Rubber Band Releases Q & A.

[Walleye Express]

Can You Help me OUT. Does anyone have a picture or drawing or detailed instructions on using rubber bands while trolling? I would like to know how to hook them . Thanks I know someone has to have the info I need and so would other people. If you have any other trickes that you dont mind letting us GREENHORNS know. Let me clarify the QUESTION! The reason I ask the question is the Forums article Capt.Dan Manyen TOPIC : Big Walleye like Lil Ernies (dated 07-20-08) please read ALL of the article to the BOTTOM and let me know what he is talking about using rubber bands for bite idicators ! PLEASE HELP ME OUT as I said I am a Greenhorn about this and I will take all the HELP I can GET !! Thanks David Tester

David Tester

David.

I've been using rubber bands as strike indicators off my BIG boards now for over 20 years. And during that time I've refined a few things that the others did not touch on. Rubber bands (after being used and studied for a while) allow you to read your lures every action, even when the smallest weed is fouled on your lure. I used to have a couple of pretty neat pictures of both a rubber band set up on my planer board tether line and one of it stretched with a fish on. These two pictures accompanied an article I wrote years ago for the Fins & Feahters magazine. I know I still have them, but they are buried with the probably 3000 other pictures I have in a drawer in the bedroom. So I'll try to explain the pricipals as best I can wothout the pictures.

First let out your lure/harness/whatever to the desired length behind the boat. Then loop the rubber band inside of itself over the line and sinch it tight on the line. Then bite/cut off one of the rubber band strands near that knot, so the band becomes twice as long as it would if it was still unbroken. The knot will not come undone, but allows the band to become more sensitive and stretchy, also making it easier to release from the releases pinch pad. Now attach this tag end of the band to whatever release you are using. Through trial and error you will get the hang of how far back into the release to place the rubber band, so it doesn't give you false releases. You will soon learn from the stretch of the band or the dip in the rod tip while in the holders, just what is going on with the lure. And you never have too set the hook when you get a fish on. The band itself from the pressure to release it, or when you release the band (if you have to) does that for you. Another trick I learned 2 years ago also makes it easier to release the band if you have to for a smaller fish. When the band stretches with a fish on it, yet fails to release, simply tighten the line from the rod tip to the band and give the back end of your rod a sharp rap and "BANG" she's off. This works the best when using braided lines. When reeling in the fish you can reel the band right through the rod guides and onto your reel. Something hard to do if you don't break/cut/bite the band in two after line attachmnent. On many occassions the band stay put all day, acts as a line length indicator, and can be used as long as the fish stay in the same depth zone. Capt. Dan.

[salmonquest]

I use rubber bands on my downriggers and have thought about rigging something like this for planer boards. I think the pictures below (lord I hope I did it right:o) explain it. Basically you are cutting the loop and putting only one strand of rubber band into the pinch pad. More stretch, more sensitive. I've done this on stackers and it really helps see the shakers.

[Walleye Express]

Yupper. That's the same way I explained in the post, and use them off my Big Board releases for walleyes. Way back when, when I first started using them, I just hooked the band on shower curtain hooks. Worked O.K. until you tried to break the band and reel in the fish. Man, those ruber bands (when new) are very strong and hard to break.

[Alessandro]

This has never failed?

A very good atlantic salmon fisherman I fished with uses rubberbands and

to pull the led weight off the line (snap the rubberband off), he still uses

this method but it has failed once with a +30 lbs atlantic salmon on the other side of the line, the line snapped as well.