I hope everyone has a great holiday and I would also like to extend a Thank You to everyone who has stopped by the blog. There have been 7,742 visitors from 68 countries in 2022. That blows my mind. Cheers to all!
Author Archives: veloxseeker
I’m Feeling Old Today…
I have been an early riser for decades. I am always up before the sun peeks above the horizon. Part of it is driven by habit and part is driven by physical pain. I have had 8 surgeries through the years to repair damage from use and abuse. On an average night I manage one to maybe two hours of fitful sleep. The rest of the time I just toss and turn trying to find a modicum of comfort.
With the recent Arctic blast and temps hovering around 0F I have taken it upon myself to keep the fireplace going all night. Every few hours I will stoke the fire and add another log or two. Zip will usually sit with me for awhile and watch the fire burn before returning to bed on his own accord.
It’s a great time for reflection. Sitting there watching the flames and replaying events in my mind. I am not stuck in the past by any means, but I do miss several things that I used to be able to do. I spent decades rock climbing, mountaineering and caving among other things, and I miss the mountains. I have a closet full of climbing gear that will probably never be used again. Crampons, ice axes, ropes, packs, helmets, boots, carabiners etc.
But now, my hands don’t work like they used to, and they sure don’t like the cold anymore. I don’t possess the stamina or fortitude to suffer either. I have indeed become old and relish a warm fire and a dry, comfortable place to sleep. But the things I have seen and done stay with me. Always reminding me of what I used to be. And that’s OK.
I am a fisherman now. And I take great pride and joy in that fact. I can slow down and enjoy one hobby and not worry about racing off to the next route or adventure. Perspective always changes when you are closer to the end than the start. But that is life. We might as well make the most of it!
Thanks for reading and stay warm out there.
The Reels that Started it All…
Back in the early 90’s I was fresh out of the military and enrolled in college. I had 3 part-time jobs with one of them working for a local sporting goods store. I was hired into the Fishing Department which I thought was pretty cool. I spent a lot of time drooling over the display case containing the fishing reels. Being the typical broke college student, I couldn’t afford a nice reel. Keep in mind that up to this point about all I had used for a reel was a Zebco33 and its ilk. I hated that reel and still do to this day, so I opted to try a spinning reel.
After careful consultation with my meager budget and Frank, who was the Department Manager and a hard-core angler, I opted for the Shimano TX-4000 reel. I figured it was big enough to catch anything in Oklahoma and elsewhere. I even matched it with a Shimano TX series rod. If I recall correctly…the reel cost me $34.99 and the rod was $19.99. And of course I got an employee discount so it what somewhat less than that. I just remember strutting out of there like a peacock thinking I had the “ultimate” setup.
I caught a ton of pike and smallmouth with this reel when I fished up in either Ontario or the Boundary Waters. But I quickly learned that the TX-4000 was overkill and ended up purchasing a TX-1000 and a matching TX rod. I fished that combo for about 10 years and caught thousands of fish with it. I ultimately retired those reels to my display case and they hold the central position of honor; not because they are high-end reels but from the sheer number of good memories they provided.
All I can say is that these reels served me well and I beat them to hell and back and they never let me down. Reels have come a long way and get better with each iteration, but these two will always hold a special place in my heart. 30+ years later, when I turn the handles I am amazed at how rough and clunky they are. But I guarantee that I thought they were smooth as silk back in the day. Heck, I might even fish the TX-1000 one more time next year just for old times sake. Nowadays I will admit that I’m just spoiled and much prefer the higher end reels, but these will always “get the nod.”
Thanks for reading.
Reasons That I Like Being In My 50’s…
Reflection is a big deal to me. How else would I learn from my mistakes or realize that I should be grateful?
Being in my 50’s allows me to see things more clearly and make decisions based on life experiences. I don’t worry about what other people think of me and I don’t compete with anyone but myself. I find that I am content and try to be humble in my daily life. I have nothing to prove and fully enjoy just being at peace with myself. And that has a huge impact on my style of fishing. We’ve blanked several times and I could care less. It is always good just to get out.
I don’t subscribe to the “Alpha Male Fallacy” (read David Mech and Marlene Zuk for a dose of reality) preferring instead to be more like Benjamin Martin in the movie The Patriot. I will not stand in public beating my chest boasting about how great I am, but when it comes time to stand up and be counted I will be there. Granted, we are all captive in one way or another. How we mitigate that is most important.
More importantly, I enjoy seeing my children flourish in their lives and careers. We are also expecting our second Grandchild soon and couldn’t be more delighted. We help where we can and give advice when asked.
The more I embrace my age, the more I can embrace a semblance of freedom. Instead of dwelling fully on the past I look forward to the future so I can continue to grow as an individual. I’m not sure when altruism became a form of weakness, but I wholeheartedly reject that position. Being a decent human being is crucial to moving forward.
Be kind, be humble, help others and enjoy your time doing what you love. That is exactly how we fish! From the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend a THANK YOU to each and everyone who has visited this blog. Here’s to a GREAT 2023 to all of you! Cheers
Outing: 11DEC2022.
We’ve had a lot of rain here in the past few days which causes havoc with our fishing. I wasn’t really feeling like getting out today but I have a reel I wanted to test. Zip has been suffering from cabin fever since he hasn’t been going to the trout ponds with us, so we headed to the river. Prospects for catching fish weren’t high but we decided to give it a go anyway.
Normally this time of year the river is about 6 to 6.5ft but was a little over 8ft today.
As expected, we caught nothing. It was a cool, damp and dreary day but it sure beats working. With the river level being up like it was, we didn’t try crossing to access more area to fish. We’ll get them next time! Cheers
Most Used Gear of 2022…
2022 was a fun year for us in regards to fishing. We visited some new places and were able to try some new gear. Ever since we delved into the Japanese fishing gear market, it has been an interesting ride. So without taking up any more time, lets get into it.
The Daiwa Exist turned out to be a great reel for me. ZERO issues with it ever since I bought it. Pricey, but it performs. I reached for this reel more often than any of the others when fishing rivers and streams.
The Daiwa Presso LT is another great reel. No longer made in Japan but offshored to China, this reel came out swinging. It is smoother and has less startup inertia than my Presso 1025 LTD. I seriously enjoyed fishing with this reel. I would pick this over the Shimano Stradic 1000, the Vanford 1000 and the Abu MGX Theta 1000. There are better reels out there, these were just some of what I have.
My favorite Pack Rod was the TenRyu Rayz Integral RZI50L-4. Very well built, extremely compact and easy to carry. It fished very well and the action was great. This rod lived in my Yeti Panga for most of 2022. It was always with me everytime I went out and saw a lot of use.
Another excellent choice for stream fishing. I really started to develop an appreciation for TenRyu rods this year. Fit and finish is impeccable and they are a joy to fish with. I absolutely love these rods. Accuracy was spot on, plenty of backbone for fish in current and sensitivity was stellar. 9 times out of 10, I’d reach for this rod.
Runner up for most used rod this year. Unbelievably light and sensitive. Paired with the Daiwa Presso LT 1000 reel, this outfit felt like a magic wand. It is delicate and needs to be babied, but it is worth it. Reasonably priced at around $135, but it delivers the goods. Casting distance is outstanding. Definitely not designed for smallmouth or trout but it did an excellent job and handled everything I threw at it.
You are probably sick of seeing this backpack in all of our photos. On its third year and it still keeps going strong. Waterproof and submersible, as well as being built like a tank (much thicker material than Simms or Patagonias offerings). Yes it is expensive at $300 but it is worth every penny. I would instantly buy another one if something happened to this one. It is a workhouse and holds all of our gear and then some. We haven’t found anything better that suits our style of fishing. If I’m wet wading and need to get across a deep pool, I swing this around to my front and lay on it. Then I just swim across and keep going without any worries. Cameras and cell phone as well as everything else inside has stayed 100% dry EVERY TIME.
Alhough I got off to a rough start with these boots, I ended up working around or through the issues and these boots worked out well. Traction was very good and they have held up pretty well. Not as comfortable as a heavier built boot for all day wading, but they get the job done better in certain situations due to being lighter and grippier. Coupled with the Simms Guide Socks, they just work. As stated before, I’d buy another pair.
I ended up using this Varivas line for most of 2022 on various reels. We are still trying out lines from different manufacturers so this will probably change in the future.
We tend to gravitate towards throwing jigs when fishing rivers and streams. These were the 5 different jig heads we threw most often. We tend to experiment quite a bit with the different shapes and weights and it is nice to have a selection of different weights.
For 2022 we opted to stay with the EuroTackle Finesse B-vibes in black and green pumpkin in both 2 inch and 3 inch versions. There may be something better out there but these have produced well and more consistently than anything we have tried. I would estimate that we used these about 90% of the time this year.
That wraps up the “Most Used Gear in 2022” segment. I look back fondly on 2022 since we both managed some “Personal Bests” and we are both looking forward to what 2023 brings. Stay tuned for more!
Finally!…
Some of you may remember that the wife and I purchased a $60 permit so we could fish a local trout pond and extend our fishing season. After 6 outings to that area and only seeing one trout, we became fed up and started looking elsewhere. I could post a long rant but I won’t. Let me just put it this way…2 days after the alleged November stocking date, and the lake is smooth as glass, and we are there for 2 hours and didn’t even see a single trout rise??? I am beginning to believe that this City only stocked at the beginning of the season and haven’t done it since.
We used to fish this lake pre-COVID all the way back to the year 1998 and never had an issue catching trout. Most times we would catch a limit in about 30 minutes. I’m sure there are possible reasons or excuses, but if you take peoples money, deliver on your promise. I’m talking to you City of Sapulpa.
We found another trout pond that is somewhat local to us and went to visit. First thing we noted was that the parking lot was full of cars and we could see people spaced around the lake. That is always a good sign that trout have been stocked. We found a spot and started fishing. It didn’t take long before we were hooking up with trout.
I’m not going to get into the “Wild versus Stocked” debate. I live in Oklahoma so we don’t have native trout, none that I’m aware of anyway. Not much choice but to fish for stockers. Trout fishing opportunities are sorely limited in this state. Especially when people are allowed to own portions of rivers so wading can be illegal at worst or problematic at best. You don’t have to look far to find “Kens and Karens.”
Now onto more important things…The last two rods we purchased were the Daiwa Silver Creek Glass Progressive 53L and the MajorCraft FSG-4102UL. Both of these rods are fiberglass and we have been testing them out quite a bit lately. Both will make excellent stream rods, especially for the types of fishing we do.
Both fish really well and the Daiwa rod pairs nicely with the Daiwa Exist reel. But from a cost to performance view…the MajorCraft wins hand down. It fishes identically to the Daiwa and costs 1/3rd the price. As I’ve said many times before, MajorCraft gives you A LOT of bang for the buck.
I really like the flexibility of these rods as well as their durability. It brings back memories for sure, and I can’t wait for Spring to come so we can get back out and go after our native smallmouth again.
I don’t see any major changes coming in our fishing gear for 2023. Honestly, I have more rods and reels than I need, but it is fun trying them out and filling a niche in some circumstances. I am looking at a 2019 Shimano Vanquish spinning reel. Rumor has it that they will revamp it in 2023 but if they go to the super slow oscillation like what is on the Stella, I will give it a hard pass.
I am working on a ‘Best of 2022″ or “Most Used Gear of 2022” blog post and will try to get that out soon. I hope everyone is doing well out there. Thanks
2022 Shimano Stella C2000SHG reel…
So a few months back I wrote a blog post about the Varivas line issues I was having. Upon reflection, shortly after posting I opted to delete that blog post. I decided that further testing was in order before laying all of the blame squarely at the feet of the line I was using.
Fast forward a month or two, and after using the 2022 Shimano Stella in various situations, as well as switching out lines, I have decided that this reel is not really for me. This was my first foray into high end reels by both Shimano and Daiwa. I purchased both the 2022 Shimano Stella C2000SHG and the 2022 Daiwa Exist LT 2000S-H.
I took the Stella which was loaded with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bush Trail VEP nylon line to the river and fished for almost 6 hours straight. I ended up having several line issues that required me to cut line off and re-tie a new fluoro leader.
I was baffled by these issues since I have the exact same line on my 2022 Daiwa Exist and never (and still haven’t) had an issue or even a hiccup. Once at home I immediately stripped off that line and re-spooled it with Varivas Super Trout Advance Twitch Master VLS nylon and went back to the river the next day. On that trip I encountered zero issues. I thought that perhaps the Bush Trail line was too stiff and that the Stella preferred a more supple line.
I thought all of my issues were solved until I started throwing jerkbaits and spoons. I attached a swivel just to be safe, but started to get massive twisting problems that required me to cut off line and re-tie. I was baffled.
The 2022 Stella touts a polymer fin that is supposed to prevent line twists. And currently, I am beginning to wonder if the issue lies with the Super Slow Oscillation inherent in this generation of Stella. To complicate matters further…my wife has the 2022 Shimano Stella C2000S and hasn’t had a single issue while using the more supple Varivas line. I have been going over the issues in my head for weeks and have a hard time believing that a gear ratio difference is the culprit. I can’t wrap my brain around that one…but it is not an impossibility.
To further my point with the Stella, the start-up inertia is definitely not what I expect on a reel at this price point. In fact, my 2020 Shimano Twin Power C2000S is much smoother when reeling as well as having better start-up inertia. To say I am disappointed is an understatement, especially when the Stella is touted as the “best reel ever made.” But as always, I will keep tinkering with it until I figure it out.
Below are weight comparisons between the Twin Power and the Stella. At this point I can emphatically state that the Twin Power feels better to fish with by a long shot.
As always, I am open to ideas and input on this matter. Thanks
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone had a great holiday and was able to spend time with family. We have a lot to be thankful for.
We’ve been really busy with trying to get ready for winter. Bringing in hay, stocking up on horse and chicken feed, as well as filling the bird feeders. It has already snowed twice and I realize I still need to increase my firewood supply. We will get it all done in due time.
I would especially like to give a shout out to all of the people who are trying to make their fishing areas a better place. Those who pick up trash and other detritus without being asked or told. Those are the people who make this sport and our world a better place. And I am thankful for them.
Conservation is a key component in fishing, whether it be stream/river/lake management, selective harvests or volunteer outings. We can all play a role no matter how small, so help out where you can.
I am also thankful for my readers. I appreciate each and every one of you! Until next time…take care and be safe.
Still Kicking….
Happy belated Veterans Day to all who served. Time is getting away from me, that’s for sure.
Fall is upon us which means we will probably switch to trout fishing instead of fishing for river smallmouth. We have visited the local trout pond twice so far but haven’t caught anything as of yet.
I’ve been playing around with an old-school Abu Cardinal C3 lately. I’m not going to lie, I prefer modern spinning reels! But it’s fun to pull a vintage reel out of the display case every once in a while.
I have looked at the stocking schedule and it appears that they will stock the pond once a month. I am not sure about the size and quantity but will keep digging for more info. We used to do really well at this pond but it has been abysmal the last 4-5 times we have fished it. But then again, as soon as the trout are released, people flock to the release point and beat the water to death. We usually pack up and leave at that point. I’d rather give the trout time to disperse throughout the pond/lake, but that’s just my opinion.
As a side note: We have opted to try out Instagram and both of us have pages there…#Velox Seeker and #oklafishingwife. We hope everyone is doing well and getting a chance to get out and fish. Stay safe and we will see you again soon.
Outing to Local Lake 30OCT2022…
After receiving some much needed rain Friday and most of Saturday, we awoke to a very light breeze and partly sunny skies. We decided to hit a local lake and fish for a bit.
Last outing I was using Varivas Bush Trail VEP Nylon line with my Stella and was having some issues. My wife hadn’t tried out her Stella yet so on Thursday we went to another local lake for her to cast and test it out. Hers was spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Twitch Master VLS line and performed flawlessly. I re-spooled mine with the same line she was using and today was the first chance I had to try it out on this reel.
It definitely solved all of my line issues. My guess is the Stella didn’t like stiff monofilament too much. In the short time we were there, we managed to catch 6 fish, although nothing of size.
As the season advances deeper into autumn, our fishing options narrow down quite a bit. We decided to buy a permit for another lake that stocks trout during the winter so that will extend our fishing season quite a bit. I honestly don’t think they stocked it too often due to the pandemic but we’re hoping they will get back on track.
And what would one of our outings be without picking up trash.
The plaque was laying up on the shoreline and I brought it home. Seems to really fit the current time we are living in!
It breaks my heart to see so much trash, especially after all of the time and effort we put into cleaning that area up earlier this year. Now…you can’t even tell we did anything. Looks like I’ll have another winter project.
On a side note- The Stella is amazing.
Goal Met…
Back in early January, I set an arbitrary goal of 35 fishing trips for 2022. Looking back through my notes I met and exceeded that goal on Friday with 36 outings for the year.
For me, that was quite an accomplishment with our busy schedules as well as the weather working against us. We had a very minimal spring ( 3 weeks maybe! ) which included floods. Then we went straight into high temperatures and drought coupled with a prolonged summer.
And Friday was a classic example of Oklahoma weather! 34F in the morning and climbing to 85F later in the day with increasing winds. Saturday and Sunday each exhibited high winds of 25-40mph which made our type of fishing almost impossible.
Year to date we have managed to catch and release approximately 525 fish. But that doesn’t mean much to me other than looking through my notes and trying to develop a pattern on when and where is the best time to go.
But with an ever-changing river and seasonal variations, it is still a “crap shoot” or “best guess” scenario. And that is what I love best about our type of fishing.
Soon, winter will be upon us and opportunities to fish will diminish. It is a time for planning the next season as well as restocking tackle and searching maps for new areas to explore. I can’t express enough that the sum of the parts makes up the whole.
And we both managed to catch some Personal Bests so there are zero complaints. We are definitely looking forward to the 2023 season.
Velox Seeker 