The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

Sports Columns

January 28, 2012

Ken Maurer's Outdoors column: New gear on tap

By Don Steese For The Daily Item

DANVILLE — There are some new items and variations of old items coming to the fishing market this year. There’s always something new or different, and this year will be no exception.

In the fishing line department, Berkley will be promoting its new (it was actually available late last year) Nanofil line. It is a “superline” similar to their Fireline. Nanofil is touted to be smoother due to a process of braiding more small threads together. Some braids make a lot of noise coming through the guides on a rod, and nanofil is slick and thin, allowing long casts and noiseless retrieves.

Power Pro, a perennial leader in braided line is introducing a “Slick” series of line. In keeping with the smooth/slick movement, the new line is also supposed to be better casting and more quiet in the guides.

Seaguar, a company known for it’s fluorocarbon line, is introducing a co-polymer monofilament called Senshi. It is supposed to be thinner, stronger, better handling, etc.

One interesting rig that is taking the bass market by storm is a castable spreader rig. Spreader or umbrella rigs have been used for years by anglers trolling saltwater. A spreader rig is simply an umbrella-shaped assortment of wires that have lures attached to them. Generally they were large and cumbersome, and trolling them was the only way to use them. I’m not sure who is claiming the credit, but someone came up with the idea of miniaturizing the rig to the point where you can cast it comfortably. Some major money has been won in recent pro bass tournaments with the rig, and various manufacturers are scrambling to get them on the market. It has proven effective on lake fish, I’m not sure if it will work on our river. I can picture one of our four-pound smallies watching it go by thinking, “You have got to be kidding.”

Rapala, as usual, is bringing out another new color or two and they have expanded their “x-rap” series to include a topwater popper. They will continue to produce the skitter pop also.

Live Target, a relatively new lure company with extremely life-like paint finishes, has expanded its crawfish series of lures with seven new colors. The new colors are translucent, allowing ambient light to pass through the lure which gives it a more natural look.

These are just a handful of the new items that the manufacturers will be throwing at us and we’ll be throwing at the fish. Rods and reels continue to get lighter and stronger, and the lures are so life-like you can hardly tell what’s real and what isn’t. All you really need is a hook and a worm, but the rest of the stuff sure is a lot of fun.

n Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the outdoors page. Email comments to kenrose@tds.net.

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