Saturday, May 28, 2011

High expectations, but

Now, a typhoon is approaching here and it has been raining calmly since yesterday. I expected fish would be more active than usual, and went fishing with my favorite tackle. However, things were not so cut-and-dried, and......I got skunked. Only one fish I saw today was a nice bass that followed my wood Lucky 13, but it never caught up my lure.

While I was fishing, I felt something was wrong with my reel, and I overhauled it after I got back. I found one of the centrifugal brake block (a very small part) was broken and went into a cog inside the reel. I cleaned it up and replaced the block with a new one. The reel was made more than 50 years ago, but it is still working very fine. I'd like to take care of it for many years to come.

BF=5/7

Monday, May 23, 2011

Reel handle

Reel handles are user-replaceable, which means you may have a lot of difficulties until you find your best ones. My favorite ones are double knobs (7cm between them) with a double-screwed retainer. As I mentioned before, longer ones (8cm between the knobs) are easy to reel steadily, but when I give a lure dog-walk actions, shorter handles are much better for me because I can reel more quickly (you can turn the handle in a smaller radius).


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Pico Pop again

I went bass fishing again early this morning. I got a bite in the first pond and caught this fish with the same Pico Pop that I fished with last week. She was not so big but showed a good fight.

I also visited two more ponds, but could not get any hits any more. Today, I tried longer reel handle than usual, but it was not good for me, especially when I use stick baits and poppers. The difference between the long and short handle is only 1cm (shorter than 1/2 in.), but I have and am bothered by discomfort feeling so much. I'd like to replace them before I go fishing next fishing.Today's tackle:
ABU 5500ST (Striper) & Fenwick Boron-X 953 (rebuilt), ABU 5500C & Daiko Prestige PBC-56L, Stren 14lb (Low-Vis Green), Pico Pop, Lucky 13, Bass Oreno, Wounded Spook, Zaragossa Jr., etc.
BF=5/6

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Brand-new Zara

I seldom cast brand-new Pradco lures, but I have bought these lures because they're great bargains (JPY440 = USD5.50 each).

I'll be honest with you. I'm not any good at these rattle-sound lures and have never caught a bass with them. Below are what I found in my tackle box (I didn't notice I have that many), and I'd like to try to use them harder this year.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Splash on Pico Pop

I went out for bass fishing again early this morning. A nice fat bass (44cm, 2-1/2lb class) rushed at my Pico Pop, and fought hard. It took a while to catch her.
I like beautiful eyes of bass.
Today, I tried ABU 5500ST (Striper), which outfits bushes to hold the spool, not ball bearings. This is another good reel to use.
'Striper' reminds me of this old commercial film by SUNTORY.


The sun rises from the east. The water reflects it.

Then, I went to some more ponds but got skunked after the sun rose up. Brilliantly blue sky, green trees, and clear water. It is a lot of fun to fish in this early summer season.
Today's tackle:
ABU 5500ST (Striper) & Fenwick GFC-60, ABU 5500C & Fenwick 2054, Stren 14lb (Low-Vis Green), Pico Pop, Heddon Chugger Spook, Zara Spooks (1st and 3rd), Zara II, Wounded Spook, Magnum Torpedo, Crazy Crawler, Cotton Cordell Redfin, etc.
BF=4/5

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Cloudy in the morning, shinny later

Today, I wanted to use an underwater case for my digital camera for the first time after I bought it, and I decided to go to a clear-water pond located around the top of a mountain.
It was cloudy early in the morning, but fish were much slower than I expected. I could manage to get a bite, and caught a nice bass with a Chugger Spook in WBSRG (white black spots with red gill) color. She was long (48cm), but a little skinny (about 3lb, maybe she was post-spawning).

Then, I visited two more ponds, but it gradually cleared up, though I expected it would continue cloudy. I ended up getting skunked in both of them, despite all my efforts to keep casting many kinds of topwater lures.

Today's tackle:
ABU 4600 Plus (4600FL) & Fenwick 2053, ABU 84- Record & Fenwick SP634 (custom-built), Stren 12 and 14lb (Hi-Vis Gold), Heddon Chugger Spook, Zara Spooks (1st, 2nd and 3rd), Zara II, Wounded Spook, Magnum Torpedo, Meadow Mouse, 210, etc.
BF=3/4

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

It's already May

I got up at 03:00 AM and went out for fishing for only two hours early in the morning (05:00-07:00). It's already May, and leaves of trees green up every week. I also watched Japanese wisteria start to bloom beautifully.


A nice bass struck my bait, Heddon Original Zara Spook (GRA color).


Today, I tried a different set of rod and reel, Fenwick Boron-X that I restored in this past winter and ABU 3500CDL. I need a tune-up of the reel to cast longer, but I felt this set is not too bad.
BF=2/3