Sunday 1 December 2013
Saturday 26 October 2013
Monday 16 September 2013
McQuillan Reservoir - The story so far
This weekend I was fishing on my own so I decided I would do a little exploring. After Friday night's fiasco down at the Cross Coulee it was time to expand our portfolio of fishing holes. Remember Friday was 13th and yes I am quite superstitious, however I still did go out fishing. I managed to not fall in the lake but I did manage to fall into a thorn bush and got some wicked splinters which took me most of the weekend to extract.
Sunday night I decided to explore and try a Rainbow stocked lake in between Coaldale and Raymond. This place was right out in the sticks and I was thinking it was going to be a wasted evening.
I was so wrong!
When I eventually found the place it was behind a beautiful, well kept campsite and over the road was a golf club. I drove out onto the lake and noticed that there was a single track road that went all of the way round the lake. it was perfect and only two other fishermen (and families) on the whole reservoir. I found a spot and started to set up.....
Today at work I was chatting with John and we decided to meet up there tonight to give it a whirl. The Solunar Tables showed it was a just above average day and the moon was a Waxing Gibbous with 93% full so even as it was dropping dark we still had plenty of light.
I had gone out to canadian Tire this lunchtime to pick up some trout spinners in preparation for tonight and I was keen to use them. well I tried 3 of the 7 I had bought and again I caught absolutely nothing. I even tried the trout dough and salmon eggs and the fish just ignored everything I did.... it was annoying.
We all agreed that this is a nice little pond to fish and of course John proved that there is fish in there, I'm sure he won't mind me telling you about the lure he used, it was a $1 lure from Dollarama, I couldn't believe it, a gold (small) plastic plug succeeded where our more expensive spinners failed.
Tuesday 10 September 2013
Hot N Tot Lost - hooked on a rock
I wasn't going to go fishing tonight as i have got tons of chores to do but as i was driving home from work thought I deserved a couple of hours down at the ridge and also I wanted to practice fishing on a 6lb line. When I got down there I found a family having a picnic right in the middle of where I was planning to fish.
It wasn't too much of a problem and I found a nice secluded spot away from them as I didn't want to encroach on their picnicking space and I definitely didn't want them or their dog interfering with my fishing.
I was there about an hour when they packed up their KFC picnic (who the heck takes KFC on a picnic) and buggered off. Meanwhile up in the hills i saw some hunters chasing a fox in a pickup with some dogs in the back. Actually let me rephrase that remark..... the hunters were in the pickup and they were chasing a fox.
I don't really have any interest in hunting so I did not take much notice... I'm glad the fox got away though.
Anyway the picnickers left so I was able to move down to the hotspot further down the bank. this is when I caught my only fish of the evening. He was quite a decent size at about 18" and I was quite pleased that I easily landed him with the 6lb line. I hooked him clean through the lower lip at about 20 yards away.
He did not fight as much as I had hoped and I wanted to practice adjusting the drag during a fight, I didn't really get the chance as he gave up too quickly. before I knew it he was floating over the rim of the landing net and I scooped him up and snapped a couple of photos. Once I had collected the necessary photographic evidence of the catch I let him go home.
It was dropping dark at this point and any normal person would have called it a day and headed home. Not Lyndon though, I decided to have another 6 or 7 casts before I finished. well, on my next cast I was dragging the Hot N Tot along some rocks about 10 yards out and it snagged on a rock. It was stuck fast, I tried freeing it from all angles but the darn thing would not budge.
After 2 days of fishing with the Hot N Tot my verdict is:
PROS:
- It dives beautifully
- It wiggles great and the fish love it
- It is a relaxing lure to work with
- Works nicely on Walleye if you retrieve slowly
- Pike like it too
- Used it twice and caught fish both times
- It will dive 10 feet in about three turns of the handle
- Stop retrieving and it floats to the surface
CONS:
- It picks up a lot of weeds if you drag it through the salad
Yes, I am going to get another one but I am in no rush for it so I will probably order it from Amazon this time. Here is how much they cost in various places, remember though, with Amazon make sure you order enough stuff to qualify for the free shipping otherwize you will waste the savings.
Wow... have you seen how much these things are in UK
Come on UK your fisherman are being robbed !
Monday 9 September 2013
Storm Hot N' Tot 2 Orange fire UV
Tonight on the way home from work I made an impulse buy, unfortunately for me, this is the way I roll. i went into Canadian Tire to meet my wife and accidentally found myself in the fishing aisle, I have no idea how that happened.
I was mooching through the Canadian Wigglers to see if they had any different colors in stock and i came across the Storm Hot N' Tot 2 UV and they had quite a few different colors. I was drawn to the one that most resembled a goldfish, that is the color that drives the fish nuts round here, they seem to go for the dark orange on top, bright orange sides and white belly.
Here is what the blurb says about it:
Storm Hot N' Tot UV Bright Lures in 2" and 2 1/2" lengths (and a bunch of colors). With a finish inspired by nature's most attractive forage fish, Hot N' Tot UV Bright Lures are the pro's choice for realism and color! In typical forage species, the strongest color is found along the back, which gives way to that white underbelly predator fish love. Here, that white underbelly is captured perfectly... and you'll feel the difference! Take a look at the chart below to find the color and size that works best for you. More: Erratic dive action; Painted colors maximize "flash"; Metal lip; External scale pattern; Holographic insert; Red VMC barbarian hooks.; Order yours today!
Anyway I got it home and I just had to go and try it out so as soon as supper was done I was in the SUV (my fishing car) and heading down to the Ridge (Milk River Ridge Reservoir)
I set up my smaller Shimano FX rod with the Shimano FX4000 reel and a 6lb flouro-carbon line... and of course the Hot N Tot lure. i found myself a nice comfy chunk of concrete to sit on and cast out a few times to see how the lure worked.
If you look at a picture of the lure you will notice that it has a large metal lip to make it dive when retrieved. if the lure is allowed to rest on the surface it will float "bottoms up". I'm not sure how well it would work like that but that's not how I intend to use it so I never bothered.
This lure works great if you just retrieve it in very slowly because it has a very powerful diving action, I found that 3 slow turns on the reel then leave it for a couple of seconds works great. If you reel in any faster the lure nose dives to the bottom and scoops up all of the weeds.Now if you are fishing in an area that has both Pike and Walleye there is a way that you can selectively fish for either species. Walleye prefer slower moving prey and Pike prefer a more aggressive faster moving prey. The way I translate that is that this lure is more suited to walleye. If you want to fish for Pike I would probably use a Canadian Wiggler 5 of diamonds.
My prediction was proved correct about 5 minutes later when I landed a Walleye.
Sunday 8 September 2013
Sunday Evening Fishing at Raymond Lake
The Solunar Tables predicted an average chance of catching fish tonight so the Fishing Trio met up at Raymond Lake for a couple of hours this evening. John was unlucky enough to be bothered by a big dog that the owner couldn't keep under control. John is a dog owner anyway so he wasn't fazed by the dog, however I think he did get a little peeved when the dog decided to jump in right next to him and have a swim around.
I was using my new combo and it works pretty well although I have had to alter my fishing style a little... normally I do cast quite a distance using a heavier rod and my Spirex reel. I have found now that I can cast with one arm but I don't cast quite as far with the IX4000R and the lighter rod. That rod is pretty amazing for $5, it is classed as a medium power which means it has more flex (bendiness) further down the rod. This means there is more whip action on the cast especially with the heavier Canadian Wiggler lure.
Anyway I must have been doing something right because I managed to catch a 16" Pike. I was impressed with the drag on the reel, it worked perfectly. I hooked him about 30 yards out and straight away he started to run. I had the drag set very low and as I heard the clutch kicking in I fine tuned it up a little bit so he would have to use all of his strength to gain ground. He only lasted a couple of minutes before he gave up and I reeled him in... he did get a second wind while I was getting the landing net in place and he was still break dancing when we got him on dry land.
It was a clean hook straight through the lower lip and he managed to spit the hook out himself while he flip flopped around in the net. I have to admit I like it when that happens as I am sure that having a pair of pliers shoved down his throat won't do much for his stress levels. I scooped him out of the net, held him for a quick photo (to be posted later) and I put him straight back in the water.
Shimano IX4000R Spinning Reel, 4.1:1 11.8-Ounce 10/200 - Thought I had a deal
The Walmart in Lethbridge, Alberta was selling this at $25 so I thought "Why the heck not" and threw it in the shopping cart. While I was in the fishing aisle I thought I would grab a couple of Canadian Wigglers as I had lost one on my last outing and it never hurts to keep a spare... and also I wanted to grab a few 18lb leaders so the Pike won't chomp through my line.
As I was browsing, I noticed that in the rod rack there was another Shimano IX4000R except that it was being sold as a combo (with a rod) It was only a cheap rod but non the less it was a rod, and they were selling it for $29.99. I returned the reel to it's peg and snapped up the combo.
I went out on Raymond Lake last night just for an hour to see how the new combo worked. The reel worked as expected, nice and smooth and it is the larger 4000 so sturdiness is not going to be a problem, I always go for the heavier reel, they are the same price as the smaller ones and I feel they give better balance to the rig.
I did not catch anything but i really wasn't too disappointed, the main thing was that I got the new line wet and tested the reel action. Two things drew me to the Shimano IX 4000R (apart from the price) the first was that it has a rear drag adjustment. I love that feature because it is so much easier to adjust when you have a fish on.
Non-fishing people are not aware of the fine tuning that goes on between the reel and the line. The easy way to land a fish is to use a barbed hook (so the fish can't escape) a very strong, heavy fishing line that will never break and a fishing rod as thick as a broomstick. Using that sort of tackle it is just your brute strength against the strength of the fish and you just yank him out of the water and into your net. Strangely enough there are a lot of anglers out there who think that is what fishing is all about.
In actual fact you can land fish many times heavier that the breaking weight of your fishing line:
Using 6 lbs test line, you can catch bigger fish than 6 pounds. You set the drag on your reel so when the drag is set, you can still pull line out without breaking the line. A big fish will get worn out pulling on your drag, and the rod will help you tire out the fish. You have to take your time and not force your fish in.
The world record for Black Marlin on 6 lbs test line is 735 lbs 3 oz.
The drag adjuster works along side the anti reverse, tighten the drag right up and if you put enough pressure on your line the eventually it will snap. Now turn the drag down until the reel releases line before the snapping point. For example if you are using 6 lb line then you want your drag to start kicking in at about 5 lbs. With that set up (in theory) you should never have a big fish snap your line, instead, if he puts more than 5 lb of stress on your rig then the drag will let him have more line.
While he has got the strength and stamina he will be able to get further away from you by pulling out the line. In the meantime you are fighting with him by trying to reel him in. While he is pulling your reeling will be doing nothing, in fact he may even get further away, but eventually he will tire and will not be able to put so much force on your line, this is when you pull him and steer him in closer to you... until he is close enough to be scooped up in your landing net.
The result is a more exhilarating experience for the fisherman and it does give the fish a sporting chance to escape... that's why they call it Sport Fishing.
The second reason for choosing the Shimano IX4000R was that it had a bale arm trigger. This little device is great but there is a trade off. There is a little trigger that lifts the bale out of the way when you are ready to cast for a true one handed cast. After about 10 minutes of practice you will wander how you ever lived without it, when you reverse reel the trigger will always stay in the correct position so all you have to do is pick up the line with the fore finger, hold the trigger then pull. The bale arm will lift and your finger will draw the line to the rod which puts you in the perfect casting position.
The trade off is that the anti reverse is not instant, on a normal reel the handle will not reverse at all, it will only travel in one direction. With the Quick fire it will reverse back to the trigger point, some people might not like that, and to be honest it almost put me off getting the Spirex and the IX in the first place. I tried it in the shop and it felt that I was going to lose a lot of the sensitivity of a smaller fish biting. in practice down at the lake (where it matters) I don't even notice it.
Overall the Shimano IX4000R is quite a large reel even for a 4000 size. The trigger on the Quick Fire is made of plastic although from what I have seen from both reels (same construction) it seems to be up the job... only time will tell. The drag on the rear is very precise and even for a novice, it will be easy enough to set exactly where you need it. The spool could maybe be a little bigger but I have got 12 lb line on there because I like to fish with a Canadian Wiggler which is quite heavy but I have still managed to get about 150 yds on it. Everything else is absolutely fine, in fact I am going back out on Raymond lake this evening and I am planning to use it.
So after thinking I had got a bargain I was looking on Amazon this morning and this is what I found:
Amazon in the US - $11.26
Amazon in Canada - $16.86
Unbelievable, practically half the price and I thought I had a bargain in Walmart, click on the price links above and check it out for your self or take a look in the Tackle Shops at the top of the page.
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