Guiding You In Your Quest For More And Bigger Fish
We get some really good questions here at MVF from our readers so today, we’re going to answer another that is a compilation of recent e-mails. To paraphrase, “Now that the spawn is over, I’m having a hard time getting bites. Are there any techniques that I can use for these conditions?” [Read more…]
National Harbor, MD–
For those who haven’t heard yet, Scott pulled off a wire to wire victory which is itself unusual. More odd than that however is the fact that he did this by fishing basically the same areas all four days. He didn’t have a few “secret” spots that he saved to fish just the last day or two.
On the contrary, he fished areas that had a virtual armada of other boats around him the entire tournament. In an interview, he said that the key was realizing that all the pressure on the fish from other anglers around him pushed the fish into spots that weren’t getting hammered. [Read more…]
This time of year, we go through a lot of line. Between testing new baits and new fishing spots, we have to re-spool line a fair bit. Let’s face it, line is not inexpensive anymore, particularly flouro’s and braids. With that in mind, we have decided to answer another reader’s question concerning how you cut down on spending so much money just to make sure you have fresh line on all your casting reels.
We all know that you never use all the line on your reels before you make a change. For that matter, how often do you actually get more than 50 – 60% of the line on your spool wet? You get to a certain point from re-tying and or break-offs that you’re deep enough in the spool that casting distance and other factors are negatively affected which by default, forces you to strip the remaining line and spool up with new relegating bunches of yards of perfectly good line to the trash can in the process.
I’m going give you a little tip that I learned a long time ago that seems to have been forgotten or overlooked these days. This sounds a little weird but don’t totally dismiss it before you try it. Prior to putting any new line on my casting reels, I almost always take a 4 – 6 inch strip of electrical tape and wind it tightly around the spool.
I know this sounds a little weird at first blush. However, there are several advantages to using this method as opposed to using backing. To begin with, electrical tape is easily accessible. You can find the stuff almost anywhere.
Hardware stores, discount stores, even your neighborhood gas station usually has a few roles sitting on the shelf. Not to mention the fact that this stuff is inexpensive. You probably already have a role of it sitting in your garage or tool box that has hardly been used!
Why electrical tape as opposed to other kinds of tape? One of the main reasons is that it is so flexible. With a little practice, you can wind it around your spool, keeping it just as flat and smooth as a new born baby’s bottom.
So, in terms of answering the original question, how does this help?
Obviously, it cuts down on the yardage of line necessary to re-spool your reels, which saves you money.
Secondly, whether you’re using flouro, braid or any other line, the tape provides a non-slip surface that doesn’t allow the line to slip like it can when tying directly to a polished aluminum spool.
Another advantage to using this little trick is the fact that all casting reels quote line retrieved per handle turn when at full spool. This simply means that the less line you have on your spool, the less line you will retrieve per handle turn. All things considered, this might not appear to make a beans worth of difference but when you’re using a technique that requires you to pick up a lot of line in a hurry when you set, every inch of lost capacity can be the difference between you landing that fish or missing it.
You’ll never use every inch of line that is on your reels but, by wrapping your spools with some electrical tape, you can cut down on the waste associated with normal fishing a great deal.
Once again, I hope that I’ve answered the question adequately and clearly.
See ya’ on the water …
Like you, we constantly have our radar on looking for something new or unique that the fish haven’t seen before that can increase our catch. Today’s review is on one such new product, the Bombshell Turtle by Castalia Outdoors Inc. You may not be familiar with this manufacturer but they have, to this point, concentrated on salt-water offerings.  [Read more…]
My son and I were talking a few days ago about all that we have seen that has come and gone in the fishing world including those products that were brand new a lot of years ago and are now staples in our fishing. One of those that has survived virtually unchanged is Power Pro braided line.
When we originally started using this line it was after having tried several others and being frustrated with the performance of those. I know that this is one of those subjects that tends to be much more subjective than objective for a lot of folks but all we can do is give it to ya’ll straight and see what happens. [Read more…]
MVF would like to congratulate David Dudley for winning the FLW tour event on Beaver Lake. He managed to seal the deal by sticking to his plan to target largemouth as opposed to going after spots.
On the final day, he had to make a choice because he hadn’t filled his livewell by noon. The critical decision to stick with the largies was what put him over the top for the tournament.
In case you’re wondering, David caught most of his fish on Sunday using a homemade umbrella rig that employed both swimbaits and willow blades which he followed up with a wacky rig.
In an interview David said,”The Alabama rig works, but it’s just one tool, not a cure-all tool. Fishing is not just about skill. It’s about the mental game, the decisions. Decisions are what separate anglers in this sport.”
Obviously, David Dudley made all the right decisions on Beaver Lake this weekend!
Congrat’s from MVF.
Here we are marching head long into spring and we have yet to see the top-water bite heat up. However, that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been using some of the new products that are now available. Today’s review is on one of those top-water baits, the Flip In The Bird Topwater Bait. Yes the name says it all. [Read more…]
We’ve looked at the Quantum PT Smoke casting reel so let’s take an in-depth look at its stable mate, the Quantum Smoke PT Micro Guide Casting Rod. We got these the same time we got the reels and haven’t separated the two since. The reality is that they were made to go with each other and do so very well.
To us, the most important consideration for any rod and reel combo is balance. Even light weight components that aren’t well balanced can increase your fatigue exponentially compared to a rig that is very well balanced. Sorry for being redundant but one of the biggest mistakes beginning anglers make is rushing out to buy a rod and reel that through advertising or endorsement, appeal to them.
Only after they have fished with it for a few days does the lack of balance begin to take its toll and buyer’s remorse sets in. I’m not blaming them for their lack of experience because we’ve all been there. Our recommendation is to find a local tackle shop that you trust and emphasize to the salesperson that balance is a foremost consideration in your purchase. This will save you a lot of problems in the future. Anyway, back to the Smoke.
The specs on the rod are as follows, the blank is made using high-strain HSX70 graphite, a split EVA foam grip, no foregrip, Fuji micro-guides and the actions are inscribed on a band around the butt cap. All these features together combine to provide one of the lightest rods in this price point that starts at $129.99.
We decided to pick up the 7’ Medium Heavy for throwing larger plugs, spinnerbaits, heavily weighted soft plastics, jigs and some swimbaits. Not that this is a comprehensive list of the lures that we have used on this rod but it gives you some idea of the intent behind our choice of actions.
When you talk about a medium-heavy action, you need to look at the lure weight recommendation for the rod. In this case it is for lures ranging from 1/4 – 1 1/2 ounce. We have used lures from every part of this spectrum and haven’t felt as though we over stressed the rod at all. It handles everything within its rating and then some. However, after tossing a 2 ounce bait around, we thought that we had reached the rods upper limits and haven’t thrown anything heavier with the Smoke.
The tip action is a little softer than some other rods with this rating but the taper is predictable and solid when it comes time to set the hook. You pick up line relatively quickly and the backbone takes over before you know it. When fighting fish with this rod, we haven’t had any fish large enough to really tax it. The biggest to date was a healthy 6.5 pounds which the Smoke handled with ease.
Those in favor of these guides say that they increase casting distance, accuracy, provide more sensitivity and of course, weigh much less than conventional guides. Obviously, there is no argument with the weight claim. But what about the other claims? Do the micro-guides really come through?
You have to see the micro’s next to traditional guides to believe the difference in both external and internal diameter. They are less than half that of a traditional guide. This really does cut down on line slap a great deal as well as improve accuracy. We tend to be a little skeptical since we have seen so many claims over the years but this one, we’re going along with. Yes, it does take a little getting used to but very little. Since we’ve been using the micro’s, there is a noticeable improvement in accuracy.
Do they provide more distance? Here again, we wouldn’t have believed it had we not been fishing them for a while now but they do increase distance. Is it an enormous difference? No, but it is certainly noticeable.
Finally, do they increase sensitivity? Again, yes they do. Not by a wide margin but there is undeniably a difference. You can feel more compared to a rod that doesn’t use the micro-guides. I have to say that there is going to be some differences of opinion here. The only way to really get a good handle on this is to take two identical blanks, one outfitted with traditional guides, the other with micro’s, use the same reel spooled with the same line and tie on the exact same lure. If you’re wondering, no, we haven’t done this yet but we still believe that the micro’s do increase the sensitivity of the rod.
The split EVA grip is comfortable whether dry or wet. We’ve had no issues with it becoming slippery or showing undue wear. The Smoke has a small butt cap that took a little getting used to. If you use both hands to cast, this may be a distraction for you at first as it was for us. A little time has cured that though, as we have become fond of using the butt as a fulcrum to further increase our distance.
If we have bone to pick with this rod it is the placement of the hook keeper which is on the underside of the bland between the grip and the butt. When we first got them, it didn’t present itself as a problem immediately. However, it didn’t take long for us to abandon using it altogether in favor of picking up a rod mounted hook keeper. This solves this issue easily but it is a source of frustration.
The only other thing that we would like to see improved upon would be the size and position of the stripper guide which is the first guide out from the reel seat. On the Smoke, the guides are all the same size and distance above the blank. Other manufacturers are now using a slightly larger stripper guide that is higher off the bland for better line flow. We believe that the Smoke would benefit from this modification.
As a whole, the Quantum Smoke PT Micro Guide Casting Rod is a decent value for the money and a joy to fish all day when paired with a Smoke reel. The weight, or lack thereof, all but eliminates fatigue brought on by casting heavy, unbalanced combo’s. The actions are varied enough to fit most day to day fishing conditions and these rods seem to be built to last.
| Smoke PT Micro Guide Casting Rod | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| Feels like a fly rod, with good backbone | |
See ya’ on the water …
We haven’t reviewed any reels in a while because when we do obtain a new reel, we like to give it plenty of time on the water to see not only how it handles brand new, out of the box, but also if any peccadilloes arise over time.
Let’s face it, we’ve gotten some reels that during initial testing perform without a hitch and others, that given a few months, begin to break down very quickly. So, without further ado, let’s take an in-depth look at the Quantum PT Smoke 150 Casting Reel. [Read more…]
Today we’re going to look at another new offering for this season. Big Bite Baits Jeff Kriet – Shaking Squirrel. This is a slender, straight tail worm that was designed with dropshotting in mind. The Squirrel comes in two sizes, 4.5 and 6 inches respectively and are value priced at $2.99 a pack.
While there aren’t a myriad of colors by today’s standards, about a dozen, I like the palette as a whole. Several of the colors use a layered affect while others add chartreuse to the tails which saves the angler the trouble of having to dip them in dye.
You just open the package, get one out, put it on your hook and you’re fishing. No muss, no fuss. So what are they like in the water? [Read more…]
