Tips For Using Berkley's Pre Select Line And FireLine

EDITOR'S NOTE: Gary Parsons of Glidden, Wisconsin, a professional walleye fisherman, specializes in tournament fishing, speaking, writing and walleye-fishing promotions. Gary, who has fished in walleye tournaments since 1983, has won Angler-of-the-Year titles on all three pro-walleye circuits: the North American Walleye Anglers in 1995, the Professional Walleye Trail in 1993 and 1994 and the Masters Walleye Circuit in 1988 -- the only angler to accomplish these feats. Parsons and his business partner, Keith Kavajecz, won the Masters Walleye Circuit Team of the Year and World Championship in 1988. Gary and Keith co-host "Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World," which airs on TNN.

QUESTION: What other ways can you win walleye tournaments?
ANSWER:
TIP 7: Whenever you use live-bait techniques and don't fish with fluorocarbon line, then Berkley's Pro Select line gives you another good choice. I prefer to get it in the green color which has some built-in stretch. Monofilament stretches more than fluorocarbon or FireLine. Quite often when you compete, this kind of line works well for a lot of live-bait techniques because it acts as a built-in shock absorber. You'll actually have fewer walleye get off while you fight them with this type of line. And when you compete, letting walleye get off becomes a real important factor. You want to try to get every single fish that bites.

TIP 8: For the next tip, I'll go 100 percent to the opposite spectrum by suggesting that you use FireLine, a no-stretch line Berkley makes. This no-stretch line excels in long-line and deep-water trolling situations and also when you fish live bait 50 feet and deeper. At these times, the no-stretch characteristics and extremely thin diameter of this line work best. Whenever we deal with trolling scenarios, the thin diameter allows our crankbaits to go close to 30 percent deeper. So, we have more versatility in the use of crankbaits. We can use the same bait without a baiting system and go much deeper than we do on monofilament. Since FireLine doesn't stretch, you also can monitor the vibration of the crankbait lip wiggle. You'll know immediately when your bait has weeds or any other debris on it. You can clear your lines and reset them. And when you fish live bait real deep, it allows for a better hookset. In every one of these scenarios, this line works best for competition.

But you always have to remember to back off on the drag and fight the fish gingerly, because of the no-stretch characteristic. You need to fish carefully so that you don't lose the fish. I like to use longer rods when I fish with FireLine so that I can use the rod as a shock absorber, because the line has no shock absorption.

Tomorrow: Accessories That Will Help Win Walleye Tournaments