There are going to be times when you want to use the exact same lure on a different outfit with different line weights. Maybe you want the lure to dive deeper or shallower, or you’re fishing different type of bottom where it’s to your advantage to fish a stronger, heavier line. With experience, you can pretty much look at a rig and tell whether it’s got 6-, 8- or 12-pound-test line on it, but it’s still helpful to mark the rig somehow.

One option is to use a piece of color-coded tape that you can buy in the crafts section at the local Walmart. Different colors – blue, green, red, black – stand for different tests of line. Cut off enough to wrap around the bottom of the rod handle and the tape will be a constant reminder of which rig you’re grabbing.

Another way to go about it is to apply a piece of tape and use a Magic Marker to write the line test on it as well as what type of line it is. I can pretty much tell what size line I’ve got on a reel by looking at it, but it’s still not easy telling 12-pound-test fluorocarbon from 12-pound-test monofilament, and there are differences in their performance that a fisherman needs to take into account. Having a quick visual reference will save time and confusion.

—– Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.