SPRING FOR TERMINAL TACKLE TUNE UP
of clear finish or new rings or hooks is sufficient in most cases.
Testing helps. I use a ten gallon fish tank -- $10 at the local Wal-Mart - to test lures by dragging them through the water on a small dowel. This lets me check that spoons wobble, spinners spin and plugs run correction.
THE REST
Split shot and sinkers never used to stay put in tackle boxes. These days I go for the little Water Gremlin "frying pan" assortments of soft eared shot that's easy to add and remove and comes in a lead free mode too. Small sinkers sort easily on safety pins. Spring for some big diaper pins and you can hold sinkers up to four ounces or so.
Go over hooks and make sure none have rusted out. Snelled hooks seem most likely to do this. Do, if you can, mash down the barbs on everything. You'll hook more fish and won't lose any more as you probably know if you've ever hooked yourself.
Odds and ends like hemostats, oil for reels, Polaroid glasses and whatever need to be checked. All of this shouldn't take more than a single afternoon.
That's it. Do this and you've no excuse to lose a fish to bad tackle.
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