Tag Archives: fishing

The Rod, Reel and Line I was Testing Out

Today I wanted to test the TenRyu Lunakia LK6102S-ML-T rod coupled with the 2020 Shimano TwinPower C2000S spooled up with Varivas Super Trout Advance Twitch Master VLS Nylon in 4 pound test. All performed brilliantly.

I chose the TenRyu Lunakia as my stream rod because the action, length and weight are perfect for the stream fishing I do and the target species-the Velox. I could easily cast bank-to-bank if I wanted to. The sensitivity was superb since I could feel every rock, stick or reed I swam my lure through or over. And for me…the Nishijin weave in carbon fiber for the reel seat is classy.

The 2020 Shimano Twin Power C2000S seemed to pair much better with the Lunakia than the Daiwa Presso LTD 1025. The balance and swing weight were spot on for me.

I’m always leery of spooling up a reel with line I have never tried and taking it fishing. But this time, it worked extremely well and I experienced zero issues with it. I am VERY impressed with this line. And I was pleasantly surprised that Varivas US carries it. The cost is $14.00 per spool which isn’t bad for this level of quality.

As a bonus, the Abu Garcia One Shoulder Bag Waterproof (quite a mouthful) worked very well. We fished through intermittent rain and everything stayed dry. I can attest to the fact that it floats because I stepped in a hole and went up to the tops of my waders and the bag was fine.

Exploratory Trip 14MAR2021

We said to heck with the weather and went to a nearby river to see if the White Bass had moved upstream on their spawning run. Of course we were checking to see if the Neosho-strain smallmouth had decided to come out as well.

The stream was in great shape with a decent flow, but it was still in the low 50F’s. Still a bit cold for things to start properly moving but that will begin to change soon.

Unfortunately, no fish were caught, although we did run across a few fingerling smallmouth bass romping around in the shallows.

Needless to say…we just needed to get out!

You Might Want to Keep This Meme Handy…

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!

First Bass of 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!

My Wading Belt…

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!

Three Reels I’m Anxious to Try in 2021…

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

My Package From Digitaka Arrived!

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!

A Donkey!

This is a picture of my wife holding the largest Velox smallmouth I have ever seen. I would consider it a trophy size Smallmouth Bass for the streams that we fish.

In the background, over her left shoulder, where the water next to the bank is the deepest, is where she caught it.

I had moved past that section to make room for her and was casting when I heard her drag go off. As I turned to look I noticed her rod was bent really deep. Decent sized fish! I put my rod down and broke out the camera and started snapping pictures. It was great to see the process from almost start to finish, especially when she realized it was a BIG Velox!

We kept the fish in the water and marveled at its size, I checked lighting and background and we snapped a quick picture before releasing it back into its natural habitat.

We fished that section multiple times during 2020, but that spot was gone…dry as a bone. The main portion of the stream is much further to her right and it was a fluke that we decided to explore this little branch.

Definitely a great day and a lucky day at that.

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…

Holistic Fishing?

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…

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…

Hurry Up Spring…

It’s February 27th and it’s still Wintertime, and we still have to get through March before its safe to say Spring is right around the corner. But I’m ready for it and wishing it comes sooner rather than later.

The picture above is of me from last Spring. I love wet wading a small stream chasing Velox smallmouth. I do other types of fishing; but stream fishing is what gets me fired up the most.

If the world was perfect and I didn’t have to worry about some low-life breaking into my vehicle, I’d stay on the river for days on end. Retirement is years away, but I already know how I’ll be spending my time. That’s where my hope lies…the future. I put up with useless meetings, silly policy directives and questionable management decisions because it pays the bills and grants me some retirement options. I fought the “silver handcuffs” as best I could…but with mouths to feed it was an inevitability.

I’m not complaining; I’m actually content with my decisions. But I always focus on the future and the freedom that I will hopefully have with it. All of life seems to be a compromise in one way or another. Friends say “I’m wishing my life away.” I say, “I’m wishing my work life away so I have time to live.”

Being surrounded by fishing tackle helps me stay focused, it calms me and fills me with purpose and more importantly, it fills me with hope. When I can’t fish I resort to sifting through old pictures and reading my fishing journals, looking at maps and making plans. I wonder if my father realizes how hooked I became on fishing? He got me into it, but I will never place blame on him, quite the opposite. I sometimes wonder if he felt the same way.

So I will “ride the ride” until I can get back out and do some serious fishing. It won’t be much longer…