smallmouth bass fishing – Page 2

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.

New Lures…

I was over on Instagram scrolling through my feed which pertains to all sorts of fishing. I follow mainly Japanese anglers but there a several from all over the world that I follow as well. There are also several lure makers who show their wares and I was impressed by one in particular…Veles Handcrafted Lures based in Serbia. I sent a message asking if he sold on Etsy since I’d seen his site but there was nothing for sale. He replied that he indeed did sell on that platform and would be uploading items very soon. Fast forward a few days and I bought two lures as soon as they were available. To keep this short and stop rambling, I will just post the pics.

I am very impressed with the quality of these lures. Attention to detail is amazing. His prices are reasonble with lures running from $20-$25 apiece. From the amount of work that goes into each one, I would say that is more than fair. If interested, his store can be found on Etsy under “veleshandcraftedlure” and on Instagram at #veles_handcrafted_lures. Catch you all on the next one.

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!

I’m Feeling Old Today…

I have been an early riser for decades. I am always up before the sun peeks above the horizon. Part of it is driven by habit and part is driven by physical pain. I have had 8 surgeries through the years to repair damage from use and abuse. On an average night I manage one to maybe two hours of fitful sleep. The rest of the time I just toss and turn trying to find a modicum of comfort.

With the recent Arctic blast and temps hovering around 0F I have taken it upon myself to keep the fireplace going all night. Every few hours I will stoke the fire and add another log or two. Zip will usually sit with me for awhile and watch the fire burn before returning to bed on his own accord.

It’s a great time for reflection. Sitting there watching the flames and replaying events in my mind. I am not stuck in the past by any means, but I do miss several things that I used to be able to do. I spent decades rock climbing, mountaineering and caving among other things, and I miss the mountains. I have a closet full of climbing gear that will probably never be used again. Crampons, ice axes, ropes, packs, helmets, boots, carabiners etc.

But now, my hands don’t work like they used to, and they sure don’t like the cold anymore. I don’t possess the stamina or fortitude to suffer either. I have indeed become old and relish a warm fire and a dry, comfortable place to sleep. But the things I have seen and done stay with me. Always reminding me of what I used to be. And that’s OK.

I am a fisherman now. And I take great pride and joy in that fact. I can slow down and enjoy one hobby and not worry about racing off to the next route or adventure. Perspective always changes when you are closer to the end than the start. But that is life. We might as well make the most of it!

Thanks for reading and stay warm out there.

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.

Reasons That I Like Being In My 50’s…

Reflection is a big deal to me. How else would I learn from my mistakes or realize that I should be grateful?

Being in my 50’s allows me to see things more clearly and make decisions based on life experiences. I don’t worry about what other people think of me and I don’t compete with anyone but myself. I find that I am content and try to be humble in my daily life. I have nothing to prove and fully enjoy just being at peace with myself. And that has a huge impact on my style of fishing. We’ve blanked several times and I could care less. It is always good just to get out.

I don’t subscribe to the “Alpha Male Fallacy” (read David Mech and Marlene Zuk for a dose of reality) preferring instead to be more like Benjamin Martin in the movie The Patriot. I will not stand in public beating my chest boasting about how great I am, but when it comes time to stand up and be counted I will be there. Granted, we are all captive in one way or another. How we mitigate that is most important.

More importantly, I enjoy seeing my children flourish in their lives and careers. We are also expecting our second Grandchild soon and couldn’t be more delighted. We help where we can and give advice when asked.

The more I embrace my age, the more I can embrace a semblance of freedom. Instead of dwelling fully on the past I look forward to the future so I can continue to grow as an individual. I’m not sure when altruism became a form of weakness, but I wholeheartedly reject that position. Being a decent human being is crucial to moving forward.

Be kind, be humble, help others and enjoy your time doing what you love. That is exactly how we fish! From the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend a THANK YOU to each and everyone who has visited this blog. Here’s to a GREAT 2023 to all of you! Cheers

Outing: 11DEC2022.

We’ve had a lot of rain here in the past few days which causes havoc with our fishing. I wasn’t really feeling like getting out today but I have a reel I wanted to test. Zip has been suffering from cabin fever since he hasn’t been going to the trout ponds with us, so we headed to the river. Prospects for catching fish weren’t high but we decided to give it a go anyway.

2019 Shimano Vanquish C2000S. A GREAT reel!

Normally this time of year the river is about 6 to 6.5ft but was a little over 8ft today.

We just let Zip do his thing. He burned off a ton of energy and slept the whole way home.

The river was murky so we decided not to chance trying to cross it.

As expected, we caught nothing. It was a cool, damp and dreary day but it sure beats working. With the river level being up like it was, we didn’t try crossing to access more area to fish. We’ll get them next time! Cheers