veloxseeker

Biding My Time…

With the weather being what it is…I decided to get a couple of projects done. First up was to upgrade the bushings/bearing on my Shimano Stradic C3000. Again, I ordered hybrid ceramic bearings from Plaig Bearings out of Australia.

Top to bottom: Replaced the spool support bushing, the rear oscillation gear bushing and the line roller bearing.

Next up was new jig heads. After fishing last weekend, I decided to try and find some heavier jig heads to get down into the deeper pools. I still wanted a short shank hook since these fish (Neosho strain smallmouth bass) don’t get very big. I found the Owner Cultiva JH-89 4.5gram jig heads and ordered some. I also picked up a few packages of the Owner Cultiva JH-86’s in 3.0grams. We normally fish 2.2gram jig heads.

Trying out a new method to carry my jig heads.

I enjoy fly fishing but some days the wind is really bad so I switch to conventional spinning gear. Being relegated now to fishing on the weekends, I like to maximize my time on the water. It isn’t a big deal to throw a pack rod and reel into my pack just in case.

I had planned on getting these projects done yesterday but when my Dad sent me a message about our local weather alert, I rushed out to get all of the mowing done before the rains came. So I got up early this morning to get some of these done.

Next project on the list was leaders. Store bought tapered leaders are great…I just don’t like paying their asking price. So I generally tie my own. Years ago I bought this Mangrove Leader Wallet and have never looked back. This has been one of the best additions to my fly fishing gear and I use it all the time.

It has a zipper on the end that accesses a section that goes the full length of the leader wallet. That’s where I keep my cheat sheets, sighter materials, mucilin, nippers etc etc. I love this thing!

If I could be a Super Hero, I think I would choose the name…”the Piddler” since I quite often find myself “piddling” around with my fishing gear. Tweaking this or modifying that. Countless hours are spent doing just that, in the hopes of creating something better or more effective. And I know I’m not alone!

See you on the next one…

Euro Nymphing Setup…

I ordered a euro nymphing specific fly line this week and it arrived on Friday. It is the Rio Euro Nymphing FIPS #2-#5 line.

I also have both the RIO Shorty and the Scientific Anglers ESN kit so I can keep my standard fly line if conditions warrant its use. I have a 3wt WF fly line on my Danielsson LW4 reel with the Rio Shorty installed. I’ll just carry two reels in the event I want to fish dry flies or something. I plan on tieing up some leaders today with formulas I’ve found online. I’d be curious to hear what others are using, so if you want to leave a comment please do.

I am excited to try these out but with the recent weather we’ve had, I might be delayed. For the RIO ESN FIPS line, I wanted to try the Danielsson F3W 2six reel so I put the main line on that reel.

Danielsson reels are an incredible value

I also ordered some nymphs from Fulling Mill but those won’t arrive until next week. I chose some Perdigons, Duracells, Coca Colas, Okie Dokies, Pheasant Tails, Hares Ears as well as a few jig streamers.

We have had two serious Tornado Watches in the past few days as well as thunderstorms, rain and yes…more wind. I don’t ever remember a Spring that has been this windy. We’ve been keeping an eye on stream conditions as well.

It’s somewhat frustrating to get some new gear and wanting to test it out right away, but Mother Nature has her own plans and I have to react accordingly. Patience is the order of the day and since it rained last night…maybe we can get onto the water by Sunday.

Thanks for reading!

Syndicate P2 Pipeline Pro 10ft 3wt fly rod…

I purchased a Syndicate P2 Pipeline Pro European Style Nymphing 10ft 3wt rod because it was something I was curious about. I know that I’m late to the party by several years, but I decided to give it a go.

I can see the value of this technique since fish tend to spend a rather large portion of their lives down deep. So why not incorporate it into the places we fish and the species we fish for. I’d like to try nymphs and streamer flies for the Neosho-strain smallmouth bass as well as various tightline techniques.

I have purchased both the Rio Shorty leader kit as well as the Scientific Anglers kit that does the same thing. Also, I built a Mono-rig because I wanted to try that out too. I haven’t bought a full-blown ESN fly line yet but probably will.

I tested out this rod with a Mono-rig for a bit this afternoon and it was hard for me to get used to stripping monofilament. I’m sure I could get accustomed to it, but it felt really unnatural to me. Granted, I was fishing a lakeshore with a cross wind and I’m sure this system was designed for river fishing. You definitely have to stretch the Mono-rig before fishing! Next opportunity and I will test the Rio Shorty and the Scientific Anglers kit to see if that makes a huge difference.

This rod performed really well. I tried it with the Mono-rig and could easily cast it 30ft. I also tried standard WF3F fly line and it did great. It suits my casting style as I would call this a Moderate action rod and I slowed my tempo just a bit and it performed tuck casts beautifully. I only managed to hook one Perch which was fun on this rod. I was intentionally trying NOT to catch fish but this little guy was hungry.

And as the weather warms up, more people start getting out and I tend to find new trash. I honestly feel like I’m starting all over at this local lake.

That white bucket was stuffed in a tree so I pulled it out and used it to fill half of the trash barrel. Fortunately most of the trash was in close proximity to the parking lot…WHERE THE TRASH BARREL IS. Please teach your kids, teenagers, friends, relatives etc etc that they need to put their trash in its proper place. I’m sure all of my readers already do this, but the word needs to get out to more people. Thank you in advance for being an awesome human being!

River Trip 23Apr2022…

We hit the road at 0515 hoping to be on the river by 0700 but we were 15 minutes late. Sunrise was at 0640 and the temperature was 67F with 22mph winds. I wanted to take the fly rod but opted not to since I knew the winds would continue to increase throughtout the day.

We had a near miss with Zip as he decided to chase after the two geese in the background of the photo above. I called him back and he came running but wasn’t paying attention and fell off the gravel seam into deeper water. He started dog paddling without making progress and he started drifting across into deeper water. I waded in at and the last second (the water depth was quickly approaching the tops of my waders) managed to grab him and drag him back onto the gravel bar. He was much more careful after that.

Nicer than carrying a bunch of water bottles

I was using the Daiwa Presso ST 62ML rod with the Daiwa Presso LT 1000 reel. My wife was using her Graphite Leader Bellezza RV 642UL with a Shimano Twin Power C2000S reel. We decided on using heavier rods due to the wind. We experienced periodic wind gusts of 30-45mph while on the river. Sometimes we had to anchor hard with our feet and brace ourselves. Wind AND current can be tricky at times.

We each carried a Yeti Panga 28 for our gear. Hers contained dog necessities while mine ended up being filled with trash. Even with all of my fishing gear inside, I still managed to haul out 2 beer cans, 2 plastic bottles, a beer bottle and an empty 5 gallon jug. Leave it cleaner than you found it!

She caught 6 Velox and I managed to catch 12 with one being decent.

The river was in great shape and we can’t wait to return.

Nothing recharges my internal batteries like being on a river. We had a great time and enjoyed fishing at a leisurely pace. Zip did really good and we look forward to future outings with him. The winds have been a real problem for us lately and we are hoping they will calm down soon.

We’ve been receiving these advisories daily.

I am truly grateful to be married to a woman who loves to fish as much as I do. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time!

Fishing Art…

I was in the fishing room the other day and the wife came in and commented that the walls looked kind of plain. I have maps hanging to remind me of trips we’ve taken and routes we have traveled, but nothing really artistic. She suggested a few ideas and I agreed. She ended up ordering two shadow boxes containing flies from “Classic Fly Tying” and they arrived today. They have several different shadow box versions to choose from.

These shadow boxes are done very well and will look amazing on the wall. I can see myself getting all of them in the future. If anyone is interested in purchasing items from the site, their web address is:

Home

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you soon.

Yeti Water Bottle Holder Size Large…

After a cursory search online, I was able to determine that Yeti did indeed make a larger version of their Water Bottle Pouch/Sling so I ordered one. I was wanting one that would hold the Sawyer Squeeze water bottle since I use that the most when fishing. Plus it would get it out of the backpack and be more accessible.

I added a bit of shock cord since the pouch was a little big for the Sawyer bottle.

I think this option will be perfect for river fishing.

I know everyone complains about the prices of Yeti goods, but when actually comparing similar items, it’s just about on par with everything else. The quality on every Yeti item we have purchased has been outstanding and I feel it was money well spent. I have no affiliation with them and have purchased everything with my own money…I’m just saying that their stuff is pretty damn good. And again, I’m not selling anything, just showing what we use. Fish can’t read so find what works for you and go with it. Take care and Happy Easter.

More Practice…

This morning I got out early and started practicing my fly casting. I feel that one can never practice enough. And since there was very little wind this early in the day, why not practice?

I started with a Fenwick Fenlite 5wt which is a fast action rod. I do not feel that my casting ability is up to the level where I can achieve the full benefits of a rod like this. So I switched over to a Redington Classic Trout 9ft 5wt which has a medium fast action that is more suited to my casting style.

And before anyone starts calling me out on practicing over gravel…it’s the straightest, most open place I have to practice on. Also, I don’t throw out my old fly lines, but rather save them for practice use.

Remembering the lessons my Dad taught me when first learning to cast…I set up a feed bucket and began practicing. To me, accuracy is more important than distance so I focus on that. In time I will increase the distance.

First distance is 30ft…I moved up to take the picture.

After about 30 minutes I was able to put approximately 3 out of 10 casts into the bucket. The rest were either over and past or right beside. I am trying to focus on accuracy, minimal effort and consistency.

I’ve probably watched every Lefty Kreh casting video on YouTube which to me is a good thing. That legend could CAST. But everybody is different so it takes time to develop a style you are consistent and happy with which is why practice is so important. I hope to take what I learn to the river and fine tune it some more.

And I agree with Lefty… “clocks are for telling time”

Outing to Local Lake 16APR2022…

Well, the good news is that the wind stopped howling out of the South. The bad news is that its howling out of the North. Temperatures yesterday were 84F and sunny but today it was 51F, rainy and overcast. That’s a typical Oklahoma spring…the weather is always terrible on the weekends.

Between gusts of wind and rain showers, we managed to get out and fish for an hour. She caught 2 little largemouth bass and I caught one. And I do mean little. We figured that the front that moved through would push them back into deeper water and we were correct.

What can I say…it beats staying at home. Some times you just have to go fishing and that’s exactly what we did. The weather looks great next week but my weather app shows more chances of rain for next weekend. Go figure.

Nothing to be done but to muddle through it and wait for better conditions. Besides, soon enough I’m sure I will start complaining about the heat! Catch you on the next one.

WIND…

I apologize for not posting anything to the blog that was fishing related. We have been dealing with high winds for the past 6 days which has made fishing almost impossible in our area. Average wind speeds have been around 17mph with gusts up to 48mph and after this next round of storms moves through tomorrow, we are hoping that it will calm down some.

Yeti Water Bottle Pouch/Sling…

Today the wife and I were on a mission. We were trying to find 2-piece Medium Power Bass Spinning rods and weren’t having much luck. We hit Bass Pro and Academy in Tulsa to no avail. The rods they had were either 1-piece or super cheap rods. We like to purchase stuff somewhere in the middle. We ended up heading home empty handed to get some chores done around the property.

Fast forward a couple of hours and I mentioned that I was hungry and sought her opinion on grabbing something to eat. We decided to head over to the next little town to eat. After that, as we were driving to the highway, I offered to drive over to Dick’s Sporting Goods. We both kind of laughed since we’d never had much luck buying fishing gear there. But we said what the heck and drove to it.

We did manage to find an Okuma 2-piece Medium power rod and as we were walking to the checkout stand…we stopped at the Yeti area to see what was new. I told her that she should get the Yeti Sidekick to go on her Panga 28 since it adds room to hold regular use stuff like soft plastics. She snatched one up. As she was checking it out I noticed something on the bottom shelf of the display and asked her to hand it to me. It turned out to be the Water Bottle Pouch/Sling for their 18oz Rambler. I looked it over and we decided to each get one. We have been trying out various methods to attach a water bottle to the side of the Panga 28 but never really liked any of the options.

These are very well made and seem to be really practical. They’re easy to put on and take off and don’t flop around all over the place. Now on to the pictures…

We think these will work out really well and plan to test them out thoroughly. I need to do some research and see if they come in a bigger size. That would be nice for the Sawyer Squeeze Filter Bottles we use a lot.

On a side note: I tried to talk her out of getting a Yeti Panga 28. Instead I suggested she get the Yeti Hopper Backflip cooler so she could carry the ice cold beer while we were fishing but she was having none of it. Can’t blame a guy for trying! Catch you on the next one…

Local Lake 03APR2022…

We decided to fish a local lake that we hadn’t fished in quite awhile. It requires a boat so we loaded up our Jon boat and headed out. I know that I did a post previously where I explained why I don’t own a boat…but I consider this a glorified beer can more than a serious boat. But they do serve their purpose. Besides, we can’t tow much behind a Subaru.

This was going to be Zips first outing on a boat and we were curious as to how he would do. It ended up being nothing to worry about as he really enjoyed being out on the lake. I like this dog more each day!

After inspecting the entire boat…he decided to curl up and relax.

I took my new Smith TRMK-423UL rod and the 2021 Diawa Presso 1000 and I have to say…it performed really well. A couple of times it should have broken and didn’t. I’m impressed!.

This bass made multiple runs underneath the boat and the rod held.

Nice Crappie! They were on the beds so we released them to fulfill their duty of creating a future population.

Several chunky little Largemouth Bass were caught.

I was constantly manning the tiller. Most of the time I had the stern pointed into the wind and the motor on Reverse #2 just to hold our position to some extent.

Once the sun fully came up, the wind really started building and we decided to get off the lake. We have a storm system rolling in later tonight. Typical Oklahoma Spring weather. We fish every opportunity that “time” and the “weather” allows. Thanks for reading…

Smith Troutin’ Spin Multiyouse TRMK-423UL Spinning Rod…

I have been looking at this rod for months and decided to just get it. I want a short rod for some of the creek fishing I have planned. What drove me towards this rod is that it’s fiberglass in the last section. This should allow more flexibility in the tip to make several different types of casts with really light lures.

Zippered nylon case with end pockets and velcro keepers for the tip sections.

Tip section ends in fiberglass where the rest are graphite.

Don’t ask me…I have no idea why. Youse-guys??

This is the first 3-piece rod I have owned. Supposedly it is stronger than a 4-piece since it does not have an extra junction. Also, It should be lighter because of that. I think at some point we will be splitting hairs when it comes down to specs. Per the manufacturers website, it lists this rod at 74 grams. Although I will note that their spec sheet says it’s FULL GLASS but also states “with solid glass only in one tip section.” I will probably have to pony up for an Anglo&Co. G411 rod to get the full benefit of fiberglass. Maybe someday…

Also, something that I have been kicking around is doing pictures of bending curves for each of my rods. Not sure if there is any interest in that…if so then I will give it a shot. Take care out there and get out and fish.