Rainy Day, Dream Away
One of my favorite songs off of Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland is “Rainy Day, Dream Away”, a relaxed bluesy jam that punches home the songs core message: “Lay back and groove on a rainy day”. We’ve had a significant amount of rain here in Pennsylvania this week, effectively turning all of the streams into Willy Wonka’s chocolate river and rendering them nearly unfishable. With true spring right around the corner, warm-water fishing will be coming into fully swing in the next few weeks or so, with boundless angling opportunities for stripers, largemouth, smallmouth, musky, catfish and more. As I watched another inch of rain fall through my foggy living room window this weekend, I decided to take Jimi’s advice and groove for the remainder of the day. I turned on the record player, blasted Electric Ladyland, cracked a beer, and took out the rat’s nest formally known as my freshwater fishing tackle and started organizing.
As I’m sure most fishermen know, the plastic tackle organizer was God’s gift to anglers. Costing pennies on the dollar, these handy containers allow for highly specific gear organization, are readily stackable, and fit in most standard tackle boxes. The first category I addressed was my terminal tackle. I used to keep all my terminal tackle like snap swivels, hooks, and weights the bags that they came in, stuffing them into one of the pockets of my tackle box or throwing them in the bottom drawer. I came to realize however that making room for your own terminal tackle organizer is a way more efficient and effective method. I usually carry a couple sizes of swivel, split-shot weights for small adjustments, larger sinkers for bait fishing, and a smorgasbord of hooks ranging in size, shape, and function to cover all my bases (shiners to crappies to trout to catfish etc.). While it may seem a little overkill, it prepares me for any situation so I don’t end up scrambling through my box looking for the right hook size or cursing myself for not having the correct weight. Plus, looking at all that metal delicately arranged in specific sections scratches an itch in my brain.
Next on the docket is soft plastics. I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to soft plastics because I grew up fishing for schoolie stripers: we’re just bred to have an infatuation with them. My soft plastics box is definitely overkill for freshwater fishing, but I have accumulated so many over the years that it just makes sense to fill it up to the brim: hey man - look good, feel good. Soft plastics come in an overwhelming number of colors and shapes, but I stick to mostly white. I like to have a combination of paddle tail, pin tail, and forked tail shapes available, but the majority of them are paddletails. To pair with my plastics I stock a selection of jig heads from 1/8 ounce to 3/4 ounce, which gives me a nice variety if I want to change my lure size or fishing depth. Lastly, of course, I have dark green Gary Yamamoto Senko’s that I keep in the package because they are covered in that plastic slime that’s purpose is still unbeknownst to me. I use unweighted Senko jig hooks because I like to have control over how fast they sink by adding split shots if needed.
To round out my freshwater box I have my lure selection, where I keep it pretty simple. I have some spinners in a few different sizes, a couple of crank baits, a larger swimbait and some topwater selections. With so many lure options available, it’s best to stick with something simple that you know will catch fish. I am missing a few lures that will find their way into my box in the coming weeks: spoons (great for jigging, cast, or trolling) will find a home in the empty spot in the top left corner, a spook plug (ex. Rebel Jumping Minnow), and a Mooselook Wobbler (if you know, you know). Additionally, I will have a separate box for musky lures that I’ll bring depending on the water I’m fishing, but I have never fished for musky before so this will be a new foray for me.
There is really something cleansing about a nice tackle organization session. As I sit here and write this blog today, I regret to inform you that it is still pouring rain outside. The good news is that there is a new lake forming in what used to be my backyard, but I’m not sure if there are any fish there yet. I just have to relax and think, what would Jimi say?
“Still Raining, Still Dreaming”.
-Declan
