From 10/5/00</font id=blue>
By Pat McGriff of One More Cast Guide Service in Perry, Florida
Three years ago Bill Hall of Precision Tackle sent me several strange looking wire-through beaded corks, a letter with a brief explanation, a request that I try out his rigs and let him know what I thought of them. Well, this will be my third article describing the rigging, use, diversity and success of the EQUALIZER.
First the name, EQUALIZER, is perfect - as within mere minutes of use I have completely unskilled clients on board my boat catching Trout, Redfish, Spanish, and Blues. The EQUALIZER does in fact equalize the skills of fishing over shallow water flats with artificials or live bait. The problems of timing of pickup, rhythm of retrieve, and sensitivity of feel are all solved by sight fishing with the EQUALIZER.
The beginner, intermediate or master fisherperson is on equal footing. There is no more hanging up on the bottom and no more setting the hook too early or too late. Line watching is now fun, as the cork becomes the object to watch. The EQUALIZER comes in four sizes - PeeWee, Junior, Standard and Bait-Mate. The first three are cigar or finger style corks, while the heftier Bait-Mate is an oval style. Each size should be matched to your reel’s line test for ease of casting. Then, the bait which is suspended under the EQUALIZER should not over weigh the corks buoyancy.
Use the PeeWee with ultra-light or very light (4-6 lb. class), the Junior with light (8-10 lb. class), the Standard with medium light (10-12 lb. class), and finally, the Bait-Mate with medium (12-20 lb. class) outfits. For a matched weight of jighead or other bait under the EQUALIZER use 1/16-1/8 oz. with the PeeWee, 118-114 oz. with the Junior, 114-318 oz with the Standard, and 114-518 oz. with the Bait-Mate. Remember these are not exact limitations, only starting places to get you familiar with the products. You may find different applications and match ups suited to your fishing needs.
Let’s quickly descri