As anglers we’re all looking for that hot new technique. What we need to remember on many occasions is that some of the most important and factors for our angling success are the things we learned so long ago and that we often have a tendency to overlook in our high tech world.

Some of what we learned as beginning anglers are some of the things that can make the biggest difference even to this day. I’m sure we were all told on some of our very first fishing trips that it was important to be quiet. This is still an important factor that if not given the proper due can have a negative impact on our angling success.

Even though we are, or would like to consider ourselves to be much more skilled and knowledgeable anglers, we need to keep in mind some of the most basic items. Keeping our reels topped off with fresh fishing line will allow us to cast farther and with greater accuracy. However as anglers continue to embrace the new super lines and the greater cost that comes with them we have a tendency to use them longer and often until they are well past their prime. Nicks and excessive wear on our link to the fish is a recipe for certain heartbreak when we hook a big one. Make sure that you keep your line fresh and your fishing reel full.

Don’t let your knot be the weakest link in the chain. I know that I am often guilty of tying my knots a little to quickly simply because I can. A few extra seconds to make sure that all the loops and wraps are done properly, and that the knot is tightened properly will go a long ways in your efforts to land more and bigger fish. After extended use it is a few seconds well spent to check your knots carefully and retie if there is any doubt at all.

Sharp hooks will always allow us to hook fish more effectively than dull hooks. I’m sure we’ve all been guilty on occasion of not paying attention to how sharp our hooks are and missing a fish here and there due to dull hooks. Even a hook that is fresh from the package has a chance of having an imperfect, dull or poorly formed point that will certainly be the one that we miss the biggest fish of the day on.

Making sure that the bait we are using is fresh and lively on the hook can have a huge impact on your success. This is something that you will see the knowledgeable pros preach over and over. Use the freshest and liveliest bait possible and change it often to insure you are giving the fish the best presentation possible.

We are fortunate to have the incredible quality and performance of the current generation of fishing rods and reels. These are high performance tools that allow us to cast farther with greater accuracy. They also have fabulous sensitivity and strength which allows us to feel the most subtle of bites and successfully battle the largest of fish. We do have to remember that no matter how nice the fishing rod is or how much the fishing reel cost we still need to pay attention to the basics to insure success.