smallmouth bass – Page 2

Trying To Make Up For Lost Time…

I think I’m doing OK and healing up; albeit slowly. Last night was the first night I didn’t take any pain medication and although I only managed an hour and a half of good sleep, I feel pretty good. The dull pain and burning sensation is still there but it’s manageable.

On the pain medication topic: Pain pills are hard to get these days in part due to the “opioid crisis” so I tend to use them sparingly. As long as I could take the edge off then I could manage the pain and slowly increase my threshold. With this latest episode, I only took the pain medication at bedtime as opposed to every 6 hours and to me, that’s a good thing.

Anyway, back to fishing! In January/February I managed to get a few rods that a good friend of mine was selling. The prices were phenomenal so I picked up a Palms Quattro 4-piece travel rod that I had been wanting as well as a Majorcraft fiberglass travel rod that was on my radar. I’ve been very happy with both so far. I also picked up two Yamaga Blanks Blue Current TZ Nano rods in 6ft 2in and a 6ft 10in versions. BOTH are outstanding rods that I had been interested in for quite some time. Lightly used and at a great price was a no-brainer. I’ve recently fished all 4 of them and can say it was money well spent and it helped out a friend.

The Yamaga Blanks Blue Current 62 TZ Nano. Great rod!

The Palms Quattro is a saltwater ultralight but works well for my intended purpose. that’s a 1000 size reel for scale.

For the record: I only had one rod and one reel on the purchase list for 2024. The rod arrived this past Monday and is the TenRyu Rayz Spectra RZS-61LL. I bought one as a gift for my wife quite awhile ago and she was gracious enough to let me have a go with it for a round of testing. I liked it so much I decided to order myself one except they were sold out. After searching on and off for over a year, I finally managed to find one and it is now in my quiver of rods. I will say for certain that it was worth the wait! Oustanding rod for our type of fishing.

TenRyu Rayz Spectra RZS-61LL with a Stella C2000SHG reel.

So far the rod has been great…in fact all of them have caught fish so I have no complaints. We have been trying to gauge if the bass and crappie are staging for the spawn and it has been hit and miss due to the highly variable weather conditions. One day it was 84F and the next it dropped to 31F. Not enough stability yet for the fish to fully become active or to establish a reliable pattern.

We’ve caught plenty of rainbow trout so far in 2024.

We even took our medium rods out to see if the sand bass were about to move up and spawn but we didn’t get any takers. It’s still a bit early I suppose.

I’m probably pushing things a bit but it’s hard for me to be inactive for any length of time. I’m definitely much more careful and am moving slower than normal but I am making progress so I’m happy. Maybe I’ll hit the trout pond this morning at first light and get one last session in before the season ends on April 1st…time will tell. Take care and see ya soon.

Back on my Feet!

These past few weeks have been hell. It took almost 2 weeks to see my doctor and getting pain medication seemed to take an act of Congress. I was essentially bedridden for 8 straight days due to intense pain. It took a full 12 days before I could actually sit in a chair for more than a minute. Once the MRI was done and the damage became known, things seemed to move a bit faster.

It is frustrating to be treated like everything is either a minor injury or it’s psychosomatic. The MRI ultimately showed that I had a serious tear in my gluteus minimus origin as well as a minor tear in my hamstring origin all located in my right hip. Speaking with an Orthopedic doctor, he really didn’t want to do surgery given its location and instead gave me a steroid injection into the hip socket. Needless to say, the pain is still there but the injection helped and I’m mobile finally and able to do things.

So the first thing I did was hit the trout pond at the crack of dawn! The weather has been weird to the say the least. One day it was 87F and the next it was 31F. That’s Oklahoma weather for you!

I did pretty well and managed to catch 8 Rainbow trout…or Pellet Pigs as we call them since they’re hatchery raised. It was good to feel the tug and hear the drag sing.

I normally do not take the trout out of the water and instead release them. But on this day there was an older gentleman who asked if he could have any trout I didn’t want so I gave him 3 which is the limit. It was 33F and I could tell he didn’t really want to get his gear out and stand there for any length of time so I obliged him.

The trout season is winding down and this pond was stocked for the last time on February 28th. We had a decent winter season all things considered. And I’m sure, like so many others, that we all are looking forward to Spring and warmer weather. See you on the next one.

Outing 4 February 2024…

The day started off rainy and cool but we were really wanting to hit the trout pond again. We figured with the rain, hardly anyone would be at the pond fishing, and we were right. There were a few diehards but they stayed on the floating docks under the metal roof.

We started off by throwing spoons. We tried several different colors but other than a couple of bumps, they just didn’t seem to be interested. Mrs. VeloxSeeker opted to try her Veles Handcrafted Lures and immediately got a hit and reeled in a nice rainbow.

I was lucky enough to see the hit and watch the fight while standing on the bank holding the net. It was obvious that she was onto something. And for the record…dummy me only brought spoons so I begged a Veles lure off of her.

I chose a different color scheme and it proved to be effective as well. At that point we decided to try as many different lures as we could to test out their effectiveness on trout.

She switched to the lure pictured above and was into her second trout in no time. We could see the trout swirling from time to time and occasionally one would leap 2 feet out the water chasing something, so we knew they were actively feeding.

I will digress here for a bit: I was using a Daiwa Presso ST 62ML rod which was designed for “Area Trout” fishing i.e. trout ponds. And I’m here to tell you, it was dead in the sensitivity department. I could only feel the heaviest spoon or the biggest Veles lure. It excelled in the casting department as it easily cast lures as far as you would want to. I was fortunate to even catch the trout that I did.

Shortly after catching my rainbow, the rain kicked in and she wasn’t feeling much like fishing. She offered to let me use her rod ( the lovely DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62) and I jumped at the opportunity. Four casts later and I’m into another rainbow finally. Score is 2-2!

I literally couldn’t get enough of that rod. I kept casting and managed to hook a third rainbow and the fight was on. After a short scuffle, the trout rocketed out of the water, spit the lure and gave me the “middle fin.” I was grinning from ear to ear and decided that it was a good time to leave. What a perfect ending to a 2-2 game!

Happy 3rd Anniversary of this Blog…

It is hard to believe that 3 years have gone by in regards to starting this blog. Our intent was to show and share information on gear we use, places we go and the types of fishing we do.

Analytics show that the blog had 2,862 views from 61 countries last year. As stats go, I’m sure it’s not very impressive to some, but we’re happy with it. Even if we made one person laugh or helped someone in any way…then it has been a success.

We sincerely thank each and every person who visited, liked a post or left a comment. And we hope to continue to fish, travel and have fun.

Thank you ALL!

Today Was HER Day…

We woke up to 30F and pea soup fog but the forecast said it would clear by 10AM. I’m up early every day so I was back in the fishing room getting my gear ready and changing some hooks out. And I can’t really blame her for sleeping in since the weather was cold and damp.

We finally arrived at the trout pond and it was good to see several others already out there fishing. And it didn’t take her long to hook into her first trout. It was a nice battle and she handled it perfectly.

I should take a moment to clarify something about yesterdays post. The DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62L is her rod. I was just giving it a quick test when I caught the trout yesterday. Very impressive rod and she got to experience what I was trying to explain yesterday. She REALLY enjoyed fishing with it and catching trout.

Her first trout was chunky and put up a great fight.

I managed to hook one but I gave it some slack and it slipped the barbless hook. My rod was the Soare SS Ajing S58L-S and is quite a bit stiffer with an extra fast tip…which is not ideal for trout ponds and trout fishing. Sometimes common sense is over-ruled when it comes to wanting to test out a new rod. Lesson learned.

It didn’t take long before she hooked her second trout. I reeled in and raced for the net, all too happy to help since I wasn’t catching anything but a chill. Once safely in the net it was time for me to take pictures.

Once the sun came out and the fog cleared off…the bite was over. We fished for another hour without a single hit. We didn’t even see a trout rise or swirl anywhere. At that point we decided to grab lunch and head home.

And yes…I earned a good ribbing on the ride home! Skunk Boy-that’s me!

Finally!…

The weather has been conspiring against us for most of January it seems.

Fortunately we had a small warming trend and some rain which “de-iced” the trout ponds. Today the temperature was 37F but with 18-20mph winds so it felt like 26F. Come hell or high water…we were hitting the trout pond, and we did.

We had two new rods to test and hopefully give them a proper workout, but sadly we only caught one rainbow trout. Granted, it was a decent one at around 3 pounds.

For those interested…The rods were a DreemUp Dreem Con Three 62L spinning rod and a Shimano Soare SS Ajing S58L-S spinning rod. Both are fantastic casters and I caught our only trout on the DreemUp. The rod performed flawlessly and really helped keep the trout under control.

DreemUp DCT 62L on top and the Shimano Soare SS Ajing S58L-S on the bottom.

Wish we could have stayed longer but the wind and cold made us head for home. Talking with a few of the regulars, they confirmed that it had been stocked this past Thursday so hopefully we can return tomorrow.

It felt SO GOOD to hear the drag sing and feel the pull on the rod. It has been too long for sure. And once again, the trout spoons came through for us. Of the 6 anglers present, ours was the only trout that we saw being caught. I can’t stress enough how effective these spoons can be.

Hopefully we can return tomorrow and do a bit better…

Today Was A Bust…

We have been really wanting to go trout fishing but a recent winter storm and below freezing temperatures have forced us to wait. A new rod has been sitting here waiting for me to give it a good workout and it is probably just as frustrated as I am.

The weatherman assured us that it would be 32F by noon so we made plans and gathered our gear. But we all know that they are about as trustworthy as a politician! Temperatures ended up dropping by noon as a new round of winter storms approaches. The rain, sleet and ice are supposed to start falling by 6PM.

We pulled into the trout pond and noticed that there wasn’t a single person fishing. Never a good sign! We can’t actually see the pond from the parking lot so we parked and walked down to the edge. This is what greeted us…

The aerator/pump was running and that was the only open water, but casting and getting a fish would’ve been tough…too much ice to contend with. We put Plan B into motion and opted to drive to another pond.

Two pockets of open water well out of range and socked in with ducks and geese. Not a chance!

We gave up and headed towards home. We ended up detouring a bit and checking out one of our local lakes and it was iced over too. Something we had never seen before. After that we called it a day an opted to relax for the rest of Sunday. The weather forecast looks bleak for next week but maybe we will get another chance come the weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Choosing One’s Own Path…

I have never been one who followed the herd. I am not special nor a trendsetter. Honestly, I could care less about being in any form of “limelight.” If I develop a concept or theory in my head, then I follow it and see where it leads.

Yes, this article brings JDM gear back into focus. I am not trying to sell anything and never will. If you’re interested in JDM gear then you understand. What I will try to demonstrate is that it is possible to defy normal convention.

Case in point: Almost all JDM stream/native trout rods have cork handles. Cork is fine and we are not against that. However, we have found that having a composite handle suits us much better. Area rods tend to have a lot of dense EVA foam on them. Cork and foam tend to be insulators whereas straight composite grips transfer every nuance of the lure or fish straight to your hand. I have often wondered what a graphite/carbon fiber fly rod handle would feel like while nymphing! The problem is finding a rod that meets our criteria and we are forced to look at other possibilities.

TOP: JDM Area trout rod handle, MIDDLE: JDM Stream/Native trout rod handle, BOTTOM: JDM Ajing rod handle.

The easiest way to explain it is that Area trout rods are more whippy and have a parabolic bend, whereas Stream/Native trout rods have a stiff backbone yet possess a responsive tip. This also transfers over to UL Saltwater/Light Game whereas the Mebaru rods have a similar action to Area rods and the Ajing rods are similar in action to the Stream/Native rods. Area = Trout Pond and Stream is exactly what it sounds like.

We spend quite a large amount of time researching Ajing (Horse Mackerel) spinning rods. These rods are NOT designed for our intended purpose, but we try them anyway, and so far it has worked in our favor. Not only are these rods lighter, but also more sensitive and responsive.

I have literally held my Tenryu Lunakia 6’10” 2-piece rod straight out in front of me and had a friend rub a dandelion seed head against the tip…and I could feel it!

I am not knocking USDM (US Domestic Market) rods…too much, but I honestly can’t stand the way they feel/respond. Components are quite unimpressive and the price is off in my opinion. But then again, in all openess, we’ve never found a USDM rod that is designed for the fishing we like to do. That being said, if I’m chasing Northern-strain Smallmouth, then I’ll grab an off-the-shelf rod and use that. My priorities are pretty simple at that point…ML to Med action and be a 2-piece rod. That’s it!

With the exchange rate being what it is……currently 148.14 YEN to $1 USD, it’s a no-brainer for us. It’s the perfect time to find bargains on quality rods and reels. Another factor is the Japanese have sales quite often and you can save even more. Several online sites even offer free shipping adding up to more savings. Sorry if it sounds like im preaching!

On another note…the reels I have settled on are the 2019 Shimano Vanquish and the 2023 Daiwa Airity.

We do own Shimano Stella’s and Daiwa Exist’s which are their top of the line reels. But for me anyway, these mid-range reels are just about perfect and I don’t ever see me buying a high-end spinning reel again.

Defy convention…don’t think outside the box, just get rid of the box! Fish can’t read.

With all that being said…once it warms up to above freezing, we plan on hitting the trout ponds today. The stocking schedules have been off due to the recent winter storms so we will keep our fingers crossed.

Catch you on the next one…

P.S. Just a “public service announcement”- If there are any bass guys reading this, JDM Tackle Heaven is having a huge sale until January 31 and they have a ton of Megabass rods on sale. www.jdmtackleheaven.com

No affiliation on my part.

Our Most Used Gear of 2023…

It’s that time of year again when we go over our most used gear from the previous year.

First up will be the wading boots…

We both used the Simms Flyweight Access Boot. It was the second season for my pair and they are showing some wear but otherwise are holding up fine. Lightweight with plenty of grip.

Our choice of jigheads changed this year. We found the Daiwa Gekkabijin’s to work very well. Runner up was the Duo Tetra Works Sniphead Large.

Our favorite snap this year ended up being the IMA Tariki snap in Size #0 and #1.

For the second year in a row…we still prefer the EuroTackle 2-inch and 3-inch B-vibes in Green Pumpkin or Black.

New for 2023 was adding a Yeti GoBox 15 to the loadout. We were looking for something that could hold all of our extra jigheads, snaps, plastic baits and spools of line. It lived in the vehicle for most of the season. It was nice to reach the car after an outing and reload what we needed.

For me, my most used reel was the Daiwa Airity. I absolutely loved using it and can’t recommend it enough. My wife used her Stella almost exclusively and loved it. She has recently received an Airity so we will see what 2024 brings.

My most used spinning rod ended up being the Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS51LL again. Great rod for our type of fishing and target species.

Her two favorite setups. The Stella C2000S with her Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS61LL and her Shimano Soare XR S58UL-S rod with a Soare XR 2000 reel.

I did spend quite a bit of time in 2023 fishing with baitcasters and really enjoyed throwing hard baits with them.

Daiwa Silver Creek Stream Custom 8.5 on a Tenryu Rayz Spectra RZS51LL-BC followed by a Shimano Scorpion BFS on a MajorCraft Finetail FSG-B462UL glass rod.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in a pic of some nets we used for 2023. We purchased these off of Etsy from a Ukrainian master craftsman who goes by ZenNets. Excellent nets!

I am sure that there are things I’m leaving out, but these were the main items that stuck out in 2023. We explored several new areas, enjoyed beautiful scenery, had a lot of laughs and a few disappointments. But all-in-all, we had a great year of fishing and continued to learn a lot. Here’s to 2024 being a great year as well…CHEERS!

Elecom Nestout Batteries and Lighting Systems…

We had noticed these Nestout batteries and lights a year or so ago (2022) on a Japanese camping forum. We liked the concept but they wouldn’t ship to the US. Fast forward to 2023 and we noticed that they were selling them on Amazon so we grabbed a few. They are slowly trickling in their entire product line via Amazon. They have batteries ranging from 5000mAh up to 15000mAh’s as well as two different lights…the Lamp-1 and the Flash-1.

For camping, or even wading a river, having a dustproof and waterproof battery pack that has USB-A and USB-C was handy to have. Currently they have the batteries in 3 colors…grey, black and tan.

Only the lights come with a tripod and storage bag so be aware of that. Also, it is a proprietary fitting that comes with a screw on ring that attaches to the battery and allows for the USB light to plug in and lock into place. If you’re charging a phone or GoPro it won’t matter, just plug the cable in and go.

10,000mAh battery w/ Flash-1 light…you can see the locking ring in the middle.

The Flash-1 is adjustable from 30-1000 lumens.

These will work well for us and we can appreciate the innovation and design concept. They have already been pressed into service during a recent power outage and did a great job.

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is doing well and Thank You to my readers for a great year.

Things have been very hectic for both of us with many contributing factors…work, family and life. We have been able to squeeze in a few short excursions here and there so we are still fishing.

We did pick up a few new rods this year. In particular was the 2021 Shimano Soare XR series in 5ft 4in and 6ft Super Ultralight and the 5ft 8in Ultralight. These rods are fantastic and extremely sensitive. The 54SUL paired with the Shimano Soare XR 500SPG reel excels for trout in our local stocked ponds. The 58UL paired with a 2000 size reel works really well in small streams.

The Soare XR handle has been the most ergonomic and aesthetic handle we’ve come across so far.

Believe it or not, I have been using this little reel…The Shimano Soare XR 500SPG a lot lately. It is a beast of a little reel! Gear ratio of 4.7:1 with 3kg or drag and weighs 135grams.

We haven’t sat down and planned trips for 2024 yet, but once winter fully sets in I am sure we will start that process. We are definitely not sure what kind of year 2024 will be but I think we can all guess what it might look like.

I do know that Daiwa will be releasing a new Daiwa Certate in the 2000 size sometime in the first quarter of 2024 and I am interested to say the least. Time will tell though.

I will close now, and again, I wish to give a heartfelt shout-out to everyone who visited this blog and hope you all have a happy holiday season no matter where you are. Cheers!

Outings…At Last!

We finally managed to get out and fish a bit yesterday morning. Temperatures are cooler early in the morning and we arrived at one of the nearby lakes shortly after sunrise.

The wind kicked up just as the sun rose over the hills so we had some issues casting our light lures. We managed to pull out 7 bass and the one perch. We were expecting a package so opted to head home early to be there for its arrival. Long story short…it never arrived so we wasted our time. Had we known, we would’ve stayed and fished all afternoon.

Fast forward to the next morning and we were once again waiting for the package to arrive and it finally did at 0905.

This is classed as an Ajing rod and is listed as a saltwater super ultralight rod. It is a bit stiffer than ultra light rods that are made in the States.

Paired with the Shimano Soare XR 500SPG reel.

The bending curve on this rod is fantastic, as is the sensitivity.

We were at another local lake by 0930 with the purpose of putting this rod through its paces. We had a narrow window of opportunity as storms are expected early this afternoon.

Much to our surprise, they had cleared all of the brush from around the lakeshore so we had a few more chances to cast from the bank.

Think this was the smallest bass I have ever caught.

This is going to be a tangle of poison ivy soon.

We managed to catch 5 bass before the rain started. I am impressed with the new rod and can see it being almost perfect for the trout ponds. It would definitely be fun to use on the rivers for smallmouth.

It looks like it will finally start cooling down after tonight which is a great relief. We want to fish the river at least one more time before trout season starts. It will all depend on how much rain we get tonight and what the temperatures are going to do. Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.