New Toys...

I picked up a new rod today at Queen City Outdoors in Goshen. Most of last year my most used rod was a Vendetta by Abu Garcia. I really like the action of this rod but it had a quirk I found really annoying. Over the course of a long day fishing the ring holding the reel in place would work loose. I ended up cutting a three inch piece of electrical tape to hold it in place. Other than that it was a great rod comparable to top end rods costing 40 or 50 bucks more. Well long story short last fall I broke it. No big fish story it just broke in the middle during a cast. So ever since I've been kinda in the market for a new rod. Don't misunderstand I have fishing rods in half the corners of my house but not that perfect river rod. Well today I got one I think is pretty close for the kind of fishing I do. It's made by the Timeless Fishing Rod Company. A local company that assembles premium parts into a super high quality but affordable rod using stuff like St Croix and MHX blanks with Pac Bay, REC, Etc., components. In other words top drawer stuff. Mine comes with low profile guides which I've never used. That will be interesting. Nine of them BTW, like I said its a quality product. I'll get back with you after using it extensively on a two day float coming up in a couple days.




I also got today a bunch of my favorite smalljaw lure. The River Rock Striker. In the past I used their four inch Striker in pools as the best shiner imitation Ive ever used. Their website calls it 3.75 but it's the same size as everyone elses 4 inch swimbait.
The deal is when you get the thing in the water it just comes alive. Ever watch Larry Dahlberg's Hunt for Big Fish TV show? He throws this big giant homemade swimbait for muskies and saltwater fish and striper and a hundred other giant fish. Well I'd watch that show and think that big giant lure looks more alive than anything I've ever seen. Not crazy wacky action but lots of realistic fishy looking action. Well the first time I saw a Striker in action I realized I'd finally found that real action in a normal sized lure. Well this year they now have a small one the size of my three inch grubs I throw to imitate darters and smaller minnows. I'm super super excited to throw these this year. As great as the grub has been for me, my all time most productive lure for sure, the Striker just looks better in the water. And a big mondo size to throw at Stripers and (ssshh, don't tell) big shovelheads. Remember how my buddy Dan and I have found a pattern of catching big catfish on lures at night? Well I think this big mondo striker will be perfect for that. But more on that some other time. The regular Striker will get some hard use in the next few days hunting big smallmouth.