I purchased this pack several years ago to use when fishing streams. You can find it on their website http://www.zimmerbuilt.com under “Tenkara Gear.”
Specifications:
-VX-21 fabric
-Capacity: 1300 cu in.
-Height: 19.5 in tall
-Width: 11 in at the top and 10 in at the bottom
-Depth: 6.5 in
-2 external Tenkara rod holders with shock cord retainers up top.
Dual Daisy Chains with Shock Cord.Simple shoulder straps with sternum strap.Single zipper, top-loading design.
This is a very well made pack and runs $95.00 on his web store. This is the lightest pack I own for fishing, coming in at 8.75 ounces. Perfect for carrying a rainjacket, water bottle and lunch, as well as some fishing lures or small tackle pouches/boxes. The back is unpadded so I added a piece of half inch closed cell foam to protect my back from sharp objects. It is not waterproof or submersible but rather highly water resistant. I can attest to fishing in light rain for 6 hours and everything stayed dry.
I don’t do Tenkara fishing and have never used the rod holders on the side. Instead, I break my rods down (4-5 piece) and store them inside.
I like to have several options of gear to choose from so I can tailor my needs to the trip.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…I’m being overly dramatic by quoting Dickens, but I understand the frustration occurring in his novel.
The two rods, The Daiwa Presso ST 62ML and the two replacement sections for my Abu Garcia pack rod, shipped together from Japan on the same day. Both arrived in Anchorage Alaska and both arrived at Memphis Tennessee on Friday evening. For some reason, one continued on to Tulsa where it was subsequently delivered yesterday. The Abu Garcia rod parts just disappeared in “tracking limbo.” Found out last night despite the “Scheduled Delivery January 24th by 1630” message that the rod parts were sent back to Anchorage Alaska. Nice job FedEx!!!!
This isn’t the first time FedEx has messed up a shipment going through Memphis and I may opt for shipping via DHL from this point forward. I bring this up not to complain (too much) but to highlight a very real pitfall to ordering JDM rods from Japan. Interestingly, I’ve never had an issue with reels ordered from Japan…just rods. As a sidenote…JDMTackleHeaven packages their rod shipments in PVC pipe with the ends well secured and clearly labelled as to destination. Outstanding packaging.
I am curious as to whether this will be chalked up to the usual COVID supply chain problems as opposed to the real cause…imcompetence. Time will tell. But in all honesty, I’m grateful they don’t ship through California, what with all of the mass theft and looting going on there. In fact, I do my research before ordering to absolutely avoid having anything shipped through California.
This is just a cautionary note and your mileage may vary…good luck.
I had pre-ordered this rod back in December and it arrived today. I’ve been hearing good things about the Presso ST rods and decided to try one for 2022.
Specifications: Daiwa Presso ST 62ML
Length:6’2″
2 piece rod
97cm break-down length
Weight: 75grams
Line weight: 2-5lb
Lure weight:0.8g-5grams
8 rod eyes
The wood reel seat is a nice touch.The handle isn’t too long.
Fit and finish is decent and the rod feels good in hand. The accents were nicely done without being too over-the-top. The balance was excellent with the 2021 Daiwa Presso LT 1000S-P. The Daiwa Presso LTD 1025 balanced well also.
I believe the Daiwa Presso rods are designed for Area trout fishing in Japan. These types of rods are designed for light lines and have a more limber/parabolic action to them as opposed to the stiffer Native trout fishing rods that are designed for stream fishing. This was the reason I opted for the ML (Medium Light) action rod to increase the stiffness a bit. This rod has a good action for our type of fishing. I would say it has a Moderate Fast tip with a stiff butt section. That will help fight fish in current better.
I don’t like my fishing to be overly complicated. Our preference is to break things down into modular components to be incorporated into a bigger System. Furthermore, we prefer to travel light and be efficient with the goals we have set.
Just one example of the concept.
Our Fishing System:
–Footwear: wading boots or shoes, neoprene socks, gravel guards etc.
–Water Filtration: Hiker Pro, Sawyers or Squeeze bottle
–Navigation: map, compass, GPS or none
–Packs: sling, shoulder, waist or backpack or just pockets
–Rods and Reels: proper choices for intended species
–First Aid Kit: small and light…not performing surgery!
When wading streams and walking over rocks and boulders all day, every extra pound carried can equal pain. We try hard to carry no more than 10 pounds and preferably less. There is always a balancing act in our gear between weight and durability. As an example, I tend to carry the Yeti Panga 28 backpack more often. With two straps the weight distribution is better than a sling pack. Yes it is heavier but is by far the most durable pack I own. In the future I will showcase a few other pack options that I have and use.
By traveling light we can move faster and go farther. Not that we are “speed fishing” or anything, but rather, we are not overburdened when hopping across boulders or trying to maintain our balance when crossing current.
Your comfort has to be factored into the System as well. Tennis shoes are a lot lighter than wading boots, however, how will your feet feel at the end of the day? I know from experience that my feet feel trashed after wearing sneakers all day while stream fishing. The beefier yet heavier wading boot has a lot more support and protection. But when factoring comfort into the equation, I’ll deal with the extra weight penalty. Besides, I’m not getting any younger!
And by implementing a modular approach into the system, it is easy to switch between packs to further reduce weight or increase convenience. With thought and planning you can custom tailor your gear to each outing or you can settle on one system and stick with it.
I am not creating anything new here, rather, I am just sharing what we use and the thought process behind our system.
Orienteering/Land Navigation is a valuable skill for us. Being able to determine exactly where we are on a map is critical. Also, it is a perishable skill and requires practice and repeated use to maintain proficiency.
For trip planning, we rely on topographical maps, Google Earth satellite images, county maps and even real estate maps sometimes. When traveling in our vehicle we rely on GaiaGPS because of its offline capabilities. We have the paid upgraded subscription for the added benefits we need. It takes some time to learn any new navigation system and this was no different. I use a Lenovo M10 FHD Plus since it has built-in GPS. That’s the main point when using a tablet for navigation: BUILT-IN GPS. My new Chuwi Hi 10X doesn’t have it.
My current land navigation system of choice is a map, a compass and a GPS utilizing the UTM format and a slot tool. UTM stands for Universal Transverse Mercator which basically means the Earth has been sectioned into grids of roughly 1000 meters square.
Using the tick lines along the edge of the map, I used a ruler and drew the gridlines onto this McKenzie map of the Boundary Waters.
The GPS gives me coordinates in a UTM format. I take those coordinates and apply them to the map with a UTM Slot Tool. It sounds complicated but it is not. Once you understand the concept of using UTM it becomes really fast and accurate.
One form of slot tool that is available.
There is a company that I purchase my slot tools from called MapTools and their website is http://www.maptools.com
There are several options when it comes to slot tools and they also depend on your brand of map and map-scale. The prices are reasonable and I usually buy several.
I do not 100% rely on a GPS since batteries can fail or electronics can fizzle out, so having basic Orienteering skills is a must. Rather, I try to use all of the tools available at my disposal to get the job done.
This method comes in handy when locating backcountry camp sites, marking fishing hotspots, points of interest and even general location as well as time management. We always carry Gazeteers or topographical maps of the areas we are camping/fishing in.
Smallest, functional GPS I could find at the time: Garmin Foretrex 401.
My compass of choice for taking a bearing is the USGI Cammenga. Pricey, but rugged and the easiest I have found to shoot an azimuth. Baseplate compasses such as Suunto or Silva are great too for using in conjunction with a map. I carry a Suunto as a backup.
MapTools has a kit for beginners who want to use the UTM system and a slot tool. It is very thorough and helpful in explaining and putting to use the concept of UTM.
This might sound like overkill for fishing but something to consider is that backcountry forest roads are notorious for always changing or not showing up on maps. Logging roads are even worse. When getting turned around or temporarily confused, it’s a simple matter of reading the GPS coordinates, pulling out a map and a slot tool, and fixing your current position. You can make informed decisions from there and decide what to do next.
There are many benefits to the UTM system and it might be worth exploring. Thanks for reading and I hope this post was useful.
NOTE: UTM or Universal Transverse Mercator is made up of 3 components.
The above photo displays the various methods we use to filter our water while out fishing. Obviously we don’t carry them all at once but rather tailor them to each trip. It depends on how many people are along, what packs we are using and how long the trip will last.
We tend to use this option the most. Scoop up water, screw the filter/cap back on and squeeze.These are a great option because they’re cheap and effective.
The Sawyer Squeeze and Sawyer Mini filters are compact and screw onto most water bottles. I have used the Squeeze in a homemade gravity filter for large groups. They can be connected to water bladders as well. Some people prefer carrying water bottles but I don’t like toting the extra weight. I tend to reuse plastic water bottles for a long time so one is enough for me. We’ve used the Sawyer filters for years and have never had an issue. And being able to backflush them extends their lifespan.
We use these when base camping.The Katadyn Hiker Pro.
The Hiker Pro has been our workhorse. It’s simple and fast. The cost is reasonable for what you get. I like the fact that is has quick disconnect fittings. This allows me to hook it directly to a bladder and fill it up.
An original Katadyn/PUR filter.
This filter is HEAVY! It uses a silver impregnated ceramic filter and guarantees that it removes viruses. A big plus if you travel where water supplies are super sketchy. It’s Swiss made with machined aluminum fittings. It is also VERY SLOW and your arms will get a workout.
When space is at a premium, these are a nice bit of kit.
This is not an exhaustive review of the multitude of filters that are available. I’m just sharing what we have, use and carry on a regular basis. I can vouch for each of these models since we’ve had them for multiple years. The only downside to any of these filters is you do NOT want them to freeze. If it’s really cold, I keep them in a jacket pocket or even in my sleeping bag during the night. After each trip we also back flush them and let them dry completely before storing.
I did a blog post about using JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) fishing tackle about a year ago and I thought I’d do a follow up post.
I find the Japanese fishing industry very interesting. The gear, the specialization and the sheer mass of tackle at their disposal is fascinating. The cutting edge equipment and ever-evolving techniques is something to keep an eye on.
So when the wife and I made the plunge into JDM gear, we were clueless and taking big risks. Sure we had done some preliminary research, but there wasn’t a whole lot out there on our specific fishing style. Not saying that we are unique in any way, but that there appeared to be a gap between Trout fishing and Bass fishing, our style tended to blur the lines between the two.
The emphasis out there seemed to be on SUL, XUL and UL rods and then over to M,MH and H rods. We were looking at L (light) to ML (medium light) rods. Our plans were to fish rivers and streams with current yet the fish would generally be 3 pounds or less. We would just have to buy and try and hope for the best.
If you’ve read my blog then you have seen all of the rods and reels we have purchased so I won’t go into depth in regards to those.
What I will tell you is that these rods and reels took our fishing to the next level. Sensitivity was better, construction quality was better, they were lighter and smoother as well. The main thing was that they increased our enjoyment of fishing and it is hard to put a price on that.
I am NOT badmouthing any of the rods and reels you can purchase locally. I’ve fished with them for years and years. I just wanted something a bit more…a bit better.
And we found them! The Major Craft brand has been excellent in price vs performance. The TenRyu rods are true Japanese made rods and are outstanding, yet pricey. Tailwalk rods have great aesthetics and functionality. None of our rods are classified as high-end JDM rods by a long shot.
The pure joy of using these rods has made fishing truly fun again for us. Even the wife noticed and commented that she hadn’t seen me smile that much in a long time. Keep in mind that we are not wealthy by any means. I was forced to work overtime for months and we opted to use some of that income to purchase the items you see on the blog. But in hindsight, I would have no qualms about buying any of the rods we have with whatever money we had available. To me, they were worth the expenditure.
It was never about “snobbery” or being trendy. It was about finding joy and filling a niche in our style of fishing. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
In 1977 when I was around 7 and half years old, I began to have severe pain in my right hip. It got to the point where I didn’t even want to walk. My parents scheduled a doctors appointment and after careful inspection and several x-rays…it was determined that I had Legg Calve Perthes Disease in my right hip.
Basically, LCPD stems from blood supply to the femoral head of the femur/hip joint being cutoff resulting in the bone dying.
Not me! But a close representation
The femoral head becomes misshapen causing pain and makes walking difficult. I remember over-hearing my parents discussing treatment options with the doctors. My choices as I understood them were: amputation, hip replacement surgery once or twice and eventual amputation or an experimental orthotic brace.
I know my parents still wonder if they made the right choice…but I’m going to wholeheartedly say that they did. I’m still not sure what caused the condition. Maybe it was genetic…who knows.
We were sent to a Shriners Hospital in Alexandria Virginia if I can remember right. There, I was fitted with a prototype leg brace. I remember how heavy they were (approximately 30 pounds) and they were made of leather and steel. They had a metal bar between my knees to force my hips apart. This was supposed to reduce pressure on the joint and hopefully allow it to heal and regenerate.
Me at Jamestown Virginia 1978
I was told I would need to wear these at all times, even when sleeping. I remember my father coming into my room on the second night and carefully removing the braces to allow me to sleep better. That was awesome.
Over the course of 2 years (1978-1980) the braces went through 3 prototypes with each subsequent model getting better and more user friendly. I did things just like any other kid despite these leg braces being so damn heavy. But when I needed a rest, I had to use a wheelchair, especially when out doing things in public.
Now you know where Chuck-E-Cheese came from!
Besides the pain and the weight, what I remember most was how people treated me. It seemed as if there were 4 categories…A) I was a freak, B) they had sympathy, C) they understood and treated me as normal or D) they avoided me. Believe me…you learn to get used to people staring at you.
In school, the teachers strictly forbid me from doing anything at recess and went so far as to assign someone to stay inside with me and play board games or something. I have always been an outdoors orientated person so this was torture to me lol.
That 70’s style!
Fortunately, they don’t use this form of treatment anymore and just reduce activity and let it heal on its own.
I was born with a strong will. And I credit that and my family for carrying me through situations such as LCPD. I refused to be seen as handicapped and instead figured out ways to work around it. I didn’t let this condition define me. Thankfully most children are resilient and with support can go through stuff like this without too many lasting scars.
So if anyone noticed me standing kind of funny in any of the pictures on this blog…now you know why. One leg is shorter than the other and still causes some pain. I’m sure I could use a hip replacement but I’m not ready for that yet.
I guess for me, the key take-aways are that just because a persons body isn’t 100% doesn’t mean their mind is handicapped too. Staring and pointing makes YOU Captain Obvious! Duh, we know we’re different lol. Save your pity…we’ll figure it out and cope with it in our own way.
And a big THANK YOU to my Dad. He was my rock and was always there for me. He let me help out with splitting and stacking firewood and all of the other chores and projects. He treated me like a normal kid and introduced me to fishing as well. Sometimes just being present is enough to encourage people to keep moving forward.
This morning I received confirmation that the replacement rod sections for my Abu Garcia Troutin Marquis Nano are in the air and on route to my location.
It will be good to have that rod complete again. I’m looking forward to fishing with it. Lesson learned…DON’T lift your fish with the rod vertically. I knew better, but lost focus and paid the price. And that rule generally applies for all of my JDM rods.
The other habit that was hard to break was doing the “BassMaster Classic hookset”…now I rely on super sharp hooks and/or a sweeping hookset. Sometimes just engaging the reel is enough to do the job.
Fishing is always a learning process and I am a life long student. I wouldn’t want it any other way…
This rod was a surprise Valentine’s gift for my wife. We were talking awhile back and she casually mentioned that she could use another rod for her pack. We both routinely carry a backup rod in our packs for various reasons.
This was the first rod that I have ever pulled out of our mailbox. Usually they are in a box and the postal carrier stashes them in the bushes behind our fence. I received delivery confirmation via text message and headed outside to get it. I searched the usual spots and didn’t see anything. But upon opening the mailbox…there it was. I was quite surprised.
Nicely trimmed,Individual sleeves for each rod section.I’ll never understand Japanese rod names.“Learn A Lesson From The Past”Very nice cork!“A Thing Good Commonly”Length was 18 inches, Width was 5.75 inches.
I apologize for the lackluster photos. It was late and “someone” really wanted to play with this rod. From what little time I held it…the action seemed pretty good with some whip in the tip sections and a nice parabolic bend into a stiff butt section. I think it will make a great stream rod. It should pair well with a 1000 to 2000 size reel. The deep blue rod blank was different, almost all of our rods are black/grey.
I can confirm that it fits inside her Patagonia Stormfront sling pack…as that’s the last place I saw it. I think it will be a good fit for her and that she will really enjoy fishing with it. And just so everyone knows…she is not the type to go fishing with me where she ends up reading a book or sunbathing. No, she’s wading rivers and streams, tying her own lures on and handling all of her own fish. She fishes hard and manages all of her own equipment. She is a valuable asset to this fishing team of two!
I was looking at JDM rods today and ran across the Apia Grandage Lite series of spinning rods. I like minimalist rods for the type of fishing I do. Cork is classic, but it adds weight that in a lot of cases is unnecessary. And the rod I’m looking at is the Apia Grandage Lite 6ft 1in model. Coming in at 56.5grams, that is intriguing as to what it would fish like.
I like simple, lightweight designs.The Apia Grandage Lite 61 rod.Specifications on the rods that piqued my interest.
I am not familiar with Apia rods and haven’t found a lot of information on them. There are some YouTube videos from Russia showing them in use so I can at least see their bending curve. I like what I see so far. This 61 rod might be a contender. I’d put the 2021 Daiwa Presso LT 1000S-P on it and see how it balances.
Guess I need more rods to fill the “holes in my head” and I might just take a chance and see how it plays out.
This post isn’t exactly fishing related, but I am toying with the idea of moving my fishing journals and notes over to a digital format and this tablet would work.
I needed a Windows tablet for my Amateur Radio hobby and also because I was looking for something portable for field use. Possibly to do blog posts or edit photos as well. Unfortunately, so many SDR (software defined radio) apps are Windows based and several of my Amateur Radio programs are Windows only. I’m not a programmer so I have to play the game.
This little tablet is surprisingly well built with an aluminum shell and it came with a nice keyboard and stylus. The specs weren’t too bad either…6GB of RAM and a 128GB eMMC drive. Not a Ferarri…but a family sedan has its uses too.
I have a laptop that I use a lot but it is large and also a power hog and I was hoping for something more efficient. Tablets are always a compromise solution since the processors aren’t that great. And true to form, this Chinese tablet threw me a curveball with the included power cable. It’s an AC wall wart that terminates in a USB-C cable outputting 12VDC @ 2Amps. I had never seen a USB-C pushing 12 volts.
Great for home use but useless when out in the field. I don’t like using inverters because it seems ridiculous to go from DC to AC and back to DC voltages. NOT efficient.
So after doing some research I found a thread where people were experimenting with various componentry to get it to charge from a battery pack. They recommended the Baseus 65W 30,000mAH battery and a Voltage Trigger assembly of some sort. It seemed simple enough so I searched on Amazon and ordered one as it was relatively cheap and I can always use another battery pack.
the USB-C port can output 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V and 20V, Nice!
Next up was locating a Voltage Trigger that tells the battery pack to go from the standard 5 volts to whatever voltage is selected via the push button on the board…in my case 12 volts. I always head over to eBay for stuff like this and for good reason. There is an abundance of choices.
Think I paid $6.85 plus shipping for this particular Voltage Trigger. I opted for the USB-A to USB-C version.These numbers might be helpful.
And as they say…”the proof is in the pudding”
I connected a UGreen USB-C to USB-C cable from the Baseus battery pack to the Voltage Trigger board. And from the other end I connected a USB-A to USB-C cable to the Chuwi tablet.
A note of caution here! The Voltage Trigger has multiple voltage outputs so you need to select the appropriate one for your device. Otherwise BAD THINGS COULD HAPPEN. The LED is right next to the push button switch and is color coded to correspond with the voltage settings. In my case: Green = 12VDC. And voila! The tablet started to charge.
Charging Icon.Display showing 12VDC output.Everything is working as it should.
The best feature of the Baseus battery pack is that the display will show ouputs of 5 volts, 9 volts, 12 volts, 15 volts or 20 volts when you push the button. I cycled through the Voltage Trigger settings (LED colors) BEFORE connecting to my tablet just to make sure I had the correct voltage output.
It works! A bit convoluted but it’s functional. A protective housing for the Voltage Trigger would have been nice and I will probably try to sort that out. But now I am not tethered to the grid and can take it with me everywhere.
Project complete! A relatively cheap and cost-effective way to lighten my load and still have some functionality. It works and does what I needed it to do.
Velox Seeker 