I soon developed a technique of taking naps so I could perform my job properly and still hunt and fish. It has served me well for more than 60 years. I found that a nap no longer than 15 to 20 minutes will let me go full bore for hours. A number of my fishing buddies have made fun of the way, in the middle of a school of crashing fish, I'll store the rod and drop to the deck and nap for a just a very brief period of time.

But there is some technique involved in properly napping. Before I get on a boat, I make sure I have a rainsuit. Check also to determine where the captain stores his boat cushions — both excellent pillow materials. A vital item is to locate a place that will remain dry (wet decks are no good) where I can lie down at least in a fetal position and not interfere with fishing action. If the sea is rough, I stay off the front portion and use the console or some other part of the boat to stabilize my back to prevent rolling.

LBF Member: big smoove

Let's assume you know the basics: Line the boat and tow vehicle up straight. Don't forget the drain plug. Take it slow. Try this lesser-known pair of dos and don'ts and you can wipe the smirks right off the codgers' faces.

Do not get into the ramp line until every rod, cooler, tackle box and gear bag is loaded and stowed, transom savers are removed, and cleat lines are affixed (if you'll need to tie off at the ramp dock).

Do take the time to inspect the boat ramp, especially in tidal areas. Some ramps come to an abrupt stop somewhere out there, beyond which your trailer tires will drop off a concrete cliff. Look for a painted line or signage that marks the end of the line.

Do not switch back and forth between using the mirrors and turning around to watch your progress out the back window. Grab the bottom of the steering wheel, look into the rear-view mirrors, and move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to move. A snap.

Do slip the powerplant into and out of reverse gear a few times before backing off the trailer. This helps prevent embarrassing free drifts into floating docks and whatever neighboring vessels might be nearby.

LBF Member: big smoove

"When choosing a pair of sunglasses make sure they are capable of reducing eye damaging UVA rays, and are polarized," explained Mike Michalec, who has been in the sunglass business for over 20 years. Polarized lenses cut the glare off the top of the water. For offshore fishing, a gray lens or blue mirror is best. Gray lenses are a neutral color and minimize color distortion. Vermillion or rose-colored lenses are the newest and are popular among fishermen on the flats and the bays.

LBF Member: big smoove

On dark flats or in low light, check the surface looking for fins, tails or wakes; even just the slightest ripple that exposes a fish's presence. Height above the water makes spotting fish easier but you also become more visible. When visibility is good, cover the surrounding water from 35 to 100 feet; when visibility is poor, cut that distance in half. Concentrate about 80 percent of the time watching water within casting distance.

LBF Member: big smoove

Step 1 First, it is totally unnecessary to use pliers to complete a proper haywire twist and barrel wrap. Use them only to cut the length of leader needed. Don't come for a deckhand job interview and not be able to twist wire or use pliers or you will not be hired.

Step 2 The haywire twist must be straight — each twist even and truly wrapped around each other. One strand wrapped around the other, is a barrel wrap, not a haywire twist. All the strength of the connection is in the twists of each strand around the other.

Step 3 Use the size of the wire to determine how many twists are necessary, for example No. 7 wire gets seven twists, using a minimum of six twists for lighter wire and a maximum of 20 for No. 19 wire. To clean off every wrap, use at least three barrel wraps but no more than five.

LBF Member: big smoove

First, double a two-foot length of fishing line (at least ten-pound test) and slip the loop around the midpoint of the bend in the hook. Hold the line ends between the thumb and forefinger. Now, with the free hand, press the hook eye down against the skin to keep from snagging tissue. Don't let the hook shank twist. Grasp the line sharply, line it all up nice and straight, breathe deep and yank. As unlikely as it might seem, this little trick really works well.

LBF Member: big smoove

Watching wave action and how the white water moves over the beach's contour is the best way to find good water. Along flat sections of beach, which are devoid of holding water, waves break then roll all the way to the shore. In sections with sandbars and holes, the wave breaks over the bar, rolls for a distance, then disappears. Where this wall of white water disappears is the inside edge of the hole. Watch surface bubbles to determine the flow's direction. This flow moves from the corner back to the deeper water in the hole's middle, or in the case of a very large hole creates a long section of moving, fishable water. Without wave action look for a current line indicating a sandbar with a drop-off on the backside.

LBF Member: big smoove

"When using a baitcasting reel, I'll loosen the right-side spool tension knob as much as possible," says Bruce Shuler, a veteran guide on the Laguna Madre, in South Texas. "I'll make 1/8-inch turns of the knob until I get it so loose that the spool will turn freely when disengaged."

With a spinning reel, you want to make sure the line-release trigger guard doesn't have any nicks. If you can bypass the guard, barely tip your casting finger with the line and let her rip. Shuler select rods with a soft or very flexible tip.

"The trick is to let the rod's soft tip load up, then come forward and make a smooth cast," Shuler explained. Also, a clean reel will cast farther every time. Jeremy Ebert, a professional at cleaning and repairing reels for Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston, Texas, says a few drops of light oil on the reel's shaft and the bearings is perfect for longer casts. "Don't ever submerge the reel," he says. "Use a light mist or wet cloth to clean it after each trip." Make sure the eyes on the rod are clean and free of salt buildup. After every trip, wipe down the rod with a wet towel, then spray the guides with lubricant.

LBF Member: big smoove

A popular method for slow trolling is to nose-hook the bait (through the upper jaw, not both jaws, if you want it to live longer). However, when anchored or drifting, a nose-hooked bait will eventually want to swim back under the boat.

To encourage the bait to swim away from the boat, rig the hook in the fleshy part of the bait's shoulder, just ahead of the dorsal fin.

Rigging the hook sideways through the flesh at the front of the eye allows the bait to swim naturally at the surface or when trolled.

Finally, if you want the bait to swim away from the boat and down, hook through its meaty belly above the vent.

LBF Member: big smoove

As the wireman or angler brings the fish to the boat, the object is to "lead" the fish into position to be gaffed, therefore the term "leader." The best gaff shot is always from the head back to the shoulders, which helps to control the fish. As the old timers would say, "where his head goes, he goes." The best fish position for a good gaff shot is alongside the boat, where the fish is sideways and a broad target, not at the transom where the fish is facing you and provides a very slim target for the gaff.

Once the fish is in position for a gaff shot, the gaffman comes in behind and alongside the wireman or angler, not in front of him. This allows for the cleanest shot. If the fish surges ahead, the wireman can move with the fish and the gaff is not in the way of the leader or in danger of breaking it.

The gaff should always be held with the hook down, not up. By keeping the hook down, the gaff shot is made over the shoulder or body of the fish toward the boat. It also plants the gaff in the solid part of the fish, rather than coming from beneath where there is soft tissue.

LBF Member: big smoove

The most important thermocline is the first, or upper, thermocline. In tropical waters it may be as deep as 300 feet and persist throughout the year, while in temperate waters it may disappear in the colder months and return as the sun warms the upper layers, gradually deepening and becoming more pronounced as the season progresses. It can be located by following these steps: slow your boat to eliminate turbulence, turn your fishfinder to its highest frequency to maximize its resolution, then slowly increase the gain until the thermocline shows up. It will appear as either a fine, rather sharply defined line or, if there is much plankton in the top layer, as a sudden clearing of the screen at the base of the plankton echoes.

The establishment of the upper thermocline in late spring heralds the northward migration of such species as white and blue marlin, dorado and yellowfin tuna. Look for these species where the thermocline is well-established and at a depth of at least 40 feet.

LBF Member: big smoove

How much? What does the price of the charter include? Are there additional costs for fuel, fish cleaning, bait and others?

What about extras? What's the usual tip expected for the captain, the deckhand(s) or the cook, and are there any other charges or gratuities I'll be expected to pay?

Got a reference? Can you provide me with references for not only your successful charters but also unsuccessful charters? You'll find checking the references for unsuccessful charters very important. Ask these references if the captain has plenty of equipment and bait and whether or not they would rebook with that same captain.

How big are the fish? What do you expect to catch if we book with you for a specific number of hours? Most captains will try to meet the expectations that they give their customers.

Refund policy? What is your rainy day or cancellation policy? Who decides to cancel the trip and why? Will I get my deposit back if the trip is cancelled?

The better understanding you have before booking a charter, the fewer problems you'll have during and after the trip.

LBF Member: big smoove

If you're unsure about how to exit a rough inlet, hang back and let a few other boats pass. Watch each vessel as it enters the inlet and note how the waves break on its bow and the skipper's chosen course. Once you're comfortable with the pattern, accelerate toward the inlet, slowing once you reach the chop. With the bow raised and angled slightly off-center of the waves, throttle up just enough to breast the first wave, not hop over or plow through it. Throttle back slightly as you approach each wave, then accelerate right before it meets the bow in order to gain power and lift. Use enough throttle to maintain control and keep the bow raised.

Running an inlet with a following sea that's too high to run over requires careful handling and throttle work. Accelerate until the bow is just behind the backside of the lead wave, and use just enough throttle to maintain your position. Don't overrun the wave or let the one behind you catch up.

A shallow inlet, in which the seas are breaking over shoals and forming large rollers, calls for you to time the wave patterns prior to sneaking between a pair. Take a compass heading and, if possible, choose the straightest angle in. Take note of any boats heading out and keep behind your lead wave until it subsides enough to pick up the pace.

Once you make the commitment and enter the inlet, follow through, even if you're having second thoughts. Stay calm and maintain headway. If you feel the seas are too high and wish to turn back, proceed through the inlet until you can veer offshore to calmer water and then turn around.

Prior to running a very rough inlet, you and your crew should don lifejackets. Also, keep a long dock line handy and make sure the anchor is easily accessible. If you lose power in the middle of an inlet, deploy the anchor and be ready to toss the line to a rescue vessel if necessary.

LBF Member: big smoove

To break a big fish fast, you'll want three clearly marked settings. First set "strike" at 33 percent of the line's breaking strength. Then locate a "pre-strike" position at 25 percent, usually about a finger's width before "strike." Mark it with a piece of colored electrical tape on the reel frame. This is done so that when you push the lever to "full" it should generate approximately 50 percent of the line rating.

Why three? Beating big fish is as much about breaking its will as tiring it out and you can do it by continually increasing pressure as the contest unfolds. On the fish's initial run, the drag is at "pre-strike." The line should always be moving either in or out. When the fish stops, you pump. When it runs, you rest. When it turns and makes another run, push the drag up to "strike," lean back, enjoy the ride. It stops, you pump. If it makes another run, go to "full" and lean back hard against the drag pressure. Use this method and you'll find that you can break virtually any fish.

LBF Member: big smoove

Before pulling hard and possibly fraying the line against sharp structure, drop the rod tip and let the line go slack. By relaxing the pressure for a few seconds, a fish will sometimes respond by swimming out from the protection of its cover. For fish that are slow to respond to this approach, slowly bring the line tight, and as you ease back on your rod tip, start strumming the taught line like a guitar string. This works best in shallower water and seems to drive some fish crazy, often bolting to escape the annoyance.

If these methods fail and you can pull the boat's anchor, try maneuvering around the structure. Pulling from different angles will sometimes allow you to work free. Where kelp is the culprit, a sustained pull with monofilament line will sometimes pay dividends by cutting through the supple vegetation and allowing you to resume fighting your fish.

LBF Member: big smoove

Based on extensive studies by Florida's Mote Marine Laboratory and other scientific groups, reef fish caught in water depths from 70 to 200 feet have excellent survival rates if the swim bladder gases are vented. To vent properly, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use a small hollow device like a hypodermic syringe or sharpened basketball inflation needle for a venting tool. Stainless steel is hygienic and resists rust.

Step 2 With wet hands or a towel, lay the fish flat on top of a cooler or the boat's covering boards. Gently push the pectoral fin flat alongside the fish's body.

Step 3 The venting area is in the middle of the trailing edge of the fin, in the fatty muscle tissue. Using a slight forward angle, slip the venting tool point under the scales and with moderate pressure, push the point barely inside the body cavity.

Step 4 You will see the belly deflate and hear the gases escape after the tool is inside. Take care not to puncture the stomach or intestines if they are protruding. Once the pressure is released, the fish will retract them.

NOTE Don't use a solid object like an ice pick to vent. The gases won't fully escape and bacteria may be introduced. Rinse the venting tool after use to clean it so that it is ready for the next fish

LBF Member: big smoove