Welcome to Week CLXXXIV of ‘Fishing Parkland Shorelines’. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I’ll attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don’t have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
It’s a long wait for shore fishing again in our neck of the woods. While winter has been a mild affair so far, the start of the 2016-’17 season in still months away.
Granted there is ice fishing closer at hand, if temperatures ever dip to the point ice forms thick enough to traverse. Of course that will happen eventually as it is winter on the Canadian Prairies. While they can’t take the mild run of weather away from us, it is a sure thing that we will have colder temperatures sooner than later.
That all said, it is the time of year when we get the first glimpses at new and improved gear about to arrive on the scene in the new year.
That gives fisherfolk something to drool over during the cold months, as well as maybe sneak on to a few Santa lists as a last minute idea.
One great source for some advance intel’ on new gear is the annual In-Fisherman 2016 Gear Guide which is already showing up on newsstands.
One area of gear where tech seems to always be advancing is in the reels we use. The basic design may not be new, but the use of ever better quality bearings and other components make for better and better operation.
And, in terms of a gift idea, reels run the gambit from low cost stocking stuffers for youngsters just starting to fish, to prized reels costing hundreds which would make even the most ardent and veteran fisherman smile.
According to the ‘Gear Guide’ article by Jim Edlund reels, at least spinning reels, have stayed rather constant in general design for decades.
“Fishing historians typically trace the origins of the spinning reel to engineer Maurice Jacquemin’s development of “The Mitchell” for La Canna a Peche around 1939,” he writes. “Around that time, another European company, Carpano & Pons, began producing their C.A.P. reel, but it was the Mitchell that caught fire. By 1966, the Garcia Corporation had sold 10,000,000 of them as the Mitchell 300 became an icon on waters across the globe.
“Thus the spinning reel is a relatively recent invention. My father brought back several Mitchells from overseas during his Air Force career in the ‘50s and ‘60s. In those years Mitchells were elite tools. Today, spinning reels still have much the same design, but technology has created stronger, faster, lighter and smoother models.”
The article goes on to detail a range of reels, the details I won’t get into.
Suffice it to say reel companies are much like truck and car manufacturers. Each will come out with a new model or three yearly, and each will tour it as a breakthrough in technology which places it head and shoulders above the opposition.
I suspect the truth of the matter is again much like trucks these days, each company puts out a solid product, that is not particularly different from their competitors (based on similar price points at least), so it will come down to an affinity for a particular brand, or if you are like me, a tendency to buy the best reel I can afford at the time I need one, and generally that one will be on sale.
What I did find intriguing is that there is now ways to ‘upgrade’ your reels.
One of the more intriguing ways is listed in the magazine.
“Boca Ceramic bearings (approximately $15 apiece), certain to lengthen casts in any casting reel and bring smoother operation to any spinning reel, are easily installed. Boca Spoon Pin Pliers ($39.95) are sometimes required, sometimes not,” noted the article. “The Boca Recreational Work Mat ($29.95), made with thick rubber, has recessed “pits” to keep screw, spools, gears and springs from rolling off your workshop table. The surface is a long conversation chart with standard and metric rulers along the bottom edge. The Bass Pro Shops Mega Cast Reel ($39.99) is the perfect subject for a first project. Incredibly smooth and tight for the price, ceramic bearings noticeably increase its casting distance.”
Next up come lures, and we all know that there are dozens of new ones each year. Lips get tweaked in terms of how the lure dives, or the action it gives in the water. Colours are adjusted to make them irresistible to fish.
Then in the end you’ll often opt for a red and white spoon and catch fish.
That is not to suggest we shouldn’t be willing to try new lures.
Steve Ryan writes about a technique that is one that has results’ ‘rippin’ and pulling’.
“In general, rippin’ refers to aggressively working lures both horizontally and vertically through the water column,” he writes. “Fish get only a limited opportunity to inspect the lure as it rockets away on the upward stroke of the rod and falls on a semi-slack line as the rod is lowered, prior to being ripped upward again in a rhythmic rise-and-fall cadence. This technique is so quick and deliberate that the strike is rarely felt. Instead, the weight of fish is merely detected on the next up-stroke.
“Pullin’ is a toned down version of rippin’. The bait is allowed to fall to the desired depth to begin the retrieve and then pulled upward in a slightly less aggressive manner. In addition, a more deliberate effort is made to maintain constant contact with the lure throughout the retrieve than with the rippin’. Any bait suitable for rippin’ can also be pulled, and both techniques should be tried until fish reveal their preference.”
Again the article delves into an array of new lures, enough to fill a rather large tackle box.
If you are like me you’ll end buying a few if they are marked ‘new’ in colour, design, or action, since we are all looking for the magic lure that can catch a fish if you toss it into a ditch with three inches of water in it.
And finally, I do want to touch on a couple of new gadgets that were mentioned in the magazine starting with The American Premier Corp GSL1 Ultimate Line-Winding Tool, which is termed “the coolest gadget” by writer Matt Straw.
“Two adjustment screws create perfect tension, and the reel is locked into a reel seat on a graphite frame. The entire clamping apparatus spins gyroscopically on a rotor shaft equipped with ball bearings, removing all line twist. It accommodates both spinning and casting reels.”
Sounds nifty I’ll admit, and certainly more high tech than the pencil through the spool I currently employ. That said to reload a trio of reels a season — yes many will change out line more often, but Fireline and an area not noted for monster fish has not necessitated that for me — the gadget is interesting but hardly needed.
Now, the Grip On Tools Stubby Retrieving Magnet does seem a gadget for every tackle box.
“This tiny dynamo of a rare-earth magnet is only three inches ling by 1 ¼ inches wide, yet suspends up to 10 pounds under water. Though most reels have aluminum frames, the Stubby Magnet can latch onto a rod by a guide or reel seat. Tie it to a string or segment of braided line and lower it to find lost keys, spoons, rattlebaits and other equipment booted off the dock or deck. Great for retrieving nails and tools bungled into tight spots too. Lower it into the bilge to find loose screws,” details the article.
Such a no-nonsense idea. Simple, but should be effective.
So folks always check out ‘gear’ editions such as the one from In-Fisherman. There is always an item or two worth considering as an addition to your gear for the new year.
