Warning:

Plnor fishing involves fishing with a line that is not contained on a reel. Therefore fishing with this method can be extremely dangerous to other anglers and bystanders, especially if large fish are involved. Extreme care should be taken when using this method if children or junior anglers are in the area.  Utilizing the Plnor method can result in serious injury or death.  Understand the risks of Plnor fishing before utilizing this method.

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Why haven’t you heard of the Plnor Fishing method? 

 

Well basically because I made it up.  No really… I just made up the term Plnor fishing after fishing with this method for over a decade.  Plnor fishing is a modification of the pole and line fishing technique that is one of the earliest forms of fishing.  For clarification, the pole and line method has been further described as a pole and line no reel fishing technique.  I started with the acronym PLNR to describe my fishing method but decided to clarify the way I was fishing and created a new term.  Therefore the Plnor (Pole and Line NO Reel) fishing method was born.  

 

 

 

Why use the Plnor Fishing Method?

 

Plnor fishing is an exciting fishing method since keeping your hands on the line transfers every movement of the fish to you.  In addition, it can be a productive method of achieving records in certain situations.

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What is Plnor fishing?

 

Plnor fishing is a modified pole and line no reel technique that is more versatile than cane pole or Tenkara fishing since Plnor fishing allows you to select the amount of line you want to wind onto a spool. By refin­ing the Plnor technique over the years, my tackle includes a rod and line on a spool that is only attached to the rod by threading the line through the rod guides.

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To protect my hands, I normally use a setup that is similar to fly fishing.  I take a spool and attach a large amount of backing (usually 50- pound test dacron) to the spool.  Then I attach a fly line to the backing and conclude with a monofilament or wire leader.  In extreme cases, a glove and heavy parachute cord line are used. This technique is a mix of handline fishing, cane pole fishing, fly fish­ing, and conventional rod and reel fishing. The addition of fly fishing techniques added to the Plnor method has increased the effec­tiveness of Plnor fishing, especially when using light lures.

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You can Plnor fish using almost any fishing rod you have. Cut the line from your rod and remove the reel. Run the line from a spool through the rod guides and add whatever terminal tackle you normally use. The spool is often dropped inside a bucket to contain the line. If you decide to make a cast, pull line from the spool and place it on the ground next to the bucket, then cast your lure or bait. A weighted line can be lowered into the water to pull line off the spool when Plnor fishing from a boat or dock.

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The bucket can be used to contain the retrieved line while a fish is being fought. The line is stripped into the bucket or onto the deck and not rewound on the spool until after the process of fighting a fish concludes. My equipment includes several different rods and line weights for varying conditions. This technique will work with a cast­ing rod, spinning rod, or a fly rod.

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My book, The Art of Fishing for Records contains a section on Plnor fishing, including how to achieve records using this method.  You can also see Plnor videos on the Osborn Fishing Youtube channel.

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