REVIEW: Pflueger President Reel

Rule #24:  If you intentionally kill an animal, you are morally obligated to eat it.

VIEWS & REVIEWS:

[I'm going to start a series under this title that will include my theories of fishing methods, issues, etc., and reviews of tackle and gear--everything from swivels to swivel seats.  I don't receive any kind of compensation in either money or products to write these--dammit--so you know I'm honest.

Maybe wrong,  but honest.]

Pflueger President Reel:

This reel comes in a series of five sizes, from the largest model that weighs 10.9 oz. with a maximum drag of 12 lbs. to the smallest which weighs 8.3 oz. and has a maximum drag of 9 lbs.  I chose the second lightest of the models.  It weighs 7.2 oz., its maximum drag is also 6 lbs.  Other spec's:  It'll hold 110 yards of 4 lb test monofilament, or 140 yards of 6 lb. braid.  It has 9 ball bearings in its gears and one in the handle.  It recovers 22.4" of line per turn of the handle.  All of these models have a gear ratio of 5.2:1.

I received this reel as a gift last season. Paired with a Bass Pro Shops Micro-Lite, 7' rod, this reel has been the best I've ever used.  I love the solid feel of the reel.  The retrieve ratio is just right for me--I have used spinning reels with retrieves that were too fast . . . the fish were simply freaked out--NOTHING moves that fast!

I haven't caught any fish larger that 2.5 lbs. yet, but the drag engaged when it should, which, let's be honest,  is weird for a spinning reel.  I almost lost a fish because I wasn't sure what the drag was doing!

[I will continue to add to this review as the season progresses.  I think it's important to review things over time, not just in a snapshot.]

Rule #15:  You can tell a lot about people by how sharp they keep their knives.

Father/Daughter "Bass Thumbs"!!!

Sunday: 5/23/2014

Yeah, so I know the title of the blog is "White River Reflections," but there are days, such as today when it's a better idea to change plans and explore some different water.

Today, Girl II and I fished what we decided to call "Fish Lake."  Original, huh?

Anyway, the specifics:

We fished from 1:00--3:15 or so (maybe longer because Girl II has perfected the "just one more cast" gambit!).

Today was a cool day, temps in the 60's.  The wind was pretty consistently a breeze of 5--15 mph.  There was a high blue sky, only infrequently overcast.  There was virtually no humidity.  In other words, Heavenly climate for a stroll, but for fishing, not so much.  It was one of those days early in the summer, when you step outside and say, "Well, the fish aren't going to bite, but it's too nice to stay inside."

And today, you'd be wrong.  Pleasantly, abundantly wrong!!










We caught close to twenty LMB . . .

. . . and one fish Girl II dubbed, "Franken-Gill"!  It was one of those bluegill that manage to weigh well over a pound.

Somewhere along the way, this particular fish must have been teased about its bulging forehead, because he had attitude!  By the time I caught him, among some submerged concrete step units, I had been catching 1.5#--3# bass for an hour or two.  But I swear to you, when he struck and for the next 30 seconds or so, I thought he was not only the biggest fish I'd caught that day, but that he had to be among my biggest LMB ever!  He hit the bait HARD, and then immediately put his full 11 inches sideways.  Because he refused to rise as I pulled against him, the drag engaged for the first time that afternoon!

Strangely, he was the only 'gill I caught.  Usually if they're not spawning, I can catch at least three or four from the same place.

I have a theory.  There WERE other fish in the school.  Franken-Gill ate them all.

Rule #7:  Some time during your life, own a truck.

Tuesday:  5/20/2014

I caught so many Rock Bass in so short a time, and didn't catch anything else until my last fish, that I think we should we declare this day "National Rock Bass Day."

But see, that's a problem, because huge sections of the country wouldn't know what you were talking about.  One of the things I treasure about fishing is the many different names fish have depending on where you're fishing.

For instance, the Latin name for bluegill is Lepomis macrochirus, but a lot of people call all colorful panfish "bluegill," thereby missing the opportunity to catch a "pumpkin seed," a "green sunfish," a "spotted sunfish," an "orange spotted sunfish," a "redear," a "redbreast," a "bream," a "brim," a "croaker," or a "warmouth."

Today, I caught seven or eight Rock Bass--also known as "rock perch," "goggle eye," or "red eye."

I set out with my usual river gear, but today I packed some different lures.  Knowing that I'd only fish with one or two of them, I still crammed quite a few "baits" in my smallest Plano:  I carried two jigged Tiny Paca Craws,  a Kelly's Pier Boy, two YUM worms for wacky rigging, two tiny crankbaits (that I had luck with last week), and a 1/8 oz. "Mister Twister"-type jig attached to a "Beetle-Spin" rig.  Because they were still in the package, I also stuffed two Panther Martin spinners in my jeans pocket.

I actually started with the Panther Martins. These in-line spinners are unique.  They are quite possibly the best in-line spinners for stream or river fishing. Because their in-line wire runs through the middle of the spinner blade, any pull against the lure sets it spinning.  This is especially important when you're stream or river fishing, because to catch fish, you must cast upstream and bring the bait downstream. This action mimics almost anything swimming or crawling in the water.  Bringing a spinner back against the current will occasionally work, but for the most part, you're better off casting upstream and bringing almost any lure or bait downstream.  That is the direction toward which the fish are oriented.

Mepps in-line spinners have caught more fish for me than any other lure. Period.  But they work best in still water.  I have caught Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Pike, Bluegill, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Shiners, Sunfish, Redear, Pumpkinseed, Mudcats, and even Channel Cats on this lure.

I remember a fantastic afternoon, on Fish Lake, when I cast a #1 Mepps, tipped with the leg cut off of an Uncle Josh Pork frog attached to one of the treble hooks and pulled in 10"-13" bluegill for at least a couple of hours.  With the extra weight from the pork trailer, I'd cast the lure out about 20 feet then let it sink 8-10 feet.  Still visible in the clear water of this, the deepest part of the pond, I could easily see when one of the big bull bluegill would T-bone this dropping lure and drive it two or three feet to the side.  Those great Mepps treble hooks would pick up just about any fish that looked cross-eyed at the spinner, let alone these aquatic muggings. 

Here is a Mepps compared to a Panther Martin:

Notice where the line needs to be tied.  The Panther Martin (above) just spins so much more effectively.  However, in still water, and sometimes even in slow moving water, I go with the Mepps (below).

I don't know why exactly, except that I have caught so many fish on this lure, it's hard to set it aside.

Don't forget to try tipping it with a pork rind leg or even a "Mister Twister"-type tail on it now and then.  It can make all the difference in the world.  In fact, if you can find them, Uncle Josh makes a "Bass Strip" that fits this application almost perfectly, and if you find that it's too long or wide, you can easily trim the rind with a pair of scissors.  (Don't try to do this with a pocket knife on the flat side of a canoe paddle.  It won't end well.  I promise.)






This is my first fish (they DO get bigger!).
 

As you can tell, I started the day on the large concrete storm sewer ramp--where I ended the season last year.

For the next two hours, I worked my way upstream, through a stand of sycamores, ending at a lone sycamore across White River Boulevard where it intersects with South Regal Court. 

After a few near snags, I decided to try the "Beetle Spin"-type lure I'd brought.  Here's a picture of the type of lure I'm talking about.


My chances of catching a huge bass would be improved by casting lures as big as my foot (which is considerably large), but I prefer catching fish--of any size.

I use the darker colored lure to the right more frequently when the water is sort of stained, like it was today.  I almost never use a  "Beetle Spin" heavier than 1/8 oz.  This is a philosophical position, of course.  I understand totally that my chances of catching huge fish with this size lure is somewhat diminished.

I. Don't. Care.

Here's my position stated mathematically: 

Small lures =  many fish/sometimes small fish X sometimes LARGE fish.
ENORMO-LURES = many fewer fish/ ENORMO-BASS [divided by] young bass with more testosterone than brains that will try to eat a lure that is twice its size.

I fish for fun (cool alliteration, eh?), and I fish for food (too much?).  Both of these motivations discount fishing with large lures for exclusively large fish.

Here's the first fish caught with that lure:

The lure is sometimes referred to as a  "safety-pin" style spinner--if you squint, you can sort of see it--and it's a wonderful river lure.  You can usually fish it slower than other lures because the spinning blade keeps the hook and jig-head positioned in such a way that it won't attract snags so often.

Speaking of snags--the bane of my existence!!--if you get snagged in the White River, especially if you use light tackle like I do, STOP!  Many fishermen tend to immediately yank as hard as they can the instant they are sure they're snagged.  That's exactly what you should NOT do.  If your hook point is set in a piece of wood, or if the lead head of your jig is wedged between rocks, pulling hard now will only make things hopeless.

Because you're fishing upstream, like I told you to, your snag is upstream from you.  Begin walking upstream and every other step or so, reel in the slack and give a slight tug to your lure.  You're changing the angle of your pull as you walk and about eight times out of ten, before you get all the way upstream from your snag, it will come free.

This next rock bass was caught right against the bank.  Before I leave an area, I always throw at least one cast a foot or two from the bank and retrieve it in a parallel line downstream.

I've caught a lot of fish within a foot of the bank in water so shallow, you wouldn't think a minnow could lay sideways in it. (By the way, this is true in ponds and lakes as well as streams.  I sometimes think the fish are merely waiting for bugs and other terrestrials to fall into the water.

Once, the Doc and I were fishing a pond west of town.  The landowner was one that enjoyed a manicured yard--and that included his pond banks.  Doc and I noticed we were getting a lot of hits just inches off the bank, so we started lobbing our Kelley's Pier Boys onto the bank itself.  Pier Boy plastic worms aren't weedless, but because the grass was so uniform, we could pull it through with no difficulty, and right before the worm entered the water, we'd give it a couple of shakes.  When the worm finally hit the water, we experienced some of the most vicious, water-erupting hits ever!  Don't forget that bass often watch the bank for their next meal.

The next Goggle-Eye I caught was further out in the middle of the stream than were the others I caught. He was also very floppy, which is why he's upside down!

These next two Goggle-Eyes came from a great-looking spot just downstream of the sycamore at which I ended my day.  The tree is right against the bank, its root system, no doubt, reaching into the water off the bank, and it is stuck out into the stream at a point just upstream of an eddy.  So, over the years, the tree's root system has preserved the point that juts out into the river, water rushes around the point, and digs into the bottom creating a deep hole and slack water--perfect conditions for predator fish!

I caught these two with two casts.  I think I could have stayed there for quite a while, catching fish after fish.

But, then I caught this fine-looking little Smallmouth:

. . . and I decided to call it a day.  I think you should
always end an outing on a high note, don't you?

First Lines: 2014

Rule #5.  Never wear your pants inside your boots, unless they're rubber.  Your boots, not your pants--if your pants are rubber, no rule is going to help you.

I am grateful to be able to start another new year of fishing!

Thursday:  5/14/2014

I'm not sure you can tell how wet my boot is in this picture, but today was a hot, humid, and a couple of times--VERY WET-day.

In a Zen-like coincidence, though I didn't know it, the good people of the Muncie Sanitation District had been dismantling the ugly-ass huge black diversion tubes from the side of the White River.  I had been having an internal aesthetic debate with myself about whether I could fish the bank while walking by those unsightly things.  In the end, I decided to avoid them altogether and to fish the bank close to where I used to live on Light Street.  Avoidance.  Zen.

I had the rod and reel my mom and step-dad bought for me last year, and packed a small tackle box with two or three very small crankbaits, a tiny twist-tail grub, a Kelly's Fire-Tail pre-rigged 4-inch Pier Boy worm, a few Yum stick-type worms.  Before I left, I stirred up some strong instant coffee in my 16-oz. "Bubba" drinking cup and dropped a handful of ice cubes in with it.  I know.  It's disgusting.  I'm a hillbilly, what can I say?

Before my first cast of the season, as is my custom, I said a prayer for Grandpa B--, a late, great fishing buddy.  This year, I also added Mr. G--, one of the best fishermen I've ever known, and like Grandpa B--, a great man.

I spent an hour or so fishing about the 150 yards upstream from where I parked across from Ontario Corp.  The first good bite I had was just below my feet--it was a Smallmouth Bass and probably would have gone 1 1/2--2 pounds.  It struck a 4 inch YUM worm, dark green with red speckles, rigged on a circle hook that was probably undersized or I might have caught him.  (Also, it scared the hell out of me--not that that would have anything to do with my losing him!)

The water was brownish-green.  We've been having some rain, so while the river isn't flooded, I couldn't see to the bottom of the stream beyond about two feet from the bank.  The skies were alternately bright blue and almost scary dark gray.  Because of the water color, then, I chose the darkest green worm in my box.

Though I did have the one good bite on the YUM worm, and maybe a couple of nibbles, after I'd fished the distance I'd set for myself, I went back to my starting point and tried the darkest little crankbait I had.  I caught the first of the Rock Bass almost immediately, and didn't catch the next until the second downpour.  I felt sufficiently satisfied by that time, so, very soggy and happy, I quit and walked back to the truck, listening to passing drivers questioning my choices, if not my sanity!

6/12/2011

Rule #  : 

I went fishing with the boy today.  He has become one heck of a fisherman and one of his friends lives in a large home with a huge pond or small lake that he has been promising me would yield large bass.  We went out there the day after my truck came out of the shop with newly repaired air conditioning, rear shocks, and repaired oil leak.  The shop I took it to, Tuffy's in Muncie, IN, gets my best rating.  All of those repairs were very reasonable and the repairman took the time to show me the worn parts.  It's a wonderful feeling driving around in a truck that's reliable.  I was telling the boy (probably to his dismay) about how many cars/trucks I have had that were totally unreliable.  Knowing that your car will start and get you to your destination is a wonderful thing--and I'll never forget what it's like when to have no idea if I can get to where I need to be.

We drove back on a very long lane to the house, and upon turning into the driveway, I got my first view of the lake.  It turned out that what I was looking at was only a small bay on a very large pond or lake.  The portion we fished had a dock, by which we parked, a shallow bay to the west, and a boathouse to the northwest, flanked by two wooden piers.

We fished from the bank, and my son went east while I went west.  I was fishing a used Kelly's pier-boy with the pink fire tail.  [Later that day, I realized that the hooks on that pier-boy had become dull.  This was the first time I had ever lost fish--plural--because of dull hooks!]  I took a couple of casts to the left side of the dock we parked by (of course), but then started moving west along the bank.  I focused on shallow water close to what structure I could see.  I didn't get any sort of bite until I moved west of the first bush that grew on the bank and into the water.  There were some larger branches sticking out of the water from the bank to about ten feet into the lake.  I cast from the left of the clump right beside the edge of those pieces of wood and got several bumps right away.  Then, I got a big bite, and reeled in a small fish (Isn't that always the way?).  This little half-pounder set the pattern for the day:

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Yeah, that's my "Franken-Boot," and I know I have a big foot, but that fish fought like hell!!

Really.

I have had these boots for many years.  They were Durango Apache boots--at one time.  They started falling apart around 8 years ago, but I just can't seem to be able to part from them.  I took them into a cobbler's shop about 3 years ago, and he just looked at me and said, "No."  I guess there just wasn't enough there for him to work with.

So, I decided to fix them myself with what I had.  For leather, I used parts of old, right-handed gloves.  When I buy gloves, I just put the right-hand one in a bucket!  So, that's how I  patched the places where the leather had worn apart.  Then, I used copper wire to pull the seams back together.  I tried to use glove leather to patch the soles, but they don't last long.

-----------------------

As I moved to the left, I circled around the shallowest part of the bay.  When I got beyond that point, I caught another small bass:

(I'm not stupid.  I took my foot out of this picture.)

5/22/14


Rule #54:  Treat wait staff with respect and good cheer.  Tip well unless there's a very good reason not to, and in that case, always bring the issue to the manager's attention.


So, my next installment of the White River Experiment was not very productive.  I managed to catch one regular sized river blue-gill:

...but for the most part, the day was bite-free. [Yeah, that fish is only slightly bigger than the lure it its mouth.  So?]

However, this was the first time I had my best gear out--the Pflueger reel and my BPS rod--and I have to say that I got at least ten feet more out of light lures.  I need to have a day when I have more bites to ascertain anything about the rod's sensitivity.

I tried the wacky-worm, a crawfish-style jig, a crankbait, and a spinner.
The day was hot (85 degrees), and humid.  There was a high blue sky, with very little cloud cover.
No real wind to figure into a cast, and the water was very cloudy, but not brown.

I think I had a couple of nibbles on the wacky-worm set, but it's hard to tell (although I can cast that about a quarter of a mile!).

The tiny chartreuse crankbait kept hanging up on it's back treble hook, which was a pain in the ass.  When I caught this bluegill it was a total surprise.

Fishin' Holes

2013

Rule #4:  Always carry a pocket knife--except to school or on a plane.

[I am reposting this for context.  Beyond the fisherman's normal paranoia about others finding their favorite "holes" and "haunts," the folks who own some of these waters don't deserve to be harassed with requests to fish.  I also have the same fear about divulging the names of my fishing friends.]

It occurs to me that although I refer to the places I fish throughout these posts, I haven't described them adequately.  I'm working on a map of the River to show my progress, but I have other sites I enjoy and fish pretty regularly--especially when I fish with Girl I, Girl II, and The Doc.  Of course, I can't divulge locations, for there are still few so well-kept secrets as fishing spots.  If my readers were to figure out, from my description, where these places are, I'd have to kill you.  Both of you.

The next times I visit these places, I'll take some pictures.  For now, this should suffice:

1.    Keep Out Lakes 1 & 2:  In the spring, driving on the interstates around here is extremely dangerous for me, not because everybody other than me is a horrible driver, although that's true--but because my head whips from side to side as I see one interstate pond after another.  When they built the highways, especially the overpasses, the road crews took dirt and stone from beside the road, giving the landowner a new pond.  Some of these have been manicured and maintained in beautiful shape.  If you drove by the Keep Out Lakes, you wouldn't be all that impressed.


2.    Fisher Ponds:  This site isn't really a single pond, it's three connected ponds that used to be small gravel pits.  My great-uncle, owned this property for years. Though he and my great-aunt have passed, the present owners are good friends (isn't Muncie great?!!) and they let me fish their pond often. When The Doc and I were in graduate and medical school, respectively, we fished here all of the time.  We caught many 1-2 pound bass, and an occasional 3 pound.  The amazing thing about "Fisher Ponds" was the size of the bluegills.  I measured fish that were over 13 inches long!  There are still some of those in the ponds--Girl II caught one last year and called it "Franken-Gill"!  When you're lucky enough to hook one of these, they fight harder than any 2-3 pound bass!  One of the most effective lures for these monster bluegills was a #1 Silver Mepps with an Uncle Josh Fly Strip or the leg off of one of the frog lures.


3.    Muncie-Tucky: This is another series of small, abandoned gravel pits.  When The Doc had to greatly decrease the number of patients he saw, he was sure to keep two types of people: those who owned fishing spots, and those who owned bars.  Who would blame him?  One of the best patients he kept was the owner of "Muncie-Tucky."  The Doc and I have caught some truly memorable fish from these connected ponds.  Once, Jeff caught a fish that we couldn't immediately identify.  It was an at least 2 pound, maybe 3 pound crappie!!! Neither of us had ever seen one that large. I hooked a catfish here so big that it pulled our  boat around (of course, it stuck its ugly head up above the water and then broke the line!!!).   Doc and I caught many good-sized bass on crawfish-patterned jig-and-pig combos..


4.  The Rez:  Prairie Creek is a relatively new reservoir that is owned by the Water Company.  When we moved to Indiana from Montana, the back yard of our first home butted up against Water Company land and the Rez was about  1/2 mile from home.  I confess I have caught few fish in the Rez, and 99% of those I have caught have been stunted crappies and mudcats with the occasional bluegill thrown in--and almost all of those were caught somewhere close to the bait shop on the east side of the impoundment.


5.  I've also fished the Mississsinewa, but I don't know it all that well.  I learned to throw very light-weight Rooster Tails on that river, across River Road from an Artesian Well, catching Goggle-Eyes, sunfish, and the occasional river smallmouth that always thinks it's twice the size it really is.


6.  Horse Pasture Pond:  Not technically in the pasture, this pond belongs to good friends who own horses.  The pond is more an ornament than anything else, though it has some little bluegill and bass in it.  I'm sure it probably has mudcats as well.


7.  The Doc's In!:  The Doc always has a new intern with a pond, or a colleague who has either purchased a home with a pond or has recently built a pond on his or her land.  These places constantly change, though.

8.  [2014]  Speaking of "The Doc," last year he finally had a small pond dug on land passed down to him by his grandfather.  He has stocked it with Channel Catfish (they have to be stocked every year to feed the other fish), Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass.  It should be "fishable" in 2015.


>I'll say here so that I don't forget:  I will write a post about Camp Windigo and some of the times the Doc and I had out there as well as other places I probably won't fish again:  

• Summit Lake
• Brookville 
• The Boy Scout pond across river from Camp Munsee
• Phillips Pool
• Lutheran Hills
• Eagle River Fish Camp
• Montana's Madison and Blackfoot Rivers

>Also, I have lost--or in some cases, misplaced--many fishing friends.  

• My Uncle Dave, who though he passed away some time ago, remains the most important man in my life, was a constant companion.  He loved squirrel hunting and took it very seriously.  Fishing, for him, was just fun--the way it should be.

• One of my best friends, Tim-Dog, was (even though he wouldn't necessarily agree!) a better fisherman than a golfer!  TD moved to the Big City, and we have recently reconnected.  Hopefully, that means we can do some fishing again.

• Grandpa B-- who taught me a lot about enjoying fishing, and who could be relied on to throw at least one silly-looking lure ten feet up in a bank-side tree!

• Mr. G--who knew so much about fishing, but was always content to watch the Doc and I catch fish.  "All Right!!!"

• Mr. B--who only fished while wearing a tie!

• Vedas Davis--"King of the Wild Frontier."

• Kirk, who I love like a brother but will never get in a boat with again . . . ever. 

• Barry, who didn't really like fishing that much, but who graced me with two of his father's fishing poles when that good man passed.  I treasure them.

• Some of the Doc's and my friends and Beta buddies.

• Buck and his degenerate friends. (Sounds like a rock band, right?)