Category Archives: Fishing Trips/ Outings

Average Size of Velox in Our Favorite Streams…

As I’ve stated before, the Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass does not grow to the same size as the Northern-strain Smallmouth. Habitat and other environmental conditions severely limit the growth potential of the Velox (Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass.)

Our local stream conditions vary greatly during the course of a year. Floods and droughts are the biggest factors. Some years there is barely enough water to get your ankles wet and other years you are pushing the limits of safe wading. Yet the Velox perseveres!

I have spoken with biologists and have read various papers on the Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu velox) to gain insight into this magnificent little fish. How they over-winter, seasonal stressors, forage and feeding patterns etc. etc.

And that’s also why I refuse to fish a stretch of river to death…I just pick a few prime spots and move on so that I am not negatively affecting a larger proportion of fish.

Knowing what this fish endures during a one year cycle makes me respect it even more. And the fish in the picture above is estimated to be between 8 and 10 years of age! Long live the Velox…

Managed to Get Out for a Bit Yesterday…

The wife and I managed to get out to an area lake for a bit of fishing yesterday. We had to wait for the morning fog and mist to burn off, but it was good to get out.

With all of the snow melt and recent rain, the lake was about 4 feet higher than normal. This made it very difficult to fish from the shore due to there being about a 12 foot swath of weeds/reeds extending out from the shoreline. Normally we are fishing from the edge of the weeds and have no problems casting.

We ended up walking about 3 miles around the perimeter of the lake and only managed to find 4 openings to cast from. Tough conditions!

This was the first time the wife was able to use her Major Craft Troutino rod and her Shimano Vanford 1000 reel. She was amazed at how light the setup was and how easy it was to cast light lures for distance. All in all she was very happy with it although we both noticed a little bit of a grinding sensation coming from the Shimano Vanford 1000. I may crack it open and apply some grease to the micro-gears to see if that helps.

With the fish still being in their winter pattern, they were down deep in the holes and too far for us to cast too, we got skunked. We managed to still have fun and tried out various lures as well as being able to get a feel for the new rods.

We left when the sun came out and the wind kicked up making casting more difficult. I was glad to see her enjoying the new rod and reel and seeing her smile…