With the spring fishing season approaching the Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to make sure fishermen or women are ready. 

DNR Conservation Officer Jeremy King says the first thing people should do is check their tackle box. 

“Going through rod and reel and tackle checking, line  typically needs to be replaced about every year, making sure your hooks aren’t rusty and that they might break if you catch fish. Just doing that terminal tackle check on it is good.”

King explains that many people don’t check their fishing poles eyelets. 

“Those are often key components that really hurt your line, so an easy test is to take a Q-Tip and to run a Q-Tip around the inside of your eyelets all the way up to see if you have any bad eyelets.”

He says many outdoor stores carry eyelets for sale and they are easy to replace.