New toys.

So, as I mentioned, I picked up a new rod the other day. I ordered it online from Amazon, sold by Fishwest.com. The reason for the Echo? Easy. The company has a great reputation. So when I was searching around for rods that would fit my low end budget, it was hard to pass up the Solo for 99$. Well, thats what I paid. When I ordered, I was contacted by Fishwest to say they had recently run out of stock. No biggie, I wasn`t in a hurry and I was very interested in the rod. I noticed that after my purchase, the price of the rods went up a few bucks. When it shipped  it became a debacle. No fault on the seller. USPS managed to somehow hold onto the parcel for almost 2 weeks before it even entered their system. Incredible. Even better, when it did finally arrive, one end have the tube had been completely removed. The rod ( in its protective case ) was free to slid in and out of the shipping container at will. In the end, it is a wonder that USPS an CanadaPost managed to get it here at all.

So, whats the Echo Solo like? Well, I had the same reaction to it that I did with the White River Hobbs Creek reel from Basspro. I was shocked that such a nicely made, and appointed rod could be had for so cheap. The low end entry level gear has come along way since I first started in this sport.  I have paid a lot more, for a lot less. I`ll likely do an in depth review of it some time in the future.

The second two is a Classic Accessories Roanoke Pontoon boat. This is also an entry level model from the manufacturer. I had it out for a bit this evening. Impressed with it so far, though there are a couple of minor complaints I maybe able to make. It was fairly easy to assemble. Again, a more in depth review will be forthcoming when I have used it more.

Vid Clip

I took out an Echo Solo 8wt I had recently purchased. Here's the first fish.

Well........

....................as much as I profess the whole " you don't know till you go." bit, its like this. Cold front. Fuck it. Been waiting for a positive change in the weather.

Some times you win........

..........and sometimes you lose.

Birthday Bass.

G.F.C.

I had taken the last couple of nights to clean up my shop. I'm about to start turning out lures and needed to get it into shape. Today, being my birthday, I decided to take it easy, away from workish type endeavours.

I enjoyed a perch feast for my dinner that was just amazing. The recipe we have rivals anything that Fish and Chip joints serve. Better actually. I far prefer our fare. I headed down to the lake around 7:30pm. Mom was with me, but we ended fishing different sections of the lake. She was looking for perch, and I was hitting bass. She ended up finding a school and bagged us some table fare.To my delight, the bass were happy to take topwater patterns, and I did very well on the GFC. The weren't huge bass, but decent. One was looking like he was close to deserving the title of big, but was just shy. The bass are in close. I watched one chase a rock bass around a log before given up, and saw the evidence of bass slamming minnows in the shallow. The largest fish of the night I saw smash some minnows along the shore from 50 yards ( or so ) away. I worked my way into casting position and found he was still hanging around.

You'll see in the video,  that most of the fish sucked the fly in, as opposed to smashing it. Its always a surprise as to how they hit it. Often those small sips hide the nature of the leviathans hidden just beneath the surface. You get some very pleasant surprises.