Aug 25

Fishing on a whole new level: My $1500.00 Rod and Reel Investment

Recently, I have been in the market for a new rod and reel set-up. After fishing heavy for the last 20-twenty plus years, it was time to step up the game and get some higher-end gear. I just want to say that, in no way am I endorsing , or officially sponsored by either of the below mentioned companies;, I am simply sharing my opinion on the gear I purchased. With that said, lets continue with my journey into the unknown, and this new-to-me price bracket for gear!.

Previous to my recent purchases, I was using a Berkley HMG spinning rod, paired with both the Pflueger President XT, and the President 6940 spinning reels. I did try the Abu Garcia Revo reel but had serious problems with line going into the spool and retired that reel into the junk bin shortly after. That was a three-hundred-dollar mistake. Something else to note, I was brand loyal for most of those 20 years. It was time to branch out and spend some money for that prize I marveled at, sitting in those locked, glass cases in the tackle shops.

I remember vividly remember looking at the reels under tight lock and key thinking to myself, “What nut job would be silly enough to spend that kind of cash on a reel?”. We are talking about a $900.00 reel!. I was absolute in my opinion that anyone buying that would have to be INSANE. I then looked down at the pile of all those ‘“other’” reels I had in my discard bin and added them up. There were over 20 reels in that junk pile, which led me to think about adding up the combined cost of all those reels that were toast. Let us do the math here and see who’s really “insane”. The average cost of one reel was $120.00 retail, times 25 is 3000 smackers!. WOW!!! Spending $900.00 on that Shimano Stella was not really that out of line after all, right?.

Obviously, something as impressive as the Stella must be paired up with a killer rod, right? Right!! I decided (after giving it some very serious thought), that a rod by St. Croix was the solution for me. High quality deserves to be matched with high-quality. No more $120.00 rods for me. After searching the internet and asking my friend Jesse – , who is the director of Marketing for St. Croix for advice. After we talked, I selected the Avid, two-piece, 6’6 Medium action rod. I have no room to store a one-piece rod, so two-piece rods are the way to go for me. I know that a little sensitivity is lost, but it just works better for transporting.

After waiting for the reel to arrive from Japan, and getting the rods shipped to my door, I finally got to try the ‘“holy grail’” of fishing reels a month ago. To say this thing is smooth like microwaved butter is a gross understatement. I spooled the reel up with the regular monofilament line I normally use; the Berkley Trilene XT, low-vis green. So far, after over a month of fishing with it, I have never gotten a bird’s nest or had any sort of problems with the line on the spool. Additionally, there has never been an instance where the bail has closed on me mid- cast, like some of the other reels I have used in the past. The power and performance of the Stella is unreal, and doesn’t compare to all other reels I have touched.

Moving on to the rod, I wanted to make sure I had the utmost sensitivity in the rod I chose. I wanted to keep the rod around the $500 dollar mark, so I began my search on the official St. Croix website. Another attribute that was super important to me was the warranty of the product. I wanted a rod that had at least a two to five two-five-year warranty, and these rods totally fit that bill. These rods have a 15 year warranty! Obviously, in order to offer that kind of warranty, they stand fully behind their rods, and it shows.

The history behind the St. Croix rods as follows.

Each rod is hand crafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin, with the company being in business for a staggering 76seventy-six years. The St. Croix Avid spinning rod has been around for at least four years, and I could not be happier with my investment. St. Croix’ s Premier Series of rods has been the top-selling family of American-made rods for over a decade running.
“I know these rods have a special place in the minds of my team members, because Premier has been in production in Park Falls longer than any other,” says St. Croix Production Supervisor, Brandi Schmidt. “When we see Premier rods on the schedule, it resonates that there have been over 60 years of Premier rods coming through this factory. There is a real sense of pride to make sure that the rods we produce today live up to that name and that legacy.”

Offering 67 distinct spinning and casting models for everything from panfish to musky, the powerful, sensitive and classically styled Premier Series rods are proudly handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin and give anglers the upper hand in almost any angling situation.

In conclusion, to say I am over-the-moon happy would be an understatement. I recognize that for some, this kind of combo is out of reach financially, but after over 30 thirty years of fishing, I had to treat myself.
I will definitely keep you all posted as to how they perform year after year; or if I have any issues with either the rods, or the reels, but so far…..WOW.

Thanks for reading,

~Mike

Jul 06

Fishin’ and Flying Rainbow’s

With the first bye-week of the CFL season for the Calgary Stampeders football club, and the Bow River in prime fishing shape, it was time to meet up with my friend Reggie Begelton and go after some trout. This was Reggie’s first trip out with me this season, as he is back from Texas where he lives and busy doing what he loves, playing ball. Normally he catches footballs but today he will be catching the Bow River’s finest fish.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the hoodie I am wearing in the first picture of Reggie and I. Reggie has his own brand of merchandise called R/B Merch found here https://reggiebegelton.com/ Reggie is donating half the money from purchases of his clothing brand to World Vision Canada. World Vision Canada is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, World Vision Canada is the largest private relief and development agency in Canada. If you can, please pick up some great hoodies or hats and support a great cause in helping cure hunger.

We decided to meet at Policemans Flats boat launch and fish the top portion of the river. With the rainbow trout now coming back out of the Highwood River post spawn, this is a great stretch of river to fish this time of year! The water levels were high, with the river stained up a touch, but looking great to crush it.

I rigged up two rods for Reggie, one with the Robertson Tackle Dreamsicle, and the other with the 4.5-inch Robertson Tackle Sunrise Samurai. Its smart to have both a deep diving lure as well as a shallow diving lure ready to go. We set out of the boat launch early (6:45 AM) and headed down river get the first fish in the net. It was not long after we launched that Reggie smashed his first amazing rainbow trout and put it in the boat. The second fish I miffed the net job and bumped the hook off the fish before I could get it into the net. Sorry about that Reggie! Within the next two casts, Reggie hooked another great rainbow that did two epic jumps out of the river before getting all the way into my net. I was not about to miss that one.

We carried on down to almost the Highwood River junction where Reggie kept putting them in my net one-after-one. It’s always a blast for me to see him smack fish all day and do what we both love out there. The peace and quiet is always a blessing and the company is top shelf. Always appreciate you coming out fishing Reggie.

Thank you so much,

Mike

Jun 22

Crank-Bait Fishing With Jesse Simpkins of St Croix Rods

It is always an honor and pleasure to fish with each client. I deeply appreciate everyone who spends their hard-earned money in the G3 jet boat with me! I always have, and I always will. Let’s face it, there are many other activities one could be doing with their extra money. Yesterday I had the privilege of fishing with Jesse Simpkins, who is the marketing director of St Croix Rods from Park Falls, Wisconsin. Jesse had some lay-over time in Calgary before making his way north to fish toothy Pike and Lakers; so why not go fish a world-famous river with yours truly.

I met Jesse at Policemans Flats boat launch shortly after his flight landed in Calgary. We rigged up the St Croix Avid, 6’6 spin rods, with my own brand of fishing lures, The Robertson Tackle Dreamsicle. After prepping the boat to launch, we headed upriver to a few spots I was sure Jesse would catch some. In short order, Jesse had his first fish in my net, a beautiful Bow River brown trout.

Shortly after leaving that area, Jesse hooked into a monster Bow River brownie pictured above. If that was not seriously amazing, Jesse finished his day with another trophy fish that absolutely crushed the Dreamsicle lure. We opted to close the show on that note with Jesse saying, “how can it get any better than that Mike”. I wholeheartedly agreed and that was a wrap for the day.

Jesse and I had a total blast fishing the day away, telling many fish stories, as well as talking about the St Croix brand and the wonderful people behind it. It was an honor to fish with him once again. Thank you so much for coming out with me Jesse.

I appreciate ya’.

May 12

Walleye Fishing McGregor Lake

Was nice to take a break from trout fishing and head out to McGregor Lake this past weekend. My girlfriend Charlene has never caught walleye before, so we headed out to cross that species off her bucket list. With low winds, combined with sunny skies, we headed out early to blade worms using the “bottom bouncing” technique.

Bottom bouncing while trolling is an effective technique as the live worms move slowly, trolled off the bottom with a 3-way bouncer. We launched the boat and made our way across the lake, slowly trolling the shoreline on the east side of the lake. It took about an hour before we hooked up into our first walleye. Charlene was super pumped to get her first fish in the boat. We took a couple quick images and released the fish back to be caught again another day.

The bite was quite slow for the first few hours but picked up just around dinner time. Charlene managed to land eight great Alberta walleye and I got several myself. We were super happy to spend the day out at the lake and get her bucket list fish crossed off for her.