Wintry weather means it’s time for tackle care

Anybody seen Al Gore lately? Better yet, anybody seen any global warming?

Tar Heel anglers have been praying for just a day or two of warm weather recently, but nothing warmer than melting icicles seems on the horizon. Since late December 2009, the state has been hit by a series of winter storms that dumped tons of snow and ice, making travel and outdoor activities (besides building snowmen and igloos) almost nil.

January 2010 ended with a frigid weather system that blanketed most of the state with more frozen precipation, caused strangled roads, auto accidents and delayed or canceled many events for nearly a week.

Fishing, to say the least, remains on holiday during February. After yet another ice storm a week ago, the state has seen temperatures in the 20s, wind chills in the low teens and 50- to 60-mph winds ripping across much of North Carolina. Freshwater fish apparently have hunkered down in deep water, awaiting the spring thaw, while few offshore skippers have been brave or foolhardy enough to challenge the Atlantic Ocean’s rough seas.

If you’re an enterprising angler and need something to keep you busy, it’s probably a good time to clean and repair rods and reels and change fishing lines, especially for saltwater tackle. Saltwater tackle actually should be cleaned after each fishing trip, but a thorough annual check and overhaul of interior reel parts is always a good idea.

That means washing, cleaning and drying reels (interior and exterior), removing light corrosion on parts, adding lubricant to interiors and exteriors, and checking and replacing frayed line guides (a cotton ball pushed through a guide will reveal cracks and snags). Most of all, if you haven’t switched out old monofilament for new, now’s the time. Changing line is something every angler can do, along with sharpening hooks.

These are just a few of the tasks anglers should do to take care of their equipment. If you don’t feel comfortable giving your reels a complete overhaul, find a pro at a local tackle store and pay him to refurbish them. The cost will pay off in the long run.

Remember, rods, reels, lines and hooks are the only things connecting an angler to perhaps the biggest fish that’s ever attacked one of his lures or baits. When it’s warm enough to make fish stir later this spring or summer, be sure equipment is in top working condition in order to land that trophy instead of a load of disappointment.