fishing – Page 2 – Velox Seeker

Update 27 April 2024…

There isn’t much new to report other than we have been chasing Crappie every chance we get. The weather has not cooperated with us too well because we have had wild temperature fluctuations and winds over 15mph with gusts over 40mph pretty consistently for the past month. Either that or its pouring rain.

We have explored some new areas and are excited for their possibilities in the near future. I did pick up a 2022 Shimano Sahara FJ C2000S spinning reel (black handle). This is the first time Shimano has put their cold forged Hagane gear in a reel at this price. Throw in a felt drag washer and this reel is actually quite good. It’s heavy for sure, but for Crappie and Bluegill it can’t be beat. Digitaka has them for around $60.00 with free shipping. I’m not a fan of the High Gear or Extra High Gear models since they tend to have more line issues than I want, but that’s just me.

Now back to Crappie. I’ve never really chased them all that much, but lately I’ve been bitten by the Crappie bug. We have scaled down some of our jigheads and plastic baits and pulled some older USDM rods off the rack to try our hand at catching them. And since we bank fish most of the time, these rods are more durable and a bit heavier and seem to work OK. They are not near as sensitive as our JDM rods, but it’s an acceptable tradeoff. RANT: don’t believe the YouTube marketing hype about “this being the latest, greatest rod” because that whole thing has been beaten to death. I see far too many channels receive a free rod from a manufacturer and they gush all over it and act like they have a sponsor they have to appease. Beware the marketing juggernaut! I have found that by digging into the forums where the old-school fisherman can still be found, you’ll see a different story with real testimonials. I’m referring specifically to a certain “ugly green rod.” But your mileage may vary.

As many of you know, we have a thing for hand crafted lures and we prefer to support craftsmanship like that. Again, over on Etsy, we ran across a Crappie jig maker by the name of Welch Jig Co. And Chris Welch ties some really nice jigs and ships fast. Prices are reasonable and the quality is there to support it.

It’s supposed to storm all weekend and has for the past two days, so we probably won’t be fishing much. I’m sure I can fiddle around in the fishing room and better organize our gear just to occupy my time. It won’t be much longer and we’ll be wading the rivers and we are excited about that. Hope everybody out there is healthy and able to fish. Until then, we’ll catch you on the next one.

Transition Time…

Locally, trout fishing season is over. Most ponds were stocked on Feb 28th for the last time so it’s been slim pickings. And as the title alludes to, we’ve shifted our focus to other species. As we transition from Winter into Spring, a new set of challenges are presented. We didn’t have much of a winter here in Oklahoma, or anything resembling a pattern of stability, sure we had some snow and some cold temperatures, but the weather fluctuated wildly so we had to pick favorable conditions that gave us the advantage.

I think we did pretty well during the Trout season by catching quite a few and we got to test out some new rods and reels as well as tackle. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a rough start to the year from the fact that I’ve managed to break four rods so far. Two were my fault but the other two still baffle me..maybe there were defects, I’m not sure.

As Spring gains momentum, we are grateful to leave the cold behind and the suffering which that entailed. Now we will have to contend with wind and rain. Oklahoma can really test ones patience! As usual we have set our goal for 50 outings and currently I am setting at 25 so I’m not too worried about meeting that goal.

We’ve been hitting various local ponds and lakes to see what was biting and have been pleasantly surprised. Neither one of us are what you’d consider “Crappie specialists” but we’ve done well in locating and catching them consistently. The Largemouth bass are starting to become more active and the various Perch species are beginning to move up into shallower waters. Right or wrong, I refuse to keep spawning fish, especially ones out of highly pressured waters.

We’ve had a lot fun so far in 2024 despite a few setbacks. Flowers are blooming, trees are beginning to leaf out and temperatures are climbing into the 70’s and 80’s here. But looking out the window, I can tell the wind is blowing with gusts into the 30mph range. We have to pick our moments and ride the ride.

See you on the next one…

Reality Check…

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 ws 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.

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.

Rethinking Ajing Rods…

I have a preference for composite grips and really light rods. The downside is fragility and that’s an issue for the way I fish. Granted, Ajing rods are usually used off of a dock or sea wall with few if any obstructions and the target species isn’t a large fish.

For reference: some of my Ajing rods have a 0.6mm solid graphite tip section sporting 1mm-1.2mm guides…that’s tiny! Sensitivity is outstanding and they are phenomenal to fish for ultralight game with.

APIA Grandage Lite 61 top and TenRyu RZI-50L-4 below

However, I have recently broken two rods while at the trout pond. In both cases the tip sections snapped off midway to the top guide. I can’t say for sure why this happened but it did. I don’t think I was high sticking and in fact in one instance the rod was laying on the ground while I was tying on a swivel/snap. When I went to cast I noticed something didn’t look right and the tip section was dangling.

I can’t be too upset since I was clearly using these rods for a purpose they were never designed for and for a target species that was quite a lot larger than their intended quarry. It just rams home the point that I need a more durable rod for the type of fishing we do. I’m just not the type of angler who wants to coddle and hyper-protect my gear. Specialization can definitely have it’s pitfalls and these are highly specialized rods. Fortunately the Ajing rods were not expensive so it wasn’t painful or heart wrenching. But it was a good learning experience. And I’d rather it happen at a local trout pond instead of 4 miles down a smallmouth stream!

For me, I’m leaning back towards the TenRyu rods even though they have cork handles. I’ll gladly give up a bit of sensitivity for durability and as of yet, all of our TenRyu rods have performed flawlessly. Sometimes following a theory/concept doesn’t pan out and that’s OK and I don’t consider things like that a failure if I have learned something valuable in the process. The best lessons are often learned the hard way!

Trying To Make Up For Lost Time…

I think I’m doing OK and healing up; albeit slowly. Last night was the first night I didn’t take any pain medication and although I only managed an hour and a half of good sleep, I feel pretty good. The dull pain and burning sensation is still there but it’s manageable.

On the pain medication topic: Pain pills are hard to get these days in part due to the “opioid crisis” so I tend to use them sparingly. As long as I could take the edge off then I could manage the pain and slowly increase my threshold. With this latest episode, I only took the pain medication at bedtime as opposed to every 6 hours and to me, that’s a good thing.

Anyway, back to fishing! In January/February I managed to get a few rods that a good friend of mine was selling. The prices were phenomenal so I picked up a Palms Quattro 4-piece travel rod that I had been wanting as well as a Majorcraft fiberglass travel rod that was on my radar. I’ve been very happy with both so far. I also picked up two Yamaga Blanks Blue Current TZ Nano rods in 6ft 2in and a 6ft 10in versions. BOTH are outstanding rods that I had been interested in for quite some time. Lightly used and at a great price was a no-brainer. I’ve recently fished all 4 of them and can say it was money well spent and it helped out a friend.

The Yamaga Blanks Blue Current 62 TZ Nano. Great rod!

The Palms Quattro is a saltwater ultralight but works well for my intended purpose. that’s a 1000 size reel for scale.

For the record: I only had one rod and one reel on the purchase list for 2024. The rod arrived this past Monday and is the TenRyu Rayz Spectra RZS-61LL. I bought one as a gift for my wife quite awhile ago and she was gracious enough to let me have a go with it for a round of testing. I liked it so much I decided to order myself one except they were sold out. After searching on and off for over a year, I finally managed to find one and it is now in my quiver of rods. I will say for certain that it was worth the wait! Oustanding rod for our type of fishing.

TenRyu Rayz Spectra RZS-61LL with a Stella C2000SHG reel.

So far the rod has been great…in fact all of them have caught fish so I have no complaints. We have been trying to gauge if the bass and crappie are staging for the spawn and it has been hit and miss due to the highly variable weather conditions. One day it was 84F and the next it dropped to 31F. Not enough stability yet for the fish to fully become active or to establish a reliable pattern.

We’ve caught plenty of rainbow trout so far in 2024.

We even took our medium rods out to see if the sand bass were about to move up and spawn but we didn’t get any takers. It’s still a bit early I suppose.

I’m probably pushing things a bit but it’s hard for me to be inactive for any length of time. I’m definitely much more careful and am moving slower than normal but I am making progress so I’m happy. Maybe I’ll hit the trout pond this morning at first light and get one last session in before the season ends on April 1st…time will tell. Take care and see ya soon.

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.

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.