We finally made it back to the trout pond. We are still dealing with the new house and trying to get everything finished. I purchased a rod back in January and did not have time to take it out and use it, which was the main reason I wanted to go fishing today.
The rod is a Daiwa Presso Air AGS 61L. It is one of Daiwas top tier Area trout rods. It has the AGS guides which are carbon fiber with C-ring inserts. These make the rod lighter and more sensitive.
All I’m going to say is that this rod is so good that I’m tempted to sell most of my other trout rods. The fish hooked themselves! I could even tell when I had algae on the hook of my spoon. My wife can attest to what I’m saying. Both of us ended up catching a total of 15 trout this morning. 13 were on the new Daiwa rod alone.
With it being Super Bowl Sunday and having rain in the area, we figured we’d have the place to ourselves. There were a few diehards out, but we were far from them. The rod performed so well that we took turns catching fish. We were amazed and full of smiles and having fun. It was almost too easy.
Now we can’t wait to get back out there and catch some more. We will see you on the next one…thanks for reading.
WordPress just reminded me of the date. I just wish the timing were better. I’m not really feeling it at the moment unfortunately. But Thank You to all the readers and visitors. You are all very much appreciated.
They say a man is blessed if he has one good dog in his lifetime. I have been blessed many times over.
It all began when our daughter dragged two puppies home many moons ago. They were abandoned on the side of the road with a bucket and a blanket. Both ended up having the mange and costing thousands to heal. But that is part of owning pets. They become family, and as such, their healthcare is your responsibility.
Jack was unique, part boxer and part Dalmatian. There wasn’t a mean bone in his body. In fact, he was a quiet peacemaker. Many times he would wade into a dog fight to break it up, only to be viciously attacked and bloodied. He detested violence.
He had the patience of Job and always greeted us at the front door. He loved his comfort and he loved his meals. He would wake you up if you slept one minute past his meal time.
He died in my arms at 0622 on Feb 1st. I’m glad he went peacefully, but we are heartbroken. There is a huge void in the house now and I can tell that Zip misses his brother. He is buried with his family at home. He will be missed by all. Love you Buddy!
Even as a pup, he loved his comfort.We ALL miss him.
I have been staring at these reels for a long time. They are hard to get and pricey. Several times I have been in the right place at the wrong time and never picked one up until recently. A good friend of mine decided to part with his, so I snatched it up.
They come in several varieties, with this one being the 2023 flavor. I really like the 2021 100th Anniversary edition in Blue.
As I’ve stated in the past, these are really popular amongst Japanese anglers. They have an entire cottage industry specifically surrounding these reels.
I have an old Abu Garcia/Zebco Cardinal 4 so I will show the internals of both.
2023 Abu Daysprout Cardinal 3Made in SwedenAftermarket Avail Shallow Spool in aluminumVintage Abu/Zebco Cardinal 4 from the 70’sMade in SwedenAbu/Zebco Cardinal 4 internalsAbu/Daysprout Cardinal 3 internals.
If it ain’t broke, don’t mess with it! The bearings are better and they balanced the rotor, but for all intents, it’s the same at it has always been. There is no end to what you can do to this reel in terms of upgrades. Only your wallet is the deciding factor.
I think it will be fun to fish with. I have a couple of rods in mind for this reel. I seriously doubt it will replace any of my other reels, but who knows.
PSA: Chris Stewart has quietly returned to the SFS/BFS scene. his website/store are back online and he’s slowly restocking. His website is http://www.finesse-fishing.com and http://www.tenbum.com. Chris is an absolute wealth of information and I consider reading his site a yearly necessity.
I am stoked for 2026! Ready to get out there and fish, make plans for outings and trips, and even purchase some new gear. All in due time.
We are still trying to put the finishing touches on the new house and are working with the builder to resolve a few issues. It has been a long process. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel. Since we downsized a bit, getting things to fit has been a challenge. We ended up combining her home office with the fishing room. Most women wouldn’t go for that, but she loves it.
It will definitely be a nice base of operations! And true to form, we already have EuroTackle B-vibe soft plastics on order for the upcoming season. The tariffs have not made it easy to order things from Japan, and we are not happy about that. All of that is way above my pay grade and out of my wheelhouse. Besides, we spent a pile of money on new furniture and things for the house anyway.
All we have to do is make it through the winter and we have it made. And to all who read this…Happy New Year!
With weight and space restrictions forced upon us, careful gear selection was critical. We decided on two reels and two rods apiece. We packed a variety of plastic paddle tails and jigheads. We figured that if necessary we could find a local tackle shop to resupply if we miscalculated. We packed minimal clothing since most hotels have laundry facilities. The only purchase we made specifically for this trip were pairs of Simms ZipIt booties.
Definitely recommend Simms Guide Socks with these.
Our rods of choice were the Shimano Zodias 5-pc travel rods.
Reels of choice were either the Shimano Excense C3000 or a Shimano Twin Power C3000.
For reel sizes, 2500’s work well, but we opted for the C3000 size. They are built on the 2500 frame yet have a bigger spool. A Shimano Vanford 2500FA would be a great choice due to it’s lighter weight.
Water bottle holder, rod holder and pliers are essentials!
We like soft sided zippered boxes like these. They keep everything contained and easily accessible. Four of these will fit inside a Yeti Panga.
We always carry a spare spool of line and leader material.
We opted for Gecko boxes because they are waterproof and inexpensive. We want our jigheads and lures kept dry and out of the saltwater. When we use a lure and need to change, it goes into a separate bag until we can wash them off in freshwater.
Inside the Gecko box is everything we need to fish for a full day. What you see above is our Day 3 selection. We were carrying too much tackle the first day. By day two we were slowly paring things down to lighten our load. We also carried 1.5 liter water bottles and a Gatorade apiece. The Gatorades were very nice after a long day of wading. Especially considering a long walk on the beach back to the car in the blazing sun and heat.
Clothing was as you would expect. Lightweight breathable garments with hoods. We wore buffs and hats, fingerless sun gloves and sun glasses. it was easy to submerse ourselves and let the breeze cool us off.
There were a couple of funny moments. On our first day of wade fishing, we both had sharks on our minds. We were waist deep and I noticed a bow wave coming right at us. I pointed it out to her and we both started backing up towards the shore. Then it dawned on me…bow wave and no dorsal fin showing. It ended up being two manatees that came close enough to check us out before moving on. Pucker factor temporarily high!
On Day 2, we wade fished the back bay. The wind and waves were up, as was the tide. The water was stirred up and visibility wasn’t that great. She was up ahead and leading. We were up on a sand flat and were fishing the deeper troughs. I told her to keep her eyes out for sharks and she responded by saying she hadn’t seen any. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and sure enough, a 4-5ft Lemon shark glided right by me in the trough. Yah, I can’t rely on her to spot sharks! Lol.
On Day 3, we were fishing the back bay and were catching Jacks. Those little suckers fight like mad. We spotted another Manatee cruising around and a pod of Dolphins working the troughs we were in. Obviously we got out of their way. It was a neat experience for us Okies. Surprisingly, it didn’t seriously effect the fishing as we were soon into Speckled Trout.
Anyway, I figured I would share the gear we used in case anyone was interested or planning a similar trip. Thanks for reading…
First off, I would like like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope they are doing well. Secondly, I’d like to give an update on what is going on and why we have been absent.
My wife and I started the process to have a house built back in August. We are finally in our new house. We had to clear some of our land which entailed removing around 70 trees. That part we did ourselves and I can tell you…I’m getting too old to do stuff like that. We bought a shipping container and converted that into living quarters. We had our old house demolished and used the existing slab to build the new house on. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we live on a hilltop. It was cost prohibitive to level a new sight. The estimate for that came in at around $47,000 so we opted for Plan B. Fast forward to Christmas Eve and we now have the keys and are almost moved in.
I say all that to explain why we haven’t been posting. We haven’t had much time. In fact, we have not had a day off since August. We did make a trip to wade fish in Florida back in May. A belated post on that trip is incoming in 2026. But other than that, the fishing has been pretty slim. Factor in the tariffs, and we have not purchased much of anything from Japan. I did pick up a Daiwa Certate and I also picked up a Penn Authority reel in St. Petersburg Florida while we were there. Interesting reel and I will do a post on that in 2026 also.
On a lighter note, we welcomed our third Grandson into the world. It reminds us how fast time goes by and how old we are getting. But we have many things to be thankful for and are truly grateful. Hopefully things return to normal in 2026 and we get to go fishing a lot more. Stay tuned…and Thank You all!
I was late to the spoon fishing game by all accounts. A very knowledgable gentleman by the name of Christopher Stewart was the first to open my eyes to the possibilities of using spoons for trout and panfish. It helped that he stocked and sold Japanese spoons as well as rods, reels and lines.
What many people do not realize is that there is a system. You need to match the rod and reel, as well as the line to the type of fishing you are doing and to the target species. And this is especially true when using spoons. We are NOT talking about Johnson’s and KastMasters here, simply because they are not manufactured in the weights we will need. In some cases we will be using spoons that tip the scale at 1 gram or less and fish them very slowly for panfish. I find trout prefer a more erratic action and almost always hit on the drop…or when I stop reeling and let the spoon freefall for a few seconds.
What I have discovered is that spoons allow me to fish almost the entire water column effectively. I can vary the speed, the depth and the action without changing lures often. And in cases such as this, I prefer a JDM Area Trout rod due to their being more of a moderate action rod specifically designed for light lines and lures. I have yet to find a US rod that comes close to being suitable for fishing sub-1 gram spoons and other various light lures. You have to remember that in the JDM (Japan Domestic Market) world, they make rods with ratings of Super Ultralight, Extra Ultralight etc etc. They are truly specialists in their fishing pursuits. This is why I harp on JDM tackle since it opens a whole new world of tactics and techniques and it is very effective.
Various spoons ranging from 1 gram to 10 grams.Purpose built Daiwa Presso Spoon Wallets.A wide array of spoons of different sizes, colors, weights, shapes and actions.
I would also like to give a huge shout-out to my good friend Robert in Virginia. He is a true Master of his Craft when it comes to ultralight angling. He is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable anglers I know and is always on top of the JDM market. He freely shares information and tips which can be rare these days. I have hinted several times, unsuccessfully I might add, that he should be writing about JDM tackle since I think many people would enjoy the information, and it is hard to find good, reliable sources. He has tested more rods and reels than I could ever fathom.
Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer them or find the information. Cheers.
2024 was a wild ride and if I’m being honest, I’m glad it’s over. We could only squeeze in one vacation last year so we didn’t get to take any major fishing excursions. However, we did hit our goal of 50 outings apiece for the year.
With our youngest son being a Sophomore in college, funds were tied up in education which was way more important than fishing gear.
I was tempted to do a “Most Used Gear of 2024” post but not much has really changed. Besides, we fished for everything from Carp to Stripers so the gear list would be rather long anyway.
I did manage to purchase 3 rods last year. There were only 3 that popped up on my radar and I eventually got them. They were the Palms Egeria Native Performance EFNS-61L, the TenRyu Rayz Alter RZA-612S-LT and the MajorCraft Finetail Works Tune FGW-4102UL.
Palms Egeria Native Performance EFNS-61LMajorCraft Finetail Works Tune Area FGW-4102UL
As for reels, I only purchased two new ones. The Shimano Twin Power C2000S and the Daiwa Airity ST SF 1000. Both are mid-tier and incredibly smooth reels. I’ve been very impressed with both.
2024 Shimano Twin Power C2000S2024 Daiwa Airity ST SF 1000S-P
Other than new Veles lures we bought throughout 2024, we continued to rely on the proven EuroTackle B-vibes in 2 inch and 3 inch varieties for most of our fishing. They are tried and tested and reliably catch fish when nothing else will. We are trying to find Tungsten jigheads in suitable weights to get away from lead heads.
We are currently kicking around several ideas for excursions in 2025. Possibly hopping on a plane to the Tampa Bay area to do some inshore wade fishing for Redfish, Snook and Speckled Trout. We will definitely hit some of our favorite rivers to be sure. As usual, we are pouring over maps and seeking out those “thin blue lines” that hold possibility.
Here’s to a successful 2025 to all! Thank you to everyone who read this blog last year, even though content has been hit-or-miss , we really appreciate it. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a hearty shout out to Darell over at Classic Fly Tying for being a faithful reader. We really appreciate your support and wish you all the best!
Finally! The weather cooperated and we hit the river again. Saturday was 93F and promised to be the last hot day of summer. This morning we woke up to 41F and a chilly start, but it’s a welcome relief.
We have really missed fishing the river, but it’s been too hot and not enough rain to put it in prime shape. As I’ve stated several times, we don’t like to add undue stress to our beloved native smallmouth, so we leave them alone for the hottest parts of the summer. We also lost the Mother-in-Law at the end of September so we have had to deal with all that as well.
Anyway…we arrived at 0801 with 43F temperature and were geared up and on the river bank by 0815.
My first fish was a Crappie…not quite what I was expecting
It took us a bit to figure out where they were since they weren’t in their usual haunts.
Her first fish was a nice one
We found them hugging the bottom so it required a longer drop of the lure than normal. This is why we carry a selection of jigheads from 2.0 grams up to 4.5 grams.
My rig for the day…Tenryu Rayz 632L and a Shimano Twin Power C2000S
My wife brought two rods this time. One for jigheads and one for hard minnow lures. Certain stretches of the river require hard lures due to the fact that they just won’t bite a jighead and soft plastic. Don’t ask us why…we are just as baffled as everyone else.
Fall is just starting
Once the sun was up and had burned off the mist, the bass started cooperating. Plus, it was nice to ditch the coats.
Zip thoroughly enjoyed himself!
As usual, she caught the biggest fish of the trip. We had a great time and caught quite a few fish and hopefully can squeeze another river trip or two in before the weather turns cold. Even then, trout season will start soon so we have that to look forward too.
Catch you on the next one…and we will try not to make it so long between posts.
Last Sunday my wife and I went to one of our little local lakes and fished for a few hours. We did pretty well considering the wild weather swings we’ve had.
Our main goal was to see if the Crappie had moved up into a pre-spawn pattern. Long story short, they had not, but rather were still scattered about the lake.
I managed to catch my Personal Best Black Crappie during the process which was pretty cool. I will post two pictures, one of a perch and the other of the Crappie so you can get an idea of the scale of the fish in the net.
Healthy perch that put up a good fight.Nice Black Crappie.
Needless to say it was a great outing and we had the lake all to ourselves for the entire time we were fishing.
I went to work the next day, Monday, and was showing my co-workers a few pictures and catching up on recent events when I was informed that one of my co-workers had passed away on Sunday. It hit like a sledgehammer because nobody had thought it would happen to that guy. He was super nice, friendly and just an all-around great guy. He passed from a heart attack at home at the age of 53. Entirely too young!
It tends to hit home, especially since I’m about to turn 53 and it certainly makes you wonder and question things. There are very few guarantees in life and we must use our time wisely. Perhaps I need to change things in my life and reset my priorities? I definitely need to schedule a medical checkup since I’m notorious for not going to the doctor until it’s absolutely necessary. It was a wake-up call for all of us.
I want to keep fishing for many more years and enjoy what time I have left, and I’m sure everyone has plans until they leave this Earth.
My thoughts are scattered all over the place and we are still processing his death. I don’t want to ramble on incoherently so I will finish this post and wish Travis a fond farewell and may he rest in peace. Godspeed my Friend.
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.
Velox Seeker 