What does anglers do during lockdown ?

Fishing during lockdown
10 things to do during lockdown when you love fishing

A new lock down has being announced in several countries, and if we hope that the situation will be quickly restored, we can expect it to last... If just like us you love fishing, you probably ask yourself these existential questions: is fishing allowed during containment? How far from my home can i go fishing? Why are sports like running allowed and not fishing? Will the 2020 fishing licence be refunded? 🤔 Rather than answering these questions, we chose to tell you how to stay occupied during confinement to limitate your frustration. So here are our top 10 things to do during lockdown when you love fishing.

1- Maintain you fishing gears

Basic. During confinement as during off-season, take the time to properly maintain your equipment to be ready to rumble for opening season.

Cleaning of lures and accessories

Regular cleaning of lures and small equipment is essential to avoid rust on your entire fishing box. Nothing very complicated. Completely empty your boxes to rinse them with soapy water before drying them well. Dip your lures and other accessories (hooks, split rings, swivels, jig heads, pliers, etc... in clear water. If some equipment is affected by rust, a little bit of penetrating oil is a good idea. Use an old toothbrush to scrub the nooks and crannies well and rinse again to remove the perfume of the product that the fish might smell by following your lure.

It is also possible to soak your hooks in Coca-Cola® 3 or 4 days to remove rust. Dry your equipment well before putting it back in your box. If some items are too damaged despite your cleaning efforts, containment (😉) in a separate box is necessary to not contaminate the others. However, you don't need to put a mask on your favorite hardbaits and other soft lures.

For a perfect protection of your equipment, click here to find a selection of fishing boxes from our partner pecheur.com.

Fishing reels maintenance

To ensure a good lifespan of your reels, regular cleaning is essential. While fishing, avoid any contact with water for your reel and even more with saltwater. If an overhaul is necessary and you are afraid of breaking a mechanism, losing a part or not knowing how to reassemble your reel, contact your retailer. In general, the reel is returned to the manufacturer who offers to change used parts if necessary. After intensive use on large fish, for example, the drag elements could easily be changed. Some retailers also insure maintenance directly in the store, and with shorter delays. Feel free to contact them! That said, with the right tools, a little overhaul is within everyone's reach. Disassemble the parts methodically following the manufacturer's instructions, wash them with clean water and dry well, remove the old grease, put some new grease back into the mechanism and some oil on the bearings, wind up the reel and you are ready to fight.

Click here to find a selection of special oils and greases for the maintenance of your reels

Fishing rod maintenance

You can clean the blank of your rod under the shower or with a damp microfiber cloth. It's also very important to maintain the guides and the reel seat properly. Teflon oil is the best for it. It helps to lubricate the ferrules to avoid forcing the next time you have to disassemble your rod.

2- Renew your fishing gears

Christmas is coming and so does the Black Friday! It's the perfect time to gift yourself and buy the fishing rod and reel of your dreams. Subscribe to SCALE premium and take advantage of FishFriender good deals with 15% discounts offered by our partner pecheur.com!

Also, don't miss this special occasion the get the amazing and innovating float tube designed by Caperlan!

Remember thousands of gears and tackles recommendations are available on FishFriender App. Follow the community latest catches to discover which equipment works and what are the best conditions of use.

3- Watch fishing videos

Some TV channels use to broadcast fishing programs with famous adventurers like Jeremy Wade, Cyril Chauquet, Jakub Wagner,...

But for more free content, you can also subscribe to tons of exiting fishing channels on Youtube. Just like us, you will love to watch the adventures of BlacktipH Fishing channel with more than 3M subscribers.

The Swedish Kanalgratis channel remains the European biggest channel with more than 230k subscribers and its famous Perch Pro and Fly VS Jerk programs. And if you speak french, get entertained with the talented Scarna Fishing guys.

4- Reed fishing magazine

In addition to being one of the most qualitative sources of information, the good old paper fishing magazine is a particularly pleasant to browse. Magazines are often specialized by type of fishing or by environment. "Marlin magazine" certainly distributes the most beautiful fishing photos, on par with the fly fishing magazine "The Mission" in another style. The new magazine "Fishing & Travels" will transport you to dream destinations.

Many other great magazines are available for all tastes: "Florida sportsman", "Saltwater sportsman", "Fly fisherman", "Bass angler", "In-fisherman", "Bassmaster", "Fiels & stream". .. Do not hesitate to share your favorite magazines in the comments.

5- Read and reread the great classics of fishing authors

Fishing is above all an adventure. Nothing better than a great literature masterpiece to guide your imagination.

Everyone have heard about "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. You should absolutely get one in your library as well as the novel "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean, made famous by the movie... Thanks to Brad Pitt who succeeded for a time in building the myth of the attractive fisherman among ladies 🤩 Once again feel free to share your favorite fishing books in the comments.

6- Update your Fishing log on FishFriender

You are not going to escape it! Now you should have all the time to record your previous catches on your favorite mobile logbook. And if you stumble across this article and are new to the FishFriender mobile app, your fishing life is about to change. You probably have plenty pictures of fish in your phone's gallery and memories to record. FishFriender is the best way to keep an history of all your catches.

Open the app and log you old catches from these pictures and see the magic happen when it comes to collect past environmental conditions... Above all, do not hesitate to update the application to take advantage of the latest features!

7- Analyse your fishing season and forecast next one

Once all of your catches have been logged, it's time to take stock of your season. How long have you been on the water this year? How many fish have you caught? Then what is your fishing effort? How many different species have you caught? What are the minimum, average and maximum sizes for each species? What is your catch & release rate? What techniques have you practiced? Which tackle was the most attractive? What climatic conditions were the most productive? Same question for tides, moons and seasons? So many questions that your FishFriender application can answer easily.

A good way to analyse your season, to learn, to evolve ... but also to share your achievements with friends of course. Post screenshots of your stats on social networks mentioning #fishfriender to be shared.

8- Revise your fishing knots

Because the catch of a fish hangs by a thread, and a knot can make all the difference, it is better to know how to tie them in all conditions. No secret, it is necessary to practice. We advise you to discover the very complete service of animatedknots.com

9- Follow Challenges

The first confinement had seen the birth of a bunch of initiatives and sharing of videos from fishermen on the net. A precision casting challenge brought together many imaginative anglers under the #covidfishchallenge.

This time, the challenge #5differentfishchallenge spreads fast on the net. Just post pictures of 5 different species you've caught under this # to impress your friends!

10- Planing your next fishing trip

What could be more natural than dreaming of evasion in these difficult times. Especially since a fishing trip leaves memories for a lifetime. Are you attracted to a particular fish? You know your budget and some destination criteria but you're still hesitating? Know that it can be financially very convenient to book your next fishing trip now through professional tour operators. Especially since cancellation insurance is more and more flexible.

Perhaps a little reading of the blog will convince you to discover Swedish Lapland, a must-see destination for Pike? Unless the wild beaches of Gabon haunt you since you saw these photos of tarpons, red carp and giant barracudas on FishFriender? You will also probably want to hunt for Giant Trevally (caranx Ignobilis) records after having read our special exotic rubric.

Contact us now by email to tell us about your project so we can guide you to our best partner agencies and guides in order to organize an unforgettable stay!