EricM
Well-known member
I have set my sights on a 65-ish pound blue cat, this time on 6 pound line. I took my wet noodle rod (Ugly Stik 7' casting, ultralight, 2-6 lb rating) and headed for the river. I found a few small cats - about 3 pounds - and talked to a friend who managed a 25 earlier in the day. The fishing at the nuke is very slow, even for the small ones.
I did manage to be almost ready when a small school of white bass surfaced. I caught one and lost a very nice one at the boat, both on Foley spoons. They quit and I couldn't get them to hit deep.
It's a good thing I didn't hang a BIG fish today. I would get a strange vibration at times while I was reeling in with pressure on the line. At first I thought it was my newly-tuned reel, but after a bit of experimenting I discovered that the tip guide, which is polished stainless steel on this rod, had a groove worn in it. I thought that it was quite strange since I only used 4 pound mono on it, but then I realized that there have been HUGE numbers of hours playing BIG fish on that 4 lb test, and that the constant stress of the line running back and forth across the tip guide as they took drag was enough to cut the stainless steel! Just for an example, I fought one fish for 8 hours and 10 minutes and another for about 6-1/2 hours, with lots and lots of fish taking 30-60 minutes to land. No wonder it wore out!!!!
Right now I am going to replace the tip and check the other guides. I am also starting to look for another, slightly stiffer casting rod - 7', medium-light action, 4 to 10 pound or 6 to 15 pound rating, CERAMIC or ALUMINUM OXIDE guides ( I learn - but slowly), and just the right "feel" (can't define that part). Looking for one is half the fun!
There will be future posts on this new challenge - as I commit more of my exceedingly dumb acts - while I chase the great white whale (or blue cat in this case). Try to learn from my mishaps and save yourself some time and embarrassment............................
I did manage to be almost ready when a small school of white bass surfaced. I caught one and lost a very nice one at the boat, both on Foley spoons. They quit and I couldn't get them to hit deep.
It's a good thing I didn't hang a BIG fish today. I would get a strange vibration at times while I was reeling in with pressure on the line. At first I thought it was my newly-tuned reel, but after a bit of experimenting I discovered that the tip guide, which is polished stainless steel on this rod, had a groove worn in it. I thought that it was quite strange since I only used 4 pound mono on it, but then I realized that there have been HUGE numbers of hours playing BIG fish on that 4 lb test, and that the constant stress of the line running back and forth across the tip guide as they took drag was enough to cut the stainless steel! Just for an example, I fought one fish for 8 hours and 10 minutes and another for about 6-1/2 hours, with lots and lots of fish taking 30-60 minutes to land. No wonder it wore out!!!!
Right now I am going to replace the tip and check the other guides. I am also starting to look for another, slightly stiffer casting rod - 7', medium-light action, 4 to 10 pound or 6 to 15 pound rating, CERAMIC or ALUMINUM OXIDE guides ( I learn - but slowly), and just the right "feel" (can't define that part). Looking for one is half the fun!
There will be future posts on this new challenge - as I commit more of my exceedingly dumb acts - while I chase the great white whale (or blue cat in this case). Try to learn from my mishaps and save yourself some time and embarrassment............................
