Seek, Catch, Release, Protect
This meme stays on my phone at all times. Invariably when I send a picture of a fish that I’ve caught, my friends always ask that ONE QUESTION: “Where’d you catch it?”
The picture is usually followed by another text that includes this meme. At that point, it’s probably a good idea to just turn your phone off, because you know what their response is going to be.
Just Sayin!
Here in Oklahoma, the weather can be unpredictable. All of our fishing plans begin with a weather check because it can change so fast. As of today (March 13th) we have had a total of 4.05 inches of rain for the year. 2019 caused a lot of problems for fishermen due to lake and river levels being high for months.
As you can see from the chart…in 2019 we had 59.55 inches of rain. And 61.79 inches of rainfall in 2015. Both years resulted in massive flooding. I’m hoping 2021 won’t end up being the same.
I remember canoeing and fishing on a local river where it started out as a beautiful sunny morning yet by noon, the skies opened and thunder and lightning drove us off the river. We even had a tornado come through in close proximity.
That level of unpredictability forces you to be alert and prepared. We generally have to carry more gear than we like. I’d rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
So Spring is almost here, and with it comes crazy weather…we’ll do the best we can and capitalize on every opportunity to fish. Stay safe!
EDIT: and for some humor…I’ll throw in some earthquake info. We’ve had 346 earthquakes in the last 30 days and 1,948 earthquakes in the last 365 days. Fracking needs to be banned!!!
I have wanted a decent “pack rod” for a long time and finally found one that’s really good.
So let’s get the specs out of the way first:
-Rod length is 4ft 6in up to 5ft when adding the “switch section”
-Lure rating is: 1-8 grams
-Line rating is: 2-6 lbs or 0.3-0.8 #PE
-Weight is: complete package – 12 oz/340 grams
– rod and sleeve- 3.6 oz/102 grams
– rod only- 2.4 oz/68 grams
-Length is: full case- 16 5/8ths inches
-butt section- 14 3/4 inches
It has a wood reel seat, double up-locking rings, wood spacers, cork grips, Fuji K-frames with SiC inserts and an EVA foam butt cap. As far as power goes…its rated as an UL or ultralight, but since its a “stream” rod, it feels more like an LL or Light-Light rod to me. It’s definitely stiffer than an “area” ultralight rod. Fit and finish is as expected from a Major Craft rod.
I can confirm that this rod (in it’s complete package) fits inside a Patagonia Stormfront/Stormsurge as well as a Yeti Panga 28 pack. More than likely I will just carry the rod and sleeve to save weight.
I am extremely excited to try this rod out. I have a couple of rivers in mind where this rod will be perfect.
The wife and I have been looking for a mid-size pack for the types of fishing we do. We currently use Patagonia Stormfront Sling Packs (20L)as well as the Yeti Panga (28L) for our all-day or multi-day outings. The Patagonia and Yeti packs are submersible whereas this pack is not, since the main zipper isn’t a true waterproof zipper like the TiZip.
Since I have been interested in JDM gear lately, I looked around to see what was available for that market. That’s where we ran across these Abu Garcia One Shoulder Bags. For some reason these aren’t available to the US market which I find rather odd. I think they would be really popular for anyone fishing a stream.
The specs show that it is 7L but it seems bigger than that. It has one, 2-way zippered, main compartment as well as an outside zippered pocket that is the width of the bag. There are no internal dividers or key fob thingies. It does have external lash points, a rod holder sleeve, a Daisy-chain strip with D-rings and a web strip to hold a net and another to hold a pair of pliers (velcro keeper seen on the right of the pic.)
The material is thinner than a Sealine Dry Bag, but for no bigger than it is, it should hold up well. Also, it is for LEFT shoulder carry only, if that might be an issue. My only concern is the shoulder strap. It is not padded at all but does have a 2 inch quick release buckle to secure it around your person. We will see if it chafes the neck or not.
For those interested in purchasing this bag…we found them on Amazon.jp which had the cheapest price we could find. It took 5 days to get here so that was a plus! The color selections were: Grey, White or Black.
I’m really looking forward to testing this bag out. It fills a niche in our quest to lighten our gear for 2021….
The wife and I drove down to one of our local lakes after getting new tires put on her vehicle. It was 65F and sunny when we arrived. The water is still about 3 feet high but its clear at least.
I decided to take the Major Craft Finetail Works Tune Area Spec FTA-582UL rod coupled with the Shimano Soare Ci4+ 500 spooled with Sunline Troutist Area Meister 3# mono line.
She opted to try throwing a spoon while I chose a jig.
The jig head was a Cultiva JH-85 in 2.2 gram and for a soft plastic I chose a Euro Tackle Micro Finesse B-Vibe in Green Pumpkin. And that’s what the bass hit.
It was a little bass and put a nice bend in the ultralight rod, but I never felt underpowered. I was hoping the bluegill were moving into the shallows since the water is starting to warm up but it’s still too early.
The next mission is to help her wash the “skunk” off her hands by catching a fish!
I usually wear this belt when I’m actually wearing a set of waders, but occasionally I wear it when I’m bank fishing for catfish because I tend to walk the sandy shoreline.
It consists of a nylon webbing belt with a “cobra buckle.” On it I carry a carabiner, a pair of aluminum pliers, my homemade belt pouch prototype as well a Leatherman Wave multi-tool.
I try to stick with utilitarian items that I use frequently and prefer to have them readily accessible. The last thing I want is unnecessary weight or to look like Batman!
This is my wet wading footwear setup for stream fishing. I have tried everything from sandals to water shoes before settling on this system.
At the core, it consists of a pair of 2019 Simms Flats Sneakers. 2021 will be their third season and so far, after approximately 200 miles on them, they have held up well.
Coupled with the boots are a pair of Simms 2.5mm Neoprene socks and a set of gravel guards that velcro around the sock/boot. The guards really help by keeping the micro gravel out of my boot.
The Flats Sneakers are very comfortable, especially after walking over rocks, boulders and gravel all day. Not having any metal components helps alleviate any worries about rusting hardware.
The wife opted for the same boot but she went with the Simms Guide Guard sock (3.5mm Neoprene) because of the built-in gravel guards.
To date: this is the best footwear system for us. All day comfort and support! Before, we would stop about every half hour to empty painful debris from our water shoes.
As the temperature begins to warm and the days get longer, I’m anxious to start fishing. It won’t be much longer.
On the Left is the 2020 Shimano Vanford 1000F which I have shown on a couple of previous posts.
In the Middle is the 2017 Daiwa Presso LTD 1025 which I have also shown on a previous post or two.
And on the Right is the 2017 Shimano Soare Ci4+ 500S which I purchased for a couple of ultralight rods I have. Namely the Majorcraft Finetail Works Tune Area Spec FTA-582UL and the Majorcraft Finetail FTX-46/505UL Multi-piece Switch Style rod.
If things stay on track…we’ll be fishing really soon
A week ago I placed an order with Digitaka because I wanted to try some different styles of jig heads as well as a couple of spoons.
Left to Right:
-Decoy JIG HEAD SV-52 ROUND MAGIC 2.5 grams- #6 hook
-Owner Cultiva JIG HEAD JH-83 MEBARU DAMA 2.0 grams- #6 hook
-Owner Cultiva JIG HEAD JH-84 AJI DAMA 2.3 grams- #5 hook
-Owner Cultiva JIG HEAD JH-85 NAGARE DAMA 2.2 grams- #7 hook
-ODZ JIG HEAD RUSH HEAD 2.0 grams- L#2 hook
Also, I picked up 2 spoons and a few packages of #00 Quick Snaps.
Left to Right:
-Timon Trout Spoon T-GROVEL in 3.4 grams Color# 138 KGP MATSUBA
-Timon Trout Spoon APEED 3.3 grams Colo# 145 KAMI SILVER
-Owner Cultiva SILENT Quick Snaps Size# 00/8.9kg P-15
I am especially interested in trying the Cultiva JH-85 as well as the JH-84 and ODZ Rush Heads. Nothing ventured…nothing gained!
I was tasked with “riding shotgun” over our chickens today to make sure they were safe while free-ranging, and while sitting there on the porch, I began thinking about what my style of fishing might be called. The only concept that I kept coming back to was Holistic Fishing.
Definition…”Holistic”-adjective-Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.
Makes sense to me. Fishing is such a multi-faceted sport that I don’t believe you truly stop learning during the entire lifetime of your endeavors.
I drew upon the Celtic Knot for the simple reason that it personifies the uniqueness of “perpetual endings and beginnings.”
There are an infinite number of parts that make up the Whole… some we are aware of and others we are not. I factor in the Mind, Body and Soul aspect when I go fishing. Again, it’s about the Whole. The weather, stream flow, season, water depth and clarity, who I’m fishing with and why I’m fishing on a particular day. How is my physical strength, am I stressed or relaxed, do I feel pressured by time or other people? And more specifically, how do these all inter-connect to produce a desired result? Do I actually need a result?
Everyone has heard the reference to “Being in the Zone,” and that is something I strive for whenever I fish. That to me, is the culmination of a good day. When I take in all of the sights, sounds and smells and my situational awareness is pegged. When the fish cooperate and I truly feel that I am in my element.
Being “One with the Fish” is such a cliché, but it is a valid sentiment. But it is bigger than that. Much bigger! Sometimes I feel as if my vocabulary isn’t polished enough to come up with the proper words to convey the message so other people might understand.
I need to do some more “thinking” on this topic and as such, I will consider this subject a Work in Progress…
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…
Velox Seeker 