Loose Lines Lose Trout

If you've been fishing a while, you've probably heard the phrase, "Tight Lines" at some point. There's a reason this phrase is so popular. Simply put, loose lines lose fish.

I constantly see inexperienced anglers rest their pole on a rock, chair or stand and ignore the slack line drifting in the water. Unfortunately, chances are high they'll miss subtle nibbles on their line while fish steal their bait.

Another common problem when fishing is thinking you're stuck on the lake or river's bottom and releasing the line to correct the problem. I've lost a couple of fish making this assumption a time or two - especially when fishing from a boat.

Many times, anglers get used to feeling the "take" when a fish is at the other end of their line. But sometimes the pole will bend, and you won't feel the normal "take" (or vibration from nibbles). I've experienced this a lot when fishing from a small row boat on my favorite lake.

When you don't feel the bites at the end of a pole but the pole bends in half, it's natural to think you may have gotten stuck on the bottom rocks. But don't be fooled into making this assumption. Try and reel in the line the first - and if you can reel in line, chances are you're not stuck, and may have a fish on your hook.

One of the tricks used to get line unstuck is to release the bail hoping the loose line will free the obstruction. But if you've hooked a fish, loose line may help him escape. So this is the last thing you'll want to do.

It's very important to keep the line tight when you've hooked a fish. So even if you think the line may be stuck on the bottom of the lake or river, try and reel in first. As long as you can continue to reel in line, you can rest assured that you're not stuck.

You can also try releasing the drag a bit to double check. If there's a fish on the end of your line, you can bet he's trying to swim away and you'll hear it in the reel's drag.

Worst case scenario, you can always release the line later if still certain that your line is stuck - but until then, keep those lines tight! Because lose lines lose trout!