Casting on the Coosa: Reel maintenance with The Hurricane

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent
It has been a long week with no boat and a variety of weather conditions. I have not been able to get out on the river very much.
Thanks to Eric “The Alabama Hammer” for carrying me out on the river earlier in the week before the bad weather started. We went out on the lake for a few hours on Sunday and what little we managed to land were caught throwing crankbaits around the rocks. I always enjoy fishing with Eric.
A couple of people sent me a fishing report. Brad Richerzhagen has been cat-ching a few fish down river on a crankbait and rattle trap around rocky banks. He reported that he was catching his fish more toward the main river areas. Brad was not doing much in the backs of any of the creeks down there.
Jonathan Nix was out on the water crappie fishing a few days. He reported that his bite has dropped off some, but he is still catching a few out on the ledges in 18 to 20 feet of water. Jonathon is using electronics to locate the fish and dropping double hook minnow rigs down. He said that he hit schools of stripe that were a lot of fun to catch while crappie fishing. His daughter has been his partner of late. You can’t beat getting out on the water with your kids and catching fish. That makes for a near perfect day.
Since I’ve not fished that much lately, I’ve been doing one of the things I hate the most in the off season – tearing down reels to clean and oil. I have no dexterity with my fingers dealing with small parts, so I end up dropping said parts repeatedly. It is a necessary evil to get your reels to work better and last longer.
As I write this column, I’ve taken out one of my very old Abu Revo reels that I fix yearly. I have Hurricane Anna with me tonight, so she is helping by pulling the line off and using the screwdriver on every part of the reel. I wouldn’t have it any other way; Anna has sat with me the entire time I’ve been working on the reel talking and trying to help. I will take her help anytime. We have had the three grandkids some since last week, and it was fun and interesting watching them interact. I hope to have a few fishing buddies from that crew as they get older. Right now, Anna will hang in there with you fishing in the boathouse.
I hope to have my boat back from Browns Outboard soon so I can get back on the lake if the weather will permit. With the recent rain, the water has come up and with plenty of current.
We are near the muddy stage up here due to the rain, runoff and Weiss Lake discharge.
Good luck out there and hope see you on the lake soon.
Marty Dixon is a 1982 Sardis graduate and retired high school educator and coach. He was head coach of the Gadsden State women’s basketball team from 2015 to 2019. He and his wife Texann live in Gadsden. He may be contacted at fishn4funin02@yahoo.com and the Neely Henry Bass Fishing page on Facebook.