It was a fine fall day out at Parker Canyon Lake (PCL). The sun is rising near 0630 in the morning and the temperature was in the low 40's F. I didn't manage to get an early start and it appears that it didn't matter that much either. It was one of the more awkward starts today. I wasn't sure if the weather would be suitable for a run out there as we've had a storm front roll through bringing the cooler air setting the stage right for fall.
I started the morning by getting the gear stowed into the truck and heading out at first light. It was a nice drive out there as I could see my way without the headlights. Yeah still kept them on as that road is treacherous with all the animal and human activity through those narrow spots. Good thing too with the later start there were quite a few vehicles out and about.
I figured out what I forgot when I arrived at the lake. I had left my sand chair in the storage room. Oh bother as that meant that I would need to sit in the bottom of the sportyak to keep a reasonable trim on the craft. This made for a rather low rider experience in casting and working the rod as I had to hold it high enough to clear the sides.
I chose to run all spinning reels today. Everything from light to heavy all on spinning reels. The only issues were two loop knots that I was not able to clear on the very light 2 lb test mono. Fortunately there was not a lot to be lost by that.
I did use the heavy rig to start out the day by flipping about the weeds. There were people on the fishing pier but not that many water craft, at least not yet. So I paddled about the shallow cove dropping the skirted jig here and there. Not a single nibble. This continued for almost 2 hours. I even left the weeds and made my way over to the dam for a change.
The breeze picked up dramatically and I'm glad that I brought an anchor. Unfortunately it was not up to the task of station keeping with the stiff breeze. So there were several occasions where I had to abandon fishing and take to collision avoidance. I need to see if there is an alternate anchor that I can use without resorting to the very heavy piece of metal. I should also consider some different rope too. Something that will not soak up so much water.
It wasn't till about 11a that the fish woke up and took to the bait being offered. It was quite the experience tugging at the fish using the light 2 lb test mono. I had the drag set pretty low and it seem to work well in getting the fish to connect and stay connected. In retrospect all of the fish caught today were tied into the 2 lb mono and all of them were well hooked. Two of them did not have the hook penetrate but the hook was well placed securely. So it does seem the reel down hook set has some merit. I rather enjoy using the light line as it is much easier to cast. It would be nice to find some bulk spools of it at a reasonable cost. I'll keep my eye open when shopping.
I got a few bites at the dam and moved over to the weeds near there. Nothing in poking about the openings in the weeds. I suspect with the cooler temperatures it was taking a bit longer for the bass to respond and be active. I was right. Shortly after noon I made my way along the edge of the lake and went back to actively flipping about all the areas that look promising. I got to one where I flipped the jig in and immediately got a tic. That turned into a light tug and it was followed by a stronger tug which I responded to. Ooops, missed that one. Darn, that felt just like a LMB on the other end of the jig. I will not find out. It turned out to the be the only plausible LMB strike of the day.
I made my way back towards the boat launch thinking that I would be calling it a day. In dealing with the wind gusts, the boat got turned about so I got a look at the rip-rap near the docks. Surprise to me. All those folks that were there earlier in the day had vacated the entire expanse of rocks. Odd too as the dock area was packed with people. Fine by me I'll have a go at it. So I adjusted course and pulled in near shore and weighed anchor to keep me within casting range of the rocks.
I made about two casts and tied into a green sunfish. Oh that was great fun as I had not caught too many today. It turned into a banner afternoon as I kept casting and catching sunfish. None of them were all that big. Most were less than 5 inches. All were great fun on the light weight setup. Those flexible Daiwa poles really respond when something loads up on them. Sort of like using a fly rod. Interesting as I managed to keep everything that connected to stay on till I got it to the boat.
Since the regular 2 inch grubs were working so well I never even bothered to try the micro jigs that I had purchased. Maybe next time.
I did tie into one rather sizable green sunfish. Upon getting it to the boat, I cleared the jig from its mouth only to see two wires coming out of its mouth. At least I thought they were wires. A look down the throat revealed two small pinchers protruding from the sphincter along with the tentacles that I thought were wires. Yes, the tummy was quite plump on this sucker too. That one did give me a good tussle. Again it is sure fun on that light rig.
I ended up just going back and forth on along the rocks and enjoy a fish on pretty much every cast. Again not very big fish all of them were pretty small but all were great fun. Eventually I needed to head home as I was getting hungry and tired too. I stowed the boat into the truck and stopped in the store to grab some peanut M&Ms. A personal favorite. While in there I noticed that the fishing equipment had been stocked with some new offerings. Alas, a whole load of Z-Rays. I recently found out that that Whitman lures is closing up operations after 60 years of production. So I was seeking out some Z-Ray just to stock up. So I picked up a a couple. I may need to get a few more on my next trip over there. I can't speak to how many fish I've caught on those lures. Especially since next week the trout stockings should begin at PCL. Oh joy!
Cheers!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Remember that old saying: Bring enough...
Good Day! Yeah, it was a good day. It was pretty good to be out on the water and I learned a few things and basically enjoyed my time out there. I'm confirming my theme of keeping it simple as the basic baits and presentation are working out consistently. I'm also convinced after this morning's events that the theme should be applied to knots also. The fancy knots that I've been trying are not holding up. I tried a couple of loop knots to allow the baits to articulate on the end of the line. This articulation might be a slight improvement in presentation as I don't have an argument for or against this point. The compromise is the minimized strength of the rig. It seems that loop knot is the source of additional slack which under a strong strike produces a snapping effect. I tried both single and double strand knots and unfortunately arrived at the same conclusion, not suitable for me.
So I'll be sticking with the well known and suitable performing single, double palomar. This is a low fuss easy to tie knot. Nothing complicated and can be done well on all the line sizes that I use. Additionally, I've found that under field conditions, poor lighting, wind, etc. that some of those more complicated knots are not possible to create with reliable consistency. It does appear that the theme of simple is good still holds.
I arrived out at the lake shortly after 5am this morning. There was only one bass boat out on the water and they put in to shore shortly after I put out to water. There was a slight breeze this morning as you could feel the thermal difference of the water to ambient air temperature. Yes, the season is progressing nicely. More rain would be nice. Somehow it seems to form just fine, it then tends to migrate away from where we would like it. There were some high clouds overcasting the early morning light so I got in some extended twilight conditions.
It was interesting to see just how much effort I had to put into yak positioning. I would get the yak into a casting position, make the cast and work through the presentation. By the time the lure was fully retrieved it was time to re-position again. So I got a good workout today. Fortunately all that directed effort was productive in that I caught quite a few in the first fishing area by the rip-rap. No monsters there but good fun hauling in the little green sunfish. They are more than eager to hammer on that little grub. I did manage to loose the first jig/grub combination on an underwater snag. I was dissappointed at how easy it was to break off using one of the initial single loop knot. After that experience I changed over to a slightly heavier jig 1/8 oz (~ 4 gr) with the same grub bait. This did produce a few fish and was easier to cast. However, it just didn't seem to be as attractive. So eventually I switched back to the 1/32 oz ( 1 gr) jig head. After that move things picked up dramatically.
People started to show up to get into recreating at an early hour too. As they arrived, I made my way across the lake towards the dam area. I figured I would hit that area earlier than I typically do and see what it was like over there. I also took a more northern route to get there. Along the way I fired off the grub at various top water activity. That was fun as I got several strikes but no connections. I eventually got one after casting to a long past area of activity. It was a large healthy bluegill that managed to take out quite a bit of line. This was even on the heavier drag that I decided on for today. So that posture will also change as I'm going back to my lighter drag settings. More fun and it seems to be more successful too.
Upon making it to the dam I was joined by a long time fellow angler, Eddie. Eddy would also angle along side me at the local pond. He is another one of those avid anglers who just enjoys fishing, nothing fancy, just catch fish. He managed to walk the southern perimeter and arrive at the dam at roughly the same time I did. So I floated to within chatting distance and told him about me running over several of the top water action. I noticed he was going with his confidence bait, a wacky rigged senko.
I just finished telling him about my experiences with fishing the dam. I told him that I had to put the bait within about 15 cm of the shore line to get good consistent results. As I told him that, I sent a cast right in between several of the larger rocks and let it settle for a slight moment before working it back towards me. Within the first two hops the bait was sort of heavy so I tensioned up and reeled back in more aggressively. At first it just felt like I had snagged a weed, just heavy, then it figured out that it was connected to me. This fish started to pull the tip of pole towards the surface of the water. Fortunately the deep water of the dam doesn't hold too many snag opportunities so the fight was a gentle give and take play. Eddie saw the action, "that's what we're talking about!" It was a nice 30 cm or so large mouth bass. A good healthy fish with again really sharp teeth. I could feel my skin getting pricked by them. Checked my knot and line for good measure too.
It was later along the dam that I ran into the other well known angler, a blue heron. I had been slowly drifting along the dam running into quite a few green sunfish along the way. As I approached the center of the dam, there was this loud cackle that broke the silence. The heron had been standing there quietly trying to fish also when I happened by. As a consideration, I eased the yak out to deeper water to provide a wide berth as to not interfere further with the heron. I'm recreation fishing, so the heron has priority. I only wish I could have advised it to move over to the south pocket as that is where I caught and released a bunch of them.
Speaking of a catch and release, my first big catch and release of the day a long distance version was also at the grass beds near the dam. I managed to find a small pocket where I sent in a T-rigged double tail trailer. I had it lightly weighted with only a 1 gram sliding sinker on the end. The line went aggressively slack so I had to intensely wind in to get to where I could feel a loading on the line. I hauled back on it and it dove into the weeds hard. A single shake and that was it. Apparently that small wide gap hook didn't connect in. So it goes... It felt really heavy but I'll not get to see that one.
A quick venture to the north end of the lake produce a few nibbles with no solid connection. As the wind was picking up and the sun started to burn through the clouds, I figured it was getting close to time for me to head on out. The activity level on the lake was reaching an all time high. There were quite a few more boats and lots of small inflatables too. Also the noise level was much higher too.
I made my way back to the boat launch area where it was quite congested so I diverted to explore the grass beds along the way. As I flipped the double tail. I found it was only good where I could find a clear pocket. So I switched over to the 7 gram skirted jig. That configuration was just the ticket to land on the grass and gently drop through with a slight wiggle. As I made my way along the shore waiting for an opportunity at the loading dock. I saw a submerged tree limb. So I tossed the jig next to it. Just after the jig slipped through the floating mat, the entire mat erupted with a massive lifting from underneath. I remembered the tip that said if the mat moves go ahead and tension up as the fish as already got it. Yup, sure enough the little pole doubled over and the tip dipped into the water under the load of the heavy fish. It made two unrestricted massive surges and managed to strip line even with the extreme drag setting. < almost at max, approximately 90% setting on that reel > The second protracted pull concluded with the snap of the line. That was it. I can only guess that the size of that was big. Something that could lift that much grass had to be pretty sizable. I regret that it has my jig still with it. Hopefully the hook will loosen up rapidly and dislodge before too long. It may be time to reconsider braid for that particular reel. I'll think on it a bit more as it is apparent this is a good application for that.
So that was the last event of the day. The loading dock cleared up and I was able to put in to shore and head back home. More learning involved. I'm getting there.
So I'll be sticking with the well known and suitable performing single, double palomar. This is a low fuss easy to tie knot. Nothing complicated and can be done well on all the line sizes that I use. Additionally, I've found that under field conditions, poor lighting, wind, etc. that some of those more complicated knots are not possible to create with reliable consistency. It does appear that the theme of simple is good still holds.
I arrived out at the lake shortly after 5am this morning. There was only one bass boat out on the water and they put in to shore shortly after I put out to water. There was a slight breeze this morning as you could feel the thermal difference of the water to ambient air temperature. Yes, the season is progressing nicely. More rain would be nice. Somehow it seems to form just fine, it then tends to migrate away from where we would like it. There were some high clouds overcasting the early morning light so I got in some extended twilight conditions.
It was interesting to see just how much effort I had to put into yak positioning. I would get the yak into a casting position, make the cast and work through the presentation. By the time the lure was fully retrieved it was time to re-position again. So I got a good workout today. Fortunately all that directed effort was productive in that I caught quite a few in the first fishing area by the rip-rap. No monsters there but good fun hauling in the little green sunfish. They are more than eager to hammer on that little grub. I did manage to loose the first jig/grub combination on an underwater snag. I was dissappointed at how easy it was to break off using one of the initial single loop knot. After that experience I changed over to a slightly heavier jig 1/8 oz (~ 4 gr) with the same grub bait. This did produce a few fish and was easier to cast. However, it just didn't seem to be as attractive. So eventually I switched back to the 1/32 oz ( 1 gr) jig head. After that move things picked up dramatically.
People started to show up to get into recreating at an early hour too. As they arrived, I made my way across the lake towards the dam area. I figured I would hit that area earlier than I typically do and see what it was like over there. I also took a more northern route to get there. Along the way I fired off the grub at various top water activity. That was fun as I got several strikes but no connections. I eventually got one after casting to a long past area of activity. It was a large healthy bluegill that managed to take out quite a bit of line. This was even on the heavier drag that I decided on for today. So that posture will also change as I'm going back to my lighter drag settings. More fun and it seems to be more successful too.
Upon making it to the dam I was joined by a long time fellow angler, Eddie. Eddy would also angle along side me at the local pond. He is another one of those avid anglers who just enjoys fishing, nothing fancy, just catch fish. He managed to walk the southern perimeter and arrive at the dam at roughly the same time I did. So I floated to within chatting distance and told him about me running over several of the top water action. I noticed he was going with his confidence bait, a wacky rigged senko.
I just finished telling him about my experiences with fishing the dam. I told him that I had to put the bait within about 15 cm of the shore line to get good consistent results. As I told him that, I sent a cast right in between several of the larger rocks and let it settle for a slight moment before working it back towards me. Within the first two hops the bait was sort of heavy so I tensioned up and reeled back in more aggressively. At first it just felt like I had snagged a weed, just heavy, then it figured out that it was connected to me. This fish started to pull the tip of pole towards the surface of the water. Fortunately the deep water of the dam doesn't hold too many snag opportunities so the fight was a gentle give and take play. Eddie saw the action, "that's what we're talking about!" It was a nice 30 cm or so large mouth bass. A good healthy fish with again really sharp teeth. I could feel my skin getting pricked by them. Checked my knot and line for good measure too.
It was later along the dam that I ran into the other well known angler, a blue heron. I had been slowly drifting along the dam running into quite a few green sunfish along the way. As I approached the center of the dam, there was this loud cackle that broke the silence. The heron had been standing there quietly trying to fish also when I happened by. As a consideration, I eased the yak out to deeper water to provide a wide berth as to not interfere further with the heron. I'm recreation fishing, so the heron has priority. I only wish I could have advised it to move over to the south pocket as that is where I caught and released a bunch of them.
Speaking of a catch and release, my first big catch and release of the day a long distance version was also at the grass beds near the dam. I managed to find a small pocket where I sent in a T-rigged double tail trailer. I had it lightly weighted with only a 1 gram sliding sinker on the end. The line went aggressively slack so I had to intensely wind in to get to where I could feel a loading on the line. I hauled back on it and it dove into the weeds hard. A single shake and that was it. Apparently that small wide gap hook didn't connect in. So it goes... It felt really heavy but I'll not get to see that one.
A quick venture to the north end of the lake produce a few nibbles with no solid connection. As the wind was picking up and the sun started to burn through the clouds, I figured it was getting close to time for me to head on out. The activity level on the lake was reaching an all time high. There were quite a few more boats and lots of small inflatables too. Also the noise level was much higher too.
I made my way back to the boat launch area where it was quite congested so I diverted to explore the grass beds along the way. As I flipped the double tail. I found it was only good where I could find a clear pocket. So I switched over to the 7 gram skirted jig. That configuration was just the ticket to land on the grass and gently drop through with a slight wiggle. As I made my way along the shore waiting for an opportunity at the loading dock. I saw a submerged tree limb. So I tossed the jig next to it. Just after the jig slipped through the floating mat, the entire mat erupted with a massive lifting from underneath. I remembered the tip that said if the mat moves go ahead and tension up as the fish as already got it. Yup, sure enough the little pole doubled over and the tip dipped into the water under the load of the heavy fish. It made two unrestricted massive surges and managed to strip line even with the extreme drag setting. < almost at max, approximately 90% setting on that reel > The second protracted pull concluded with the snap of the line. That was it. I can only guess that the size of that was big. Something that could lift that much grass had to be pretty sizable. I regret that it has my jig still with it. Hopefully the hook will loosen up rapidly and dislodge before too long. It may be time to reconsider braid for that particular reel. I'll think on it a bit more as it is apparent this is a good application for that.
So that was the last event of the day. The loading dock cleared up and I was able to put in to shore and head back home. More learning involved. I'm getting there.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sharp teeth and aggresive fish
It was another mid-summer monsoon season morning out at Parker Canyon Lake today. The air was thick with humidity as I set out in the early morning darkness. Setting out early in the morning gives me at least a couple of hours of quality time on the water before the less desirable type get out there to recreate in their obnoxious manors.
A slight rant here, it seem like the lake was a magnet for some very miserable and bitter types today. It was challenging to find escape from the foul language and poor behavior. It almost seemed like they were seeking out an audience for their caustic behavior. I wanted no part of it but it was difficult to put enough distance or structure between us. It would be good if they would find somewhere else to recreate.
Ok, enough of that. Having been fortunate to spend time out at PCL the past few weekends I've sort of developed a pattern of areas to visit. The calm water in the early hours makes it easy to navigate and spot the surface activity. The lack of chop on the water makes for easy paddling too. Given all this time on the water I'm getting better at those subtle maneuvers to position the yak for optimum casting an bait presentation. I'm convinced now that the bait is more successful when it enters the water within 20 cm of the water line at the rip-rap. Those casts that don't quite make it to that range don't seem to produce the strikes.
This morning's early action was absent from any sizable strikes or connections. All of them were basically sub 10 cm. Still lots of fun to pull on the line and very enjoyable experience. Yeah, I enjoy them all regardless of size. I am really surprised that some of them are able to engulf the bait as when removing the hook it barely clears their mouth. All of them were green sunfish.
I have been pretty satisfied with using the Berkely Fireline for many years. However in the prior years it was the smoked variant of the fireline. Recently I've spooled up with the various versions of the crystal, white, and some of the latest fuzed. The three versions used mostly have been the 2, 4, and 6 lb test. A recent discovery was that using the 2 lb test in the rain produced a saturated spool which then made things very difficult to cast. The supple nature of the fireline is also a challenge when tying knots in field conditions. It is so limp it just sort of droops. So passing loops or manipulating the line properly is tough. Even passing it through the hook eyes is a bother too as the filaments from the braid are enough to deflect it and keep you from accomplishing a basic task.
The breaking strength of fireline is astounding. That stuff is tough. Way tougher than the advertised tensile strength. I got a calling to switch back to mono. Since I don't quite have access to bulk qualities of the smaller 2 lb test mono, I'll just stay with the 4 lb stuff. Fortunately that stuff is readily available in the 700 yrd spools at the local Wally World. So the plan is to run with that for awhile and see how that suits me.
Since I was not producing much size or volume from the rip-rap this morning I decided to move over towards the grass/weeds and try my luck in those areas. The change was a good thing, sort of as I was quickly able to get several substantial strikes which for a variety of reasons I missed or just plain out failed to connect on. Having suffered those missed opportunities I decided I'd better figure out what I was doing and improve my overall technique. I went back to the heavy line, 10 lb mono on the # 20 sized spinning reel. I'm starting to suspect the quality of that line as I lost a very nice jig after gently connecting with a clump of weeds. I'm guessing that I ought to re-tie more often.
I found my self with the bail open or freespinning or just tangled up when those fast strikes came on. So with the calamity of errors I had nothing to show for my time out at the grass. It was fun as the strikes were fairly aggressive and felt very impressive in size. By this time the sun was clear of the mountain and still occluded by the early clouds. Just enough to take the edge off but enough to get a gentle breeze working. So the glass surface was no more but I could still see a few disturbances off in the distance.
My lesson in preparation and a reminder to get my act together got me figuring out that I should prep a pole in the event that I get to cast to some surface action. So on my other fiberglass pole, I've got a small crawdad crank bait on 4 lb mono. This is a good distance shooter as the eyes on those fiberglass poles, ice rigs, are pretty large in diameter. Also the light mono seems to just fly through them nicely. I'm guessing that whippy pole action has some contribution too.
I get my chance about 2/3s of the way across the lake. As I'm approaching the dam I see several boils on the surface at various azimuths, fortunately all are within casting range. I sent it out to the first couple and I managed to target them too closely as the impact spooked them away. So I figured I needed to give them about a meter clearance and work towards them. That was the ticket. The third boil produced quite quickly after the lure hit the water. It was cool to see the fish on the surface perform a quick U-turn and nail the lure. You could see the dorsal half of the fish just breaking the surface to provide that tracking visual. As I brought it in towards me I was trying to see just how it was hooked so I could determine how to hold it. Them little trebble hooks are nasty sharp and somehow are like Chola cactus, they just seem to grab hold of you when you least expect it. My horror scenario was realized as the fish approached, there was no visual sighting of the small crankbait. The LMB had engulfed the entire crank bait and had it completely in the mouth. This is one of the primary reasons I don't use them much. So much for that experiment...
I got the fish along side the yak and cradled it. Of course things got from interesting to complicated right then and there. This LMB decided to just clamp closed. It actually seemed like it vocalized as it closed, nope! So I had to gently work the mouth open knowing that there were six good reasons to be very careful. I'm so glad that I had a handy pair of hemostats with very small narrow jaws. That made for a better situation for me and fish. The first upper set of hooks came out without too much fuss. The second set were just lightly snagged near the sphincter. So that was going to require some precision and diligence. A quick poke and slight twist and the hook is cleared. As I'm removing the crank bait, I'm not watching as close as I should. Yes, it happened, I managed to slice part of my knuckle as one of those sharp little hook points draws past. Fortunately the LMB was not out the water that long and didn't need reviving, it just nicely swam off. My knuckle was a bit of a bleeder for a bit and sure smarted too in the morning air.
By the time I reached the dam my rig with the 2 lb test line was good and saturated so it wasn't casting well at all. I was having to hold off the shore quite closely just to get the little jig close to the shoreline with consistency. There were several modest sized green sunfish with most of them again in the really small category that were willing to take the bait. Nothing too noteworthy but there was a lot of action passing along side me as I fished the dam area. Some of those folks with boats are not that considerate and they didn't hesitate to get well within my casting range. I've always subscribed to being outside of a cast length to avoid any issues. Guess that is not something that published or adhered to. So it goes. I could tell the frustration from one party that decided to cast right beside me as they were still struggling to get their first fish of the day. I countered with a cast of my own to the same general area only I got mine in tight to the shore and connected with a very cooperative green sunfish. It was small but it did some surface action to just add some visual to the whole thing.
By now it was time to start my way back as the sun was really getting strong. Also I was ready to get going too as I can only sit for so long without stretching or moving about. The breeze keep me vectored towards the shore which was fine by me. I figured I'd visit some of those holes in the grass before departing. That was a good plan too. One of things that I realized is that improved technique will get your bait where it needs to be. Also it is good to be alert as often there are many places your bait needs to be!
Since I was back in the grass, I switched back to the skirted jig and proceeded to re-try several of the holes to see if things has reset for another go. Yeah, I'm liking the grass hula action quite a bit more and more as I'm learning. It seems that you don't have to get it to a hole for success. I made a slightly off target cast which didn't make it to an opening in the grass. However it did just break through the matted surface by an inch or a couple of cms. I see this large rise and upset in the mat as something pushed up right at my jig. The pole loads up quickly and it is game on! This time I had the rig in a better condition for success, the drag dialed up, and bail closed. The strike was so strong that I didn't need to sweep back in response. The pole just loaded up and I could feel the hook was set the moment it hit. Wow, that was fun!
This one gave quite a bit of a pull. I was also surprised just how sharp the teeth were. It was down right uncomfortable to get my thumb in there. The photo just doesn't quite show all the details. Especially how wide and heavy it was. I guess it was accustomed to chowing down on critters as it sure didn't show mercy to my jig. I realized that my next run out to the grass is going to have a T-rigged creature bait to go along with the skirted jig. That should prove to be some good fun for a delicate presentation. More fun on the water!
Cheers!
A slight rant here, it seem like the lake was a magnet for some very miserable and bitter types today. It was challenging to find escape from the foul language and poor behavior. It almost seemed like they were seeking out an audience for their caustic behavior. I wanted no part of it but it was difficult to put enough distance or structure between us. It would be good if they would find somewhere else to recreate.
Ok, enough of that. Having been fortunate to spend time out at PCL the past few weekends I've sort of developed a pattern of areas to visit. The calm water in the early hours makes it easy to navigate and spot the surface activity. The lack of chop on the water makes for easy paddling too. Given all this time on the water I'm getting better at those subtle maneuvers to position the yak for optimum casting an bait presentation. I'm convinced now that the bait is more successful when it enters the water within 20 cm of the water line at the rip-rap. Those casts that don't quite make it to that range don't seem to produce the strikes.
This morning's early action was absent from any sizable strikes or connections. All of them were basically sub 10 cm. Still lots of fun to pull on the line and very enjoyable experience. Yeah, I enjoy them all regardless of size. I am really surprised that some of them are able to engulf the bait as when removing the hook it barely clears their mouth. All of them were green sunfish.
I have been pretty satisfied with using the Berkely Fireline for many years. However in the prior years it was the smoked variant of the fireline. Recently I've spooled up with the various versions of the crystal, white, and some of the latest fuzed. The three versions used mostly have been the 2, 4, and 6 lb test. A recent discovery was that using the 2 lb test in the rain produced a saturated spool which then made things very difficult to cast. The supple nature of the fireline is also a challenge when tying knots in field conditions. It is so limp it just sort of droops. So passing loops or manipulating the line properly is tough. Even passing it through the hook eyes is a bother too as the filaments from the braid are enough to deflect it and keep you from accomplishing a basic task.
The breaking strength of fireline is astounding. That stuff is tough. Way tougher than the advertised tensile strength. I got a calling to switch back to mono. Since I don't quite have access to bulk qualities of the smaller 2 lb test mono, I'll just stay with the 4 lb stuff. Fortunately that stuff is readily available in the 700 yrd spools at the local Wally World. So the plan is to run with that for awhile and see how that suits me.
Since I was not producing much size or volume from the rip-rap this morning I decided to move over towards the grass/weeds and try my luck in those areas. The change was a good thing, sort of as I was quickly able to get several substantial strikes which for a variety of reasons I missed or just plain out failed to connect on. Having suffered those missed opportunities I decided I'd better figure out what I was doing and improve my overall technique. I went back to the heavy line, 10 lb mono on the # 20 sized spinning reel. I'm starting to suspect the quality of that line as I lost a very nice jig after gently connecting with a clump of weeds. I'm guessing that I ought to re-tie more often.
I found my self with the bail open or freespinning or just tangled up when those fast strikes came on. So with the calamity of errors I had nothing to show for my time out at the grass. It was fun as the strikes were fairly aggressive and felt very impressive in size. By this time the sun was clear of the mountain and still occluded by the early clouds. Just enough to take the edge off but enough to get a gentle breeze working. So the glass surface was no more but I could still see a few disturbances off in the distance.
My lesson in preparation and a reminder to get my act together got me figuring out that I should prep a pole in the event that I get to cast to some surface action. So on my other fiberglass pole, I've got a small crawdad crank bait on 4 lb mono. This is a good distance shooter as the eyes on those fiberglass poles, ice rigs, are pretty large in diameter. Also the light mono seems to just fly through them nicely. I'm guessing that whippy pole action has some contribution too.
I get my chance about 2/3s of the way across the lake. As I'm approaching the dam I see several boils on the surface at various azimuths, fortunately all are within casting range. I sent it out to the first couple and I managed to target them too closely as the impact spooked them away. So I figured I needed to give them about a meter clearance and work towards them. That was the ticket. The third boil produced quite quickly after the lure hit the water. It was cool to see the fish on the surface perform a quick U-turn and nail the lure. You could see the dorsal half of the fish just breaking the surface to provide that tracking visual. As I brought it in towards me I was trying to see just how it was hooked so I could determine how to hold it. Them little trebble hooks are nasty sharp and somehow are like Chola cactus, they just seem to grab hold of you when you least expect it. My horror scenario was realized as the fish approached, there was no visual sighting of the small crankbait. The LMB had engulfed the entire crank bait and had it completely in the mouth. This is one of the primary reasons I don't use them much. So much for that experiment...
I got the fish along side the yak and cradled it. Of course things got from interesting to complicated right then and there. This LMB decided to just clamp closed. It actually seemed like it vocalized as it closed, nope! So I had to gently work the mouth open knowing that there were six good reasons to be very careful. I'm so glad that I had a handy pair of hemostats with very small narrow jaws. That made for a better situation for me and fish. The first upper set of hooks came out without too much fuss. The second set were just lightly snagged near the sphincter. So that was going to require some precision and diligence. A quick poke and slight twist and the hook is cleared. As I'm removing the crank bait, I'm not watching as close as I should. Yes, it happened, I managed to slice part of my knuckle as one of those sharp little hook points draws past. Fortunately the LMB was not out the water that long and didn't need reviving, it just nicely swam off. My knuckle was a bit of a bleeder for a bit and sure smarted too in the morning air.
By the time I reached the dam my rig with the 2 lb test line was good and saturated so it wasn't casting well at all. I was having to hold off the shore quite closely just to get the little jig close to the shoreline with consistency. There were several modest sized green sunfish with most of them again in the really small category that were willing to take the bait. Nothing too noteworthy but there was a lot of action passing along side me as I fished the dam area. Some of those folks with boats are not that considerate and they didn't hesitate to get well within my casting range. I've always subscribed to being outside of a cast length to avoid any issues. Guess that is not something that published or adhered to. So it goes. I could tell the frustration from one party that decided to cast right beside me as they were still struggling to get their first fish of the day. I countered with a cast of my own to the same general area only I got mine in tight to the shore and connected with a very cooperative green sunfish. It was small but it did some surface action to just add some visual to the whole thing.
By now it was time to start my way back as the sun was really getting strong. Also I was ready to get going too as I can only sit for so long without stretching or moving about. The breeze keep me vectored towards the shore which was fine by me. I figured I'd visit some of those holes in the grass before departing. That was a good plan too. One of things that I realized is that improved technique will get your bait where it needs to be. Also it is good to be alert as often there are many places your bait needs to be!
Since I was back in the grass, I switched back to the skirted jig and proceeded to re-try several of the holes to see if things has reset for another go. Yeah, I'm liking the grass hula action quite a bit more and more as I'm learning. It seems that you don't have to get it to a hole for success. I made a slightly off target cast which didn't make it to an opening in the grass. However it did just break through the matted surface by an inch or a couple of cms. I see this large rise and upset in the mat as something pushed up right at my jig. The pole loads up quickly and it is game on! This time I had the rig in a better condition for success, the drag dialed up, and bail closed. The strike was so strong that I didn't need to sweep back in response. The pole just loaded up and I could feel the hook was set the moment it hit. Wow, that was fun!
This one gave quite a bit of a pull. I was also surprised just how sharp the teeth were. It was down right uncomfortable to get my thumb in there. The photo just doesn't quite show all the details. Especially how wide and heavy it was. I guess it was accustomed to chowing down on critters as it sure didn't show mercy to my jig. I realized that my next run out to the grass is going to have a T-rigged creature bait to go along with the skirted jig. That should prove to be some good fun for a delicate presentation. More fun on the water!
Cheers!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Early morning Largemouth Bass
A good morning to all. It was a very nice morning to be out and about well before first light. The temperature was in the low 60s and calm darkness. No moon. Having loaded the equipment prior to going to bed made for a streamlined departure. The drive out to the lake was a very nice with no traffic. Other than a whitetail deer there were no surprises.
Upon arriving I quickly set out the equipment and put out on the water. I made a few casts along the boat dock and fishing pier with no interest. By this point the lake was at safe light and I could see the sunfish cruising about the surface chasing bugs. I made a few casts with no interest by the sunfish. So it was time to head over to the rip-rap and work on a tried and true pattern.
I started the day using the small 1/32 oz jig with a plastic grub. The ultra light rig allowed me to put the bait right up against the rocks at the water's edge. It seems that higher success is achieved when putting the bait right up at water's edge or within 10 cm. Further than that and it seems that it doesn't work so well.
My surprise was when I moved over to a small cove within the rip-rap. My first cast was greeted by an unsuspecting lateral movement. Apparently the LMB took the bait and swam off with it upon entry into the water. So I didn't have to wait long to take up the tension. Interesting point, upon tension there was not much loading on the line. I'm guessing that it changed azimuth and vectored towards me minimizing the loading. It wasn't till I got several winds of the reel in when it realized what I intended to do. That is when the tussle amplified up to an impressive level. The drag on the spinning reel sang out in a high pitch during the several spirited runs. This put the 2 lb test line right up to capacity. Fortunate for me it held. I was able to quickly release it and return it back. The jig was seated right in the upper lip in the 12 o-clock position but it was seated about 2 cm into the mouth.
Within a couple of follow on casts, came the the next LMB which was roughly the same size as the first, approximately 36 cm. Very good fun with the pulling power of these early morning bass. So my first hour on the water was full of activity with both ends of the size spectrum. The LMBs are of really nice size while the green sunfish are really on the small end.
I'm most impressed with the tenacity of the green sunfish. They typically put on the most tussle and they don't give up easily either. The really small ones that I caught early on in the morning could barely get their lips to open much wider then the grub they inhaled. Fortunate for me that they didn't get the hook beyond the jaw hinge. So it was simply the case of where I had to arc the grub laterally to ease the hook out. The larger one that took the weedless grub configuration was caught on the south side of the lake in the deep thick of it.
The following two photos really don't show the intensity of which I had to wrangle this fish to the boat and then work the 1/0 hook out of its mouth.
After the fun of hitting the rip-rap, I moved on to the south side and poked about the deep weeds and sent the baits down the various holes that I could manage to accurately toss to. I figured that I would give the bait cast reel another go. I didn't bring the graphite pole, I brought the fiberglass casting rig. During my practice sessions I was able to get the bait tossed to within 20 cm of the intended landing. I was not that successful today with the bait caster. I believe that with the cooler temperatures the grease in the bearings were much more viscus than when I was practicing in the heat of the day. So the casts were landing far from the intended spots. That is why I reverted back to the medium, 6 lb test spinning rig with the weedless grub. That is also when I found the green sunfish in the photos.
The sun was getting higher in the sky by now. It was also mid-morning so I was planning my concluding fishing effort. I figured I would cruise down the dam area to see what I could do there before calling it a day. There were no visible boils that I could see or target on so my hopes for a mid-lake catch faded as I approached the dam. The gentle breeze worked in my favor as it moved me along reasonably well as I explored the various areas between rock openings. I managed to connect with several smaller green sunfish that were most enjoyable on the line.
Once past the dam area I cast to a prospective pocket where something quite large hammered the little grub and immediately broke off upon tension. I found this initially odd and suspected that perhaps I was tricked by snagging of an underwater feature. I retied another jig with a small grub and sent it right back to the same pocket. The identical action ensued. So whatever was down there now has two of my baits.
Ok enough of that I'm switching over to the larger rig and sending that twin tailed trailer down to the depths and see what happens. Nothing, not a thing. Not interested in that big skirted jig. It was already satisfied with my two little grubs. It is really hot by now and I'm getting low on water. So it was time to call this gig good and head on back.
Of course along the way there are pockets of opportunity that were just too good to let go by without some investigation. I did manage to find some more small green sunfish that were more than happy to pull hard for me. None were larger than 16 cm but all were really fun on that light line.
It was a very enjoyable time out there on the water. I managed to have some good fish on the line and several that I would have liked to see too! That is why it is called fishing and not catching! I'm thinking that I'm going to shelve the 2 lb line for a time and work out the 4 lb line a bit. The combination of the 4 & 6 seem to work well.
I may investigate the new Nanofil options for the larger spinning reel or just keep using the bulk 10 lb line. The Stren line appears more supple than the big game Berkley line. Also I'm not sure if the heat has something to do with it, but I'm suspecting that my batch of line on the reels appears to be getting brittle. < Might have something to do with sitting in the Subie for all those afternoons > So it could be a good thing to spool up with some fresh mono. Till the next time I get the line wet. Chao!
Upon arriving I quickly set out the equipment and put out on the water. I made a few casts along the boat dock and fishing pier with no interest. By this point the lake was at safe light and I could see the sunfish cruising about the surface chasing bugs. I made a few casts with no interest by the sunfish. So it was time to head over to the rip-rap and work on a tried and true pattern.
I started the day using the small 1/32 oz jig with a plastic grub. The ultra light rig allowed me to put the bait right up against the rocks at the water's edge. It seems that higher success is achieved when putting the bait right up at water's edge or within 10 cm. Further than that and it seems that it doesn't work so well.
My surprise was when I moved over to a small cove within the rip-rap. My first cast was greeted by an unsuspecting lateral movement. Apparently the LMB took the bait and swam off with it upon entry into the water. So I didn't have to wait long to take up the tension. Interesting point, upon tension there was not much loading on the line. I'm guessing that it changed azimuth and vectored towards me minimizing the loading. It wasn't till I got several winds of the reel in when it realized what I intended to do. That is when the tussle amplified up to an impressive level. The drag on the spinning reel sang out in a high pitch during the several spirited runs. This put the 2 lb test line right up to capacity. Fortunate for me it held. I was able to quickly release it and return it back. The jig was seated right in the upper lip in the 12 o-clock position but it was seated about 2 cm into the mouth.
Within a couple of follow on casts, came the the next LMB which was roughly the same size as the first, approximately 36 cm. Very good fun with the pulling power of these early morning bass. So my first hour on the water was full of activity with both ends of the size spectrum. The LMBs are of really nice size while the green sunfish are really on the small end.
I'm most impressed with the tenacity of the green sunfish. They typically put on the most tussle and they don't give up easily either. The really small ones that I caught early on in the morning could barely get their lips to open much wider then the grub they inhaled. Fortunate for me that they didn't get the hook beyond the jaw hinge. So it was simply the case of where I had to arc the grub laterally to ease the hook out. The larger one that took the weedless grub configuration was caught on the south side of the lake in the deep thick of it.
The following two photos really don't show the intensity of which I had to wrangle this fish to the boat and then work the 1/0 hook out of its mouth.
After the fun of hitting the rip-rap, I moved on to the south side and poked about the deep weeds and sent the baits down the various holes that I could manage to accurately toss to. I figured that I would give the bait cast reel another go. I didn't bring the graphite pole, I brought the fiberglass casting rig. During my practice sessions I was able to get the bait tossed to within 20 cm of the intended landing. I was not that successful today with the bait caster. I believe that with the cooler temperatures the grease in the bearings were much more viscus than when I was practicing in the heat of the day. So the casts were landing far from the intended spots. That is why I reverted back to the medium, 6 lb test spinning rig with the weedless grub. That is also when I found the green sunfish in the photos.
The sun was getting higher in the sky by now. It was also mid-morning so I was planning my concluding fishing effort. I figured I would cruise down the dam area to see what I could do there before calling it a day. There were no visible boils that I could see or target on so my hopes for a mid-lake catch faded as I approached the dam. The gentle breeze worked in my favor as it moved me along reasonably well as I explored the various areas between rock openings. I managed to connect with several smaller green sunfish that were most enjoyable on the line.
Once past the dam area I cast to a prospective pocket where something quite large hammered the little grub and immediately broke off upon tension. I found this initially odd and suspected that perhaps I was tricked by snagging of an underwater feature. I retied another jig with a small grub and sent it right back to the same pocket. The identical action ensued. So whatever was down there now has two of my baits.
Ok enough of that I'm switching over to the larger rig and sending that twin tailed trailer down to the depths and see what happens. Nothing, not a thing. Not interested in that big skirted jig. It was already satisfied with my two little grubs. It is really hot by now and I'm getting low on water. So it was time to call this gig good and head on back.
Of course along the way there are pockets of opportunity that were just too good to let go by without some investigation. I did manage to find some more small green sunfish that were more than happy to pull hard for me. None were larger than 16 cm but all were really fun on that light line.
It was a very enjoyable time out there on the water. I managed to have some good fish on the line and several that I would have liked to see too! That is why it is called fishing and not catching! I'm thinking that I'm going to shelve the 2 lb line for a time and work out the 4 lb line a bit. The combination of the 4 & 6 seem to work well.
I may investigate the new Nanofil options for the larger spinning reel or just keep using the bulk 10 lb line. The Stren line appears more supple than the big game Berkley line. Also I'm not sure if the heat has something to do with it, but I'm suspecting that my batch of line on the reels appears to be getting brittle. < Might have something to do with sitting in the Subie for all those afternoons > So it could be a good thing to spool up with some fresh mono. Till the next time I get the line wet. Chao!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Post-Cyclone Dora fishing
Our first really good soaker of the season and it took a Cyclone to make it happen. It was really tough to make the decision to head out to the lake early this morning at 0430. The rain had been fairly light but constant through the night. It was still going as I checked the regional radar. Since the truck was already to go as the equipment was still there from yesterday's fun. All I had to do was to make sure that I was awake enough to make the journey.
By the time I got about half way to the lake my worries increased. It wasn't the rain that falling that had me worried. It was the less than 25 meters visibility due to all the fog. The road there is already sort of challenging but adding the fog at pre-dawn and things were really bad. I am so glad that I have the auxiliary lights to make things less dangerous.
I get out there and set out on the yak. There are actually a few folks out there fishing on the pier. I check out the rip-rap with only one small green sunfish taking the grub. Meanwhile the rain is now getting stronger. I'm really wondering if this was such a good idea. At least there is no lightning, that is a good thing.
So it is time to move to another strategy and try something different and a different place. Across the lake I go and try the grass. My last time in the grass was interesting but not that fun. Today it was both interesting and fun!
That was sure fun along with the five pounds of weeds that came with it. It did take a while to pick through the clump to find this in the middle.
Sure was fun to try out something new and have it work. Unfortunately I didn't seem to find any more hiding in the grass. Time for another change. By this time the conditions had changed quite a bit too. The sun was starting to peek out between the clouds. So I thought I might go back to my typical pattern. On the way to the rip-rap I intercepted a boil on the surface. I built up enough momentum to make a cast while still gliding. The cast barely entered the water and I was tied on to to something that made the drag peel out. I was thinking it was one of the carry over trout. What a surprise, another LMB. Who would have thought a nice LMB in the middle of the lake. Amazing!
Once back at the rip-rap I tied into another beast of a different kind. This on is a green sunfish.
What a great battle this fish put on. You can see the mouth is quite large on this one too.
I can tell you that braid doesn't cast too well when fully saturated with water. The light 2lb test still tosses reasonably but you can tell it is not up to that full potential. Very different when the spool is not soaked.
So it is possible to catch fish in a hurricane or a cyclone.
Cheers!
By the time I got about half way to the lake my worries increased. It wasn't the rain that falling that had me worried. It was the less than 25 meters visibility due to all the fog. The road there is already sort of challenging but adding the fog at pre-dawn and things were really bad. I am so glad that I have the auxiliary lights to make things less dangerous.
I get out there and set out on the yak. There are actually a few folks out there fishing on the pier. I check out the rip-rap with only one small green sunfish taking the grub. Meanwhile the rain is now getting stronger. I'm really wondering if this was such a good idea. At least there is no lightning, that is a good thing.
So it is time to move to another strategy and try something different and a different place. Across the lake I go and try the grass. My last time in the grass was interesting but not that fun. Today it was both interesting and fun!
That was sure fun along with the five pounds of weeds that came with it. It did take a while to pick through the clump to find this in the middle.
Sure was fun to try out something new and have it work. Unfortunately I didn't seem to find any more hiding in the grass. Time for another change. By this time the conditions had changed quite a bit too. The sun was starting to peek out between the clouds. So I thought I might go back to my typical pattern. On the way to the rip-rap I intercepted a boil on the surface. I built up enough momentum to make a cast while still gliding. The cast barely entered the water and I was tied on to to something that made the drag peel out. I was thinking it was one of the carry over trout. What a surprise, another LMB. Who would have thought a nice LMB in the middle of the lake. Amazing!
Once back at the rip-rap I tied into another beast of a different kind. This on is a green sunfish.
What a great battle this fish put on. You can see the mouth is quite large on this one too.
I can tell you that braid doesn't cast too well when fully saturated with water. The light 2lb test still tosses reasonably but you can tell it is not up to that full potential. Very different when the spool is not soaked.
So it is possible to catch fish in a hurricane or a cyclone.
Cheers!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Week of Change
Well this has been a week of change, unfortunately not all for the better. My beloved pond got a much needed infusion of water from the one of our monsoon deluges. Unfortunately, when the water washed into the reservoir the toxins from the neighborhood produced a comprehensive fish kill.
I visited the pond on Tuesday only to find a ring of dead fish carcases all about the shore of the pond. It was so bad that even the scavengers didn't avail themselves of the fish. Truly unfortunate. I don't know how the pond will recover from this or will the caretakers allow for restocking of the pond. Time will tell...
On a happier note fishing down at the river has been gratifying. It is a different type of fishing as you basically hunt down the deeper pools in the small river / stream. Today's jaunt down the shore produced about a dozen or so catfish on the line and to the shore. I'm guessing that they are yellow bullheads all less than 12 inches but really fun on the line. Since I'm using ultra-light tackle the tussle is quite good. Surprising the little ice fishing rig worked so well. The 26 inch pole with the larger diameter spool casts reasonably well. You do have to make sure that your cast is smooth. If you over drive the cast by loading the rod too much the line paying off the spool will slap the pole and on occasion fold over the shaft catching the first guide in a jam knot. So easy does it.
The first fish on that little rig was surprisingly fun. The short little pole loaded smartly but was not overhelmed by the fish. I was able to play it out much like a short fly rod as the little graphite shaft is fairly slow and has most of its loading down near the handle. It was fun to connect with the fish one after another.
A few observations. The water level was a touch higher due to the recent rains. Also the water clarity was slightly improved too. The water was not the chocolate milk colored, a slight green hue to it. I didn't see or connect with anything else but catfish today. After about 10am the fishing all but stopped. The early activity just halted.
I did make my way up stream to see if there were other opportunities. Didn't find anything else along the way. So it seems that this is pretty much the spot. I may try downstream near the Charleston Road crossing to see if there is deeper pools. That will be another trip.
I still keep hope that the rain will motivate the National Forest Supervisor to open the lands for public use again. I'm quite sure that the sunfish in Parker Canyon will be quite ready for some attention.
I visited the pond on Tuesday only to find a ring of dead fish carcases all about the shore of the pond. It was so bad that even the scavengers didn't avail themselves of the fish. Truly unfortunate. I don't know how the pond will recover from this or will the caretakers allow for restocking of the pond. Time will tell...
On a happier note fishing down at the river has been gratifying. It is a different type of fishing as you basically hunt down the deeper pools in the small river / stream. Today's jaunt down the shore produced about a dozen or so catfish on the line and to the shore. I'm guessing that they are yellow bullheads all less than 12 inches but really fun on the line. Since I'm using ultra-light tackle the tussle is quite good. Surprising the little ice fishing rig worked so well. The 26 inch pole with the larger diameter spool casts reasonably well. You do have to make sure that your cast is smooth. If you over drive the cast by loading the rod too much the line paying off the spool will slap the pole and on occasion fold over the shaft catching the first guide in a jam knot. So easy does it.
The first fish on that little rig was surprisingly fun. The short little pole loaded smartly but was not overhelmed by the fish. I was able to play it out much like a short fly rod as the little graphite shaft is fairly slow and has most of its loading down near the handle. It was fun to connect with the fish one after another.
A few observations. The water level was a touch higher due to the recent rains. Also the water clarity was slightly improved too. The water was not the chocolate milk colored, a slight green hue to it. I didn't see or connect with anything else but catfish today. After about 10am the fishing all but stopped. The early activity just halted.
I did make my way up stream to see if there were other opportunities. Didn't find anything else along the way. So it seems that this is pretty much the spot. I may try downstream near the Charleston Road crossing to see if there is deeper pools. That will be another trip.
I still keep hope that the rain will motivate the National Forest Supervisor to open the lands for public use again. I'm quite sure that the sunfish in Parker Canyon will be quite ready for some attention.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America!
Whoopee! Whaahoo! Happy Fourth to All! < It is fun to celebrate, this is a one of the better reasons to celebrate >
This morning started out with a nice early sunrise shower. It came on suddenly and what woke me was the sound of the water dripping off the roof. Hey, it's raining! Since we are 'officially' into our Monsoon season, it is compelling evidence to confirm that fact. Besides when it comes at the appropriate amounts and rate, it is all good. Given our current drought conditions, this helps to keep things reasonable. Hopefully, we will get a suitable amount for this season.
Yesterday morning I also got an early start. I decided to re-examine and re-assess a couple of my lesser quality reels. I wanted to determine just why I had labeled them as such and also figure out the significance of the lower quality as it applied to my fishing experience. Let me say up front that it was a fun time out at the river catching all those various species of fish. Now that I've figured out the successful bait pattern and size. So it was really the actual utility and experience that I was prepared to asses.
There actually may be something to these larger diameter spools for the spinning reels. I purchased one as part of a combination when I was seeking out an Ice fishing rig. Yeah, ironic for down here in SE AZ. It has a larger diameter arbor that has a shallow width.
It is claimed the larger diameter produces larger coils which lead to smoother casts and less twisting. I found that the larger diameter was helpful with minimizing the twisting. While I didn't have so many stored loops, I did find that the line was more than happy to come off the spool so it was important to keep tension on the line during the retrieve. This is not much difference than other spinning reels. The casting went reasonably well as long as you didn't try to drive it too hard. If you tried to cast it too enthusiastically the line would slap on the pole and spoil the cast.
So overall I'm not that convinced that the larger spool makes that much of a difference. At this time I'm more than happy with the current configuration using the really light superlines.
The small spincast reel was a walk down memory lane. I started fishing using a spincast reel. Caught many using them. However, when you've experienced improved casting of other reels it is hard to go back. Fortunately angling the river doesn't require long distance casting, it just requires a delicate touch along with accuracy.
So in retrospect it was really fun and a bit quirky. The eagerness of the fish to cooperate made it easy to overlook the quirky operations of these two rigs. I'm happy to say that it is good to have alternatives. Still nice to have quality equipment to use.
I did manage to catch more catfish and LMBs this time out. Although those green sunfish are always good on the line too. On my previous trip there I managed to catch a catfish that had a previous hook in it. Yes, I caught him again and returned him back to the water for another go. Given the early amounts of rain, there was a touch more water in the river but not that much more.
Hopefully, the schedule will allow for another visit soon.
This morning started out with a nice early sunrise shower. It came on suddenly and what woke me was the sound of the water dripping off the roof. Hey, it's raining! Since we are 'officially' into our Monsoon season, it is compelling evidence to confirm that fact. Besides when it comes at the appropriate amounts and rate, it is all good. Given our current drought conditions, this helps to keep things reasonable. Hopefully, we will get a suitable amount for this season.
Yesterday morning I also got an early start. I decided to re-examine and re-assess a couple of my lesser quality reels. I wanted to determine just why I had labeled them as such and also figure out the significance of the lower quality as it applied to my fishing experience. Let me say up front that it was a fun time out at the river catching all those various species of fish. Now that I've figured out the successful bait pattern and size. So it was really the actual utility and experience that I was prepared to asses.
There actually may be something to these larger diameter spools for the spinning reels. I purchased one as part of a combination when I was seeking out an Ice fishing rig. Yeah, ironic for down here in SE AZ. It has a larger diameter arbor that has a shallow width.
It is claimed the larger diameter produces larger coils which lead to smoother casts and less twisting. I found that the larger diameter was helpful with minimizing the twisting. While I didn't have so many stored loops, I did find that the line was more than happy to come off the spool so it was important to keep tension on the line during the retrieve. This is not much difference than other spinning reels. The casting went reasonably well as long as you didn't try to drive it too hard. If you tried to cast it too enthusiastically the line would slap on the pole and spoil the cast.
So overall I'm not that convinced that the larger spool makes that much of a difference. At this time I'm more than happy with the current configuration using the really light superlines.
The small spincast reel was a walk down memory lane. I started fishing using a spincast reel. Caught many using them. However, when you've experienced improved casting of other reels it is hard to go back. Fortunately angling the river doesn't require long distance casting, it just requires a delicate touch along with accuracy.
So in retrospect it was really fun and a bit quirky. The eagerness of the fish to cooperate made it easy to overlook the quirky operations of these two rigs. I'm happy to say that it is good to have alternatives. Still nice to have quality equipment to use.
I did manage to catch more catfish and LMBs this time out. Although those green sunfish are always good on the line too. On my previous trip there I managed to catch a catfish that had a previous hook in it. Yes, I caught him again and returned him back to the water for another go. Given the early amounts of rain, there was a touch more water in the river but not that much more.
Hopefully, the schedule will allow for another visit soon.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Smooth and Easy
You know it is bad when your reel winds in and sounds like a coffee mill in action. Yes, I've been struggling with most of my bait casters as they all have significant use on them. Unfortunately I've not managed to service the bearings adequately, till this evening! Let me back up a bit and explain.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to find a suitable way to lubricate the bearings. While I'm able to get to all the bearings I've not been able to properly clean and re-pack them in grease. I've been researching all the information posted on line, specifically the fantastic amount of information at Tackletour.com. Their articles are all crafted well with good photos to complement the helpful information. Through reading all the various articles I've known just how to complete the bearing service. Now I just needed the tools.
As previously stated accessing the bearings was not all that difficult. Fairly straightforward. Interesting it is very similar across all the bait cast reels that I own. My challenge was to get the retaining clip off the individual bearings so I could remove the side cover and expose the actual bearings for cleaning and re-lubricating. Always that one thing. My research revealed that most are able to be removed using a needle. Unfortunately all the needles I tried were not sufficiently sharp or small enough to disengage the clips.
Recently my lovely wonderful wife reorganized our linen closet where we also stored all sorts of care products. In doing so she located my tube of professional grade dental probes. Aaah, now there is a sharp point! Also suitably stout for the task at hand. Yes, it was. Using the dental probes I was able to easily remove the retaining clip followed by the bearing side shield. This allowed me to properly clean out the bearings and the rest of the assembly of debris and old lubricant. Yes, the lighter fluid did have a difficult time cutting through the very old residual lubricant. Fortunately, some aggressive swirling helped to get the solvent to do its thing. After the bearings were cleared off it was a simple matter of packing the bearings back with Tetra lube. < we shall see just how well that works and for how long >
I progressed through all the bearings and serviced each with a good cleaning and re-lubricated. After buttoning them all back into the appropriate position I took the reel to the yard for a few casts. Previously it was quite the accomplishment to make it all the way to the hedge. My second cast almost easily cleared the top of the hedge towards the neighbor's yard. I had to deliberately stop it short by clamping down on the spool. Impressive casting with very little input effort.
I may eventually change over to the Lucas Oil Red & tacky #2 which I use for a number of other applications. That has slightly more viscosity over the tetra lube. All in good time as there are other reels to address too. Gotta get them ready for some bigger fish action.
My initial impressions are positive. I've got to put it through the paces before making another assessment. Hopefully that opportunity will come soon enough.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to find a suitable way to lubricate the bearings. While I'm able to get to all the bearings I've not been able to properly clean and re-pack them in grease. I've been researching all the information posted on line, specifically the fantastic amount of information at Tackletour.com. Their articles are all crafted well with good photos to complement the helpful information. Through reading all the various articles I've known just how to complete the bearing service. Now I just needed the tools.
As previously stated accessing the bearings was not all that difficult. Fairly straightforward. Interesting it is very similar across all the bait cast reels that I own. My challenge was to get the retaining clip off the individual bearings so I could remove the side cover and expose the actual bearings for cleaning and re-lubricating. Always that one thing. My research revealed that most are able to be removed using a needle. Unfortunately all the needles I tried were not sufficiently sharp or small enough to disengage the clips.
Recently my lovely wonderful wife reorganized our linen closet where we also stored all sorts of care products. In doing so she located my tube of professional grade dental probes. Aaah, now there is a sharp point! Also suitably stout for the task at hand. Yes, it was. Using the dental probes I was able to easily remove the retaining clip followed by the bearing side shield. This allowed me to properly clean out the bearings and the rest of the assembly of debris and old lubricant. Yes, the lighter fluid did have a difficult time cutting through the very old residual lubricant. Fortunately, some aggressive swirling helped to get the solvent to do its thing. After the bearings were cleared off it was a simple matter of packing the bearings back with Tetra lube. < we shall see just how well that works and for how long >
I progressed through all the bearings and serviced each with a good cleaning and re-lubricated. After buttoning them all back into the appropriate position I took the reel to the yard for a few casts. Previously it was quite the accomplishment to make it all the way to the hedge. My second cast almost easily cleared the top of the hedge towards the neighbor's yard. I had to deliberately stop it short by clamping down on the spool. Impressive casting with very little input effort.
I may eventually change over to the Lucas Oil Red & tacky #2 which I use for a number of other applications. That has slightly more viscosity over the tetra lube. All in good time as there are other reels to address too. Gotta get them ready for some bigger fish action.
My initial impressions are positive. I've got to put it through the paces before making another assessment. Hopefully that opportunity will come soon enough.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Nice and easy
Well, it all appears to work. I just have to keep things nice and easy. I managed to connect with two LMBs within 30 minutes. So not too shabby for very bright blue bird skies and low 90s with winds at 15+ mph.
When the first one hit, it was clearly an ambush attack. The bait had just bounced around a standing cattail reed and then stopped hard. I thought the bait had connected with the reed and the hook might have embedded into it. I gave the line a little twang to confirm that I had tensioned on the reed when the line moved out towards deeper water. As I hauled back I could feel the lower drag setting peel out when loading on the fish. The other thing I noticed was that while I was cranking on the handle the spool was not turning at all. Ok at this lower level of drag there is limited aggressiveness available. That is ok as I could clearly see this fish was hooked nicely in the corner of the mouth with the hook in the pocket. So just take it easy and enjoy the moment. It turned out to be a few moments as this one was not in a hurry to comply. It was a healthy almost 13 inch LMB that had been eating well. It did have a very nice location. Interesting enough it was in less than 12 inches of water.
The second LMB came about 30 yards down the shore. Again with the lack of visible structure available to the fish, I resorted to placing the bait as close to the weed ring as possible for the maximum amount of time. So keeping the retrieve parallel was the key. There was no interest in the retrieve until the bait closed within 2 meters. At just over a meter the bait was again stopped and moved out laterally to deeper water. This was not a gentle take more like a smash and dash. Once again the lower drag setting kicked in so while I could attempt to seat the hook the tension the fish was exerting was far greater than my input so just enjoy the ride. This one made very concerted efforts to really work out the drag on my reel. The several short runs pulled out quite a bit of line. Sort of like the bone fish runs on the TV programs only limited in scope. I would say equal in thrill and enjoyment factor.
Now here is the interesting part. I thought the casting quality would improve by using the lighter line. Not so much. My max distance appears to have been reached. The amount of casting effort is reduced greatly . So while it is easier to cast using the lighter line, I'm not getting any noticeably farther. I will say having the more supple line is nice. Still had some minor spool over runs but that was reasonably corrected by adjusting the magnetic brake to a higher level. Of course casting in the wind is always great fun...
So the first experience with the lighter line on the bait caster is positive. We shall see how the next session goes.
When the first one hit, it was clearly an ambush attack. The bait had just bounced around a standing cattail reed and then stopped hard. I thought the bait had connected with the reed and the hook might have embedded into it. I gave the line a little twang to confirm that I had tensioned on the reed when the line moved out towards deeper water. As I hauled back I could feel the lower drag setting peel out when loading on the fish. The other thing I noticed was that while I was cranking on the handle the spool was not turning at all. Ok at this lower level of drag there is limited aggressiveness available. That is ok as I could clearly see this fish was hooked nicely in the corner of the mouth with the hook in the pocket. So just take it easy and enjoy the moment. It turned out to be a few moments as this one was not in a hurry to comply. It was a healthy almost 13 inch LMB that had been eating well. It did have a very nice location. Interesting enough it was in less than 12 inches of water.
The second LMB came about 30 yards down the shore. Again with the lack of visible structure available to the fish, I resorted to placing the bait as close to the weed ring as possible for the maximum amount of time. So keeping the retrieve parallel was the key. There was no interest in the retrieve until the bait closed within 2 meters. At just over a meter the bait was again stopped and moved out laterally to deeper water. This was not a gentle take more like a smash and dash. Once again the lower drag setting kicked in so while I could attempt to seat the hook the tension the fish was exerting was far greater than my input so just enjoy the ride. This one made very concerted efforts to really work out the drag on my reel. The several short runs pulled out quite a bit of line. Sort of like the bone fish runs on the TV programs only limited in scope. I would say equal in thrill and enjoyment factor.
Now here is the interesting part. I thought the casting quality would improve by using the lighter line. Not so much. My max distance appears to have been reached. The amount of casting effort is reduced greatly . So while it is easier to cast using the lighter line, I'm not getting any noticeably farther. I will say having the more supple line is nice. Still had some minor spool over runs but that was reasonably corrected by adjusting the magnetic brake to a higher level. Of course casting in the wind is always great fun...
So the first experience with the lighter line on the bait caster is positive. We shall see how the next session goes.
On the Lighter Side
Well the temperatures are well into the 90s and getting close to 100 on occasions. Fortunately the smoke has cleared up a bit and we have right at 30 miles visibility. We are normally much clearer and can enjoy the more distant vistas.
I've been in the experimentation mode as of late. Mostly using creature baits as those tend to draw more attention than the simple worm. It seems the compact size has something to do with it too. I'm guessing that it more convenient to chow down on for the fish. It does also confirm that the lighter weight the bait is, the more interest is generated.
My intention is to try 6 lb mono on a bait cast reel. Given all the memory and looping of the mono-filament being spooled on the bait caster should not be such an issue. We'll see in short order. I'm hoping that I've amassed enough skill to diligently operate this setup without too much fussing about.
The initial impressions were promising. I drew down the well used 10 lb mono that was currently on the spool to about the 1/3 to 1/2 point. Clipped it and attached the 6 lb mono and proceeded to fill the spool back up. Amazing just how much of the smaller diameter line will fit on that. It almost exhausted my supply. I'll eventually need to stock up on some of that bulk spooled 6 lb test line. Might even get lucky for one of those father's day bargains. Ya never know...
The warmer weather, school summer release, summer time activities, have all contributed to increased activities at the pond. Now with the pending closure of the National Forests, might even see more folks out there. With that fishing as slowed down a bit. Still getting the occasional LMB but the predictability is challenging. The pond is drawing down quite a bit due to lack of rain. So the pond has limited visual structure for the fish to associate to. The only green vegetation is a small concentration of algae and some sparse weeds. The cattails appear to have suffered greatly from that killing frost back in late January of this year. Having been to the other lakes in the area and viewed the effects there, the cattails all had a distinct line where there was a frost kill and the new growth below was working its way up. At our pond the cattails are all brown right to the roots. None of them are showing any signs of any green content. You would think that even after all this time some parts of the plant would have survived. The brown stalks are all that are standing there as the water line continues to recede.
The water has been quite turbid lately. There are areas near the center of the pond that are less dense. I'm guessing that it is all due to the wind churn. We've had our share of wind power this whole season. That dry hot blowing about that continues to evaporate even more moisture from the area. The stained water has made for some really exciting fishing. Many of the bites have been right along the shore. Recently I had two notable incidents. It is so thick that you can't see the bait when it is submerged beyond 1 inch. I had made a parallel cast and was retrieving it slowly. Just as I was making my final movement before lifting the bait out of the water there was a very light tap. I hesitated to see if there would be a follow on. After a two second pause the follow on came only this time with a bit more emphasis. It also followed with a protracted take which gave me the opportunity to respond. It was wild to tension up on less than 2 meters of deployed line. Fortunately the drag was there to save the day. Once I got connected the fish was rather upset and peeled off line in a brutish manor. I'm guessing the extra effort was due to the proximity of the shore line. It took off straight away for the deeper water. The aggressive behavior surprised me.
The other incident occurred yesterday when I had a similar retrieve that was just about to reach the weed ring. I paused for just a touch before starting to lift the bait. The weed rig exploded as the bass apparently was right there in the weeds and simply rolled on the bait. The pole loaded up but the second roll by the fish was enough to throw the hook. So I never really got the hook into it. However that was sure exciting and fun to experience.
So we'll give this lighter bait casting setup a go to see how it runs. I'm looking forward to casting it about to get a feel for it. I'm thinking it might be just the way to go when using mono.
I've been in the experimentation mode as of late. Mostly using creature baits as those tend to draw more attention than the simple worm. It seems the compact size has something to do with it too. I'm guessing that it more convenient to chow down on for the fish. It does also confirm that the lighter weight the bait is, the more interest is generated.
My intention is to try 6 lb mono on a bait cast reel. Given all the memory and looping of the mono-filament being spooled on the bait caster should not be such an issue. We'll see in short order. I'm hoping that I've amassed enough skill to diligently operate this setup without too much fussing about.
The initial impressions were promising. I drew down the well used 10 lb mono that was currently on the spool to about the 1/3 to 1/2 point. Clipped it and attached the 6 lb mono and proceeded to fill the spool back up. Amazing just how much of the smaller diameter line will fit on that. It almost exhausted my supply. I'll eventually need to stock up on some of that bulk spooled 6 lb test line. Might even get lucky for one of those father's day bargains. Ya never know...
The warmer weather, school summer release, summer time activities, have all contributed to increased activities at the pond. Now with the pending closure of the National Forests, might even see more folks out there. With that fishing as slowed down a bit. Still getting the occasional LMB but the predictability is challenging. The pond is drawing down quite a bit due to lack of rain. So the pond has limited visual structure for the fish to associate to. The only green vegetation is a small concentration of algae and some sparse weeds. The cattails appear to have suffered greatly from that killing frost back in late January of this year. Having been to the other lakes in the area and viewed the effects there, the cattails all had a distinct line where there was a frost kill and the new growth below was working its way up. At our pond the cattails are all brown right to the roots. None of them are showing any signs of any green content. You would think that even after all this time some parts of the plant would have survived. The brown stalks are all that are standing there as the water line continues to recede.
The water has been quite turbid lately. There are areas near the center of the pond that are less dense. I'm guessing that it is all due to the wind churn. We've had our share of wind power this whole season. That dry hot blowing about that continues to evaporate even more moisture from the area. The stained water has made for some really exciting fishing. Many of the bites have been right along the shore. Recently I had two notable incidents. It is so thick that you can't see the bait when it is submerged beyond 1 inch. I had made a parallel cast and was retrieving it slowly. Just as I was making my final movement before lifting the bait out of the water there was a very light tap. I hesitated to see if there would be a follow on. After a two second pause the follow on came only this time with a bit more emphasis. It also followed with a protracted take which gave me the opportunity to respond. It was wild to tension up on less than 2 meters of deployed line. Fortunately the drag was there to save the day. Once I got connected the fish was rather upset and peeled off line in a brutish manor. I'm guessing the extra effort was due to the proximity of the shore line. It took off straight away for the deeper water. The aggressive behavior surprised me.
The other incident occurred yesterday when I had a similar retrieve that was just about to reach the weed ring. I paused for just a touch before starting to lift the bait. The weed rig exploded as the bass apparently was right there in the weeds and simply rolled on the bait. The pole loaded up but the second roll by the fish was enough to throw the hook. So I never really got the hook into it. However that was sure exciting and fun to experience.
So we'll give this lighter bait casting setup a go to see how it runs. I'm looking forward to casting it about to get a feel for it. I'm thinking it might be just the way to go when using mono.
Monday, May 30, 2011
New and Old Memories
Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional start to the summer season. Yup, graduations, temperatures over 90, hot winds, and really bright flat sunlight. It is all part of the season. During my jaunts out and about the past few days, I've had the opportunity to reflect on times past. More specifically family and friends that have passed. The memories and emotions are still vivid. I miss each one dearly and think about them often.
There is that saying, "Live, Love, and Eat". I'm trying to make sure I do each of those in suitable quantities. A reaffirmation of those things important. Love those that you are with!
I'm fortunate that during this past week full of activities, we've had some great recovery from those that I love. Injuries are healing and general good health is returning. It did get exciting at times. I believe everyone is all the better for the experiences.
I did manage to find some time to get out to the pond. The weather has been quite the challenge in that with all the wildfires about SE AZ the wind is relentless. It has made fishing that much more interesting too. I'm ever learning about the characteristics of bait cast reels. Each one of them has a unique personality and can be challenging manipulating them in high winds. I'm learning, grumbling at times as I'm clearing the spool over runs. Fortunately the effort put forth has returned some benefit to me. I've been grateful for the entertainment and enjoyment in catching so many LMBs lately.
Just in the past 7 days, I've managed several 4 LMB days. Some where I've actually caught more that that too. Given my limited time, generally less than 2 hours at a time, this is turning out to be a good catch rate for me. It is nice to have discovered local fishing spots that only require a few minutes transit time to reach. Prior to these discoveries, the nearest local fishing was an easy hour or more away.
The little shorty poles have really proven to be of great utility. They transport well and handle equally well. During this past week with all the fish brought in to shore the poles have been a joy to use. Even with the larger, 17 inch LMBs, the fishing rigs dealt with the surges. The short poles are also key to bait presentation too. I believe with the shorter pole I'm not working the bait too aggressively and presenting in a more advantageous and alluring fashion. It seems to be working as I'm catching more fish now than when I was younger. I attribute that to much improved technique and knowledge. Interesting enough the baits I'm using are still similar to those that I used in my youth.
There is an observation of note. I've deliberately calibrated the drag on my reels to be much more conservative. As of late the drag is set much lower that I've used in the past. This combined with the less aggressive hook set technique has resulted in more fish brought to shore. Also I've not experienced a gut hooked fish in quite some time since adapting to these newer techniques. Better for both fish and me as the catch and release goes much smoother.
I've also gone to using a much more compact bait too. I'm finding that the combination of a compact and light weight bait produces much more interest and resulting in more fish brought to the shore.
Now while talking about shores, I found some time this afternoon in the schedule to allow for some exploration. There has been some mention regarding fishing down at the San Pedro River. Since living here for just over 20 years, I've spent many hours down at the San Pedro enjoying the environment. I've never really tried to fish it. Until this afternoon. I regret waiting so long. I've really missed out. I made the stroll through the arid watershed leading to the green belt that makes up the surroundings of the San Pedro. In retrospect, it is much better to make the beeline towards the green belt and then walk the remainder of the distance in the shade of those old growth trees. It actually seemed shorter in distance too.
I first had a go at one of the ponds down in the river bed. The pond appeared to be thriving but the water looked not like water but just shallow mud. The water was so muddy that there was no visibility. As soon as the bait was lowered in the water there was no seeing it. Again in retrospect I should have used a vibration bait, to make some noise to attract some interest. I cast for a good part of 20 minutes with no interest. I started with a typical fan cast pattern with some additional emphasis on some targets of interest where there could be some potential holding locations. Nothing...
Ok so that was not that fun. Time for a change. Since the remainder of the open fishing areas on the lake perimeter were all taken up with others, so I decided this was reason enough to go and explore the river. I was expecting a protracted amount of waking through the undergrowth and I was pleasantly surprised. There were nicely worn paths through all the high grass, a good thing as I was keeping my eye open for critters on the path. A short stroll and I was already there at the first pool in the river. A very surprising change, as the water was reasonably clear. Clearer than my regular fishing pond. The distance across was roughly 8 ~ 10 meters or so. Casting the very light weight bait was right at the limit of decent accuracy. This was important as the pockets were were the fish were holding. The middle of the water was pretty shallow. It was only deep on the opposite shore. Even with that I'm estimating that the depth of the water was less than 0.5 meters.
There were several suspended fish visible in the far edges of the undercut bank that was lined by overhanging branches.
Casting to them was not productive other than to confirm that they were alive. As soon as the bait hit the water there was a massive wake from the departure of the fish. Surprising enough shortly after the visible fish departure, I did manage to get slight tug on the bait. Unfortunately the tug didn't transpire into a hookup. It was encouraging.
It didn't take all day before I got several other tugs on the bait. All the takes were very light and representative of small fish. It took about 20 more minutes before I managed to find a substantial tug that was protracted and provided me an opportunity to tension up. Amazing that the strike was similar to all other LMBs. I reeled down and tensioned with the small pole loading up nicely. I managed to crank up and notice that the spool was not rolling. It was stationary. Oooh, either the drag was too loose, or there was a substantial load on the other end. Yes there was! Turned out to be a rather robust 12 inch LMB with a large belly! Some good girth to that fish. I had to lift it out of the water almost a full meter as I was high on a sand bank. By the time I got my thumb on the lower jaw, the hook just lifted right out. Oooh if I had not maintained tension the hook would have just popped right out.
About another 20 minutes later I managed to get hooked up with another LMB. In similar fashion the take was light and progressively aggressive. I had to hold patiently till my opportunity to tension up on it. This was a small aggressive young fish. The little fish was right at about 8 inches. So proof there are LMBs in the San Pedro. Another accessible fishery within 30 minutes transit time to the trail head. Yeaaah!
Maybe next time I'll even try out the spinner bait that I carried all the way there and back...
Cheers!
There is that saying, "Live, Love, and Eat". I'm trying to make sure I do each of those in suitable quantities. A reaffirmation of those things important. Love those that you are with!
I'm fortunate that during this past week full of activities, we've had some great recovery from those that I love. Injuries are healing and general good health is returning. It did get exciting at times. I believe everyone is all the better for the experiences.
I did manage to find some time to get out to the pond. The weather has been quite the challenge in that with all the wildfires about SE AZ the wind is relentless. It has made fishing that much more interesting too. I'm ever learning about the characteristics of bait cast reels. Each one of them has a unique personality and can be challenging manipulating them in high winds. I'm learning, grumbling at times as I'm clearing the spool over runs. Fortunately the effort put forth has returned some benefit to me. I've been grateful for the entertainment and enjoyment in catching so many LMBs lately.
Just in the past 7 days, I've managed several 4 LMB days. Some where I've actually caught more that that too. Given my limited time, generally less than 2 hours at a time, this is turning out to be a good catch rate for me. It is nice to have discovered local fishing spots that only require a few minutes transit time to reach. Prior to these discoveries, the nearest local fishing was an easy hour or more away.
The little shorty poles have really proven to be of great utility. They transport well and handle equally well. During this past week with all the fish brought in to shore the poles have been a joy to use. Even with the larger, 17 inch LMBs, the fishing rigs dealt with the surges. The short poles are also key to bait presentation too. I believe with the shorter pole I'm not working the bait too aggressively and presenting in a more advantageous and alluring fashion. It seems to be working as I'm catching more fish now than when I was younger. I attribute that to much improved technique and knowledge. Interesting enough the baits I'm using are still similar to those that I used in my youth.
There is an observation of note. I've deliberately calibrated the drag on my reels to be much more conservative. As of late the drag is set much lower that I've used in the past. This combined with the less aggressive hook set technique has resulted in more fish brought to shore. Also I've not experienced a gut hooked fish in quite some time since adapting to these newer techniques. Better for both fish and me as the catch and release goes much smoother.
I've also gone to using a much more compact bait too. I'm finding that the combination of a compact and light weight bait produces much more interest and resulting in more fish brought to the shore.
Now while talking about shores, I found some time this afternoon in the schedule to allow for some exploration. There has been some mention regarding fishing down at the San Pedro River. Since living here for just over 20 years, I've spent many hours down at the San Pedro enjoying the environment. I've never really tried to fish it. Until this afternoon. I regret waiting so long. I've really missed out. I made the stroll through the arid watershed leading to the green belt that makes up the surroundings of the San Pedro. In retrospect, it is much better to make the beeline towards the green belt and then walk the remainder of the distance in the shade of those old growth trees. It actually seemed shorter in distance too.
I first had a go at one of the ponds down in the river bed. The pond appeared to be thriving but the water looked not like water but just shallow mud. The water was so muddy that there was no visibility. As soon as the bait was lowered in the water there was no seeing it. Again in retrospect I should have used a vibration bait, to make some noise to attract some interest. I cast for a good part of 20 minutes with no interest. I started with a typical fan cast pattern with some additional emphasis on some targets of interest where there could be some potential holding locations. Nothing...
Ok so that was not that fun. Time for a change. Since the remainder of the open fishing areas on the lake perimeter were all taken up with others, so I decided this was reason enough to go and explore the river. I was expecting a protracted amount of waking through the undergrowth and I was pleasantly surprised. There were nicely worn paths through all the high grass, a good thing as I was keeping my eye open for critters on the path. A short stroll and I was already there at the first pool in the river. A very surprising change, as the water was reasonably clear. Clearer than my regular fishing pond. The distance across was roughly 8 ~ 10 meters or so. Casting the very light weight bait was right at the limit of decent accuracy. This was important as the pockets were were the fish were holding. The middle of the water was pretty shallow. It was only deep on the opposite shore. Even with that I'm estimating that the depth of the water was less than 0.5 meters.
There were several suspended fish visible in the far edges of the undercut bank that was lined by overhanging branches.
Casting to them was not productive other than to confirm that they were alive. As soon as the bait hit the water there was a massive wake from the departure of the fish. Surprising enough shortly after the visible fish departure, I did manage to get slight tug on the bait. Unfortunately the tug didn't transpire into a hookup. It was encouraging.
It didn't take all day before I got several other tugs on the bait. All the takes were very light and representative of small fish. It took about 20 more minutes before I managed to find a substantial tug that was protracted and provided me an opportunity to tension up. Amazing that the strike was similar to all other LMBs. I reeled down and tensioned with the small pole loading up nicely. I managed to crank up and notice that the spool was not rolling. It was stationary. Oooh, either the drag was too loose, or there was a substantial load on the other end. Yes there was! Turned out to be a rather robust 12 inch LMB with a large belly! Some good girth to that fish. I had to lift it out of the water almost a full meter as I was high on a sand bank. By the time I got my thumb on the lower jaw, the hook just lifted right out. Oooh if I had not maintained tension the hook would have just popped right out.
About another 20 minutes later I managed to get hooked up with another LMB. In similar fashion the take was light and progressively aggressive. I had to hold patiently till my opportunity to tension up on it. This was a small aggressive young fish. The little fish was right at about 8 inches. So proof there are LMBs in the San Pedro. Another accessible fishery within 30 minutes transit time to the trail head. Yeaaah!
Maybe next time I'll even try out the spinner bait that I carried all the way there and back...
Cheers!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wow, what's new!
It has been some time since my last entry. A lot has happened. I'll have a go at addressing the issues in a chronological form. My previous post mentioned the arrival of the new short poles along with a featherweight fly rod. I can positively attest to the how well each of them have performed! Each of them has simply exceeded my expectations!
I've been able to catch a 17 inch LMB on each of the shorty poles since receiving them. The fly rod has connected with countless sunfish using flys of my own construct. Wow! It is truly all good!
Also since that time I've had an opportunity to get in a steel match too. I've not shot a handgun match since OCT of last year. I was concerned I might have to take in some remedial training to refresh myself on what to do. I was gratified that my performance on the range was not below my expectations. It was good to be out there and enjoy some of the shooting challenges. Yes, there were many presented and all were managed by staying true to the fundamentals, proper sight picture and smooth trigger manipulation. One by one each of the steel targets were provided the proper attention.
I did have a real zen moment on the final stage. The final three targets were all knock downs on the far right side of the range. Just prior to engaging those were an array of targets at the far end of the range. Since I was having such a good time on this stage there was an opportunity to get aggressive on the last three. I committed myself to engaging those three in a panning motion with no pausing between targets. Amazingly the bravado payed off as all three shots broke at the right time and all three targets fell. I realized my success not from seeing the targets but from the comments of my fellow shooters. I sure wish I could have been a spectator on that. Interesting how that distortion factor kicks in when you're in the zone. I didn't perceive that final finale as being that interesting, I was just intending to shoot it smooth. Better lucky than good.
Ok back to the fishing. The new poles are really interesting. One is quite sensitive and has a heavy action. This allows for a really good feel of the bait and how it is being worked. You can feel most of the objects that the bait touches. The other pole is a fiberglass pole and has a much lighter action. I've since reassessed my impressions of both.
I've proven to myself that I really enjoy using both types of poles. I thought the ceramic line guides would make a difference in casting qualities over the basic stainless guides. So far casting with both types of poles is equal in distance and accuracy. The principle difference is the timing of the cast. On the lighter action the timing requires a much earlier release to get the bait to the intended target. While the heavy action pole the timing is on the other end of the spectrum.
I've been fortunate to have brought in 17 inch LMBs with each setup. This evening the fishing was spectacular. I had about two hours where I caught and released 7 LMBs. Wow! It seems that I was presenting the soft plastic crawfish bait well. They ranged from 14 inches up to 17 inch.
It was a first for this kid on the pond as most of the time I don't get that many strikes much less complete hookups and releases. I suspect there are two factors involved. The time of day as I didn't get out there until 1730 so I believe this time of day was an advantage. The other was that I decided to try a much lighter setup using the bait caster. I used the light action pole that had 10 lb mono, with a 1/16 oz texas rigged crawdad bait. I suspect working that lighter weight allowed for a more fluid motion on the bait as it moved through the area.
The first strike was quite intense as the fish hit it as soon as it entered the water. The strike caught me completely off guard. I was perfectly content in watching the line pay out even after the bait hit the water. Aaaah gee, that is not a natural bait entry, perhaps some attention should be applied!! The lighter action pole basically doubled over and the reel struggled to turn the spool as the drag was exceeded on several occasions. I worked that area a bit after that fish with no additional interest. So onward about the perimeter.
That ended up to be a good decision. The lighter bait was limiting my casting distance but I found that by changing the friction brake and adjusting the magnetic brake to the proper proportions I was able to maximize my casting distance without the dreaded over runs. I might just be getting the hang of these bait casting reels.
I also continue to confirm the adaptation of the new method of just reeling down and tension up to bring in the fish. By eliminating the fishing show hook set things have been quite positive in bringing them in all the way for a comfortable release.
Along those lines of a more gradual approach, I'm finding that my drag does not have to be set quite so high either. While it does slip, I'm still able to maintain adequate tension without allowing the fish or me to dislodge the hook. In retrospect I may have been too aggressive in trying to retrieve the fish. That may have been the reason so many have come off. This evening they all peeled out drag and I did not have any of them prematurely disconnect.
So given the new information I'm going to switch over the faster action pole to a lighter weight to see if that works with the lighter colored crawdad bait. I'm so happy those crawdad baits work so well as they are some of the most affordable baits at the store, right at about 10 cents each. By the way all seven LMBs this evening were caught using the same bait. The only degredation is right where the hook point is embedded. That area shows some slight tearing. I'm no where near needing to change that bait due to wear and tear! Lovely! Similarly the light gauge hooks are holding up just fine since changing over to the new tension method. Far fewer bent hooks or snags too! So far it is all good!
At this time the only slight concern I've identified is that the casting pole, the heavy action one, does not appear to have much support in the lower handle. During a retrieve of a heavy fish I could feel the play in the handle where center stub ended. It confirmed my suspicion that the stub does not protrude very far into the handle. I hope I'm wrong on this but my intention is to use it so we shall see how well it holds up.
I'm looking forward to more time out trying new things with those creature baits. Lighter does appear to have an advantage in getting more strikes. It is hard to argue with something that is successful.
Be well!
I've been able to catch a 17 inch LMB on each of the shorty poles since receiving them. The fly rod has connected with countless sunfish using flys of my own construct. Wow! It is truly all good!
Also since that time I've had an opportunity to get in a steel match too. I've not shot a handgun match since OCT of last year. I was concerned I might have to take in some remedial training to refresh myself on what to do. I was gratified that my performance on the range was not below my expectations. It was good to be out there and enjoy some of the shooting challenges. Yes, there were many presented and all were managed by staying true to the fundamentals, proper sight picture and smooth trigger manipulation. One by one each of the steel targets were provided the proper attention.
I did have a real zen moment on the final stage. The final three targets were all knock downs on the far right side of the range. Just prior to engaging those were an array of targets at the far end of the range. Since I was having such a good time on this stage there was an opportunity to get aggressive on the last three. I committed myself to engaging those three in a panning motion with no pausing between targets. Amazingly the bravado payed off as all three shots broke at the right time and all three targets fell. I realized my success not from seeing the targets but from the comments of my fellow shooters. I sure wish I could have been a spectator on that. Interesting how that distortion factor kicks in when you're in the zone. I didn't perceive that final finale as being that interesting, I was just intending to shoot it smooth. Better lucky than good.
Ok back to the fishing. The new poles are really interesting. One is quite sensitive and has a heavy action. This allows for a really good feel of the bait and how it is being worked. You can feel most of the objects that the bait touches. The other pole is a fiberglass pole and has a much lighter action. I've since reassessed my impressions of both.
I've proven to myself that I really enjoy using both types of poles. I thought the ceramic line guides would make a difference in casting qualities over the basic stainless guides. So far casting with both types of poles is equal in distance and accuracy. The principle difference is the timing of the cast. On the lighter action the timing requires a much earlier release to get the bait to the intended target. While the heavy action pole the timing is on the other end of the spectrum.
I've been fortunate to have brought in 17 inch LMBs with each setup. This evening the fishing was spectacular. I had about two hours where I caught and released 7 LMBs. Wow! It seems that I was presenting the soft plastic crawfish bait well. They ranged from 14 inches up to 17 inch.
It was a first for this kid on the pond as most of the time I don't get that many strikes much less complete hookups and releases. I suspect there are two factors involved. The time of day as I didn't get out there until 1730 so I believe this time of day was an advantage. The other was that I decided to try a much lighter setup using the bait caster. I used the light action pole that had 10 lb mono, with a 1/16 oz texas rigged crawdad bait. I suspect working that lighter weight allowed for a more fluid motion on the bait as it moved through the area.
The first strike was quite intense as the fish hit it as soon as it entered the water. The strike caught me completely off guard. I was perfectly content in watching the line pay out even after the bait hit the water. Aaaah gee, that is not a natural bait entry, perhaps some attention should be applied!! The lighter action pole basically doubled over and the reel struggled to turn the spool as the drag was exceeded on several occasions. I worked that area a bit after that fish with no additional interest. So onward about the perimeter.
That ended up to be a good decision. The lighter bait was limiting my casting distance but I found that by changing the friction brake and adjusting the magnetic brake to the proper proportions I was able to maximize my casting distance without the dreaded over runs. I might just be getting the hang of these bait casting reels.
I also continue to confirm the adaptation of the new method of just reeling down and tension up to bring in the fish. By eliminating the fishing show hook set things have been quite positive in bringing them in all the way for a comfortable release.
Along those lines of a more gradual approach, I'm finding that my drag does not have to be set quite so high either. While it does slip, I'm still able to maintain adequate tension without allowing the fish or me to dislodge the hook. In retrospect I may have been too aggressive in trying to retrieve the fish. That may have been the reason so many have come off. This evening they all peeled out drag and I did not have any of them prematurely disconnect.
So given the new information I'm going to switch over the faster action pole to a lighter weight to see if that works with the lighter colored crawdad bait. I'm so happy those crawdad baits work so well as they are some of the most affordable baits at the store, right at about 10 cents each. By the way all seven LMBs this evening were caught using the same bait. The only degredation is right where the hook point is embedded. That area shows some slight tearing. I'm no where near needing to change that bait due to wear and tear! Lovely! Similarly the light gauge hooks are holding up just fine since changing over to the new tension method. Far fewer bent hooks or snags too! So far it is all good!
At this time the only slight concern I've identified is that the casting pole, the heavy action one, does not appear to have much support in the lower handle. During a retrieve of a heavy fish I could feel the play in the handle where center stub ended. It confirmed my suspicion that the stub does not protrude very far into the handle. I hope I'm wrong on this but my intention is to use it so we shall see how well it holds up.
I'm looking forward to more time out trying new things with those creature baits. Lighter does appear to have an advantage in getting more strikes. It is hard to argue with something that is successful.
Be well!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Goody, goody, new fishing poles are in!
Howdy All,
Just got my order in from Edge Angling. They appear to be the purveyor of all angling oddities for folks like me that seek out unique tackle. Basically they had all the weird poles that this kid wants. You'd be amazed just how hard it is to find these specific pole configurations and in stock. All is in order and I'm quite satisfied with the purchase. It will be more fun when I get that first hookup on each pole.
The only unexpected point was the additional shipping fee for the fly rod. Apparently it was over their 40 inch mark and under $100 so it qualified for the additional fee. In the end it still was an equitable exchange as I got a very nice shipping tube to stow it in when in transit. No need to purchase a rod case for it.
Just a couple of notable points. First was the Eagle Claw fly rod, this is their feather weight unit that handles a 3/4 weight fly. It has a ruler marked on the pole to measure with. That is handy dandy! The fiberglass construction is very interesting on the action. I'm looking forward to playing with it. It is very different from my current Eagle Claw fly rod which is graphite. This new pole has a simulated rosewood reel seat too! All kidding aside the hardware on the reel seat is quite nicely machined and the cork handle is turned down nicely for that western style grip. It even has a hook keeper integrated!
The action of the whole pole appears to be quite nice. I'm excited to put it through the paces with some of the bull bluegills. The over all shorter pole makes for a handy unit. It stows nicely too in the back seat as it is not in danger of having either end caught by the door.
The new Daiwa casting pole is a quality product. I've been using the spinning version of the pole with good results so I have high hopes for the casting pole. It is more robust than the shorty pole from bass pro. The handle is more comfortable too as it is a slightly larger diameter.
The less aggressive hook set technique appears to be working well as the similar technique is used with fly fishing, basically just apply tension by reeling up the line and maintaining an arc in the pole. I got a success in using this on the refurbished bait caster rig. I re-lubricated one of my bait cast reels. During the reassembly process I didn't quite get the spring washers oriented correctly so the drag tension was not very adjustable. A quick reference to the exploded diagram showed the error of my way.
I only had a few minutes to hit the pond this afternoon. So I only grabbed for the texas rigged brush hog. I tossed that a few times with no interest generated. I figured my time was short so I'd better start heading back towards the truck. I made my way a few meters down the short and sent out a cast towards pond center. I'm thinking, that wasn't such a smart thing to do as they probably are out shallow near the weeds. I hauled the bait back in and sent it out parallel to the shoreline with about 3 meter offset. I got about two winds into the retrieve when I got that lovely tap followed by some slack. I gently brought in the slack and watched the line tension up quickly as I was being assisted by the fish. So with that I just sped up the retrieve and arched laterally and held it there. I was gratified with a heavy loading on the pole and the sound of the drag slipping line out. Oh this could be a good one. There were several surges and head shakes but no acrobatics. I worked it in gently as there was no reason to be bullish. The LMB was a healthy 15 incher hooked nicely in the corner of the mouth. The fun part was the hook lifted right out without fuss either. That make for a quicker release.
The interesting part of the pond experience was the lack of visual contact with the fish. The 20 + Mph winds might have something to do with it but it seems that all the fish have moved off the shore line by about a meter or so making it difficult to see any of them.
We shall see if the equipment investment is up to expectations...
Just got my order in from Edge Angling. They appear to be the purveyor of all angling oddities for folks like me that seek out unique tackle. Basically they had all the weird poles that this kid wants. You'd be amazed just how hard it is to find these specific pole configurations and in stock. All is in order and I'm quite satisfied with the purchase. It will be more fun when I get that first hookup on each pole.
The only unexpected point was the additional shipping fee for the fly rod. Apparently it was over their 40 inch mark and under $100 so it qualified for the additional fee. In the end it still was an equitable exchange as I got a very nice shipping tube to stow it in when in transit. No need to purchase a rod case for it.
Just a couple of notable points. First was the Eagle Claw fly rod, this is their feather weight unit that handles a 3/4 weight fly. It has a ruler marked on the pole to measure with. That is handy dandy! The fiberglass construction is very interesting on the action. I'm looking forward to playing with it. It is very different from my current Eagle Claw fly rod which is graphite. This new pole has a simulated rosewood reel seat too! All kidding aside the hardware on the reel seat is quite nicely machined and the cork handle is turned down nicely for that western style grip. It even has a hook keeper integrated!
The action of the whole pole appears to be quite nice. I'm excited to put it through the paces with some of the bull bluegills. The over all shorter pole makes for a handy unit. It stows nicely too in the back seat as it is not in danger of having either end caught by the door.
The new Daiwa casting pole is a quality product. I've been using the spinning version of the pole with good results so I have high hopes for the casting pole. It is more robust than the shorty pole from bass pro. The handle is more comfortable too as it is a slightly larger diameter.
The less aggressive hook set technique appears to be working well as the similar technique is used with fly fishing, basically just apply tension by reeling up the line and maintaining an arc in the pole. I got a success in using this on the refurbished bait caster rig. I re-lubricated one of my bait cast reels. During the reassembly process I didn't quite get the spring washers oriented correctly so the drag tension was not very adjustable. A quick reference to the exploded diagram showed the error of my way.
I only had a few minutes to hit the pond this afternoon. So I only grabbed for the texas rigged brush hog. I tossed that a few times with no interest generated. I figured my time was short so I'd better start heading back towards the truck. I made my way a few meters down the short and sent out a cast towards pond center. I'm thinking, that wasn't such a smart thing to do as they probably are out shallow near the weeds. I hauled the bait back in and sent it out parallel to the shoreline with about 3 meter offset. I got about two winds into the retrieve when I got that lovely tap followed by some slack. I gently brought in the slack and watched the line tension up quickly as I was being assisted by the fish. So with that I just sped up the retrieve and arched laterally and held it there. I was gratified with a heavy loading on the pole and the sound of the drag slipping line out. Oh this could be a good one. There were several surges and head shakes but no acrobatics. I worked it in gently as there was no reason to be bullish. The LMB was a healthy 15 incher hooked nicely in the corner of the mouth. The fun part was the hook lifted right out without fuss either. That make for a quicker release.
The interesting part of the pond experience was the lack of visual contact with the fish. The 20 + Mph winds might have something to do with it but it seems that all the fish have moved off the shore line by about a meter or so making it difficult to see any of them.
We shall see if the equipment investment is up to expectations...
3 Strikes and POW!
What crazy weather here lately. Not bad just odd, lots of wind and shmutz in the air. Apparently there are several range fires in the vicinity and we just happen to be down wind of it all. At times visibility is down to about 5 miles or so. The haze is a mix of dark and light so it really plays on the appearance of things.
The winds have been pretty much all more than 15 mph for the entire week. The gusts have been significantly higher. Even more complicating is the direction of the wind is not consistent either. So accurate casting or lure placement is tough. Fortunately there are limited distances involved along with suitably heavy tackle to compensate. At least I thought it was heavy enough.
The week started out with those weather conditions so that prompted me to keep casts closer to minimize the trailing line getting blown into the snags. That sort of worked. At the least futzing about with the line after the cast gives the bait time to settle. I can't tell you how many times there was some activity on the other end after I got the bait cast reel over-runs tended to. I even managed to try and set the hook by just grabbing at the trailing line and not even use the rod. Not much success there. So there I was missing all these strikes due to messing about with spool over-runs. Casting while dealing with stiff breezy conditions is tough. I'd been working up to try hard and connect with all these strikes I'd been missing. To complicate things even more there were several well meaning folks that wanted to strike up conversation with me too while fishing. Typically this is not an issue as talking and fishing are not too challenging. Add the wind, frustration, and limited casting time an the anxiety level rises. By the time I managed to get all that cleared out and concentrate on a pending bite, I had mentally authorized the kung fu hook set when the time was right. Oh man one small detail that I failed to recognize, I had clamped down on the drag to facilitate clearing of the spool over-runs. I did not release it back to normal levels. So when I hauled back on the fish, I got all of it and then some. I hit that strike with a counter of my own that reached epic proportions.
Not only did I nail that hook in but I also ripped it straight out too! Yes, the large wide gap hook was peeled open to the point of looking like an open diaper pin. Uuugh, if that wasn't enough, I didn't connect with the fish either as I could feel the resistance but then it was gone. Of course I was still quite stunned after hearing the loud POP from the explosion of the graphite pole too! So I'm grabbing at the trailing end of the line along with avoiding those sharp shards of my pole, realizing the large fish was gone. The hook was distorted beyond repair. NUTS!
Gotta realize technique comes in many forms, some are simply not so good. I'm finding that out with the casting of those bait cast reels too. Those aggressive launches are no good. They only cause me grief. So easier is better. Gotta keep encouraging that practice.
In a similar vein, my hook set technique requires refinement too. I realized that every one of the poles that I've popped have been due to an overhead vertical sweep. Not good! Especially since my neck and shoulders were sore for most of the week, even now there is still a small amount of residual discomfort. So I'm learning don't do that! Also during the week, I happened to catch the episode of 'Breaking the Surface'. A fishing program with a couple of hostess that share fishing passion using fly fishing and conventional equipment. I've been interested in that I also fish with both types of equipment so learning a better way is good for me. One of the things that appears to be better is their hook set technique, both use a lateral sweep and hold.
Ok, might be good to try. So this later half of the week was devoted to just that. I made a deliberate effort to identify the appropriate direction to set the hook sweep for each cast if the need arose.
The winds have been pretty much all more than 15 mph for the entire week. The gusts have been significantly higher. Even more complicating is the direction of the wind is not consistent either. So accurate casting or lure placement is tough. Fortunately there are limited distances involved along with suitably heavy tackle to compensate. At least I thought it was heavy enough.
The week started out with those weather conditions so that prompted me to keep casts closer to minimize the trailing line getting blown into the snags. That sort of worked. At the least futzing about with the line after the cast gives the bait time to settle. I can't tell you how many times there was some activity on the other end after I got the bait cast reel over-runs tended to. I even managed to try and set the hook by just grabbing at the trailing line and not even use the rod. Not much success there. So there I was missing all these strikes due to messing about with spool over-runs. Casting while dealing with stiff breezy conditions is tough. I'd been working up to try hard and connect with all these strikes I'd been missing. To complicate things even more there were several well meaning folks that wanted to strike up conversation with me too while fishing. Typically this is not an issue as talking and fishing are not too challenging. Add the wind, frustration, and limited casting time an the anxiety level rises. By the time I managed to get all that cleared out and concentrate on a pending bite, I had mentally authorized the kung fu hook set when the time was right. Oh man one small detail that I failed to recognize, I had clamped down on the drag to facilitate clearing of the spool over-runs. I did not release it back to normal levels. So when I hauled back on the fish, I got all of it and then some. I hit that strike with a counter of my own that reached epic proportions.
Not only did I nail that hook in but I also ripped it straight out too! Yes, the large wide gap hook was peeled open to the point of looking like an open diaper pin. Uuugh, if that wasn't enough, I didn't connect with the fish either as I could feel the resistance but then it was gone. Of course I was still quite stunned after hearing the loud POP from the explosion of the graphite pole too! So I'm grabbing at the trailing end of the line along with avoiding those sharp shards of my pole, realizing the large fish was gone. The hook was distorted beyond repair. NUTS!
Gotta realize technique comes in many forms, some are simply not so good. I'm finding that out with the casting of those bait cast reels too. Those aggressive launches are no good. They only cause me grief. So easier is better. Gotta keep encouraging that practice.
In a similar vein, my hook set technique requires refinement too. I realized that every one of the poles that I've popped have been due to an overhead vertical sweep. Not good! Especially since my neck and shoulders were sore for most of the week, even now there is still a small amount of residual discomfort. So I'm learning don't do that! Also during the week, I happened to catch the episode of 'Breaking the Surface'. A fishing program with a couple of hostess that share fishing passion using fly fishing and conventional equipment. I've been interested in that I also fish with both types of equipment so learning a better way is good for me. One of the things that appears to be better is their hook set technique, both use a lateral sweep and hold.
Ok, might be good to try. So this later half of the week was devoted to just that. I made a deliberate effort to identify the appropriate direction to set the hook sweep for each cast if the need arose.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
High Wind Watch, time to go fish!
A somewhat good day to go fishing, winds at 25 mph, right about 80 degrees and partly cloudy. There was time in the schedule to head out to the pond for some casting practice. Given the blustery conditions I decided to start out with the heavier equipment. So I grabbed for the bait casters, one with a shallow crank bait, the other with a texas rigged worm with a 3/8 oz weight to send it out there. The last item was my heavy spinning rig with a skirted spinner bait.
I walk out there easily as my current set of sandals tends to throw stuff about as I walk and some of it gets wedged between my foot and sandal. Almost better to just walk about barefoot. I get over to water's edge and send out the spinner bait. The brightly red colored egg beater makes its way through the water with no interest at all. Ok, time to change to the crank bait. Pretty much every retrieve is cause for a pause to clear out all that algae that is trapped by the wobbling bait. Again no interest. Same thing for the T-rigged worm. Wow, maybe this wind is bothering the fish too.
What is really bothering me is the intensity of the sun. It is quite rough to stay fully exposed. So I make my way over to the other side of the pond to escape the sun and sit under some shade. While sitting there I decide to send the worm towards the center of the dam. Having the wind at my back makes the long cast there even easier. So I sit down and work the worm back nice and easy. Several repeat casts and I'm still sitting in the shade. One of the casts gets about half way back when I feel some attention. It plays out as a classic bass pickup on a worm. A light tap followed by a very light pickup and a gentle pull. It is during that pull is when I respond with a healthy return pull of my own. There is some really good resistance on the end and the pole really loads up good. I'm using the 10 lb mono on this rig and it is still quite a ways out so I decide to work in a series of hook sets. This time I really sent the hook home with a follow on set. When i got the fish to shore it had the hook nicely set right behind the jaw hinge. It was a really healthy 15 inch LMB with a modest belly. I'm guessing that it was a post spawn fish that was looking forward to enjoying that large worm. The pickup was pretty light and gentle. I had no idea from the characteristics of the pickup that the LMB would be that sizeable. Lovely good fun. There was very little fuss in getting the hook out and bass returned to the water. It is rewarding to see them swim off after a good tussle.
Several young families ended up visiting the other shore trying to tease the bluegills on the line. That got me thinking that it was time for a change of pace. I decided to walk back to the truck and switch out equipment and put the fish whip to work. I got the line rigged up with a small # 12 with a lashed up strand of twine. Amazing how effective this little fly works. It is nothing fancy or appealing. Just a longitudinal strand of twine lashed to the hook shank. Easy peezy!
I was catching bluegills like crazy. Even managed to catch a 13 inch LMB on that little fly too. I thought it might have been a quick catch and long distance release as the small fly was hooked right in corner but since the gap on a # 12 hook is only about 3 mm I wasn't sure if it would hold till I got it shore. The fly rod has quite a bit of backbone to hold off that LMB and keep it guided out of the snags. Wow, I'm liking this fly fishing more and more. What a hoot! It is so personally satisfying to catch and release these lovely fish using my own fly creations.
I also managed to catch a visually stunning green sunfish. This must have been a male as the fins had striking colors at the edges along with razor sharp little teeth. I fought that little fish as long as it took to shore the LMB. All really good fun. The wind is still an issue but at least it won't keep me from catching fish! Cool!
I walk out there easily as my current set of sandals tends to throw stuff about as I walk and some of it gets wedged between my foot and sandal. Almost better to just walk about barefoot. I get over to water's edge and send out the spinner bait. The brightly red colored egg beater makes its way through the water with no interest at all. Ok, time to change to the crank bait. Pretty much every retrieve is cause for a pause to clear out all that algae that is trapped by the wobbling bait. Again no interest. Same thing for the T-rigged worm. Wow, maybe this wind is bothering the fish too.
What is really bothering me is the intensity of the sun. It is quite rough to stay fully exposed. So I make my way over to the other side of the pond to escape the sun and sit under some shade. While sitting there I decide to send the worm towards the center of the dam. Having the wind at my back makes the long cast there even easier. So I sit down and work the worm back nice and easy. Several repeat casts and I'm still sitting in the shade. One of the casts gets about half way back when I feel some attention. It plays out as a classic bass pickup on a worm. A light tap followed by a very light pickup and a gentle pull. It is during that pull is when I respond with a healthy return pull of my own. There is some really good resistance on the end and the pole really loads up good. I'm using the 10 lb mono on this rig and it is still quite a ways out so I decide to work in a series of hook sets. This time I really sent the hook home with a follow on set. When i got the fish to shore it had the hook nicely set right behind the jaw hinge. It was a really healthy 15 inch LMB with a modest belly. I'm guessing that it was a post spawn fish that was looking forward to enjoying that large worm. The pickup was pretty light and gentle. I had no idea from the characteristics of the pickup that the LMB would be that sizeable. Lovely good fun. There was very little fuss in getting the hook out and bass returned to the water. It is rewarding to see them swim off after a good tussle.
Several young families ended up visiting the other shore trying to tease the bluegills on the line. That got me thinking that it was time for a change of pace. I decided to walk back to the truck and switch out equipment and put the fish whip to work. I got the line rigged up with a small # 12 with a lashed up strand of twine. Amazing how effective this little fly works. It is nothing fancy or appealing. Just a longitudinal strand of twine lashed to the hook shank. Easy peezy!
I was catching bluegills like crazy. Even managed to catch a 13 inch LMB on that little fly too. I thought it might have been a quick catch and long distance release as the small fly was hooked right in corner but since the gap on a # 12 hook is only about 3 mm I wasn't sure if it would hold till I got it shore. The fly rod has quite a bit of backbone to hold off that LMB and keep it guided out of the snags. Wow, I'm liking this fly fishing more and more. What a hoot! It is so personally satisfying to catch and release these lovely fish using my own fly creations.
I also managed to catch a visually stunning green sunfish. This must have been a male as the fins had striking colors at the edges along with razor sharp little teeth. I fought that little fish as long as it took to shore the LMB. All really good fun. The wind is still an issue but at least it won't keep me from catching fish! Cool!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Weightlessness
Greetings! It seems that things have changed on the current bite at the pond. The low and slow is not getting as much interest as it has in the past. High and slow have appeared to be the trick as of late. So with that I've switched over to really light line, 2 and 4 lb test with soft baits and no weights.
The winds have made using this technique both challenging and treacherous. It is not so much the placement of the bait on target, it is the unpredictable towing of the trailing line to all parts of the lake. Often to undesirable locations and positions. An example was the instance where I was able to make a deliberate cast over a small pocket to a distant point. The bait managed to land right where I wanted, the breeze carried the trailing line up and over into adjacent reeds. Fortunately the weedless rigging worked reasonably well as long as I didn't get too aggressive in hauling it back through.
The interesting trend for these LMBs is to take the bait without pulling away. They either swim towards or just laterally in either direction. So unless you are diligently monitoring the line behavior the take is not apparent. Most of the time all that is detectable is an odd line movement counter to the breeze. Then the challenge is to gently take up line for a decent hook set. The other issue is that given the extra time the fish has the opportunity and motivation to get the bait deep into the mouth and sometimes beyond. Fortunately the hook set has only involved the outer mouth and not beyond the sphincter. As a precaution I've stopped using the worm hooks and am only using the wide gap hooks.
So far the hook change has worked out really well. In the past few days all the fish have been hooked right in the side of the mouth or in the lower lip. This is wonderful to minimize the trauma and speed the release.
Also in the past few days the overall size of the LMBs has dropped slightly. Several of them are in the 13 ~ 15 inch range with most at the smaller size. Interesting enough my baits have caught the attention of the next generation too. There are several 1 year bass at the 7 ~ 8 inch range that are chasing down the bait but not committing enough to strike. Sure is fun to watch.
Using the plastics as sort of a shallow swim bait fashion has been really interesting too. I had one follow right up to less that 2 meters and then engulf the bait just prior to lifting it out of the water. What a hoot to see the strike and hook set too!
Since going down to very small light lines it didn't occur to me that in the past few days I've been catching LMBs at or very near the specified 2 lb test. The other interesting thing is that it seems even with the drag set modestly low I've not lost any fish that I've tensioned on. However when I do haul back there is quite a bit of slippage.
I did try something different today. I set up one of the bait cast rigs to a 0.25 oz weighted wide gap hook and put on a Zoom fluke bait, sort of a fish looking lure. I made really long casts with it and could see that it was swimming about 0.2 meter down in a slow oscillating fashion. I was about to abandon it and go to something else when I got a little tap at the beginning of one long cast. I hauled back on it and only felt a slight loading. Since this was the fiberglass pole it has quite a bit of give and flex. So I just started cranking it back as fast as I could. Right about the halfway point in the retrieve I felt a slight attempt to resist and by the time I got about 0.75 hauled in the resistance came off. So I never got to see what it was. Must not have got that heavy gauge hook in well enough. So it goes.
Using the UL 2 lb test setup with the little golden shiner bait, I was able to get a 13 inch LMB to commit. That was fun as the tussle on the light line is so fun. Should be interesting if I tie into a larger one using that rig.
Tonight in resetting all my equipment, I decided to make some other changes. So I removed the fluke baits. I've also setup a dark red spinner bait along with a modestly weighted T-rigged worm. Again back to the basics to see those are working again. May have some time to sneak out for some cast practice this weekend. There are several weather disturbances moving about the area bringing even more wind. Right now they are projected to be 20 ~ 25 mph. Heck might have to try a few crank baits too given the wind!
The winds have made using this technique both challenging and treacherous. It is not so much the placement of the bait on target, it is the unpredictable towing of the trailing line to all parts of the lake. Often to undesirable locations and positions. An example was the instance where I was able to make a deliberate cast over a small pocket to a distant point. The bait managed to land right where I wanted, the breeze carried the trailing line up and over into adjacent reeds. Fortunately the weedless rigging worked reasonably well as long as I didn't get too aggressive in hauling it back through.
The interesting trend for these LMBs is to take the bait without pulling away. They either swim towards or just laterally in either direction. So unless you are diligently monitoring the line behavior the take is not apparent. Most of the time all that is detectable is an odd line movement counter to the breeze. Then the challenge is to gently take up line for a decent hook set. The other issue is that given the extra time the fish has the opportunity and motivation to get the bait deep into the mouth and sometimes beyond. Fortunately the hook set has only involved the outer mouth and not beyond the sphincter. As a precaution I've stopped using the worm hooks and am only using the wide gap hooks.
So far the hook change has worked out really well. In the past few days all the fish have been hooked right in the side of the mouth or in the lower lip. This is wonderful to minimize the trauma and speed the release.
Also in the past few days the overall size of the LMBs has dropped slightly. Several of them are in the 13 ~ 15 inch range with most at the smaller size. Interesting enough my baits have caught the attention of the next generation too. There are several 1 year bass at the 7 ~ 8 inch range that are chasing down the bait but not committing enough to strike. Sure is fun to watch.
Using the plastics as sort of a shallow swim bait fashion has been really interesting too. I had one follow right up to less that 2 meters and then engulf the bait just prior to lifting it out of the water. What a hoot to see the strike and hook set too!
Since going down to very small light lines it didn't occur to me that in the past few days I've been catching LMBs at or very near the specified 2 lb test. The other interesting thing is that it seems even with the drag set modestly low I've not lost any fish that I've tensioned on. However when I do haul back there is quite a bit of slippage.
I did try something different today. I set up one of the bait cast rigs to a 0.25 oz weighted wide gap hook and put on a Zoom fluke bait, sort of a fish looking lure. I made really long casts with it and could see that it was swimming about 0.2 meter down in a slow oscillating fashion. I was about to abandon it and go to something else when I got a little tap at the beginning of one long cast. I hauled back on it and only felt a slight loading. Since this was the fiberglass pole it has quite a bit of give and flex. So I just started cranking it back as fast as I could. Right about the halfway point in the retrieve I felt a slight attempt to resist and by the time I got about 0.75 hauled in the resistance came off. So I never got to see what it was. Must not have got that heavy gauge hook in well enough. So it goes.
Using the UL 2 lb test setup with the little golden shiner bait, I was able to get a 13 inch LMB to commit. That was fun as the tussle on the light line is so fun. Should be interesting if I tie into a larger one using that rig.
Tonight in resetting all my equipment, I decided to make some other changes. So I removed the fluke baits. I've also setup a dark red spinner bait along with a modestly weighted T-rigged worm. Again back to the basics to see those are working again. May have some time to sneak out for some cast practice this weekend. There are several weather disturbances moving about the area bringing even more wind. Right now they are projected to be 20 ~ 25 mph. Heck might have to try a few crank baits too given the wind!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Lateral Moves and a Full Moon
Still have a breeze to contend with, wind was just over 12 mph and swirling in several directions. Made for interesting casting. The temperature was just 90 so it is definitely shorts and tee shirt weather.
I'm guessing the full moon has quite a bit of influence on the fish's appetite. Right from the start I got casting with the lizard. I'd make these long casts on the weightless lizard. The bait would settle and the line would start to move laterally. There was no perceptible loading on the line to feel. When the fish did move the line it would feel like a light peck and that was it. However it would continue to move laterally. Ok, I figured I got their number on this new twist of things. I would just follow the line, reel down and haul back.
I got 3 LMBs using that technique within the first 15 minutes being there. They were all about 11 ~ 12 inches in size. Interesting enough all of them had fairly trim bellies. So I'm guessing that they have spawned out. So it must be time to eat! And eat they did. All three of them had a good portion of the lizard in their gullet. It was a bit of a challenge to gently remove the lizard from that sphincter. I'm also going to make a change from the worm hooks back to the wide gap hooks in hopes of not getting the hook in so deep in the mouth. These larger worm hooks go down into the mouth quite far and I'm concerned that removing them is a challenge.
When using the skirted jigs the large gap hooks there never go very far down in. So I'm hoping to duplicate that when using the soft baits. I also got several strikes on the skirted jigs when sending it towards the center of the dam. Unfortunately they must have learned from the previous day as they didn't persist in holding on to the bait. I was not able to get any of them to hold on or bring any of those to shore.
I also used the fish whip today with limited success. I managed to bring several to shore with another one that was chased about by a really large bass right after hooking up. That was exciting. The bluegill dove right into the shallow weeds and so did the large LMB. The bluegill got a reprieve as I was able to lift it clear and release it. I think it might be time to bring out the real fly rod and give that a try once again. I'll see how that works with my new technique.
I found out today in the breeze that casting sideways works really well. I can manage the wind by keeping in to my back and I also avoid catching myself too! The main benefit is that I'm able to watch the timing of both back and fore casts. The accuracy is pretty good using this sideways technique. So I'm thinking that I can do even better with a full length fly rod. We shall see.
I'm guessing the full moon has quite a bit of influence on the fish's appetite. Right from the start I got casting with the lizard. I'd make these long casts on the weightless lizard. The bait would settle and the line would start to move laterally. There was no perceptible loading on the line to feel. When the fish did move the line it would feel like a light peck and that was it. However it would continue to move laterally. Ok, I figured I got their number on this new twist of things. I would just follow the line, reel down and haul back.
I got 3 LMBs using that technique within the first 15 minutes being there. They were all about 11 ~ 12 inches in size. Interesting enough all of them had fairly trim bellies. So I'm guessing that they have spawned out. So it must be time to eat! And eat they did. All three of them had a good portion of the lizard in their gullet. It was a bit of a challenge to gently remove the lizard from that sphincter. I'm also going to make a change from the worm hooks back to the wide gap hooks in hopes of not getting the hook in so deep in the mouth. These larger worm hooks go down into the mouth quite far and I'm concerned that removing them is a challenge.
When using the skirted jigs the large gap hooks there never go very far down in. So I'm hoping to duplicate that when using the soft baits. I also got several strikes on the skirted jigs when sending it towards the center of the dam. Unfortunately they must have learned from the previous day as they didn't persist in holding on to the bait. I was not able to get any of them to hold on or bring any of those to shore.
I also used the fish whip today with limited success. I managed to bring several to shore with another one that was chased about by a really large bass right after hooking up. That was exciting. The bluegill dove right into the shallow weeds and so did the large LMB. The bluegill got a reprieve as I was able to lift it clear and release it. I think it might be time to bring out the real fly rod and give that a try once again. I'll see how that works with my new technique.
I found out today in the breeze that casting sideways works really well. I can manage the wind by keeping in to my back and I also avoid catching myself too! The main benefit is that I'm able to watch the timing of both back and fore casts. The accuracy is pretty good using this sideways technique. So I'm thinking that I can do even better with a full length fly rod. We shall see.
Friday, April 15, 2011
I got you!!
It is one of those Chamber of Commerce days here, mid 70s, light winds, 13 mph, the visibility is getting better about 15 miles. Still don't quite know what is causing all this shmutz in the air. Sure wish it would clear up a touch.
It is warm and clear enough that you can feel the sunburn coming and you can see deep into the water. It looks like another start of some floating weed blooms again. Several of the shallow areas had small clumps building up again. Makes casting through it a bother. Since the wind direction has changed, I decided to head over to deeper water and try there first.
I get into a good position and fire out a shot with a weightless lizard. I let it settle from the long cast and get surprised by a rapid tug. It is so strong but short in duration that it catches me off guard. About 10 minutes of repetitive casting doesn't produce anything else. So it is time to try something else as an alternative. I go on to the skirted jig and send one way out towards the center of the dam. Again, it settles from the initial drop and I get that all too familiar peck and pull. Again, it is toying with my emotions, as just when I think it is suitable to load up on it, the whole show's off and it gets slack from the drop.
Ok, we've played this game and they have played it well. Time for a change of strategy, time for those fast reflexes, right? Nope, that wasn't doing it at all. Several cycles of that produced nothing but muddy shoes from mis-stepping on the bank. Ooops! Back to brute force and stupidity, I'm just going to stay on target and wait for it. I really observe the pattern, it is only happening on the initial drop. If I make attempts to move it from that initial location all bets are off. So I fire and prep while it drops. Easier said than done as these are really 90% or more long casts to reach this location. I can only toss so far with that current setup.
I send it out there and manage the slack line to a slight bow to minimize any tension on the bait. There it is peck and pull. It is about 4 seconds between cycles of this. An interesting point the pulls are getting a bit more every time. So maybe it is more interested than I realize. I wait a few more cycles of this and then it comes where there are two concurrent cycles with very little 'down' time. That is my queue! I point the rod tip down, start reeling and haul back on the line and pull through all that 40+ yards of line cast out in the water. I can feel some weight at the other end but since I'm using mono I'm not sure of the stretch factor so I'll figure it all out in a moment. Right now I'm winding like a mad man. Through the windings I can start to feel shock and awe on the distant end. Apparently I caught it by surprise as it took a moment to figure out we are ON! Funny how the most prominent thought for me was, " I GOT YOU! ".
A side bar benefit for this type of hook up is that you have extended time goofing with the fish. Once again my drag on the bait caster was not quite as tight as I would have liked for the hook set but it was good enough. About half way back the fight was really on for the two of us. At this point a frequent fellow fisherman who was nearby was now watching intently as he saw the little pole in my hand bow with every surge. It was even more exciting as things got airborne and when it got close to shore. There were several really strong surges right at shore where I had to ease up and let the situation play out for a bit longer.
Clear water is a both fun and helpful. I could see the jig securely impaled in the corner of the jaw plate. Love those jigs! That weed guard appears to keep things held fast in place too. This was a heavy fish for the way the playing about at the initial bite. Who would have guessed that this 15 inch LMB was the culprit for playing with my emotions. I GOT YOU!
I eased it to shore and gave it a quick look over as I lifted the hook gently out. Thanks for playing the game. I lowered it to the water and let it swim off. The colors were pretty but light in contrast so I'm guessing this was a deeper water fish.
Considering where I put the lure, there must be shelf or ledge that I'm not aware of as it doesn't seem very long of a drop. Should be interesting to see if I can find more out that way in the days to follow.
I also got a chance to haul out the fish whip and goof with that too. I ended up wearing out one of my newer flies. It was frazzling quite a bit. Must be from all that abrasion from fish teeth. I got a whole bunch of bites but only a couple that stay on long enough for me to connect. Even then I was only able to bring one to shore. Most of them were extended releases. I'm getting good at those. The cool part is that your hands don't get gummy or fishy. So it goes. I'll need to tie on a different fly, one that is not frazzled.
It is warm and clear enough that you can feel the sunburn coming and you can see deep into the water. It looks like another start of some floating weed blooms again. Several of the shallow areas had small clumps building up again. Makes casting through it a bother. Since the wind direction has changed, I decided to head over to deeper water and try there first.
I get into a good position and fire out a shot with a weightless lizard. I let it settle from the long cast and get surprised by a rapid tug. It is so strong but short in duration that it catches me off guard. About 10 minutes of repetitive casting doesn't produce anything else. So it is time to try something else as an alternative. I go on to the skirted jig and send one way out towards the center of the dam. Again, it settles from the initial drop and I get that all too familiar peck and pull. Again, it is toying with my emotions, as just when I think it is suitable to load up on it, the whole show's off and it gets slack from the drop.
Ok, we've played this game and they have played it well. Time for a change of strategy, time for those fast reflexes, right? Nope, that wasn't doing it at all. Several cycles of that produced nothing but muddy shoes from mis-stepping on the bank. Ooops! Back to brute force and stupidity, I'm just going to stay on target and wait for it. I really observe the pattern, it is only happening on the initial drop. If I make attempts to move it from that initial location all bets are off. So I fire and prep while it drops. Easier said than done as these are really 90% or more long casts to reach this location. I can only toss so far with that current setup.
I send it out there and manage the slack line to a slight bow to minimize any tension on the bait. There it is peck and pull. It is about 4 seconds between cycles of this. An interesting point the pulls are getting a bit more every time. So maybe it is more interested than I realize. I wait a few more cycles of this and then it comes where there are two concurrent cycles with very little 'down' time. That is my queue! I point the rod tip down, start reeling and haul back on the line and pull through all that 40+ yards of line cast out in the water. I can feel some weight at the other end but since I'm using mono I'm not sure of the stretch factor so I'll figure it all out in a moment. Right now I'm winding like a mad man. Through the windings I can start to feel shock and awe on the distant end. Apparently I caught it by surprise as it took a moment to figure out we are ON! Funny how the most prominent thought for me was, " I GOT YOU! ".
A side bar benefit for this type of hook up is that you have extended time goofing with the fish. Once again my drag on the bait caster was not quite as tight as I would have liked for the hook set but it was good enough. About half way back the fight was really on for the two of us. At this point a frequent fellow fisherman who was nearby was now watching intently as he saw the little pole in my hand bow with every surge. It was even more exciting as things got airborne and when it got close to shore. There were several really strong surges right at shore where I had to ease up and let the situation play out for a bit longer.
Clear water is a both fun and helpful. I could see the jig securely impaled in the corner of the jaw plate. Love those jigs! That weed guard appears to keep things held fast in place too. This was a heavy fish for the way the playing about at the initial bite. Who would have guessed that this 15 inch LMB was the culprit for playing with my emotions. I GOT YOU!
I eased it to shore and gave it a quick look over as I lifted the hook gently out. Thanks for playing the game. I lowered it to the water and let it swim off. The colors were pretty but light in contrast so I'm guessing this was a deeper water fish.
Considering where I put the lure, there must be shelf or ledge that I'm not aware of as it doesn't seem very long of a drop. Should be interesting to see if I can find more out that way in the days to follow.
I also got a chance to haul out the fish whip and goof with that too. I ended up wearing out one of my newer flies. It was frazzling quite a bit. Must be from all that abrasion from fish teeth. I got a whole bunch of bites but only a couple that stay on long enough for me to connect. Even then I was only able to bring one to shore. Most of them were extended releases. I'm getting good at those. The cool part is that your hands don't get gummy or fishy. So it goes. I'll need to tie on a different fly, one that is not frazzled.
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