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!
Both of us needed a change of pace. So we booked flights on Allegiant, reserved a rental car and a hotel and packed the necessary gear. Certain times of the year, Allegiant flies round trip from Tulsa to St. Petersburg, and the flights are inexpensive ( $185-ish ).
True to form, this was a Spartan affair, with no frills or major luxuries…at least we weren’t in a tent this time! We packed our travel rods and reels in our Yeti backpacks and combined everything else into one duffel bag.
I used the Salt Strong app, Smart Fishing Spots and the Salt Strong Community for all of my research on what to bring and where to go. We decided that we would target Redfish, Snook and Speckled Trout, but in reality, we’d accept catching anything.
We primarily fished this bay for 2 days
The weather was great and the fishing was better than expected. Doing our research and due diligence really paid off.
We carried everything we would need for the day.
Since we weren’t catching much on the Gulf side, we opted to fish the bay off behind the main beach. Both of us love to wade fish, so this was what we came to do.
My First Snook It’s mandatory to tie on a new leader after every Snook.If you struggle to tie the FG knot…buy a DaiichiSeiko Knot Assist 2.0. Thank me later!A well earned smile!
We had a great trip and all of our chosen gear worked perfectly. We mainly used Shimano Zodias 5-pc rods in Medium Light and Medium with Shimano Twin Power C3000 or Shimano Exsence C3000 reels. We were spooled up with 10 pound braid and 20 lb monofilament leaders. We threw 7gr-10gr jigheads with various plastic baits to great effect. We did bring TFO Traveler 3-pc rods as backups, but they seemed ridiculously heavy and unwieldy compared to the Zodias rods. They ended up being more of a nuisance than anything. But they gave us peace of mind in the event we broke a rod. I think that if we do another trip like this, we will each pack two Zodias travel rods, since they fit inside the Yeti Pangas.
Would we move to Florida just for the multitude of fishing opportunities? Hell no! Way too much traffic and way too many people. But the funny thing for us was that there were probably 20,000 people on the ocean side of the beach and we fished the back bay for two days and only saw one other person back there.
We will deem this a successful trip and we learned a lot. I definitely see us doing another trip like this.
All is well here and we have been fishing every chance we get. Trout season started late due to weather related events but we still managed to get to the trout pond multiple times and did quite well.
Most of the trout we caught were in this size range.
The weather has been all over the place this year. A typical week consists of winds 25-40mph, wildfires, temperatures ranging from 38F to 93F and intermittent rains. We squeeze in what we can, when we can. I will admit that since I have been working nights, it’s easier for me to get out before work and fish.
Several times a week, before work, I have hit the local lakes in search of Crappie and perch. One of our local lakes has an issue with the overflow pipe so it is still flooded and the parking lot is submerged. I’ve managed to catch a few bass but haven’t been able to locate the Crappie. Rather, I know where they are but just can’t get to them due to high water.
The other local lake has been a big producer and we have caught and released a pile of Crappie and perch.
Bluegill in spawning olors.Male Crappie doing his thing.Decent size Crappie.Nice Shellcracker or Redear sunfish.Gillcracker-Bluegill/Redear HybridFishing from a Beaver DamFloat fishing for perch and Crappie
We have only purchased a couple of rods this year and the only one of note (for me anyway) has been the Shimano Soare XR S510L-S and it has been a joy to fish.
I prefer a Light action rod due to fishing in current or heavy cover. The added “horsepower” helps set the hook or pull fish out of weedbeds or cover. This rod has been outstanding! Sensitivity is a 10 out of 10, hooksetting has been a 10 out of 10 and backbone has been a 10 out of 10 as well. It has quickly become one of my favorite rods.
My only real complaint for this year has been with shipments of goods. USPS, UPS and FedEx have been terrible so far. Missed delivery dates, re-routing packages to out of the way places that are non-sensical and other issues. Couple that with the inability to speak to a live person and frustrations mount. I wish they would stop putting “Expected Delivery” dates and times and just deliver the package. Most have arrived DAYS later and I have to wonder…what am I paying for??? USPS has been the absolute worst and I have received a litany of lame excuses. One example was the driver had bald tires. He delivered to our mailbox but wouldn’t leave a small box. Makes no sense.
Anyway…I don’t want to end on a negative note. Congratulations are in order for Mr. Nelson over at Classic Fly Tying for winning another award at the Fly Tying Contest held at Mountain Home Arkansas each year.
I’d also like to give a shout out to Bob over in Virginia who is always pushing the envelope on light tackle and coming up with creative ideas and solutions for panfish. He’s a wizard when it comes to these things and pushes me to learn and be a better angler. Cheers brother!
All in all, 2025 has had a good start and we have a few things in the pipeline in regards to fishing. Stay tuned for more. And if you are on Instagram, we post there quite frequently since it’s easier and faster for us.
It has been a slow start to 2025 in terms of fishing. We have made several trips to a nearby trout pond and have found that it hadn’t been stocked, was completely iced over or some other impediment. But today we managed to get into them and catch a bunch. And I can tell you…it was good to finally catch some decent trout. Several of them pulled some serious drag and put up a great fight.
We are typically catch and release only and today was no exception. Fishing with spoons has proven to be very effective and I wonder why it took me so long to start using them on a consistent basis.
Her first trout of 2025
It was great to get out and catch some fish. I think both of us needed that, especially since the weather has been up and down. 80F one day and 38F the next.
However, we as sportsmen need to speak up and call out bad behavior that gives us ALL a bad reputation. Several fishermen have been observed keeping way more than their alloted 3 trout. Some have been noted as showing up at dawn to keep 3 fish only to show back up in the evening to keep 3 more. And they’ve done that all week. I’m sure there are arguments on all sides, but the rules are the rules. Ethics and sportsmanship matters! Don’t be like these guys…please.
On a lighter, more positive note…we are still out here fishing and trying new gear and methods. There will be future blog posts as well. Thank you for reading.
I’m ready to see what 2025 brings. With the passing of my wifes mother, we have been dealing with lawyers, probate court, realtors etc etc. Plus, I have moved departments at work and now work second shift, so outings together haven’t been easy to arrange.
No worries though, as we have still been fishing. 2024 was a good year and we have high hopes for 2025.
November 1st is the official start of Trout Season in Oklahoma, but our local pond doesn’t open until December 1st since it’s a smaller body of water. True to form, we arrived at zero dark thirty only to find an empty parking lot which was very odd. After an hour of casting and only catching Crappie we gave up and headed home. Obviously we didn’t get the memo and started searching online to see what was going on.
Not a single jump, splash or ripple was spotted.
Neither one of us have FaceBook or anything like that, so we had no idea what the issue was. We should have looked at the Official website before leaving and we would have found this…
I completely understand the conditions that are required for trout. The drought ended in November when we received 10 inches of rain. In fact, the trout pond was actually 3-4 feet higher than we had ever seen it. After further digging we found that the price for trout had increased to $7.00 per pound and the State budget is $600,000 statewide. A few years ago we had a $25.00 fee for a trout stamp but they decided to eliminate that. Maybe one day Oklahoma will figure it out and realize that people don’t solely focus on Largemouth Bass.
Irregardless, we will keep going out and hoping for the best. Maybe they will extend the season or adjust the time. Instead of December 1st through February 28th, they will go from January 1st to March 31st. It is not outside the realm of normalcy to see 60F-70F in December, but you can count on January to be cold. But that’s just my two cents…
We hope everyone has a great Christmas and lots of tackle under the tree!
THIS JUST IN>>>>>
ROD: Smith Troutin Spin Multiyouse TRMK-423UL REEL: Abu Garcia Revo Beast running 4.6lb P.E. line.
A good friend of ours from Virginia just sent us a picture of his son with his PB Smallmouth Bass. This young man is a Two State, Two Time State Powerlifting Champion and has a bright future ahead of him. To say his papa is proud is a massive understatement! Well done young man and here’s to many more PB’s in the future.
Due to the heat and low water level we have left this river alone for a few months. When the forecast called for a high of 75F and light rain, we made plans to go.
As of 11AUG24 the river level was 5.6ft
We encountered intermittent rain on the drive and figured we might have the river to ourselves, which turned out to be correct. As long as there wasn’t any lightning we would be OK to fish.
Zip on alert!
Zip kept alerting to a portion of the river around the bend. We saw about 6 wild pigs crossing the river and more on the opposite bank. I started making noise and throwing rocks into the brush until they decided to cross back over while she put the leash on Zip. After a few minutes they crossed back over and joined the main group and ran off over an embankment. We were not in a good position since we were stuck on a small island and wild pigs were on either side of us.
She caught the biggest smallmouth of the outing…as usual
We ended up catching and releasing 60 fish between us in the 6 hours we were on the river. We covered 4 miles of new river for a total round trip distance of 11.56 miles. We were both sore and tired by the time we returned to the car.
The other evening, I decided to pull up Google Earth and search an area that we fished near. I had seen people over there but wasn’t sure how to get into the area. GE and other maps gave us a rough idea so we made a plan and went for it.
This morning we arrived around 0730 and sorted our gear. I wanted to just explore but she talked me into taking a rod along. I’m glad she did! We located the trailhead, there are several, and commenced our hike. By using the “measure” feature on Google Earth, we had an approximate distance of 1.8 miles to reach our objective. We had no idea what lay in store for us but that’s how we like it. Keeps a sense of adventure about the outing.
It ended up being an old portion of a campground that the State couldn’t afford to maintain anymore and was completely overgrown. The “road” was more of a 4-wheeler track and had several mudholes as well as steep hills. Several sections of the trail were almost completely overgrown, but we kept going.
Finally we popped out on a sand point just above the lake and we noticed a concrete structure down further along the shoreline. It turned out to be an old boat ramp that had seen much better times. On a whim, we both started casting out to where we could see Shad jumping and something chasing them.
BAM!!! I hooked into something with shoulders! It peeled drag and bent my rod and the fight was on. It turned out to be a schoolie striper! I have never caught a striper from the shore, always from a boat, and was excited to say the least.
The action was pretty steady and a lot of fun. My rod was a more powerful rod than hers so we would switch off. She caught 9 plus a largemouth and together we caught 23 stripers and 3 large sand bass. We were both quite surprised that we were catching stripers but there was structure and baitfish so it made sense. Had we gotten there earlier in the morning we probably would’ve caught a lot more, but when the sun started beating down full force, the bite stopped.
I’m pretty sure Zip was still worn out from yesterday as he crawled into some brush in the shade and took a nap.
Once the bite quit, we decided to explore the area as well as the shoreline. We marked a few campsites on our map for future reference. As I’ve said many times, I enjoy exploring and seeing what’s over the next hill or around the next bend. I hope to continue doing it for as long as I can.
2024 has been a weird year for us. We haven’t been able to make any substantial plans like returning to the Cossatot River or even spending a full week anywhere. It has been very frustrating being tied to home. But we are managing to squeeze some outings in even if they’re only for 6-8 hours. We will continue to do our best. Catch you on the next one!
As mentioned before, we love this river and although we don’t own it, we and others like us, did not appreciate the Oklahoma Wildlife Department putting this access point on TV as well as holding clinics here. We’ve come across some odd characters who were up to no good and in fact, 4 people were recently cited by Game Wardens for using nets and spearguns on the river. No, I didn’t call them or tip them off, I wish I did though.
Anyway, the river level was at 6.12 feet and crossings were really easy this time. The temps were in the 80’s and full sun so we got there around 0815. I wanted an earlier start but the misses vetoed that idea.
We opted to fish upstream this time since a flood had completely changed the river and removed a huge log jam that made going upstream last year a grim endeavour.
We were into fish within our first few casts and the day looked promising. We weren’t catching anything of size, mostly ones between 8-10 inches, but they were FAT. Some sections we would throw our standard 2 inch EuroTackle B-vibes and wouldn’t get a bite. Fish that same section throwing a minnow lure and the action was fast and furious. Other sections was the exact opposite and that is why we carry two rods, one is a baitcaster rigged with a lure and the other is a spinning rod rigged with a plastic.
I am so glad that I regularly walk 3-5 miles a day. It really helps, especially when wading upstream or even going out to retrieve stuck lures in fast current.
And as the day progressed and the sun climbed higher in the sky, it got hot! Zip spent an unusual amount of time swimming and basically staying in the water. Smart dog!
It seemed that the further up we waded, the bigger the fish were getting. About 2.5-3 miles upstream we started to catch some in the 12-14 inch range.
We really wanted to keep exploring further upstream but time constraints prevented it so we started back to the car. It’s funny how when you’re fishing you really don’t notice the heat but the minute you are just walking, you really feel it. And it hasn’t got hot here yet, but it will soon.
A friend of mine invited us to fish his pond, and only a fool would say no.
He told us that his pond has a lot of crappie and bluegill, and since we’ve been on a “crappie and bluegill kick” we took appropriate tackle.
In short order we were into bluegill and having a great time. I opted to move down the bank closer to the creek mouth. First cast and I hooked a scrapper of a bluegill. It took me left and reversed course to the right. It dove deep and I managed to get it to the surface only for the water to explode! Next thing you know, I’m trying to keep my rod from breaking and trying to maintain some semblance of control with my reel as the drag was screaming. I scream for her to grab the net and help me. Getting a fish out of weeds with a net is a classic Abbott and Costello skit let me tell you. Anyway, she got the job done and we drug the net, and the fish and a pile of weeds up onto the bank.
That’s my bluegill with the 2.5gram jig still in place. The bass was never hooked.
Have no fear! Both were safely released back into the pond alive and well. We caught several more bass before we had to go, but this was a memorable moment for me and I will never forget it.
And I can still hear Steve laughing from his porch as we brought that fish in. Well played Steve!
We have still been hard at it and have taken advantage of every opportunity to get out and fish.
This outing which was from 02 JUNE 2024 was us going back to a spot we haven’t fished in almost 10 years. The lake level was up, close 6 feet high, so wade fishing from the shoreline was almost impossible.
I wish I could say it was a good trip for me but the truth is, I hooked a largemouth but after a short fight it spit the hook and disappeared. She on the otherhand had a nice fish and a good fight. I think her smile says it all!
Any fish like that is always a bonus and I was so proud of her. It was an honor to net it for her.
We finally had good weather on a weekend so we made plans to fish the river for the first time in 2024.
We got up early and headed out as soon as our eyes would focus and we had a bit of coffee in us. Even Zip was excited to get out and eagerly jumped in the car.
Side note: Every year we set a goal of 50 outings and we try our hardest to at least hit that mark, but also try to go beyond that number. We have had a huge amount of rain and wind this year but to date we have managed to get out on 39 outings. Most of them were us chasing trout, crappie, perch etc. and we didn’t blog about most of those outings.
We drove through thick fog most of the way and it got worse the closer we got to the river. The temperature on our arrival @ 0617 was 59-60F.
The water was up and made wading a little difficult. Normally, Zip can wade across on his own but this time the current was too much for him and I ended up having to surge downstream a few times to retrieve him. Usually when I was trying to retrieve a stuck lure, I’d wade out and hear splashing behind me and turn to see Zip struggling in the current. He’s loyal, I’ll give him that!
Most of the fish caught were of this size
Today was a toss up on whether we should’ve worn our waders or not. Temps were cool but would warm up quite a bit throughout the day. The water was a bit cool due to all of the recent rain, but we opted to skip the waders. After an hour or so of fishing and struggling through some of the crossings, I noticed my wife had a slight shiver to her. We marked a fallen tree up ahead and headed for it. I pulled out the coffee kit that I always carry with me and brewed up a large cup of hot coffee. We snacked on some beef jerky and tied on new lures and by the time the coffee was finished, she was warm, the sun had burned off the fog and the temps were climbing.
We managed to catch a total of 42 fish for this outing with 3 being of decent size. There were however an abundance of small healthy fish in the river and every single one of those had fat bellies full of food. It was just good to get out and stretch our legs and enjoy nature and each others company. Plus, the temperature was climbing fast towards 90F and the sun was out in full force so we decided to fish our way back to the car.
Thank you for reading and hopefully we will catch you on the next one…
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the World’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.” -Norman Maclean
Velox Seeker 