6/29 Report

[Haris122]

Went down there finally, last Friday from 3 to closing time. I was hoping to "calibrate" my new "Omega" spincast reel I recently got before I head down to Taneycomo later this month, but things didn't go quite as hoped. I got in my waders and started fishing at ~3 pm, just past the first riffle near the fish cleaning station where the parking lot ends (going downstream), and within maybe not even the first 10-15 casts, throwing a little sinking rapala in rainbow trout color, I had already caught my first fish. Pretty unusual for me, so I figured maybe it's going to be a good day. The fish was a rainbow, a little on the smaller side from that of a regular stocker. After that I made my way uneventfully further downstream at a brisk pace, until I got just past the riffle by the bathrooms. There I got 2 good bites and one where it got off instantaneously. The fish would bite, I'd feel a good hit, I'd start fighting the fish, only for them to get unbuttoned a few seconds into the fight. I went further downstream until I got down to the red ribbon section, by which point I had had another 2 bites like that. There I caught a little smallmouth, and figured maybe my drag was set a little too light, as I had problems even bringing that little guy in quickly. Guess in the thrill of the moment and the sudden luck of the first fish, I didn't notice it being that loose, and honestly when I'd pull on it, it felt like it was set firm enough. I wound up tightening the drag down some more, and yet somehow still lost another 2 fish, though this time one of them stayed on a bit longer. I'm hoping to make it down there again next week, to see if I can adjust things enough to where the frequency of lost fish is much less than what it was that time. I did have the barbs bent on the trebles of the stuff I fished, but it is a little odd even for me, to lose that many of them these days. Some guy down there that was from Arkansas and fishing similar lures as me, said he got 9 of them, and thought maybe I needed a different rod, as I might not have enough backbone to set the hooks right, so if I don't figure it out by the Taney trip,  I might look into getting a 5'6" light action, casting rods that's a little "faster". At the same time, I've fished with this rod for a while now, and I don't remember having this many problems with hookset before so my suspicion is, it's the drag on the reel.

[Johnsfolly]

Congrats on getting bit and landing the fish that you did. They wanted your baits. I tend to agree that your drag is still likely to be set a bit too light. Just a suggestion, but when I am fishing a rapala, roostertail, etc., I like to use a longer UL like a 7" browning airstream or 6'6' or 7' Light action BPS microlite (both fish like a medium Light rod) or a medium light rod and not a short ultralight or light rod just to get that hook set. I would also use #4 line and not #2 line with those baits as well. With flies (under a float or weighted flies) or jigs, a light or UL rod with #2 line works great. Of course the longer rods works well for the jigs as well .

Good Luck

[Seth]

If that rod is a buggy whip, you are going to lose a lot of fish on a countdown unless you really pepper them on the hookset. You need a fairly decent backbone for that type of stuff. I throw my smaller countdowns on a medium light spinning rod at Taneycomo.

Edit: @Johnsfolly nailed it. I was just typing my reply as he posted his.

[snagged in outlet 3]

If it is a buggy whip he could tighten it up by using braid and a leader.  The braid has very little stretch and will kind of add some sting to it.

But when fishing jerks you will lose fish and some days more than others.

[JestersHK]

Yep was just gonna chime in and suggest the braid.  I fish 4'6 buggy whips and you def have to crank back on them like you would a bass, but the braid will def help when fishing the jerk baits.  

[Haris122]

It's kind of hard for me to let go of the 5'6" rod. I feel like it's the perfect size for most areas I fish. But I might have to do it still if you guys think it's not enough. I think even bigger problem than size would be finding the kind of handle that I really prefer. Don't see them around like that a lot. I have been actually using 4# solely on that setup for a while now, but as far as braid, they say it isn't supposed to be used in a spincaster. I've done it before with a medium setup, but never the light action ones. Not sure why really they don't suggest it, as it worked all right for a while that way in the medium rig.

[JestersHK]

I use the 10 or 8lb braid just fine in a size 10 reel.  I've even ran it in one of the small pfleuger presidents, but it runs better in a wider spool.  

Never had a problem with it other than when I got it wet in cold weather... Once it gets wet below freezing it's game over.

[Haris122]

13 hours ago, JestersHK said:

I use the 10 or 8lb braid just fine in a size 10 reel.  I've even ran it in one of the small pfleuger presidents, but it runs better in a wider spool.  

Never had a problem with it other than when I got it wet in cold weather... Once it gets wet below freezing it's game over.

Is that in a Spincast reel? Not Spinning, right? Any recommendations on lower stretch mono?

[JestersHK]

No, I do run it in a spinning reel.  Its a older Quantum Energy PTi 10.  Its got a bigger spool than the small Pfleuger Presidents.  Shoots line just fine and can sling stick baits even on my short rods.  Sure I am giving up some distance over a larger setup, but I like the feel and sensitivity on the smaller rods. 

For traditional line I run Maxima ultragreen pretty much exclusively in 4, 3, and 2lb test.  I have never tried the 6 or 8, but I'm sure it would work as well.  It does stretch though.  I'd even say it has more stretch than the P Line, Vanish, and Trilene I've used, but I continue to run it as its smoother and in my experience stronger than its competitors.  It can really sling the small jigs out there, and I get the least amount of memory out of it compared to the others. 

I am on a spool of 4lb P Line currently which I will strip off here before the weekend as I think I got a bad batch.  Never had so many break offs at the knot, and the line is super brittle despite being only a few weeks old.    

 

[Johnsfolly]

4 hours ago, Haris122 said:

Is that in a Spincast reel? Not Spinning, right? Any recommendations on lower stretch mono?

I  have been using 6# nanofil with a fluorocarbon leader on a pfleuger and ozuma spinning reels for fishing jigs and some hard baits. I use 2 and 4# PLine for small jig fishing for trout and stream fish.