stream fishing blog – Page 13

Why I Don’t Do Rod and Reel Reviews…

I used to do reviews when I had my YouTube fishing channel. And invariably the “experts” would appear in the comment section to hold court with their superiority. It became tedious and annoying. Constructive criticism is fine, but everyone hates Trolls. Perhaps I just sucked at it?

I have a full-time job with accompanying commute, a family, commitments and everything else that goes with being an adult. And honestly, I don’t think I could do justice to the subject with the skills I have.

I am not the CEO or CTO of a Hollywood production company with the best and brightest graphic designers, visual artists and photographers on staff.

Have you ever tried to photograph a fishing rod??? It’s not easy!

Besides, there are plenty of YouTube channels who specialize in that sort of thing already. And fishing tackle is subjective to begin with. People may not like the same things that I do…the horror! All joking aside, we are all different and have varying needs and tastes. That’s OK.

Factor in budget restraints and the target audience shrinks drastically. Rods and reels marketed towards the Japanese fishermen/women are different. The Japanese admire quality over quantity. They have no qualms about buying a top tier rod or reel to enrich their fishing experience. They completely ignore cheaply made gear. They don’t mind fishing all day to catch one good fish as opposed to lots of little fish one after another. It’s about the entire experience…not just the catch.

Quality gear costs money. Sometimes a lot of money! If it’s within your budget then get it. If not, don’t. FACT: I fished the Cossatot River with a $15 rod. Sensitivity was almost non-existent and build quality left a lot to be desired. But I caught fish.

Fishing tackle built to a price point doesn’t do much for me anymore. I’m not looking down my nose at anyone…rather, I prefer quality gear. I’ve experienced “the Dark Side”…and I LIKE IT!

Also, with a little bit of effort and “Google-fu”, you can find out all of the information about a particular rod or reel. I don’t mind providing links and pointing the way.

Most importantly…I don’t want to be obligated to a production schedule or script. Or trying to stay trendy by buying every new fishing item that hits the market. Relevance only matters when on the water. Sure I could have done an “unboxing video” with my 2021 Daiwa Presso LT standing mid-stream. YAWN! But I’d rather put that time to use by actually fishing.

I don’t have a clue as to how many fishermen/women actually like JDM fishing tackle. I just enjoy fishing and using decent gear while being non-judgmental about it all. I just share what I’ve learned and if any of my images trip your trigger and starts you on the path…Great! If it doesn’t…that’s fine too. Believe me, I’ve read blog posts where guys are fishing with a $2000+ setup and I click out because I probably will never be able to afford something like that. Obviously I’m not in that target audience LOL.

Now…on a serious note…I know it is sometimes hard to find pictures of JDM fishing rods. You occasionally have to open multiple pages on your browser as well as language translation apps. But the best site I have found to view pictures of any rod that you might be interested in is:

https://fishing.asian-portal.shop/category/select/cid/39

I am amazed by two things on that site, the sheer quantity and the complete lack of inventory. In some respects, both could be construed as good things. With COVID, everything changed and perhaps more fishermen/women are on the water or getting into the sport. Maybe not, but I try to stay positive.

With all that being said…my blog is an enjoyable hobby for me. What you see and read is 100% ME. No script, no timetable, no commitments to sponsors or affiliates, everything purchased by me and for me. If one other person gets some enjoyment out of the content…THAT’S AWESOME!

P.S> You probably can’t tell…but I started writing on the Blog this morning at 0318. In regards to Zip(our puppy), I’m not sure about who is training who anymore.

The Puzzle…

I’ve stated before that fishing is a puzzle that I like to put together.

Unfortunately, this jigsaw puzzle doesn’t come with a picture on a box, or even a box. We have a vague idea of what it could look like but we don’t even know how many pieces we are dealing with.

For me, the puzzle pieces begin with an idea and a plan. Those are the “edge pieces.” The more planning I do, the more the edge pieces appear and begin to form a frame or border. Maps and fishing reports gleaned from as many sources as I am able to locate help make additional pieces of the puzzle begin to appear. Colors begin to show and a pattern starts to develop.

Likewise, further research and planned expenses as well as reconnaisance trips add yet more pieces. Drive times and mileage. Stream gauges. Weather reports and forecasts. All pieces to the puzzle.

Out of nothing, a shape begins to form upon a blank canvas. Gathering momentum and rapidly taking shape.

But we are not even close to completing the puzzle!

Even when I pull up in the car along the stream…I am still missing an incredible number of pieces.

Gear selection, time of day, water temperature, water clarity, flow rate, stream condition, timing of hatches, season, month, day, hour, seconds…yet more pieces for the puzzle. It’s ephemeral, conditions sometimes lasting minutes to hours at best. But the challenge beckons and so we go forth.

With each cast our confidence builds and the understanding that we are filling in the blanks by slotting puzzle pieces into position encourages us.

What depth, what speed, what color? Testing our theory and trying to find more pieces with each step forward. Always probing for clues and asking questions we deem important to our goal of completing this puzzle.

We catch a fish…another piece falls into place. We are almost finished. We continue forward and try to develop a pattern. More fish come to hand and we know that the puzzle is almost entirely filled in.

We dig deeper still and strive to understand the “why” of it all. Why this color? Why this exact time? Questions, questions…ad infinitum.

Do we ever actually complete the entire puzzle? I don’t. Even after a successful outing, I am left with many unanswered questions. And I love that! It tells me I need to work harder and find the last few remaining pieces. But I rarely do that. Sometimes my puzzle is “good enough” and the last few pieces are left to fate and adventure. Sometimes I leave out clues in my fishing journals so if anyone else reads them long after I’m gone, they will have to work hard to solve the puzzle. In other words, they will have to earn it just like I did and hopefully experience it on the same plane as me.

I enjoy reading stories about fishermen/women who have a similar thought process. As well as interacting with like-minded individuals while out on the water. It is easy to cast lures while hoping for a fish. Yet this form of fishing is complex and requires effort and thought. Refinement through experience and wisdom.

The puzzle might have 10 pieces or 10,000. It is entirely up to us to decide. Personally, I like the challenging ones. It’s about “the Puzzle” and any fish caught are always a bonus!

Thanks for reading…

The TenRyu Lunakia LK6102S-MLT spinning rod…

I went to a local lake this afternoon to fish with my Lunakia rod. I didn’t use it as much as I wanted to in 2021 but will try to rectify that in 2022.

I really enjoy fishing with this rod when it is coupled with the 2020 Shimano Twin Power C2000S reel. To me, it feels like perfection. The balance is just right, the rod feels like a wand and the reel is silky smooth.

The Nishijin weave on the handle is sexy…I don’t care what anyone else says!

The Lunakia is classified as a Rockfish/ultralight saltwater rod but it performs on our local smallmouth streams very well and has no issue casting a 2.2gram jighead. Worth every penny.

My catch total today was ZILCH, ZERO, NADA. Not even a nibble. That stormfront that recently passed through really messed things up. But it was 56F and sunny with a very light breeze. I could’ve sat on a rock for hours just soaking up the warmth from the sun. But I ended up picking up 3 more bags of trash and heading home.

On a lighter note…my wrap bandage came off today and the stitches were removed. YAY!!!!!!! It feels so much better now. Maybe my fishing luck will change tomorrow. Stay tuned….

Current Plans for Fishing in 2022…

We’ve been kicking around the idea of fishing in the Southwestern Missouri, Northwestern Arkansas and Northeastern Oklahoma region this year. There are a few rivers that we have been really curious about. Researching the area, it appears that a canoe will be necessary for some of them but that’s fine with me.

Our friends keep telling us to go fish at Noel Missouri for trout but I’m not interested in fishing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of people. We prefer some solitude when we fish. And at this juncture in our lives…we’re after native smallmouth bass anyway!

Of course, so much will depend on the weather, especially how much rainfall we get this coming Spring. And lets not forget COVID! Heaven help those who try to ignore it and get on with living.

I’ve managed to track down a few fishing reports and poured over several maps so far. It definitely looks promising. Part of our desire to fish new areas stems from the sense of adventure that we like to incorporate into our trips.

We seem to have our fishing gear “dialed in” and are not planning any significant changes this year so it will allow us to focus entirely on destinations. Non-resident annual fishing permits are reasonable for both states at $49.00 each. So approximately $200 and we can fish Missouri and Arkansas for the year. There will definitely be canoe rentals, shuttles, camping fees, fuel, food etc to contend with…but things are already falling into place and we’re excited.

We can’t fast-forward through Winter so we will do the best we can. Hopefully we will be able to squeeze in a couple of recon trips between now and Spring to get a feel for what we will be dealing with.

There’s always a lot of work to do before we ever step into a river!

2021 Daiwa Presso LT 1000S-P…

I couldn’t resist!

I like the specifications on this reel, but I like the aesthetics the most. To me it is a good looking reel which creates a well-rounded package. I can’t really find anything I don’t like about this reel other than using chrome colored accents as opposed to the gun metal grey on the previous version. Horses for courses I suppose. The gear ratio is 4.9:1 which I prefer since a lower gear ratio allows for slower presentations.

I was absolutely stunned when the FedEx driver rolled down my driveway Friday afternoon. I had no idea what the boxes could be. I placed the order with Digitaka on Tuesday mid-morning, I had received shipping confirmation Thursday morning, yet here it was…my reel from Digitaka. And free shipping to boot! Those guys never cease to amaze me.

I plan on spooling it up with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bush Trail VEP nylon line. Besides, the reel kind of screams “fill me with orange line.” But seriously, I have been impressed with Varivas fishing line over the past few years so I figured I’d try one of their offerings for 2022.

Now for my next project… training Zip to stop waking me up at 3am to eat!

Unfortunately, I’m one of those people that once awakened from a deep sleep, I simply cannot go back to bed. So the coffee gets poured and I start my day, getting a blog post or two out for the day while the pup is curled up at my feet sound asleep. All complaints aside, he is coming along nicely and is a very intelligent dog. Come Spring, I plan on introducing him to the streams and creeks hoping he will become a good fishing companion. Time will tell…

Our Re-Supply Arrived…

We had such good luck with the Owner Cultiva JH-85 jigheads that we knew we were definitely going to order more for 2022. Same went for Eurotackle Micro Finesse B-vibe 2 inch soft lures. I can’t recommend the B-vibes enough! We also will being trying the 1/8 oz Tungsten jigheads from Eurotackle as well.

We are off to a good start for 2022 in spite of “supply chain” issues.

First Bass of 2022…

I decided to try and go fishing again this morning. With the wife helping me, we adjusted the wrap on my left elbow to make it more comfortable. There were 2 pieces of wadded up gauze that were rubbing against my sutures. The impetus to go was the weather. High temperatures today were forecast for 65F but windy. A cold front is rapidly approaching and we will get snow tomorrow. It was now or never.

It started sprinkling after I had been fishing for 20 minutes and the wind picked up. Forecasts called for 10-20mph winds with gusts up to 30mph. I decided to pick up trash and wait for the gusts to die down a bit before continuing.

4 bags to start with. Ended up filling 8 bags before I left.

I opted for my ultralight setup this morning. Shimano Soare Ci4+ 500 and a Major Craft Finetail Works Tune Area Spec FTA-582UL.

It was a short outing but fun and productive. The bass was small but fought well while using the ultralight setup. I’m not looking forward to the snow but on the plus side…I can fish afterall. Progress I suppose!

Addendum: a little off-topic but I am always trying to repurpose items and this was no exception. I found an old pair of safety glasses that had a neoprene cover and decided to make that into a super small pouch that holds two Walmart bags for the trash round-ups I always do.

I turned the neoprene sleeve inside out and used my Juki to sew one end shut. Super simple.

Clips onto my fishing bag. Low-profile and compact. Works well.

Thanks for reading…

Tackle Japans-Manufacturer’s List

I thought I would share this Manufacturer’s List. Lots of interesting stuff all in one place. No affiliation whatsoever on my part: For Informational Purposes Only.

Pin Posts

*Not responsible for any purchases made!

The DUO Tetra Works React 50, 55 & 65 Spinning Rod…

I was surfing the web this evening and ran across this rod. What caught my attention was its weight! It comes in 3 iterations…the React 50 weighs 36 grams!!!! The React 55 weighs 38 grams and the React 65 weighs 44 grams. To me that is incredibly light and it started the gears in my head turning.

It’s pricey but opens up quite a few possibilities in regards to my type of fishing. I definitely like the minimalist handle and the 0.6mm tip diameter is “uber thin” and tends to make me think that this is a specialists rod, possibly targeted towards Ajing fishers.

The gears are definitely turning and I will have to mull this rod over…

Went to a Local Trout Pond…

The weather forecast for today called for temps near 65F so I decided to hit a local trout pond. With it being a week out from surgery I wasn’t expecting to be able to do much.

The sun was shining and the temps were nice but my elbow said “NO WAY” and I quit attempting to fish after about 10 casts. But that gives me somewhat of a benchmark to work from.

At that point I opted to walk the shoreline and pick up trash. I only had 6 bags with me but found somebody’s dinner trash still in the bag so I used that too.

I pulled as much trash out of the water as I could reach and threw it up onto the shore.

And After. Yes, there is still a styrofoam cup in the water but I couldn’t reach it. Sorry

7 bags total. See the big green dumpster in the background???

I take my role as a steward of the land seriously and even being unable to fish, I still try to be productive and help keep our waters clean. I needed the fresh air and exercise so why not combine them.

Have a GREAT DAY…

Fishing Gear That I’m Interested In for the 2022 Season…

Right out of the gate I will state that I don’t NEED any new rods or reels. These are purely WANTS/WISHES…(this statement WILL come back to haunt me!) And I am not saying that I will purchase any of these items, I’m just curious about them. I’m sure my wife is biting her fingernails and worrying because she knows I tend to “gear up” during the winter months in preparation for the upcoming season. But these are a few items that have piqued my curiosity…

First up is the new Daiwa Presso LT reel. This is the “update” to the Daiwa 2017 Presso LTD series. Unfortunately this reel is no longer made in Japan but has been outsourced to China. I like the idea of the monocoque body and I really like the color scheme of this reel. It seems to be a bit more muted compared to the Presso LTD 1025 that I own. Bearing count (12+1) is the same so it should be smooth. The 2021 Presso LT 1000S-P weighs 145grams(5.1oz) while the Presso LTD 1025 weighs in at 155grams(5.47oz). A 10gram difference. Probably too minor to really notice.

I have a “thing” for multi-piece rods since it suits our style of fishing. I was curious about the next level of these style rods and looked to Tenryu for an option. I own a Tenryu Lunakia 610 and know that they make high quality rods. This Rayz Integral is definitely a contender.

I know nothing about Timon rods but this one interested me especially at this price point. I have yet to buy a bad JDM rod. A rod worth considering.

I hear great things about Smith rods so I thought I’d take a look at their offerings. Again, this is obviously a multi-piece rod and seems quite interesting.

NOTE: This is where my wife needs to stop reading this blog post!

If I win the lottery or if money were no object…I would seriously entertain buying this rod. I like the looks. I really like the components, especially the rod guides.

Daiwa Presso LTD SGA SMT 62L. Pie In The Sky!

As I’ve said MANY times before, I am curious by nature. And after owning several mid-tier JDM rods, I am wondering what the next level up would be like. But it’s really hard to justify an expenditure of that size. Safer to just drool…

Our Most Used Lures of 2021…

I took a chance buying these jig heads and soft plastic lures last year. As it turns out, we used them almost exclusively for the entire 2021 fishing season.

The jig heads are from http://www.digitaka.com and are the Owner Cultiva JH-85 Nagare Dama and the JH-86 Cross Head. The weights we used were 2.2grams up to 3.0grams. They have two tie points on them depending on how you want to present them. Keep in mind that the target species was our native smallmouth bass and they don’t reach near the size of the Northern strain smallmouth bass. These hooks were fine for the Neosho strain smallmouth.

For soft plastics we opted for the Eurotackle Micro Finesse B-vibe 2 inch paddle tail swimbait.

Our colors of choice were Green Pumpkin, Bluegill Pro and Black. These were very productive for us and we plan on continuing their use for 2022.

As we tweak our gear and lure selections, we tend to carry less tackle. We continually strive for efficiency to keep from being overburdened and to maximize our time on the water. Food for thought…