lake fishing blog – Velox Seeker

Outing 27 April 2025…Monster Crappie!

We ended up coming back to this local lake in the evening because we tried to get to it in the morning but there were too many cars. The parking lot is completely underwater due to all of the recent rains as well as debris clogging the overflow pipe. Apparently, maintenance is not a high priority for the local water department.

We had to wade through waist high grass and contend with ticks to fish the shoreline and with the water level being so high, the fish were practically at our feet with almost all bites happening within a foot or two of the shore.

We had caught several smallish bass up to 2 pounds and had lost quite a few more in the hour we fished. Crappie jigs aren’t made for hooking a bass. Since we couldn’t get to our normal Crappie spot or even cast out to it, we just started hunting for them.

As we were about to leave, we decided to fish one more spot and that’s where the Crappie action started. It seemed like an odd place since it was 15 ft from a guy who was fishing and there were two boats being loaded at the makeshift boat ramp.

She was closer to the spot than me and was casting parallel to the shore when I heard her drag start screaming. Due to high weeds and small trees, I couldn’t really see what she was fighting, but I casually told her to tighten her drag a bit figuring it was just another bass. When she saw the fish I heard her yell, “Holy S*&%” and that’s when I reeled in quickly and started heading over to her. Upon her hoisting the Crappie up for me to see…I muttered the same thing in disbelief!

There before me was the biggest Crappie I had ever seen in person. What was more special was that it came from a small local lake and we had no idea they were that big in there. We managed to catch 5 more from that spot and all of them were 12 inches plus, but none as big as the one she caught. All were safely released back into the water to continue on.

True to form…She caught the biggest fish of the outing and a day later, she still has a big grin on her face. She takes her fishing seriously and a photo will be framed and placed on the wall amongst the others.

It Has Been Awhile…

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.

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.

#the_veloxseekers

Outing 08 FEB 2025…

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.

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.

You Don’t Know If You Don’t Go…

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.

Outing…12 June 2024

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!

An Outing To The River, 10 June 2024…

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.

Thank you for reading…more to come

I Caught A Bluegill…

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 Haven’t Been Slacking…

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.

Lost Footage of a 2017 Trip to the Boundary Waters…

The wife and I were doing some serious spring cleaning this past week and we stumbled upon an old Sony Cyber-Shot camera and on the SD card were pics from a trip I had taken with a good friend and mentor…Dennis.

The premise of this trip and all subsequent planning was based around the idea of two good friends who have led and guided multiple groups to the Boundary Waters and Quetico deciding to take a trip to relax with only two people. No itinerary, just take it easy. The caveat though was that we would shuttle in rather than paddle the 17 miles to our chosen campsite area. As you can see in the opening photo, this is what a shuttle looks like. A boat with canoes on top and gear stacked in the bow, would shuttle people to wherever their put-in locations were. By utilizing this method, it would allow us to take steaks and cold adult beverages with us! Keep in mind that he and I have been trying to put a trip like this together for over 20 years.

The week was a mix of weather. We made the shuttle ride wearing insulated jackets due to colder than normal temperatures. A hurricane down south had disrupted the weather patterns this far north. Fires in Canada blanketed the entire area with smoke. We had two days with temps in the 90’s followed by one heck of thunder storm which dumped inches of rain on us in short order. Needless to say, every fish we caught was earned due to the fishing being quite tough.

I’m what some refer to as a lazy camper. Other than fresh steaks for dinner the first night, I like things to be quick and easy so we opted for freeze dried meals so cooking times would be fast and clean up quick. I take minimal clothes and sleeping gear as well so that my pack is lighter than most. For me…less is more.

So without further words from me, I will put all of the lost pics in a Gallery format. Enjoy!

A motorized trolley to carry the boat up and over a portage

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.