The summer months on the Texas coastline on the Gulf of Mexico (and most other locations where marlin live for that matter) get pretty dang hot. I know that women aren't supposed to sweat, but men do, and I sometimes find myself fighting a fish that has gone down and dirty in 100-degree heat. I usually end the fight drenched in sweat from crotch to eyeball.
Most reel handles found on heavy-tackle reels are rather slick, and when you mix a heavy drag setting with the torrent of sweat running down your arms, you might find your hand slipping off the handle at the worst possible time.
If you're like me and can't stand to wear a glove on your reel hand all day, try this simple, inexpensive solution. I take #64 rubber bands, commonly found on almost every boat in the world, and wind them figure-eight style around every reel handle in the spread. Usually, just two rubber bands per reel work well enough.
This figure eight of rubber bands makes a totally nonslip surface, no matter how much perspiration or seawater gets on the handle.
Richard Richardson /
Houston, Texas
