Successful fishing involves just as much mental anticipation and planning as it does physical prowess. Most of us are prepared for the target species, but too many anglers never give an advanced thought to anything beyond that. No day on the water is exactly the same as yesterday nor will it trace the same pattern tomorrow. Something unexpected is bound to happen in the form of another species and if you cannot respond quickly whether trolling, drifting, anchored, or poling, the opportunity is gone forever.
That’s why experienced anglers carry a pitch rod; a backup outfit rigged and ready just in case something other than the primary target suddenly appears. Let me give you some examples. We were chumming bluefish in the Northeast in June. That’s a prime time for mako sharks to follow the schools of blues. As I was battling a bluefish, a husky mako appeared. Handing the rod with the bluefish to the skipper, I grabbed a pre-rigged conventional outfit with bait and the mako was on. If I had to start rigging for the mako, it would have been gone.
On the offshore trolling grounds, my pitch rod may be simply a backup trolling outfit that I can use to pick a fish off a teaser or drop back to a free swimming fish that follows a hooked fish. At times, my pitch rod in a trolling situation will be rigged with a leadheaded bucktail armed with a plastic tail. The bucktail allows me to fish the surface or drop it down if a fish sounds. If I am dragging baits on inshore waters, the bucktail would certainly be my first choice and when fishing bottom, the leadhead would also lead my backup arsenal.
A plug becomes another option on a pitch rod. Depending on the depth of the water and the species you anticipate, it could be a swimming plug or a surface plug. If the water is moderately deep and you want to keep a swimming plug relatively shallow, you can shave the lip or even remove it. And, if you think a toothy critter might suddenly appear, attach the lure or the bait with a short piece of single strand wire.
Even if your focus is on only one or two species, it still pays to carry a pitch rod with a slightly different offering than your primary outfit. That way, if your quarry refuses one thing, you can come right back with something else. A perfect example occurred on a bonefish flat. The primary outfit was rigged with just a live shrimp, but on the pitch rod, I added a split shot to get the offering down to the bottom quickly just in case we covered some slightly deeper water.
In the shallows, most shark species put up a tremendous battle, running long distances and making it difficult to control the fish without a major struggle. You can bet I will have a pitch rod ready for an encounter with a shark. It will either be rigged with natural bait such as a balao or a top water plug that will attract the shark’s attention.
Carrying a pitch rod helps you to anticipate the unexpected and be ready for any eventuality. It will certainly increase your catch rate as well as your fun on the water. Try it!
[easy-social-share]