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...

No comments:

Post a Comment