Friday, December 30, 2016

Last fishing, cancelled

As always, we were planning to go to the last fishing trip on 29th Dec to enjoy jig-fishing in the Sea of Japan, but this year the weather didn't permit. It was too bad for us not to be able to prepare fresh fish for new-year dishes, but we have to give it up. I packed up my jigging tackle until next time.

Now, let me show you a few nice items I recently got.

The first one is a Musky Jitterbug in red coachdog color. This color is one of my favorites among Fred Arbogast lures, and I'm feeling very happy to be able to add one in my collection.


I also got a yellow coachdog one. I have had one (the back one), but got a variation in the same color code (near side one). I was not thinking these two would have the same color, but according to serious collectors of Fred Arbogast lures, the difference derives from the production eras.


I could renewed my cold-season waders during this off fishing season. I wanted a pair of stocking-foot ones, but it was very difficult to find them here. Then I decided to purchase rubber-sole ones instead. Due to large size of my feet, I had to choose XL, which is a little baggy around my body, but it's ok because I only use them in early spring and late fall. I'm looking forward to try them in the next fishing season (hopefully in March).


Saturday, December 3, 2016

December bass

I seldom enjoy bass fishing in winter but I tried it today, because I wanted to try a new rod handle (grip). I didn't get up so early and started fishing after the sun rose.

The rod handle (STTS 2016) is super, and the build-in metal core perfectly works to make the handle stiff. I felt no bentness when I cast, set a hook, and land a fish. Yes, it was too lucky for me to be able to catch a bass in this month, December! I didn't expect it, but I got very excited to see the big blow-up on the water surface. I've heard that body color of winter bass is beautiful, and so it was. 




Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur MAG II, Smith Super Striker GO-103 w/ STTS 2016 grip (new), Daiwa Sight Surf #4, Bass Oreno, Gilmore Hoodler, etc. 
BF=37/52/97

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Repaired

I finished repairing my broken rod, and went out to check it. Not too bad, though I feel the rod blank became a little (very slightly) heavier. Anyway, it's good to be able to use this rod again. Could I catch a fish? Of course I got skunked.


Today's tackle: ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt & repaired), Stren 14lb (Clear/Blue Fluorescent), Heddon Lucky 13, Gilmore Hoodler, Bass Oreno, Storm Shallo Mac, etc. 
BF=36/51/96

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Broken

This is one of my favorite rods, but its tip was broken just after I started fishing in this afternoon. I continued fishing with this broken rod (it was tough!), and got two bites but got skunked in the end. 

I've caught a lot of bass including some unforgettable ones with this rod. I hope to repair it by all means during this coming off-season.


Today's tackle: ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (Clear/Blue Fluorescent), Gilmore Hoodler, Bass Oreno, Storm Shallo Mac, etc. 
BF=36/50/96

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Bad loser

I'm afraid I'm a bad loser to finish this fishing season, and went fishing again this morning. I got only one bite, and caught one small bass with a Gilmore Hoodler. The blow-up on the water surface was so splendid that I expected a larger bass, but I had to face the reality. Anyway, it was good to catch a bass during this season, but not all good, I got wet owing to my old neoprene waders. I felt cold last time, so I changed my waders from Gore-tex to neoprene ones this time to keep my body warm. I should have paid much more attention to them, as it was more than 15 years ago that I bought them! I'd like to get new ones during this coming winter.

  
Today's tackle: ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (Clear/Blue Fluorescent), Gilmore Hoodler, Bass Oreno, Heddon Zara Spook, Lucky 13, etc.
BF=36/49/96

Friday, November 4, 2016

Day off

I took a day off and went fishing again. It was a freezing morning due to radiative cooling under clear sky, and I had to fish with my gloves. Fish were slow as well as yesterday, and I had a hard time to catch bass. Fortunately, I could meet an active ones and caught two.

Just see the right top side of the video screen, and don't miss a nice blow-up in the later fall. I hoped a bigger one, but I won't complain about size, which doesn't matter for me.



If you want to fish slowly-steadily during this season of the year, Gilmore Hoodler may be a go-to lure. It is well acted with your jerk, twitch, or even do-nothing but just making the prop slightly spin.  

Today's tackle: ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (Clear/Blue Fluorescent), Gilmore Hoodler, Bass Oreno, Pico Pop, Heddon Zara Spook, Crabwiggler, etc. 
BF=35/48/95

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Final phase

We had warmer days during last week, and I had a chance to go fishing. Water temperature was still warm, and I caught some small bass with Heddon Pico Pop and Gilmore Hoodler.



It is a holiday today, and I went fishing again. Unfortunately, cold air system has been intensifying in our area, and we had a very cold morning. As I was afraid, I got skunked and got no reactions from fish at all! I had chores in the late morning today, so I got home before 08:00. It's the final phase of this year's bass fishing, I'd like to go out for fishing as often as possible.


Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Phillipson 3M B7L1 custom, Stren Hi-Vis Gold 12lb, Gilmore Hoodler, Pico Pop, etc. 
BF=34/47/93

Monday, October 24, 2016

Nice box

Today, I received some lures from a good US friend of mine. I'm happy with them, and let me show you them.

Storm Shallo Mac lure in fluorescent rainbow color (Storm color code: #68). This looks like a saltwater fish named as 'rainbow runner'. 

An old rotary topwater bait named 'Top Kick'. I know nothing about this bait, but it looks like a bug and I believe good for summer topwater fishing.

A nice crisp box for Heddon 9540 (Chugger Spook) was also enclosed. This box is marked for CRWS color. How lucky I am, I have one without a box in my collection!
 

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Impompatible hobbies?

I ran 30km yesterday, and, maybe due to muscle fatigue, I couldn't get up early to go fishing this morning. I should have scheduled them in the reverse order, and gone fishing first!

Anyway, I could spare one hour or so in the afternoon, and went out for a short time drive to  enjoy floating on the water surface. I didn't expect a bass because it was a daytime fishing under sunlight condition, but I was lucky to catch a small one with my Chugger Spook. Size didn't matter at all.



Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Fenwick Lunker Gear LGX 38C, Stren Hi-Vis Gold 12lb, Chugger Spook, Pico Pop, etc. 
BF=33/45/87

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Seasonal event

We went for an offshore fishing. It has become a seasonal event for these 20 years, though typhoons sometimes get in the way of us in fall. We had a very sunny calm day today, and enjoyed a lot. I could catch more than 10 different species (all are very good to eat) and make my cooler box full. It was one of the largest catches for these years, and I'll have a hard time tomorrow to clean all of them.


Saturday, October 1, 2016

By a nose

I'm going to run two marathon races, one each in November and December. I decided to work out harder from this month, and finish my weekend morning fishing as early as possible.

I did change lines with big expectation last night.The water levels in lakes and ponds in our area have got almost full due to rainfalls during last month. Groundlessly, I was very excited to have a good fishing.

  
I always want to start fishing before the first light of dawn, and started fishing around 05:30 (it's getting much later than summer!). I visited this pond for the first time in this one month. As soon as I started fishing, I noticed sobering reality just upon myself. I got no bites from fish at all! I was afraid no bass located near shore but off shore area. I change my lures many times, but only one reaction from fish was a faint knock on my Zara II from a small fish (maybe a bluegill).

I almost gave up catching a bass, and fished the last plain shore area partly covered with glass. I cast a Pico Pop just near the shore and slowly gave it two dog-walk actions. All at once, a big blowup! I set a hook and reeled without thinking anything. It was a nice autumn bass full of energies. I paid my respect to this powerful register. I felt very happy to be able to catch a bass by a nose. As soon as I got home, I changed clothing and jogged 20km in the morning.



Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Phillipson 3M B7L1 custom, Stren Hi-Vis Gold 12lb, Heddon Zara II, Chugger Spook, Zara Spook, Crabwiggler, Big Hedd, Whopper Stopper Hellcat, Pico Pop, etc. 
BF=32/44/86

New camera

One of my cameras was broke the other day, and I replaced it. I was wondering which to buy, an sports-action camera or a conventional waterproof one, but I find I like ones that I can hold with my hands when I take pictures/movies. This  time, I bought an Olympus TG-4.

Today, I used it outdoors for the first time. It can take bright pictures even under dark conditions, which I feel very fine as I often fish before the sun rises. Moreover, I'm impressed with the performance of movie recording, which is much improved compared to my old cameras.


Even clipped-out pictures from videos are beautiful enough, if you want to use them just for your blog. This is one from the video above. I'm really pleased to buy this camera.


As for fishing, we had much rainfall in September, and most waters around here are full and have got muddy. I could catch some bass but all were small.

 
 


Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Smith Super Striker GO-103 w/ STTS grip, Daiwa Sight Surf #4, Heddon Crabwiggler, Chugger Spook, Wounded Spook, Whopper Stopper Hellcat, etc. 
BF=31/43/85

Friday, September 16, 2016

Great escape

I took a day off today. I had a headache last night, and I was feeling bad this morning as well. However, I did go fishing anyway.

I first caught a small bass with a Gilmore Large Jumper before the sun rose. The bite was almost the same as the lure got to water.

 

I fished with a headache, and was thinking to go home as soon as I finished fishing this pond. I may have been lacking in concentration, and dropped this fish!
 

As you can see in the last slo-mo part of the video, this fish showed a great escape. It shook the head over the water, and admirably unhooked. The fish won, and I lost.

I caught a few more bass, but all were small. I couldn't continue fishing due to the headache, and I took a snap in my car. Now, I'm feeling much better.



Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000C, Phillipson 3M B7L1 custom, Stren Clear Blue 12lb, Gilmore Large Jumper, Heddon Chugger Spook, Zara Spook, Zara II, Lucky 13, CCBO Wiggle Fish, etc. 
BF=30/40/80

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Too many fishers on Sundays

I almost always try to go fishing on Saturdays, because I see much more fishermen on Sundays. Most ponds I recently fish in are so small that I don't like to fish together with strangers at the same time.

I had some chores yesterday (Saturday), and couldn't go fishing. Today, I decided to go fishing and got up early in the morning. When I was trying to start fishing in a pond and inflating my floating tube, cars of fishermen came to the same pond one after another. I was discouraged and made up my mind to head my car to another one. I visited the second pond for the first time in these two months, and in the meantime a lot of Canadian pondweed were growing there. I had only a few weedless-type lures with me today, so I had a hard time to fish there.

I caught a small bass with a Chugger Spook in the half-light, but no fish followed after it. And what was worse, one of my fins was broken. I left the pond before 07:00 AM feeling so frustrated.
 
 

Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Fenwick Boron-X X-953 M (customed), Daiwa Sight Surf #5, Heddon Chugger Spook, 210, Snag Proof Moss Mouse, etc. 
BF=29/39/77

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Two days in a row

It was too hot and humid last night, and I couldn't sleep well. We had some rain in the midnight, so I decided to go fishing again early this morning. Due to the typhoon, I expected stormy weather and I put more prop lures than usual in my tackle box.

When I started fishing, it was calm and windless. Nevertheless, I used prop baits most of the time today. When it was still dark, I chose a Wounded Spook in black shore color, and it worked fine.



About 30% of the pond was covered with floating vegetation, and I also fished with a weedless mouse lure (Snag Proof Moss Mouse). Another nice bass grabbed the mouse deep in its mouth. I had a hard time to catch it, as the fish dived into weeds, but I could finally caught it.

Some more small bass entertained my lures, Heddon SOS, Pico Slasher, and so on. I could get my kicks from today's fishing. Unfotunately, I left a SD card of my better camera in my house today, so I had to use spare ones, but I can remind all the blow-ups in my brain. 


Today's tackle: ABU Ambassadeur 5000 De Luxe, Smith Super Striker GO-103 w/ STTS grip, Daiwa Sight Surf #4, Heddon Wounded Spook, SOS, Lucky 13, Pico Slasher, Snag Proof Moss Mouse, etc. 
BF=28/38/76