Tag Archives: stream fishing for smallmouth bass

My Current Quiver of Fly Rods…

I was tempted to do a group photo but just couldn’t get a good enough picture to really show the level of detail I wanted to convey. So, we’ll just show them one at a time…

Moonshine Drifter 9ft 5wt with Sage Trout 4/5/6 reel.
Fenwick Aetos 9ft 5wt with Nautilus XM 4/5 reel
Loop Xact 9ft 5wt with Loop Opti Dryfly reel
Fenwick Fenlite 9ft 5wt with Danielsson LW 4seven reel
Echo Ion XL 9ft 6wt with Galvan Rush LT reel
Loop Q 9ft 8wt with Danielsson L5W 6nine reel

Yes, I do actually use all of these. The 6wt is for throwing streamers or when its windy. The 8wt is for bass or pike. The 5wt’s are for general use and I just pick one that I’d like to fish with for the day.

That being said…I am not getting on with 2 of the rods. The Moonshine Drifter and the Fenwick Fenlite. They just don’t suit my casting style so I may move them on down the line. I have an old 2-piece Okuma Magnitude 9ft 5wt I bought years ago just to have a practice rod and it casts better than the Drifter or Fenlite. The others I really like. I just wish we had a decent fly shop locally. Everything is 2 hours away or more.

Also, and I’m probably going to anger some folks, but I don’t see what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Loop Opti reels. In my humble opinion, the Danielsson reels are better made at a cheaper price. Fit and finish is of a higher quality too.

I have a couple of other reels that I didn’t show because I don’t have rods for them. They are a Hardy Marquis LWT 4wt reel, Danielsson Dryfly 5wt reel, a Loop Q 5wt reel and a Danielsson F3W 2six 4wt reel.

I am chomping at the bit to hit some streams soon and am really wanting to fly fish them. Hopefully the weather stabilizes soon…

Area Trout Baitcasting Rod

I wanted to try an “Area Trout” baitcasting rod since I already have a “Native Trout” baitcasting rod. The difference is that “Area” designated rods tend to be a bit more limber. They are whippier and have more of a parabolic bend in the blank. In theory, it should be easier to use the rods inertia to assist in casting a light lure.

I have a cheap BPS Sensilite fiberglass rod that I practice with and kind of liked the action…hence getting this rod. As soon as I can get some free time I will definitely give this rod a shot.

Major Craft Finetail Area Stage Rod FAX-B642UL specs…

-6ft 4in- 2 piece rod

-lure weight 1.0-5.0 grams

-line weight 1.5-5 lbs or 0.2-0.6#PE

-action FAST

I definitely like the low profile and minimalist rod handle. I am excited to try this one out…

Fly Casting Practice…

Like I do every spring, I hit a local park and practice my fly casting. I consider it a “tune-up” if you will. To me, flycasting is somewhat of a perishable skill and I try to set aside time to practice so I’m ready for the upcoming season. Plus, there was a 10-15mph cross wind this afternoon which is normal conditions here in Oklahoma and it was good to work through it.

The Fenwick Aetos 9ft 5wt is one of my favorite rods and I love fishing with it. Yah, it’s not a high end rod, but if you ever cast one, you’ll see why I like it. The Loop XACT 9ft 5wt was a rod I got towards the end of 2019 and haven’t even fished with yet. It has a heavier swing weight than the Aetos but it’s still a good rod.

We have had a lot of rain lately which has made fishing problematic. It’s sunny and 70F right now but will drop into the 30’sF come Tuesday. We also have a chance for some snow…I sure hope it doesn’t though.

10APR2021 Outing..

We decided to get out and explore an area for some new fishing opportunities. Unfortunately, due to the rains last night, several of the roads were off limits to our Subaru. We tried a couple and almost got stuck…Thank God we bought new tires!

She caught one decent sized White Bass while I smell like skunk…LOL. She was trying out her new rod and reel she bought, the Major Craft Finetail Stream Switch Style FTX-46/505UL and the Abu Garcia Revo MGX Theta 1000S. She had a lot of fun on that little rod and I apologize for not getting any pictures. By the time I got into position to get a picture she had released it.

The rivers were up and stained due to all of the rain. It was 78F yesterday evening with strong storms and a tornado a few miles north of us. We woke up to 42F temps when we left at 0545. We debated about not even going but decided to anyway. Everything ended up being a muddy mess and the cold wind didn’t brighten our spirits one bit.

But, as usual, it was good to get out and I’m sure I will endure a good “ribbin” this evening since I caught ZERO! It’s only fair…

4APR2021-Fishing at Local Lake…

Today, we didn’t have any plans since the kids were all out of town, so we decided to go fishing at one of our local lakes again.

It was a beautiful day with minimal wind, lots of sunshine and temps in the 70’s. In fact, we had the entire lake to ourselves.

We ended up catching 22 fish total…21 Largemouth bass and one Crappie in about 3 hours worth of fishing. It was awesome! No pressure, no constraints…we just had fun being out together and catching fish.

Ultralight Fishing Kit…

Years ago, I was doing ultralight backpacking and thought it would be wise to incorporate an ultralight fishing kit into my setup. I found out about Zimmerbuilt through a friend of mine so I purchased a Zimmerbuilt Tenkara Strap Pack. This was designed for Tenkara fishing but I thought it would work really well for what I had in mind. It stays in my vehicle since I tend to stop at ponds and creeks a lot so I wanted something small yet handy.

This Strap Pack has quite a few mounting options. It was obviously intended to be worn on a backpack of some sort, but I just use the lanyard it came with and just sling it over my shoulder. It works perfectly for my intended purpose and is highly functional.

Here is a link to his site: (no affiliation)

https://www.zimmerbuilt.com/store/p20/Tenkara_Strap_Pack.html

A Birthday Present from my Wife!!!

This was quite a surprise. It is a Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS reel on a Major Craft Finetail Stream Stage FSX-B502L rod.

I guess she noticed that I had been watching lots of videos about this reel and this style of fishing. I kept mentioning in casual conversation that I would like to try it and apparently she was listening lol!

Now, let me say this, baitcast reels are not my specialty. I can use them passably but not really well. I can use them from a boat but have never tried them from a kayak or while wading a stream. So I practiced in the front yard for several hours until I got the hang of it. I will definitely be trying this combo out on several streams soon.

Thanks again babe! You’re the best…

Testing Out a Major Craft Finetail Banshee FBA-602L

I’ve never been one to care about matching rods to reels when it comes to colors, but when I saw the Finetail Banshee…I couldn’t resist! When I ran across the rod on Digitaka’s website I thought WOW, “that rod would pair up perfectly with my Daiwa Presso LTD 1025 spinning reel.” So I pulled the trigger.

I have been wanting to try a rod with Fuji Titanium Guides and Torzite inserts. CHECK

I wanted to try a Fuji TVS reel seat. CHECK

So I took the rod out this morning and was pleased with its action and power rating. With a flick of the wrist I can cast a 2.2 gram jig a LONG ways. And as you can see…they pair up nicely with each other!

We Managed to Get Out This Morning…

We went to a nearby lake to test cast a couple of rods and reels. The lake was about 7 feet high and still in the Low-50’s if not upper 40’s temperature wise. We threw a cast net for shad but they hadn’t moved up close to shore yet which is understandable.

My rod choice was the Major Craft Seabass Allaround Game CRX-904ML coupled with a Shimano Stradic FL 4000XG running Power Pro 20# braid. As the name implies, this rod is aimed at fishing for Seabass, but I think it will work just fine for our local Stripers, White Bass, Hybrids and Catfish. Its a 9-footer but it breaks down into 4 pieces which makes it convenient for small cars and it would be possible to travel by air with it as well.

The reel worked flawlessly as you’d expect with a Shimano. I think Shimano has finally got its head in the game on mid-priced reels. This Stradic is really, really good.

I tested various lure weights from 1/4 ounce up to 1 ounce and the rod handled them easily. Its rated for 10-30 grams. I still haven’t found a rod from Major Craft that I haven’t liked.

The weather was amazing…sunny and 74F!

I Turned 50…

Well it finally happened! I hit the Big 5 0. My family got me some wonderful gifts that I will be using this year while fishing and I couldn’t be more excited.

However, my Dad’s health took a serious turn for the worse so that has overshadowed everything else at present. We are hoping he will pull through and are sitting by our phones waiting for any updates on his condition.

I haven’t posted anything to the blog because it just doesn’t seem important right now. So please bear with me. Thank you