lake fishing – Page 4

Trout Pond Part 2…

We returned to the trout pond on Sunday morning because the weather was still good, although the winds will be steadily increasing as the next round of storms approaches.

I opted to use my Apia Grandage Lite 61 rod with the Daiwa Presso LT 1000S-P reel on it today. I think it is a really good combo that combines casting distance with fish handling capabilities. And the Daiwa Presso LT might just be one of the best ultralight reels out there.

There were already several people there when we arrived. We weren’t seeing anyone catching trout so we were wondering what was going on. We rigged up the rods and started casting our spoons and were into trout pretty quickly. We were throwing 4 gram Daiwa Crusader spoons since these have turned into the most productive spoons we have.

It was definitely good to catch some trout. We conversed with another fisherman for a few minutes before the mob started closing in and we had to relocate. We still caught trout! I have underestimated trout spoons for a LONG time and they are highly productive…of course these are hatchery raised fish so I’m sure not the brightest portion of the species. Just sayin…

For us, it is not a numbers game, although that does help to solidify/quantify our technique. Rather, just being outdoors and fishing is what we feel is the most important part. We don’t compete with others or even each other. We enjoy seeing ourselves and others catching fish and having fun. Until next time…

It Was A Nice Day To Hit The Trout Pond…

After 4 inches of ice followed by 2 solid days of rain…we finally got some sunshine. And to top it all off, there was NO WIND.

We ended up having a lazy morning waiting for the temperature to warm up from its starting point of 22F. It was a nice way to start the day and we never felt rushed.

I took the Stella today and it performed flawlessly. Maybe all of the issues previously were because of me and how I fish. I ended up catching 2 Rainbow trout and the Mrs. caught 3 Rainbow trout. She did really well and looked like a pro out there.

This one was fun! Put up a great fight and made the drag on the Stella sing.

The main thing is that they stocked trout and we don’t smell like skunk. I will admit that I have never really fished for trout with spoons and I’m beginning to enjoy it. Forces you to slow down a bit and focus. Hopefully we will be able to get out a few more times before Trout Season ends at the stocked ponds. I’m definitely ready to go again tomorrow!

New Veles Handcrafted Lures Arrived Today…

I can’t get enough of these lures! They swim well and are easy to fish. After my first couple of purchases, my wife decided to get some for herself. Can’t say as I blame her. So we will start with the 4 she ordered!

Personally, I REALLY like the lure that is second from the left. Stunning.

I ordered 2 more myself just to increase the variety in my arsenal.

I think now, we have a good range of colors and shapes. These lures handle and track very well in the water.

We were pretty excited to get these lures. After a week of ice and cold temperatures followed by several days of rain…it was nice to receive fishing related items in the mailbox, but it will be awhile before the rivers and lakes settle a bit. Hopefully we will be able to wet a line sometime this weekend. Catch you on the next one!

24 Hours Makes a Difference…

Yesterday morning I decided I wanted to practice more with my baitcast set ups. From previous blog posts you may remember that I came late to the baitcast game, so I practice as often as I can.

The weather was 61F and partly sunny, but the wind was a steady 18mph with gusts to 30mph. Not ideal for practicing but I have to take advantage of any window of opportunity.

I was doing pretty well once I adjusted the reel to match the weight of the lure I was throwing. I even managed to catch a small largemouth bass in the process.

The problems started when I got cocky! I started throwing for distance as well as casting into the wind. Huge fail that resulted in a birds nest the likes of which I have never seen before. I ended up having to cut the line off the spool so that pretty much ended the outing. Yes…I can be a dummy sometimes.

Fast forward to this morning and everything had changed. The winds had switched out of the north at 20mph and the temperature had dropped to 26F with a steady ice mist coming down. (Here I will encourage the reader to revert back to the last sentence of the previous paragraph)

I decided it would be a great idea to go trout fishing first thing in the morning. We arrived at sun rise and headed to the pond and started casting. We fished for about 30 minutes before we (meaning ME) were forced to retreat. Two of my fingers on my right hand began to freeze and the pain was making it impossible for me to fish. If you’ve had frostbite before then you know how susceptible you are to getting it again. And yes…I was wearing gloves! I could see it in my wifes eye’s that she was cold too but apparently we were playing a game of “chicken” to see who would quit first. Grrrrr.

So the end result was that we didn’t catch any trout and I had to concede defeat according to the rules of the game. Oh the shame!!!! And to top it off…she coined a new term…SKUNK CHICKEN!

Not sure how I will recover from it all, but my honor is at stake now. I’m already beginning to hate 2023.

Random Musings…

2022 was a great fishing year for us. We were able to explore a few new areas with success. We’ve been pouring over maps as well as searching through various online posts seeking new areas to explore in 2023. We have found 2 areas that have a high potential for our type of fishing.

As far as prospective new gear purchases go…we haven’t seen much that really trips our trigger. I had high hopes for the new 2023 Shimano Vanquish but they added the super-slow oscillation system to it. I have that on my Stella and the jury is still out on that. I haven’t given up on my Stella, but I’ve had line issues that I haven’t resolved yet. I plan on re-spooling it with braid to see if that fixes the issue. If anyone follows “Angler Saito” over on YT enjoyfishingchannel, then you would’ve seen how he preferred the 2022 Daiwa Exist over the 2022 Shimano Stella…and I couldn’t agree more!

The 2023 Daiwa Airity does look interesting and I might pick one up. It’s a good looking reel in my opinion. We will see what the street price ends up being. I tend not to be an “early adopter” or “influencer type” and prefer to wait a bit so the kinks get ironed out.

There are a couple of rods that I’m curious about from M&N and M-Aire as well as TenRyu but I’m in no hurry to research them further. And lures…I’m trying hard not to become a collector. I have a thing for handmade lures but if I can’t bring myself to use them, then there’s not really a point in buying them. We spent a lot of time stream-lining our gear to make it lighter and more efficient so I don’t want to undo that effort.

We have pre-planned for 2023 and have purchased plenty of hooks and jigs as well as plastic baits. I’m sure at some point we will have to replenish those, but for now we are good to go. We really don’t see a reason or need for any drastic changes.

Mrs. VeloxSeeker will probably order a pair of custom waders since she has had a hard time finding a pair that actually fits. Simms offers a custom service so that will allow her to upsize her stocking foot booties yet retain a petite wader size. She’s a size 4 which equates to a Womens Small but to get her foot size correct she would have to order a Womens Large. That’s NOT gonna work. Last time I checked the price to do that was reasonable so 2023 will be the year we get it done.

All of this is probably not very exciting to read but we are excited for the 2023 fishing season. Plans are being laid as we speak and we hope nobody does anything stupid on the global stage that wrecks everything. Time will tell. See you on the next one.

Outing to Local Trout Pond…

We got up this morning and decided we wanted to fish. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity as we welcomed a new Grandson into the world. He’s a healthy, happy boy and we are so grateful.

The weather has been up and down and both of us have seen an uptick in our work schedules. Squeezing time in to go fishing has been tough.

I had ordered a Valkein Breakthrough Zero Verge BTZV-62GL rod awhile back and decided I wanted to try it out. I paired it with the Shimano Vanford 1000 and off we went. It was 38F, cloudy, cold and damp, as well as windy. We managed to catch 3 before the cold made us head home. My hands cannot take the cold anymore, even wearing gloves, they still started to hurt quite a bit.

As always, it was good to get out. I think we both needed an outing no matter how short it was. Spring is still quite aways off but who knows…so far the winter here has been relatively mild. We hope to log more outings soon. Stay tuned and be safe out there.

A Morning of Trout Fishing…

We started the morning at an infamous trout pond because their website said they were stocking trout last night. After fishing for an hour and the wife managing to catch only a small largemouth bass, we opted to try another location. Once again, the people administering this pond are patent liars. Charging people $60.00 to fish here and not stocking is a fraud and we will most likely never fish here again. We KNOW how to catch trout! Stop blaming the fishermen.

But I digress, we changed locations and immediately started catching trout. (Notice: Sapulpa Parks Administration-see above.) This is only the second time we have fished this pond, but we like it since it actually has trout in it. Can you tell I’m a little bit peeved?

All told we caught 8 trout and that one Largemouth bass, so not a bad day at all. We would’ve had a few more but they came unbuttoned before we could get the net on station to receive them. The bonus was that this trout pond is free to fish as long as you have a State fishing license. We were both using trout spoons and they performed well until the bite switched off.

My setup: TenRyu RZI51LL with a Shimano Vanquish C2000S.

Her setup: TenRyu RZ6102S-LML and Shimano Stella C2000S.

We were tempted to try a third location but Mrs. Velox Seeker wasn’t feeling up to it. She had surgery yesterday and is recovering but the drive to fish is strong in her. She did really good with everything that has transpired in the last 24 hours.

Hopefully my little rant didn’t derail this blog post but I felt it needed to be said. We did manage to have a good outing and accomplished our objective. AND…we didn’t get skunked! Now I will make her rest like she’s supposed to, and don’t blame me for this excursion, it was her idea!

The Reels that Started it All…

Back in the early 90’s I was fresh out of the military and enrolled in college. I had 3 part-time jobs with one of them working for a local sporting goods store. I was hired into the Fishing Department which I thought was pretty cool. I spent a lot of time drooling over the display case containing the fishing reels. Being the typical broke college student, I couldn’t afford a nice reel. Keep in mind that up to this point about all I had used for a reel was a Zebco33 and its ilk. I hated that reel and still do to this day, so I opted to try a spinning reel.

After careful consultation with my meager budget and Frank, who was the Department Manager and a hard-core angler, I opted for the Shimano TX-4000 reel. I figured it was big enough to catch anything in Oklahoma and elsewhere. I even matched it with a Shimano TX series rod. If I recall correctly…the reel cost me $34.99 and the rod was $19.99. And of course I got an employee discount so it what somewhat less than that. I just remember strutting out of there like a peacock thinking I had the “ultimate” setup.

I caught a ton of pike and smallmouth with this reel when I fished up in either Ontario or the Boundary Waters. But I quickly learned that the TX-4000 was overkill and ended up purchasing a TX-1000 and a matching TX rod. I fished that combo for about 10 years and caught thousands of fish with it. I ultimately retired those reels to my display case and they hold the central position of honor; not because they are high-end reels but from the sheer number of good memories they provided.

Made in Singapore. The TX-4000 was made in Malaysia.

The TX-4000 had two ball bearings whereas the TX-1000 had one.

For a beginner, the QuickFire2 trigger was a small blessing.

All I can say is that these reels served me well and I beat them to hell and back and they never let me down. Reels have come a long way and get better with each iteration, but these two will always hold a special place in my heart. 30+ years later, when I turn the handles I am amazed at how rough and clunky they are. But I guarantee that I thought they were smooth as silk back in the day. Heck, I might even fish the TX-1000 one more time next year just for old times sake. Nowadays I will admit that I’m just spoiled and much prefer the higher end reels, but these will always “get the nod.”

Thanks for reading.

Finally!…

Some of you may remember that the wife and I purchased a $60 permit so we could fish a local trout pond and extend our fishing season. After 6 outings to that area and only seeing one trout, we became fed up and started looking elsewhere. I could post a long rant but I won’t. Let me just put it this way…2 days after the alleged November stocking date, and the lake is smooth as glass, and we are there for 2 hours and didn’t even see a single trout rise??? I am beginning to believe that this City only stocked at the beginning of the season and haven’t done it since.

We used to fish this lake pre-COVID all the way back to the year 1998 and never had an issue catching trout. Most times we would catch a limit in about 30 minutes. I’m sure there are possible reasons or excuses, but if you take peoples money, deliver on your promise. I’m talking to you City of Sapulpa.

We found another trout pond that is somewhat local to us and went to visit. First thing we noted was that the parking lot was full of cars and we could see people spaced around the lake. That is always a good sign that trout have been stocked. We found a spot and started fishing. It didn’t take long before we were hooking up with trout.

I’m not going to get into the “Wild versus Stocked” debate. I live in Oklahoma so we don’t have native trout, none that I’m aware of anyway. Not much choice but to fish for stockers. Trout fishing opportunities are sorely limited in this state. Especially when people are allowed to own portions of rivers so wading can be illegal at worst or problematic at best. You don’t have to look far to find “Kens and Karens.”

Now onto more important things…The last two rods we purchased were the Daiwa Silver Creek Glass Progressive 53L and the MajorCraft FSG-4102UL. Both of these rods are fiberglass and we have been testing them out quite a bit lately. Both will make excellent stream rods, especially for the types of fishing we do.

Both fish really well and the Daiwa rod pairs nicely with the Daiwa Exist reel. But from a cost to performance view…the MajorCraft wins hand down. It fishes identically to the Daiwa and costs 1/3rd the price. As I’ve said many times before, MajorCraft gives you A LOT of bang for the buck.

I really like the flexibility of these rods as well as their durability. It brings back memories for sure, and I can’t wait for Spring to come so we can get back out and go after our native smallmouth again.

I don’t see any major changes coming in our fishing gear for 2023. Honestly, I have more rods and reels than I need, but it is fun trying them out and filling a niche in some circumstances. I am looking at a 2019 Shimano Vanquish spinning reel. Rumor has it that they will revamp it in 2023 but if they go to the super slow oscillation like what is on the Stella, I will give it a hard pass.

I am working on a ‘Best of 2022″ or “Most Used Gear of 2022” blog post and will try to get that out soon. I hope everyone is doing well out there. Thanks

2022 Shimano Stella C2000SHG reel…

So a few months back I wrote a blog post about the Varivas line issues I was having. Upon reflection, shortly after posting I opted to delete that blog post. I decided that further testing was in order before laying all of the blame squarely at the feet of the line I was using.

Fast forward a month or two, and after using the 2022 Shimano Stella in various situations, as well as switching out lines, I have decided that this reel is not really for me. This was my first foray into high end reels by both Shimano and Daiwa. I purchased both the 2022 Shimano Stella C2000SHG and the 2022 Daiwa Exist LT 2000S-H.

I took the Stella which was loaded with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bush Trail VEP nylon line to the river and fished for almost 6 hours straight. I ended up having several line issues that required me to cut line off and re-tie a new fluoro leader.

I was baffled by these issues since I have the exact same line on my 2022 Daiwa Exist and never (and still haven’t) had an issue or even a hiccup. Once at home I immediately stripped off that line and re-spooled it with Varivas Super Trout Advance Twitch Master VLS nylon and went back to the river the next day. On that trip I encountered zero issues. I thought that perhaps the Bush Trail line was too stiff and that the Stella preferred a more supple line.

I thought all of my issues were solved until I started throwing jerkbaits and spoons. I attached a swivel just to be safe, but started to get massive twisting problems that required me to cut off line and re-tie. I was baffled.

The 2022 Stella touts a polymer fin that is supposed to prevent line twists. And currently, I am beginning to wonder if the issue lies with the Super Slow Oscillation inherent in this generation of Stella. To complicate matters further…my wife has the 2022 Shimano Stella C2000S and hasn’t had a single issue while using the more supple Varivas line. I have been going over the issues in my head for weeks and have a hard time believing that a gear ratio difference is the culprit. I can’t wrap my brain around that one…but it is not an impossibility.

To further my point with the Stella, the start-up inertia is definitely not what I expect on a reel at this price point. In fact, my 2020 Shimano Twin Power C2000S is much smoother when reeling as well as having better start-up inertia. To say I am disappointed is an understatement, especially when the Stella is touted as the “best reel ever made.” But as always, I will keep tinkering with it until I figure it out.

Below are weight comparisons between the Twin Power and the Stella. At this point I can emphatically state that the Twin Power feels better to fish with by a long shot.

As always, I am open to ideas and input on this matter. Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and was able to spend time with family. We have a lot to be thankful for.

We’ve been really busy with trying to get ready for winter. Bringing in hay, stocking up on horse and chicken feed, as well as filling the bird feeders. It has already snowed twice and I realize I still need to increase my firewood supply. We will get it all done in due time.

All of the discarded/lost fishing line we have recovered in 2022.

I would especially like to give a shout out to all of the people who are trying to make their fishing areas a better place. Those who pick up trash and other detritus without being asked or told. Those are the people who make this sport and our world a better place. And I am thankful for them.

Conservation is a key component in fishing, whether it be stream/river/lake management, selective harvests or volunteer outings. We can all play a role no matter how small, so help out where you can.

I am also thankful for my readers. I appreciate each and every one of you! Until next time…take care and be safe.

Still Kicking….

Happy belated Veterans Day to all who served. Time is getting away from me, that’s for sure.

Fall is upon us which means we will probably switch to trout fishing instead of fishing for river smallmouth. We have visited the local trout pond twice so far but haven’t caught anything as of yet.

I’ve been playing around with an old-school Abu Cardinal C3 lately. I’m not going to lie, I prefer modern spinning reels! But it’s fun to pull a vintage reel out of the display case every once in a while.

I have looked at the stocking schedule and it appears that they will stock the pond once a month. I am not sure about the size and quantity but will keep digging for more info. We used to do really well at this pond but it has been abysmal the last 4-5 times we have fished it. But then again, as soon as the trout are released, people flock to the release point and beat the water to death. We usually pack up and leave at that point. I’d rather give the trout time to disperse throughout the pond/lake, but that’s just my opinion.

As a side note: We have opted to try out Instagram and both of us have pages there…#Velox Seeker and #oklafishingwife. We hope everyone is doing well and getting a chance to get out and fish. Stay safe and we will see you again soon.