Sufix Braid/Pflueger Arbor reel first impressions.

A few months ago the Outdoor Blogger Network posted an opportunity to receive a free package of Sufix 832 Advanced Superline.  I threw my hat in the ring and learned a few days later that the random number generator had smiled upon me.  There was much rejoicing.

A couple weeks later (but before I received the Sufix line), OBN posted another opportunity to receive a Pflueger Arbor spinning reel.  Wouldn't ya know it, I got lucky again and soon had a new reel on the way to use with the new line.

Some time later, my first package was waiting for me on the porch:

Had no clue what strength to get so I got the equivalent of 10lb test mono.  Hopefully its  not so thick as to scare off the fish.

Knowing line visibility is key when fishing soft plastic type baits (which is when I have my limited success fishing for bass), I chose the Neon Lime version.  They weren't kidding about the "neon" part:

I've never really used braid before (maybe twice for a total of 2 hours or so) so I don't know what I should be looking for when initially critiquing the line.  It's thicker than I imagined but then again I did ask for the 40lb test version, which is super strong (the wire cutter part of two different pairs of pliers had trouble cutting through on the first squeeze).  However, I've realized that for anything besides topwater type baits, I'll have virtually no choice but to use a flourocarbon leader or the fish are bound to see the bright green thick line tied to the lure.  It doesn't really matter how strong the line is if my knots are garbage or the flouro isn't strong.  

Just last night, I got the Pflueger reel via Fedex:

It sure is purdy.

8 bearings.  That sounds like alot right?  

A good fit for my big meathook.  Notice the big handle.

First impression on the reel:  This is the nicest reel I've ever used.  (This coming from the man who regularly uses a $20 shakespeare setup bought at Walmart, so take that for what you will.)  The handle is super smooth and everything fits really tightly.  The only mechanical weirdness occurs when the handle is turned the wrong way.  Even with the anti-reverse on, the handle just starts unscrewing itself from the reel.  Not a problem as long as you've used a spinning reel but I wouldn't want to pass it off to my niece or another kid.  I could just see them reeling the wrong direction and the handle coming off.  Bad new bears.

The box/website advertise "Braid ready spool!"  but after tying an arbor knot and trying to feed the line onto the reel, I found that braid likes to slip.  Even on a "braid ready spool" After some googling, I found that a layer of electrical tape around the base of the spool allows the line to bite in and slip less.  It seems to work and hopefully the line won't snag up on it somehow.  Not a big deal as I turned up alot of anglers having the same problem with their reel.  It's just a minor gripe that the reel is advertised as braid ready but is totally not braid ready without some tape.

Those are the only "problems" I had initially with the reel.  The max drag (carbon fiber drag!) is 10lbs so I'm planning on cranking it up and putting the Sufix/14lb fluoro/double uni knot to the test.

So I got the line spooled onto the reel (which is mounted on a $30 Berkeley Amp rod found readily at Gander mountain) and got about a pole's length of fluoro tied on the end.  My plan for this setup is to document EVERY single fish caught.  Every trip I have that produces a fish will be tagged with "Sufix/Plueger" and eventually I'll put together a compilation in the Review section of the blog.  After a few outings using the setup I'll do a conventional review for each product individually to pass judgement as well.

My job changed my schedule last week so I now work Saturdays and have Thursdays off.  Kind of a mixed blessing as working the weekend sucks but I now have a designated Mark-day that I can use for whatever outdoor activity my heart desires and not have to worry about plans my wife made or family get-togethers.  I'm stoked.  I'm heading out in a little bit to take care of some paperwork so I can start school again this fall.  After that, if weather permits, I'll go and do some testing of the new setup and hopefully get some fish documenting done.  Expect to hear more soon.

I was given the Sufix line and Pflueger reel in return for an honest review of each product.  I have no existing business relationship with either Sufix or Pflueger.  I realize this isn't really a review yet so I probably don't have to put up this silly disclaimer.  However, I'm not down with FCC violations so better safe than sorry.

Back to Bait-sics

My father's birthday is in the first week of June.  Father's day (as I'm sure you know) is the third weekend of June.  The last few years, we've made the second weekend of June a Father-Son fishing weekend.

For those who didn't read about last year's trip or have forgotten, last year we traipsed around lake Carlton in Morrison, IL and stopped briefly at the Coleta Trout Ponds, all with no signs of fishy life.  A big double skunk.

So this year, we went back to what my dad knows:  Carp fishing.

Long-anointed "The Carp King" by  his brother, my dad is most comfortable sitting by the Rock River fishing with corn on the bottom.  So that's what we did.

Relaxing on the banks of the Rock

We started a little late, around 10:30, in Rock Falls, IL.  No big hike to a secret spot, no scouting out prime locations.  Just put corn on your hook and cast into the eddy just past the boat ramp.

After about fifteen minutes of chewing the fat, it was fish on for the Carp King.

Putting a good bend in the Abu Garcia. 

Dad uses a medium action rod for a better fight with the fish so it wasn't clear how big his catch was until he got it up near the shore.  Not his biggest catch but a catch none the less.

All fish were released unharmed.

Some ten minutes later a carp came calling on my line.  As soon as I set the hook it started thrashing out of the water, shaking it's head and roiling the surface of the water.  It was a chore to keep the rod high enough to keep tension and get up off my ass at the same time.  The carp would get within about 3 feet of shore and surge out a few feet.  After doing this about a half dozen times, I finally got him beached onto the shore and proceeded to pose for crappy carpy pictures:

Way to cover half the fish with your beefarms doofus.

  You can see it a bit better here:

If I had to guess it was about 8 or 9 lbs but yesterday wasn't about measuring fish, we were just having a good time.

After that the bite slowed down a bit.  Luckily, my 17 year old sister showed up with her fancy camera and sunglasses:

If she had taken the picture a half second earlier, you would have seen like a million pelicans.

Sometime during the time we were messing around with sunglasses and taking pictures, I must've gotten a bite.  When I picked up my pole to check my bait, there was something tugging at the other end of the line.

Felt bigger than the last one.

Unfortunately, I didn't set the hook well enough.  The fish took two monstrous runs and on the second one, the hook popped out.  Would've been a good one.

Dad can't stay out too long so our outing only lasted about two hours but it was one of the funnest outings of the year so far.  Certainly less frustrating without having to figure out what lure/presentation to fish in which stretch of water to maybe entice a bite.  I think I'm going to work some more bait fishing into my rotation.  There are a couple lakes around here that hold some big old carp/catfish.

It was good to get out with my dad too.  He and I didn't get along too well in my teenage years and we still have a differences but it's good to put that aside at least once a year and just catch some fish.  Happy Father's day everybody, hope you get to take your dad/kid fishing this week!

Finally something to post about.

The universe has conspired against me lately, seemingly finding endless obstacles in my personal life to sidetrack me from doing anything outdoorsy.

The only thing I've done since my last post is show Clif from Lunker hunt my local go-to pond.  As you can see in the comments of that post, the only thing I accomplished that night was falling on my ass and missing a few fish.  Didn't think it warranted a post with my version of events.

(Although, I can speak to the effectiveness of Owl Jones' flies that Clif was using.  After Clif pulled in about a half dozen fish and I had no bites, I borrowed the other one he had and started getting hits.  You should check out Owl's site and have him make you some.  They caught fish when nothing else did.)

After fishing with Clif, a mixture of personal health, the weather and my job kept me from doing anything else until yesterday when I went out to the shooting range with my buddy Jason.  I brought along a generic version of a Flip Camera that I won recently at work, hoping to get some bitchin' video of milk jugs exploding and such.  Sadly, the camera personifies why the word "generic" has negative connotations.  Nothing on it worked.

So, instead of bitchin' footage of explosions, I'm left with a blurry image of explosion aftermath.

The middle one got it good. 12 gauge slug from about 15 yards away.

I'm going to try to work in some more shooting posts as we go along.  This is the first time I'd been shooting since last fall I believe so I haven't had alot to post about really.   Hopefully I can get some fun footage and info up soon.

Also, the RNG picked me to review some Sufix fishing line in the recent "Loser's only" OBN review opportunity so as soon as I receive it I'll post some impressions and I'm going to try something I haven't really seen done before as far as a fishing product review goes so be on the lookout.

Oh by the way, a few of you noticed I started following you on Twitter.  It's my personal account, nothing strictly related to the blog or anything.  I usually just use it to keep tabs on sports news and my favorite poker players, figured I should start following some of my favorite blog buddies.  (I was feeling left out after Clif and Mike from Troutrageous! posted about it this week.)  Feel free to follow me if you want (@themarkvivian), just don't expect alot of blog related stuff up there (or even many tweets at all).  At least not right away.  I have a hard enough time posting here and on Facebook more than once a month as it is.  :)

Here's to the sun staying out for awhile, hope you all are getting more time outdoors than I have been lately.

Charter Oak North 5/1/11

Made it out to chase after some bass today, inspired by so many other bloggers who have found the hot bite recently.

I didn't have much time so I tied on one of the poppers Clif made and put up for a contest.  Mike won these poppers, and since he doesn't do much bass fishing, passed them on to me.

I had a couple small splashes next to the popper, I'm guessing little bluegills that couldn't get the whole thing in their mouths.  When I can afford it I'm planning on buying some wet flies to set up a popper-dropper rig and see if that brings a few more sunfish to hand.

After a dozen or so casts, there was a little "bloop!" a couple seconds after the popper hit the water and popper disappeared.  Kind of a sluggish fight but better than no fight at all.  

Sorry to interrupt your meal Ms. Bass.

She was about 10 inches long and pretty chunky.  The popper was halfway to her stomach by the time I got her in.

A couple casts and another likely-bluegill strike later, I switched up to a black senko and casted around a bit, not getting any bites.  I thought it might still be a little chilly, when it gets a little warmer I'm gonna take an expedition out to a bigger body of water and and do some wandering, really try to get into some fish.

Thanks to Clif for making the popper and Mike for passing it on to me, I'm glad it was able to catch me a fish.  

Hope you all have a good week.

Wilmar 2pc Camo Multitool Set Review

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

It'll do.

By Mark from Peoria, IL on 3/27/2011

3out of 5

Multitool has a good selection of basic tools.

Camo colored plastic keeps both multitool and knife lightweight so they don't drag down your pants, also gives them kind of a cheap feel. Would be apprehensive to use them on anything that requires alot of force.

The "wire cutter" area at the base of the pliers doesn't cut fishing line. This is a big bummer for me, kind of a pain to have to find the knife in the multitool and cut the line.

The knife has the same cheap plastic feel and is a little long for my liking (awkward in the pocket, always seems to poke out or push against your leg.) but its sharp and it cuts.

Overall a good basic multitool that will handle the day to day workings of a amateur handyman on a budget. If you feel you will need to do heavy duty work or your job depends on your multitool, you want to look elsewhere.

(legalese)

^That's what was posted on the CSN website^  I wanted to add a couple details for y'all. (Don't you feel special?)

If you remember a couple months back, I was approached by CSN stores to pick out an inexpensive item and review it.  I (obviously) chose the Wilmar 2pc Camo Multitool Set, including a basic multitool and knife.  

After reviewing my several blurry pictures of the multitool and knife I decided to go with of them and just use the one from CSN stores. 

 

I've been holding off on doing this review until I could get a few fishing trips in and put it to use.  Well a couple fishing trips in and I hadn't caught any fish so the review got postponed.  

I finally got to use it at the Hooked on Fishing fundraiser and the pliers work great for de-hooking fish but (as mentioned above) the wire cutters don't cut 6lb leader.  What the hell?  I was not pleased.  It might seem trivial but fishing was the main thing I had in mind when I picked this out.

I work in a call center and am not into the whole handyman project thing so the bottle opener got the most work out of the available tools (opens Sam Adams wonderfully.).  I think I used the screwdriver twice and the knife in the multitool a couple times. 

As far as the separate knife goes, its nice but feels like a bonus that was kind of thrown in as an afterthought.  The blade is 3", which is the largest you can carry without it being concealing a weapon in IL.  The handle is a little bit larger than the blade and makes it sit awkwardly in my front pocket, either printing and making it obvious that there's a knife in my pocket or poking me in the thigh uncomfortably.

As I said above, if you're one to need a scewdriver or saw a couple times a day, you may want to look to a Leatherman or other top shelf multitool but if you need just need one for once in awhile or are short on cash, the Wilmar will probably meet your needs.

As for CSN, doing business with them was awesome.  Although they provided the item, I basically was given an electronic gift card to pick out the item and went through the order like a regular customer.  They sent regular emails to let me know when my order was processed and shipped.  The only thing I can't honestly comment on is the shipping since they moved up my order to ship right away.  However, if they're willing to do that for an inexpensive item being reviewed on a little blog like this, I'm sure they take good care of all of their customers.  Thanks to them for the multitool and the opportunity to review it for them.  I hope to do business again with them in the future.

Disclaimer:  CSN Stores sent me the multitool set free of charge to review.  I received no other compensation and have no other business relationship with CSN Stores or Wilmar whatsoever.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Feel free to contact me here in the comments at my personal email themarkvivian@gmail.com with any questions about the item reviewed or if you would like me to give an honest review of your product.

Wanna see a grown man's heart break?

Clif finished editing the video from last saturday.  It starts with a cameo from someone you might know:



Hooked on Fly Fishing from Clif on Vimeo.

What an awesome time.  I'm pretty sure every fish in the video was caught by Brian, the guy who was killing them the second half of the day with a crawfish pattern.

Thanks to Clif for putting all of that together, makes for a good way to relive the good fishing.

I have come here to chew bubblegum and catch trout...

... and I'm all outta bubblegum.

Had trouble sleeping last night, like a kid before Christmas.  I'd been waiting for this day for weeks now. Visions of the giant trout from last year were swimming in my head.

Got to the Hooked on fishing pond right at 10am.  There were already 4-5 guys out there whipping a fly around.  I walked over to Jonn and said hello and then got down to business.

I had a brown woolly bugger with a bead on the head tied on for most of the day.  A few casts in I got my first bite:

Not exactly what I was expecting.  Caught two of these hand sized hybrids.

I let him go and moved down to a little inlet where we were tearing them up last fall.  After a few casts, Clif got there and we watched as a guy caught a few on nymphs.

Shortly thereafter, I hooked up:

That's more like it.

A few more casts and I hooked something huge.  It took off, making my reel SCREAM.  I don't want to say too much about the fight because Clif taped it and if he uploads it and I ask nice, maybe he'll let me put the vid in here later to tell the story.

After that, something possessed me to give up my honey hole by the inlet and move down the bank.  (I shouldn't have.  The guy who moved into that spot really tore into them later in the day, hooking a couple big ones that Clif has footage of.  Oh well, I gave it up fair and square.)

After moving down the bank, I managed to hook another one.  It seemed like at least half of my fish were on when I paused my stripping for a few seconds.  (usually when distra- squirrel!)  I would strip again, feel a weight on the line and set the hook.  Maybe I need to be using an indicator next time and do less stripping?  Anyway, here's the one I hooked down the bank:

Sorry bout the finger.  I'm not the most coordinated guy when I'm just standing still, let alone fighting a fish and taking a picture at the same time.

Didn't have anybody nearby with a net so I just pulled it up to the bank, snapped a pic and set her loose.

I moved back down towards my honey hole and the guy who had moved into it (name was Brian, seemed like a nice guy) and I took turns catching fish and netting them for each other.  Not intentionally, it just seemed to work out that way.  Here's my two out of the rotation:

I believe this net starts at zero in the middle and goes out on both sides (correct me if I'm wrong Clif) so this one is 17-18".

My biggest of the day.  Can't really tell because of the goofy pose but she was THICK.   This is the only way I could get ahold of her well enough for a pic.

These were all by about 1ish.  After that, my day tapered off.  It could have been that as it warmed up they wanted bigger offerings and the biggest thing I had was the woolly bugger I had been using all day.  Brian tied on a crawfish pattern, was just tossing it out and letting it sit on the bottom and was tearing them up for awhile.  He had a couple monster fish that got off and had a run where he had bites on like 5 out of 6 casts.  I'm for sure gonna pick up some crawfish flies.  I'm sure they'll come in handy on bass in between Hooked on Fishing park events.

So that was pretty much my day.  Fishing wasn't quite as hot as it was last fall (still probably the best fishing I'll experience all year) but I was happy to make a donation to a good cause in exchange for some good fishing and I'd be happy to do it again.