuse for losing that big trophy fish except for bad luck or being a poor fisherman.
I’ve done all that I can to help you be a successful angler.
Now, you're on your own!

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you some of the other things that I carry in my fishing vest.
If he grins, takes a deep breath and says, “Don also carries a large plastic bag to use as an emergency raincoat, extra pair of socks, small first-aid kit, small flashlight with spare batteries, matches and fire starter, whistle, signaling mirror and munchies (beef jerky, peanuts and candy bars) in case he gets lost and has to spend the night outdoors,” he could be one of my regular fishing partners who laugh and snicker at the weight of that fishing vest.
To heck with them, I’m as ready as possible, if there ever is an emergency.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com