The best way to learn angling essentials is by catching small fish. Here’s why

SMALL SMALLIES

Less than a kilometre from where I launch my boat most days, there’s an underwater point that stretches to the west of an exposed rock. It’s loaded with plump, 12- to 14-inch-long smallmouth bass that are always eager to play. So for decades now, I’ve stopped there before I pull out my boat (my buddy Bob Izumi says I know the bass there by name, and he might be right).

Whenever I want to try out a new lure or test a new presentation or technique, it’s also the first place I go because the dinks give me instant feedback. The same is true if I want to compare the action of a lure on monofilament, fluorocarbon or braided line. In a half-hour of on-the-water experimentation, the fish will typically tell me everything I need to know.