Tangled tackle fondling 2025

Tangled tackle fondling 2025

A can of compressed air is handy for getting last year's grit and gunk out of your gear. It also wouldn't hurt to clean the car out more than once a year.

Patrick L. Sullivan

The Super Bowl is over, pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training, and that means spring is around the corner.

Which in turn means it’s time for the annual Tangled Lines Tackle Fondling report.

I noticed the reel bag, which has traveled around in the car for at least one full year, was full of dirt. This was in addition to reels, waterproof matches, a knife, and the extra pair of polarized sunglasses that I tore the car apart looking for back in October.

Hmmm. Maybe the definition of “tackle fondling” should be expanded to include “car cleaning.”

Anyhoo, I went to the hardware store, bought a can of compressed air, and started blasting the dirt, sand and grit out of the reels that float around loose all year in the reel bag.

While doing this I clipped off ancient brittle leaders and noted which lines needed cleaning and dressing.

Not a difficult process. They all need cleaning and dressing. Anglers don’t do this often enough. I do it a couple times a year, and as needed when my floating line stops floating.

Some people use hand wipes, the kind that come in a little packet. You can get them cheap online.

I’m even cheaper, however, so I use Dawn dish soap, which cleans everything from fly lines to birds caught in oil spills. You can even do the dishes with it.

I make a weak solution, defined as one cup or so of warm water with one small blob of Dawn dish soap. Stir until frothy, and dunk a brand new sponge in it.

Run your line through the sponge, recharging as needed. You’ll see the yick come off on the sponge.

For dressing regular PVC-coated fly lines, you can use Mucilin green label line dressing, which has silicone in it. Or you can use Albolene, which is a face cream designed to remove theatrical makeup. A tub of Albolene costs about the same as one dinky little thing of Mucilin. But the dinky thing is a lot easier to carry.

For dressing your silk lines, I refer you to Izaak Walton’s “On Ye Dressynge of Ye Snootye Sillye Silke,” 1655.

Next up, the waders and boots.

I have four pairs of waders, one is right out of the box. None have patches or known leaks. So, fingers crossed.

On boots, I have four pairs, felt and rubber soled, sizes 9 and 10. Looking them over, I see some studs have come out of the rubber soles and they have stayed put in the felt. So that means replacing a few here and there and hoping for the best.

Wading sticks: I have several, and I fully expect at least one to fail this year. So I have spares, both of the collapsible type, and the trekking poles which are adjustable but do not fold up and go into a holster.

Rods: I only have one new rod to test out, a Chinese-made bamboo number that is an experiment.

Fly boxes: I am not even going to pretend to sort this out. I’m just going to pick up where I left off.

But I am NOT buying any flies until I use up what I have. And since I have thousands…

Next time we’ll go back to the Tangled Lines medical report, featuring Mohs surgery, rotator cuffs, and how to splint your pinky toe when you bash it into the furniture at 3 a.m. — Hint: It involves duct tape.

Latest News

County legislature candidates lay out their priorities

Contested seats in the Dutchess County Legislature are close to home this election season, with Districts 19 and 25 covering the rural towns across the northern and eastern corners of the county. Though the candidates bring distinct experiences and perspectives, they share common ground on some of the biggest challenges facing local communities, including emergency medical services and affordable housing.

Here’s a look at the candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less
Classifieds - October 23, 2025

Help Wanted

Weatogue Stables has an opening: for a full time team member. Experienced and reliable please! Must be available weekends. Housing a possibility for the right candidate. Contact Bobbi at 860-307-8531.

Services Offered

Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vincent Inconiglios brings ‘Face Time’ to Hunt Library
Artist Vincent Inconiglio’s show “Face Time” opens Oct. 25 at the Hunt Library.
L. Tomaino

Abstract artist Vincent Inconiglios' love and enthusiasm for color and form are evident all around him at his Falls Village studio, where he has worked for 25 years. He is surrounded by paintings large and small, woodcuts, photographs, collages and arrays of found objects.

The objects Inconiglios has found while out walking — in Falls Village, near his studio on Gansevoort Street in New York City, and in other places throughout the world — hold special importance to him. Appreciation of them, he says, comes from “seeing while exploring. I am always finding things.” His particular delight is finding objects that look like faces, many of which will be featured in the ArtWall show at the Hunt Library.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton grocery store opening delayed

The entrance to Kim and Chris Choe’s newest grocery store venture, Market 360, in New Haven, Conn. The store opened several weeks ago and Kim Choe said the new business has required her and her husband’s attention while it finds its footing and builds up a staff.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — Millerton residents eager for a new food market will have to wait a little longer.

During a recent visit to her newly opened New Haven grocery store, Market 360, co-owner Kim Choe offered The News an update — or rather, a lack of one — on the highly-anticipated Millerton market she owns with her husband, Chris.

Keep ReadingShow less