Building a Fishing Rod

   About 10 years ago, when I was living in Lake Stevens, WA,I noticed an ad in the paper about a class on how to build your own fishing pole. That sounded interesting so I called to sign up and the gentleman suggested that I come in before the class and pick out my rod blank, color of thread to use and the type guides I wanted to use. I went in to the shop Craig's Custom Rod's in Lake Stevens and the owner Craig was tending the store and helped me pick out everything I needed. I picked out a rod for trolling the big water there in Puget Sound. Total bill came to about $100.00 dollars. I almost fell over but Craig said when I was finished with the fishing pole it would be worth $150.00 to $200.00  if I were to buy it already made in his shop.

   The night of class I showed up and there were a total of  5 people taking the class. Not everyone came in early and picked everything for the rod building project, so we waited tor the others to get all the needed to do this project. I ended up spending more money for a fishing pole holder to put the rod blank on. This way I could lay the blank on the fishing pole holder and turn it with one hand and put the thread on with the other hand. The fishing rod rack had a place to put one or two spools of thread on it. Once we got started I found out this really was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Thankfully Craig gave us a sheet with the measurements we need for the guides for the different types of fishing rods we could build.

   Craig is a great guy. He spent time with each one of us and gave tips on how to do it better then we were doing. The rod came out great. I had a reel at home already my father-in-law had given me that fit the new rod perfectly.

   I enjoyed doing this rod that I decided to make each of the 5 grandchildren a rod. I started with the oldest to the youngest. Well, each time I did one the better I got at making them. This worked out great for the youngest because she got the best one. I enjoyed making those so much that I signed up for an advanced rod building class. This class showed me how to do fancy weaving and engraving with the thread I used.

   I asked my son what type of rod he wanted and he said he wanted a fly rod. I had never made a fly rod but decided it couldn't be that much more difficult so, I went out and purchased all the parts and got the color of thread he wanted but decided to do two colors and a fancy weave at the bottom. It came out so great I decided I want one too.

Columbia River Fishing

   For the last 3 years I have gone salmon fishing for the fall run of king salmon. I try to go with my son, Chad, and my son-in-law, Monte. We generally go the end of September or very beginning of October. We this last year both Chad and Monte went with me. I chartered a day trip with Chris Benson from Tri Cities Guide Service.

   I have chartered a day trip with Chris for the last 3 years and will continue to go out with him each year.  Chris is a great guide. He teaches his  techniques for fishing, know where to go and is just a great guy to go fishing with. We have been out with Chris when fishing was a challenge but at the end of the day we have fish when other guides don't. Its is a good feeling when you go to the loading dock and you have several fish and the other boats don't.

   This year, we had just gotten to the first fishing area and Chris was baiting the hooks and Monte said I think I have a fish. I had my back to him and said you just put your bait in the water and it is probably just bouncing off the bottom. Well, I turned around and the pole took another hit while in this fishing pole holder. Monte quickly grabbed the pole and remove it from the pole holder and sure enough he had the first fish for the day before Chad and I had our bait in the water. It was a nice fish and started the day off great with us all thinking we will be done by noon today.

  We finally got another hooked just before noon and this time it was on Chad's pole. The pole jumped in the pole holder and scarred us all. He landed his fish and it was a little bigger then Monte's. This got the adrenalin going for us all and again thought things would pick up.

   Mid afternoon I finally got a fish on and that brought us to 1 each. My fish was smaller then the other fish. That is pretty typical of my fishing. We decided to continue fishing but just burned up gas. The day beautiful outside and we all did enjoy that. It finally got late after noon and we decided to make one more drift thru the hole when my pole jump in the fishing pole holder. I grabbed the pole and landed a great fish.

   With the day over the count is one each for the boys and two for Randy, that's me. This too is typical of my fishing. Generally,  I out fish those who go with me. Not always, but generally.

Giant Fish

  My wife and I went to a dinner/auction with our Small Group from our church. It was sponsored by our high school kids. Well, Steve won the bid at $250.00 for a day fishing trip for 2 people with lunch and snacks furnished. The gentleman giving the trip was kind and offered 2 trips if I wanted to do it. I agreed and paid the church.

   I told the guide I wanted to do a sturgeon fishing trip. I chose a buddy I hadn't gone fishing with in years. On the day chosen we got there early in the morning and went up the Columbia River to what is called the Hanford Reach. I was very quit and a beautiful morning. It took about half an hour to get where we wanted to be.

   We fished for a couple of hours with little to no action but that was ok because we were enjoying the beautiful day and good conversation. Suddenly my friend hooked a sturgeon and finally landed it. It was 1 inch short of legal. Well, we took pictures and let it go. Perked up the morning and we continued fishing hoping to hook a legal fish. This is how the rest of the morning went.

   We ate lunch with no other action. Later that after noon my friend hooked another fish and when landed we measured and it was just short we thought. Mark released it too. I asked the friend who took us fishing if he had a fishing regulation guide and he looked around and found it. I looked thru the regulation and discovered that Mark's last fish was legal. Oh well, our fault for not knowing the regulation.

   Well, it was getting late afternoon and I still hadn't had a bite even. I was setting there eating the snack when my rod jerked so hard in the pole holder, I thought it was going to bounce out of it and into the water. Boy did that start the adrenalin. I grabbed the rod and when I felt the weight on the rod I was sure the fish was legal.

   I want you to know that when a big fish wants to go in another direction there is nothing you can do to stop it. I continued to put pressure on the pole and he continued to fight back. My arms were getting very tried and after about 30 minutes I gave my fishing pole to my friend. I gave my arms a rest for about 5 minutes and took to pole back. The fish still strong, I kept putting pressure on him to come to the surface. He finally came to the surface and I about fell out of the boat. This was a giant fish to me. The fish took one look at the boat and went back to the bottom. I continued to put pressure on him and he finally gave it up and came up to the boat and we hooked his tail and went to the bank and took pictures and measured him. He was 6'10" and was 150 pounds. This is the biggest fish I have ever caught in freshwater. But he was to big to keep, so I released him.

   The Columbia River produces sturgeon much bigger then this. I know of people catching sturgeon well over 12 feet. This was my biggest fish caught on the Columbia and it was a great day. The captain took us on a trip up further up the river and we ran into a group of foru mule deer. Three of the had four points on their antlers and one deer had five points. Beautiful day and thanks to the captain.

The Family That Fishes Together Stays Together

Back at the beginning of February I ran across and great website fishinghistory.blogspot.com hosted by Dr Todd Larson. I E-Mailed him and asked him if I could do a posting on his blog and graciously agreed to letting me do a posting. After that I asked if he had the time to do a posting for my blog and he said yes. The following is what he wrote.

The Family That Fishes Together Stays Together

by Dr. Todd E.A. Larson

I grew up in a family that fished before they could walk, so when I had a child of my own, I wanted desperately to introduce her to angling as soon as I possibly could. After all, she was going to grow up in a household surrounded by hundreds of fishing rods, reels, and thousands of lures. 

But as I watched my daughter grow from an infant to a toddler, I was at a loss to figure out how to accomplish the very act of turning a child into a child angler. I knew I wasn't going to force it upon her, as that rarely has positive results. So how to get her interested in fishing?

The answer, it turns out, was simple, at least in my daughter's case. I introduced her to the wonders of the outdoors first. While I was fly casting from shore for bass, she would wander the shorelines looking for tadpoles. When we were out in the boat, I let her feed the sunfish off the bow. And most of all, when she wanted to hold a rod and actually fish, I tried to make sure that she would catch a fish. 

I can't emphasize this enough. Children who fish MUST CATCH FISH or they will tire of it and never want to fish again.

Of course, for me this meant a whole lot of fishing for sunnies and perch, and not very much chasing after trophy smallmouth or pike. But the sacrifice was worth it--my daughter grew to love fishing very much.

Lots of kids love fishing. How do you keep the love of angling alive as they grow older? That remains the most important question. I think of this as my daughter grows older. Will she still be an angler during her teenage years? When she goes to college? 

She is growing before my eyes and I suddenly realize how ridiculous these questions are. 

As I watch her cast, I realize I cannot worry about tomorrow. I must concentrate on today, and remember that my daughter has a love of angling that is deep and abiding. That is something I am truly thankful for. 

I will, of course, encourage her to continue her angling journey, but without forcing it on her. Because if there is one thing I have learned it is that a child's attraction to fishing is natural, and all an adult has to do is simply encourage and support them and they will turn into lifelong anglers.

There is no simpler truth than a family that fishes together stays together.

http://www.pixelarchitecture.com/todd/fish01.jpg

http://www.pixelarchitecture.com/todd/fish_june_2010_11.jpg

http://www.pixelarchitecture.com/todd/asa_fly_fishing.jpg

Dr. Todd E.A. Larson, Publisher
The Whitefish Press (http://www.whitefishpress.com)
The Classic Fly Rod Forum (http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/)
The Fishing for History Blog (http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com)

If you have anything interesting to post please contact Dr Todd Larson at the above websites. He also listed three other interesting sites.

Thanks again to Dr Larson

Randy Wright

Cell Phone

   When ever you go fishing or even out for a nice nature drive, you need to have some way to contact someone for help if you need it.  That's why, it is of my opinion, that you should always take your phone and if anyone is with you, they should take their phone too.

   There is no better safety percussion then having your cell phone with you on any outing. You need to make sure you have fully charged the battery and remind anyone going with you to do the same. If you are taking your phone with you when going fishing you might consider putting it in some kind of waterproof bag. Phone won't do much if you drop it or it falls into the water. From experience, I know the doesn't work to well after it has be submerged in water.

  This is why I recommend you have the person that came with you to carry a cell phone too. You just never know what is going to happen. I was fishing a mountain lake and forgot my phone and did not remind my partner to bring his when an older man fishing the same lake fell and broke his hip. Well, lucky for the older man someone on the lake fishing had a phone and called for help. It still took about 45 minutes for the ambulance to get to where we were, but at least help came and was able to get the man to the hospital. That made a believer out of me. I always take my cell phone now.

   You need to be sure you put the cell phone in a secure pocket too. Not all pockets are good for the phone. I lost my phone one time while fishing, it fell out of my pocket and I didn't know it until I got back to the truck and tried to make a call but the phone was gone. We tried to find it but couldn't. Well, when I got home and informed my wife the phone was lost, she was not a happy camper. A few days later I bought another phone that cost me 250.00 and about a week after that the phone company called me and said someone found my phone and wanted to know if I could come and pick it up. I informed her that I purchased a new phone and to give it to the organization the gives phone to battered women.

Fishing Agentina

I was looking aroung at sites for fishing out of the United States and came across bressanpesca.wordpress.com his site showed some beautiful country of Argentina and a lot of different fishing photos showing different types of fish caught. I contacted Ricardo and he was very kind and gave me permission to post one of his posting on my blog.

OCTUBRE OCTOBER. The waterfall does not fail, this month the tents were giants, at times not bite but when they did the ability to Kennel was important. Ruben had a chop very subtle, canoe and began the tent to go to different sides, with fine nylon hook and small (92 553 No. 1 with pulpit earthworm) carp showed no truce, after a couple of minutes you could see the back and the terrible side of the tent, I guess I was too fat by the number of eggs that had the codend up the tent that afternoon charged 6 kg.Por mullets jumped as spectators, no spike in heart Azuelos with strips of colored patíes later came some guys and to my surprise one day was burriqueta.El barbarian. LOMOS DE CARPAS BACKING OF TENTS
BRESSANPESCA BRESSANPESCA

  I would love to go to Argentina and fish with Ricardo. Now that I have a friend there maybe I will. Go to his site and look over all his posts.Ricardo_Bressan@yahoo.com.ar

Tools of the trade

I found this article when I was doing my posting on fly fishing. You can find this entire blog listing by going to pikeflyfishingarticles.blogspot.com or just go to Google and look up fishing blogspot and he is about the 4th or 5th listing.
When I contacted Simon Graham he was very kind and let me post one of his articles on my blog and signed up as a follower on my blog.

Here's a new floating line from A Jenson. The Pike Specialist flyline is designed specifically for pike fishing, where it is necessary to cast big bulky flies with accuracy. With the aggressive bullet front of the line, you feel great control even when making short casts. The full length of the head is slightly high, which will load the rod deep, to push big flies a long distance. The front taper ensures that your fly will turn over even in windy conditions, with an almost delicate ease. The Pike Specialist is a 2 colored flyline, with a contrast colored runningline. This helps during casting, as you will easily detect the ideal loading point of the line for long casting. Both ends has our slim welded loops.