Cool must haves for your Southern California fishing trip

Sparkplugs as disposable sinkers

Used sparkplugs make good sinkers during your southern California fishing trip. Using a rubber band through the electrode and looping the monofilament around the plug. The rubber band stretches and will break before the monofilament does. Select the right Jig size for your fishing line. Calculate at 1/16-1/8 oz. for a 4 lb. Test, ¼ to 3/8 oz. for a 8 lb test, and 5/8 to ¾ oz. for 14to 20 lb test. Feel free to check them all out before choosing the one that works best for your southern California fishing.

Anchors ahoy
You can attach a large swivel snap with four feet of heavy chain to the standard mushroom anchor. The handles are convenient when raising or lowering anchor, and the chain enhances the anchor’s weight and holding power. The chain can be unsnapped when not needed in southern California fishing conditions.

Anchor pulleys must be silent
Squeaky pulleys spook your catching ability in southern California fishing. Rig up a silent pulley with a large U- bolt, a few nuts and washers and an old glass or porcelain fencepost insulator. The insulator slides over the U bolt and is fixed tightly. The anchor rope can freely glide over the porcelain groove and the anchor silently pulls up or lowers even the wet rope effortlessly.

When you replace treble hooks, make sure you replace the split ring also as it may be subject to stress and rust. Better still you can use a stainless steel split ring for strength. A stainless-steel treble hook is not advisable as it could go out of shape by a fighting fish in southern California fishing. A handy pair of split ring pliers can help you to change your hooks with ease.

Other must haves are some extra springs that you can store in a 35-mm film canister. You will also need a small screwdriver to go with the springs. If the long hours in southern California fishing have led to your winter boot soles have outlived their life, try cutting the liner to match the sole of an old sneaker. Apply non-soluble glue and place a heavy weight on them overnight and the next day you will have your new winter boots ready to wear.

Snag proof spinners and downriggers
Treble hooks and spinners are not the best of friends, snagging often. The cure is to replace the treble hook with a single hook, threading on a three or four-inch twister tail grub and set it up in Texas rig style. A downrigger will help you catch the elusive fish deeper down at the bottom when southern California fishing. It is a spool with 200-600 feet of steel cable and a clothespin like line gripper. When the fish bites, the gripper mechanism releases the line and you reel in the reluctant fish. You choose from the great variety of downriggers, electronic or painted and some have their own crank for deep trolling.

Casting poppers with a fly rod is smooth and easy with an extra small hole in the popper, which will also ensure a snug fit and a 30-foot longer casting distance.
Make your own depth finder by using red felt marker every 5 feet and black felt marker for every 10 feet. This will give you the depth in a snap. Efficiency of your minnow scoop is enhanced by the 90 degree extra turn of the wire handle positions the net forward and makes it much easier to trap a baitfish.

Odds and ends
A pair of large fabric needles is handy to unravel the line tangles after a hectic southern California fishing and is very useful to sew up canvas, leather or carpet strips. Fix an eye-screw at the back of the pocket tackle box and attach a cord to the screw with a knot and a clip at the other end to attach it to your belt loop or a buttonhole. To clear line twist you can troll a 100-foot length of line behind your boat or prevent future tangles by installing a ball bearing swivel. Test different types of knots to see which one is the strongest and use it to ensure strength when lending a hooked fish properly.

Clear finger nail polish is ideal for preventing rapid wear and tear and extending the life of the spoon, spinner or plug and other delicate moving parts of your rod. Keep a bottle handy. Ferrules wear out faster with dirt on them and a plug made from wood helps keep the female ferrule clean when southern California fishing. Use some ‘Liquid wrench ‘ to open up stuck ferrules easily.