Handlining

I’ve seen a few post recently mention a technique called Handling. Could any of you knowledgeable fishermen/women write on it for the Articles section of FTR? Equipment needed, how -to, etc. Never hurts to learn a new method to catch fish.

The Art of Handlining – by Tim Hutchison

Good article on the subject from a guy that spends a ton of time handlining.

Handlining has been around for over 75 years. It originated over on the

Detroit River. It is a technique that involves using a spring loaded reel,

heavy wire and weight, and long mono leads to pull stickbaits with. This

technique was designed to be used anywhere there is current. Most lakes do

not have current, so rivers are the main target. The more current the river

has, the more effective handlines will be.

Handlines use a spring loaded reel. What this means, is that the reel will

take up, or let the line out as you need it. If you let the wire slide

through your fingers, it lets the line out. As you pull the line in, it

takes up the slack by itself. There is no handle to turn on this reel. The

reel is mounted on a rail on the side of the boat, and the angler sits in

the back of the boat with his/her arm over the side, working the line.

The most common wire used on the reels is 60 pound coated wire. Attached to

the end of the main line is a “shank”. The shank can be any length you want

to make it, but the most common length is anywhere from 3-6 foot. It’s made

up of 60 pound coated wire also, and has clevises crimped on every 6 inches

or so. At the end of the shank, a 1-2 pound weight (1 1/4 pound being the

most commonly used) is attached by a big swivel snap. This weight is used

much like a bottom bouncer. By bouncing the weight on and off the bottom,

it insures that the baits are running 2-6 inches off the bottom.

The mono leads play an important part in handlining. The leads are attached

to the clevises on the shank. The bottom lead is going to be half the

length of the top lead. Say, your using a 15′ lead on the bottom, that

means the top lead is going to be at least 30′ long. What this allows the

baits to do is run one right behind the other. If a fish misses the first

bait, it has a chance at the second one. To figure out which clevis to

attach the leads to is pretty easy. You start out by getting your bait on

the bottom lead running down and digging in to the bottom. Then every 6

inches you move the lead up on the shank, it moves the bait off the bottom 2

inches. When your not digging in anymore, that is the clevis you keep your

leads attached to. The top lead will usually be attached to a clevis that

is 12 – 18 inches above that one then.

The only baits we run on this set up are the floating Rapalas in #7, 9, 11,

and sometimes the 13’s.

It is imparative to use a prop saver, which is a metal ring that fits around

the kicker motor prop. Mack’s Prop Saver is the one we had on Marge’s boat.

It can be disasterous if you get the wire caught in the prop. To keep the

big motor prop from spinning, we simply put the motor in gear.

There are some tricks to making handlining the most effective it can be, but

If I tell you all the secrets, I would lose our edge over the

competition..LOL

Riviera Downrigger Corporation is the manufacturer of the Handline reels we

were using. If you want more information you can contact them at

517-738-5700.

This information was given to me from Juls Davis Pro Fisherwoman who fishes the MWC, PWT, and RCL. Thanks Juls. My intent on sharing this is to help others know more about handlining. I myself have never tried it. Bill

Thanxs James and Bill. I dont know how I miss that in the Articles section. Probably because I was over concentrating on the two Beaver articles above and below it. You two save me some fish for when I start.

It was our pleasure Mr. Kam. Anytime.

Interesting…. noticed some boats using this method over the weekend. Asked some guys at coffee tonight and a couple of the older guys grinned and explained how it works. Sure are alot of ways to fish!