veloxseeker

Back on my Feet!

These past few weeks have been hell. It took almost 2 weeks to see my doctor and getting pain medication seemed to take an act of Congress. I was essentially bedridden for 8 straight days due to intense pain. It took a full 12 days before I could actually sit in a chair for more than a minute. Once the MRI was done and the damage became known, things seemed to move a bit faster.

It is frustrating to be treated like everything is either a minor injury or it’s psychosomatic. The MRI ultimately showed that I had a serious tear in my gluteus minimus origin as well as a minor tear in my hamstring origin all located in my right hip. Speaking with an Orthopedic doctor, he really didn’t want to do surgery given its location and instead gave me a steroid injection into the hip socket. Needless to say, the pain is still there but the injection helped and I’m mobile finally and able to do things.

So the first thing I did was hit the trout pond at the crack of dawn! The weather has been weird to the say the least. One day it was 87F and the next it was 31F. That’s Oklahoma weather for you!

I did pretty well and managed to catch 8 Rainbow trout…or Pellet Pigs as we call them since they’re hatchery raised. It was good to feel the tug and hear the drag sing.

I normally do not take the trout out of the water and instead release them. But on this day there was an older gentleman who asked if he could have any trout I didn’t want so I gave him 3 which is the limit. It was 33F and I could tell he didn’t really want to get his gear out and stand there for any length of time so I obliged him.

The trout season is winding down and this pond was stocked for the last time on February 28th. We had a decent winter season all things considered. And I’m sure, like so many others, that we all are looking forward to Spring and warmer weather. See you on the next one.

Out of Commission…Temporarily

Upon return from our previous fishing excursion; I stepped onto the deck to wipe my shoes off with a boot scraper and instantly, I was on my back. The wet wood coupled with algae/lichen or whatever was enough to make me slip and fall.

The damage was two broken fingers, a wrenched shoulder and messed up hip. The fingers still look pretty bad and thankfully the shoulder has healed up well. The right hip on the other hand is very painful.

Fortunately the shoulder pain was pretty much gone by the time the hip flared up. I woke her up around 0130 on a Wednesday and asked her to drive me to the ER. She knows I have a pretty high pain threshold so she figured it was serious.

The ride to the ER was agonizing as I could not sit nor lie down. I literally stood in the examine room while they tried to work on me. They gave me a Fentanyl injection and were amazed that I was still standing there. The shot did absolutely nothing. Next up was a Dilaudid injection which took the edge off but still did not provide any relief. After being forced to lie down for a CT scan, which was not pleasant, I was back in the room and still standing. By the time the pain had eased just enough for me to finally sit on the hospital bed, the nurse came in and said the CT scan was clear and didn’t show any fractures or dislocations. Then she handed me the discharge papers with a prescription for 12 Percocet tablets. She suggested that I see an Orthopedic specialist as soon as possible.

Now…I’m not a doctor, but if Fentanyl and Dilaudid didn’t provide any relief, then what makes anyone think that Percocet was going to do anything? But that’s just me I guess.

Thankfully there was a cancellation at the Orthopedic specialists office and he could see me the next day. The 25 mile drive was excruciating but I was hoping that he might finally give me some relief. Nope. He said the CT scan wasn’t very good and only showed half of the hip but he didn’t think an x-ray, CT scan or MRI was necessary and that Motrin would help me. If the pain didn’t get better then he suggested I go to the ER again. UGH!

At this point I am really getting frustrated. I called my primary Care Physician to make an appointment. I figured I could suffer through one more day and explain everything to my doctor. Later that evening I get a cancellation notice from the doctors office and was urged to reschedule. My doctor had the flu. This all happened on February 7th and 8th by the way.

Needless to say it is currently February 18th and I am out of Percocet and have been bedridden since the 9th. Sleep has been virtually impossible and I still cannot sit down. I do have a doctors appointment for Tuesday the 20th which I am seriously looking forward to. None of this makes sense to me. I am not impressed with any of the treatment I have had so far but hopefully that will change. If it wasn’t for an old tens unit we had lying around, the pain would be a lot worse than it is now. I will add that not one doctor or nurse cared one iota about my broken fingers. They never even looked at them despite me asking for them to do so.

Fingers crossed that this is nothing serious and I’ll be back on my feet soon. As always, thanks for reading.

Outing 4 February 2024…

The day started off rainy and cool but we were really wanting to hit the trout pond again. We figured with the rain, hardly anyone would be at the pond fishing, and we were right. There were a few diehards but they stayed on the floating docks under the metal roof.

We started off by throwing spoons. We tried several different colors but other than a couple of bumps, they just didn’t seem to be interested. Mrs. VeloxSeeker opted to try her Veles Handcrafted Lures and immediately got a hit and reeled in a nice rainbow.

I was lucky enough to see the hit and watch the fight while standing on the bank holding the net. It was obvious that she was onto something. And for the record…dummy me only brought spoons so I begged a Veles lure off of her.

I chose a different color scheme and it proved to be effective as well. At that point we decided to try as many different lures as we could to test out their effectiveness on trout.

She switched to the lure pictured above and was into her second trout in no time. We could see the trout swirling from time to time and occasionally one would leap 2 feet out the water chasing something, so we knew they were actively feeding.

I will digress here for a bit: I was using a Daiwa Presso ST 62ML rod which was designed for “Area Trout” fishing i.e. trout ponds. And I’m here to tell you, it was dead in the sensitivity department. I could only feel the heaviest spoon or the biggest Veles lure. It excelled in the casting department as it easily cast lures as far as you would want to. I was fortunate to even catch the trout that I did.

Shortly after catching my rainbow, the rain kicked in and she wasn’t feeling much like fishing. She offered to let me use her rod ( the lovely DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62) and I jumped at the opportunity. Four casts later and I’m into another rainbow finally. Score is 2-2!

I literally couldn’t get enough of that rod. I kept casting and managed to hook a third rainbow and the fight was on. After a short scuffle, the trout rocketed out of the water, spit the lure and gave me the “middle fin.” I was grinning from ear to ear and decided that it was a good time to leave. What a perfect ending to a 2-2 game!

Happy 3rd Anniversary of this Blog…

It is hard to believe that 3 years have gone by in regards to starting this blog. Our intent was to show and share information on gear we use, places we go and the types of fishing we do.

Analytics show that the blog had 2,862 views from 61 countries last year. As stats go, I’m sure it’s not very impressive to some, but we’re happy with it. Even if we made one person laugh or helped someone in any way…then it has been a success.

We sincerely thank each and every person who visited, liked a post or left a comment. And we hope to continue to fish, travel and have fun.

Thank you ALL!

Today Was HER Day…

We woke up to 30F and pea soup fog but the forecast said it would clear by 10AM. I’m up early every day so I was back in the fishing room getting my gear ready and changing some hooks out. And I can’t really blame her for sleeping in since the weather was cold and damp.

We finally arrived at the trout pond and it was good to see several others already out there fishing. And it didn’t take her long to hook into her first trout. It was a nice battle and she handled it perfectly.

I should take a moment to clarify something about yesterdays post. The DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62L is her rod. I was just giving it a quick test when I caught the trout yesterday. Very impressive rod and she got to experience what I was trying to explain yesterday. She REALLY enjoyed fishing with it and catching trout.

Her first trout was chunky and put up a great fight.

I managed to hook one but I gave it some slack and it slipped the barbless hook. My rod was the Soare SS Ajing S58L-S and is quite a bit stiffer with an extra fast tip…which is not ideal for trout ponds and trout fishing. Sometimes common sense is over-ruled when it comes to wanting to test out a new rod. Lesson learned.

It didn’t take long before she hooked her second trout. I reeled in and raced for the net, all too happy to help since I wasn’t catching anything but a chill. Once safely in the net it was time for me to take pictures.

Once the sun came out and the fog cleared off…the bite was over. We fished for another hour without a single hit. We didn’t even see a trout rise or swirl anywhere. At that point we decided to grab lunch and head home.

And yes…I earned a good ribbing on the ride home! Skunk Boy-that’s me!

Finally!…

The weather has been conspiring against us for most of January it seems.

Fortunately we had a small warming trend and some rain which “de-iced” the trout ponds. Today the temperature was 37F but with 18-20mph winds so it felt like 26F. Come hell or high water…we were hitting the trout pond, and we did.

We had two new rods to test and hopefully give them a proper workout, but sadly we only caught one rainbow trout. Granted, it was a decent one at around 3 pounds.

For those interested…The rods were a DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62L spinning rod and a Shimano Soare SS Ajing S58L-S spinning rod. Both are fantastic casters and I caught our only trout on the DreemUp. The rod performed flawlessly and really helped keep the trout under control.

DreemUp DCT 62L on top and the Shimano Soare SS Ajing S58L-S on the bottom.

Wish we could have stayed longer but the wind and cold made us head for home. Talking with a few of the regulars, they confirmed that it had been stocked this past Thursday so hopefully we can return tomorrow.

It felt SO GOOD to hear the drag sing and feel the pull on the rod. It has been too long for sure. And once again, the trout spoons came through for us. Of the 6 anglers present, ours was the only trout that we saw being caught. I can’t stress enough how effective these spoons can be.

Hopefully we can return tomorrow and do a bit better…

Today Was A Bust…

We have been really wanting to go trout fishing but a recent winter storm and below freezing temperatures have forced us to wait. A new rod has been sitting here waiting for me to give it a good workout and it is probably just as frustrated as I am.

The weatherman assured us that it would be 32F by noon so we made plans and gathered our gear. But we all know that they are about as trustworthy as a politician! Temperatures ended up dropping by noon as a new round of winter storms approaches. The rain, sleet and ice are supposed to start falling by 6PM.

We pulled into the trout pond and noticed that there wasn’t a single person fishing. Never a good sign! We can’t actually see the pond from the parking lot so we parked and walked down to the edge. This is what greeted us…

The aerator/pump was running and that was the only open water, but casting and getting a fish would’ve been tough…too much ice to contend with. We put Plan B into motion and opted to drive to another pond.

Two pockets of open water well out of range and socked in with ducks and geese. Not a chance!

We gave up and headed towards home. We ended up detouring a bit and checking out one of our local lakes and it was iced over too. Something we had never seen before. After that we called it a day an opted to relax for the rest of Sunday. The weather forecast looks bleak for next week but maybe we will get another chance come the weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Choosing One’s Own Path…

I have never been one who followed the herd. I am not special nor a trendsetter. Honestly, I could care less about being in any form of “limelight.” If I develop a concept or theory in my head, then I follow it and see where it leads.

Yes, this article brings JDM gear back into focus. I am not trying to sell anything and never will. If you’re interested in JDM gear then you understand. What I will try to demonstrate is that it is possible to defy normal convention.

Case in point: Almost all JDM stream/native trout rods have cork handles. Cork is fine and we are not against that. However, we have found that having a composite handle suits us much better. Area rods tend to have a lot of dense EVA foam on them. Cork and foam tend to be insulators whereas straight composite grips transfer every nuance of the lure or fish straight to your hand. I have often wondered what a graphite/carbon fiber fly rod handle would feel like while nymphing! The problem is finding a rod that meets our criteria and we are forced to look at other possibilities.

TOP: JDM Area trout rod handle, MIDDLE: JDM Stream/Native trout rod handle, BOTTOM: JDM Ajing rod handle.

The easiest way to explain it is that Area trout rods are more whippy and have a parabolic bend, whereas Stream/Native trout rods have a stiff backbone yet possess a responsive tip. This also transfers over to UL Saltwater/Light Game whereas the Mebaru rods have a similar action to Area rods and the Ajing rods are similar in action to the Stream/Native rods. Area = Trout Pond and Stream is exactly what it sounds like.

We spend quite a large amount of time researching Ajing (Horse Mackerel) spinning rods. These rods are NOT designed for our intended purpose, but we try them anyway, and so far it has worked in our favor. Not only are these rods lighter, but also more sensitive and responsive.

I have literally held my Tenryu Lunakia 6’10” 2-piece rod straight out in front of me and had a friend rub a dandelion seed head against the tip…and I could feel it!

I am not knocking USDM (US Domestic Market) rods…too much, but I honestly can’t stand the way they feel/respond. Components are quite unimpressive and the price is off in my opinion. But then again, in all openess, we’ve never found a USDM rod that is designed for the fishing we like to do. That being said, if I’m chasing Northern-strain Smallmouth, then I’ll grab an off-the-shelf rod and use that. My priorities are pretty simple at that point…ML to Med action and be a 2-piece rod. That’s it!

With the exchange rate being what it is……currently 148.14 YEN to $1 USD, it’s a no-brainer for us. It’s the perfect time to find bargains on quality rods and reels. Another factor is the Japanese have sales quite often and you can save even more. Several online sites even offer free shipping adding up to more savings. Sorry if it sounds like im preaching!

On another note…the reels I have settled on are the 2019 Shimano Vanquish and the 2023 Daiwa Airity.

We do own Shimano Stella’s and Daiwa Exist’s which are their top of the line reels. But for me anyway, these mid-range reels are just about perfect and I don’t ever see me buying a high-end spinning reel again.

Defy convention…don’t think outside the box, just get rid of the box! Fish can’t read.

With all that being said…once it warms up to above freezing, we plan on hitting the trout ponds today. The stocking schedules have been off due to the recent winter storms so we will keep our fingers crossed.

Catch you on the next one…

P.S. Just a “public service announcement”- If there are any bass guys reading this, JDM Tackle Heaven is having a huge sale until January 31 and they have a ton of Megabass rods on sale. www.jdmtackleheaven.com

No affiliation on my part.

Our Most Used Gear of 2023…

It’s that time of year again when we go over our most used gear from the previous year.

First up will be the wading boots…

We both used the Simms Flyweight Access Boot. It was the second season for my pair and they are showing some wear but otherwise are holding up fine. Lightweight with plenty of grip.

Our choice of jigheads changed this year. We found the Daiwa Gekkabijin’s to work very well. Runner up was the Duo Tetra Works Sniphead Large.

Our favorite snap this year ended up being the IMA Tariki snap in Size #0 and #1.

For the second year in a row…we still prefer the EuroTackle 2-inch and 3-inch B-vibes in Green Pumpkin or Black.

New for 2023 was adding a Yeti GoBox 15 to the loadout. We were looking for something that could hold all of our extra jigheads, snaps, plastic baits and spools of line. It lived in the vehicle for most of the season. It was nice to reach the car after an outing and reload what we needed.

For me, my most used reel was the Daiwa Airity. I absolutely loved using it and can’t recommend it enough. My wife used her Stella almost exclusively and loved it. She has recently received an Airity so we will see what 2024 brings.

My most used spinning rod ended up being the Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS51LL again. Great rod for our type of fishing and target species.

Her two favorite setups. The Stella C2000S with her Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS61LL and her Shimano Soare XR S58UL-S rod with a Soare XR 2000 reel.

I did spend quite a bit of time in 2023 fishing with baitcasters and really enjoyed throwing hard baits with them.

Daiwa Silver Creek Stream Custom 8.5 on a Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS51LL-BC followed by a Shimano Scorpion BFS on a MajorCraft Finetail FSG-B462UL glass rod.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in a pic of some nets we used for 2023. We purchased these off of Etsy from a Ukrainian master craftsman who goes by ZenNets. Excellent nets!

I am sure that there are things I’m leaving out, but these were the main items that stuck out in 2023. We explored several new areas, enjoyed beautiful scenery, had a lot of laughs and a few disappointments. But all-in-all, we had a great year of fishing and continued to learn a lot. Here’s to 2024 being a great year as well…CHEERS!

My Handcrafted Lure Addiction…

I have a “thing” for handcrafted lures and it borders on an addiction. What’s worse is that my wife has the same addiction. Our favorite lure maker is Duro Cucak from Serbia…better known as “Veles Handcrafted Lures.” In my opinion, he makes the best lures I’ve seen to date. The craftsmanship is outstanding and every lure is a masterpiece. Whats more, they fish well and catch fish.

Our next favorite lure maker is Alexandru Piper and goes by Panlures and is based out of Bucuresti, Romania. His lures are outstanding, run true and are durable. Granted, a lot of his lures are aimed at the European trout fisherman, but many will transfer to here in the States.

Both of these artists can be found on Etsy as well as a few other websites. I’m not trying to sell anything, but if you’re interested, go check them out.

Elecom Nestout Batteries and Lighting Systems…

We had noticed these Nestout batteries and lights a year or so ago (2022) on a Japanese camping forum. We liked the concept but they wouldn’t ship to the US. Fast forward to 2023 and we noticed that they were selling them on Amazon so we grabbed a few. They are slowly trickling in their entire product line via Amazon. They have batteries ranging from 5000mAh up to 15000mAh’s as well as two different lights…the Lamp-1 and the Flash-1.

For camping, or even wading a river, having a dustproof and waterproof battery pack that has USB-A and USB-C was handy to have. Currently they have the batteries in 3 colors…grey, black and tan.

Only the lights come with a tripod and storage bag so be aware of that. Also, it is a proprietary fitting that comes with a screw on ring that attaches to the battery and allows for the USB light to plug in and lock into place. If you’re charging a phone or GoPro it won’t matter, just plug the cable in and go.

10,000mAh battery w/ Flash-1 light…you can see the locking ring in the middle.

The Flash-1 is adjustable from 30-1000 lumens.

These will work well for us and we can appreciate the innovation and design concept. They have already been pressed into service during a recent power outage and did a great job.

2024-Hoping For The Best…

Life has been a whirlwind to say the least. The mother-in-law has been in and out of the hospital and physical rehab since September, our workloads have increased at our jobs as well as getting the usual stuff done around here. The holiday season kept us busy as well. We are both ready to relax a bit and catch our breath.

Our youngest son goes back to college this weekend and today is our youngest grandsons first birthday. And of course, Old Man Winter roared onto the scene. We were at 61F on Thursday and now it’s 14F out there and we will be below zero soon. I can’t complain, my father, who lives in Saskatchewan, is sitting at -34F right now. That’s brutally cold and I feel for him.

We will definitely be pulling the maps out soon and see what we can come up with for 2024. Things changed at my company so they are doing vacations differently. It is almost impossible to get two weeks in a row off, which is very disappointing. If nothing else, perhaps we can squeeze in some long weekends and get some fishing in.

Not that it really matters, but we did reach our goal of 50 outings for 2023. I managed 56 and she ended with 51 outings. My journal shows we caught 516 fish and we released every single one of them. I’m sure some would call that a “fools hobby.” We didn’t even bother taking pictures for a lot of the outings because we knew we wouldn’t have time to edit them. Run and gun was the name of the game.

With each and every year, we are getting our gear dialed in more and more. There are a couple of rods that have caught our interest as well as a reel or two. We have learned a lot and will continue to research and test out our theories as we chase that ever elusive goal of perfection.

More importantly…we are still having fun!

Stay tuned for more content in the near future and thanks for reading.

P.S.- to top it all off…we have experienced a surge in earthquakes in the last 24 hours with the USGS registering 9 of them. We felt a 4.2 at around 945pm last night and just had a 4.7 a few minutes ago.