The PCS Blogosphere
What's That Sound?
Question:
I gave my Shimano Charter Special a complete clean, regrease and rebuild (it was actually pretty clean inside, with no wear) and noticed that the drive/pinion gear noise is quite noticeable when winding the handle, not in a bad way - it doesn't sound like there's anything wrong - is this usual for these reels? Do I maybe need to put more grease on the gears to quieten it a bit? I was even more noticeable when I had it attached to a hollow glass Ugly Stik rod... Cheers, Mike. (Australia)
Question:
I gave my Shimano Charter Special a complete clean, regrease and rebuild (it was actually pretty clean inside, with no wear) and noticed that the drive/pinion gear noise is quite noticeable when winding the handle, not in a bad way - it doesn't sound like there's anything wrong - is this usual for these reels? Do I maybe need to put more grease on the gears to quieten it a bit? I was even more noticeable when I had it attached to a hollow glass Ugly Stik rod... Cheers, Mike. (Australia)
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The Giant Squid Bite Is On
Tuesday night, I took Dan from the office and my buddy Kip out to catch giant squid. We all have done it before, but it's worth doing when they come in.
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Tuesday night, I took Dan from the office and my buddy Kip out to catch giant squid. We all have done it before, but it's worth doing when they come in.
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Shrimp off San Francisco
Started hearing isolated stories about shrimp off the Central Coast, mostly about the coon striped shrimp (smaller shrimp as contrasted with the larger spot prawns which can be found in deeper water). So I invested in two shrimp pots from Willapa Bay and gave it a try. I run a few crab pots so I just zip tied the two pots to two separate crab pots and put them back down, fishing right where the Dungeness crabs are caught, not expecting much. Imagine my surprise the next day when the first pot I pulled had more than 200 shrimp! And the fact that the shrimp pot was full seemed to pull more crabs into my crab pot as well, so a double win. Anyway the second pot had only about 20, but I was enthused that there might be something to trying this.
Started hearing isolated stories about shrimp off the Central Coast, mostly about the coon striped shrimp (smaller shrimp as contrasted with the larger spot prawns which can be found in deeper water). So I invested in two shrimp pots from Willapa Bay and gave it a try. I run a few crab pots so I just zip tied the two pots to two separate crab pots and put them back down, fishing right where the Dungeness crabs are caught, not expecting much. Imagine my surprise the next day when the first pot I pulled had more than 200 shrimp! And the fact that the shrimp pot was full seemed to pull more crabs into my crab pot as well, so a double win. Anyway the second pot had only about 20, but I was enthused that there might be something to trying this.
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Winter Hamachi (Japanese Yellowtail) Jigging
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
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Salmon Collapse: Water Is the Real Problem
Ocean conditions may have some impact on salmon, but California water is the real culprit in our salmon collapse. That is the conclusion of most experts who can look at the data with a clear eyed analysis. Marc Gorelnik, a brilliant physicist/lawyer and fisherman, has done the analysis below from publicly available data and posted this on Coastside Fishing Club's web site. The politicians who want to blame "ocean conditions" take a small piece of the truth and make it into the whole story, but Marc's post shows what is really happening.
Ocean conditions may have some impact on salmon, but California water is the real culprit in our salmon collapse. That is the conclusion of most experts who can look at the data with a clear eyed analysis. Marc Gorelnik, a brilliant physicist/lawyer and fisherman, has done the analysis below from publicly available data and posted this on Coastside Fishing Club's web site. The politicians who want to blame "ocean conditions" take a small piece of the truth and make it into the whole story, but Marc's post shows what is really happening.
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More About Spinning Reel Upgrades
Question: Hello, I am new on this forum and from France. I am interested in spinning reels from a Taiwanese manufacturer. Some of their reels seems to have large drag washers like Stella and Saltiga, but no one in France is familiar with these models. Have you an idea on these reels? Have you tried them? Thanks for your answer. (Narbonne, France)
Question: Hello, I am new on this forum and from France. I am interested in spinning reels from a Taiwanese manufacturer. Some of their reels seems to have large drag washers like Stella and Saltiga, but no one in France is familiar with these models. Have you an idea on these reels? Have you tried them? Thanks for your answer. (Narbonne, France)
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Who are the true hardcore fishermen, anyway?
Over the break between Christmas and New Year, I found myself boat-less with a son who wanted to go fishing. So we ended up at a little pond by the house, catching tiny largemouth bass with a worm and bobber. We struck up a conversation with a gentleman who spends a couple hours a day in this tiny pond. He is a diligent angler and works hard to catch; the problem is that the only fish to catch are tiny largemouth bass and a couple of two pounders or so, along with a selection of small turtles that take the bait on accident. He is definitely what I would call a hardcore angler; he just loves to fish.
Over the break between Christmas and New Year, I found myself boat-less with a son who wanted to go fishing. So we ended up at a little pond by the house, catching tiny largemouth bass with a worm and bobber. We struck up a conversation with a gentleman who spends a couple hours a day in this tiny pond. He is a diligent angler and works hard to catch; the problem is that the only fish to catch are tiny largemouth bass and a couple of two pounders or so, along with a selection of small turtles that take the bait on accident. He is definitely what I would call a hardcore angler; he just loves to fish.
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Enjoying a Day on the Water with Friends Is Priceless
Halibut fishing has been a decent pick lately for us on eight- to twelve-pound fish, although I have not been out much. Last year we really got into them good in December and January with many 30-lb-class fish. Every year seems to be different. There’s no substitute for time on the water to find a bite pattern. Bounce-balling is great for this given the amount of sand you can cover since it’s essentially slow trolling the bottom.
Halibut fishing has been a decent pick lately for us on eight- to twelve-pound fish, although I have not been out much. Last year we really got into them good in December and January with many 30-lb-class fish. Every year seems to be different. There’s no substitute for time on the water to find a bite pattern. Bounce-balling is great for this given the amount of sand you can cover since it’s essentially slow trolling the bottom.
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Resources Secretary Chrisman Being Replaced by Water Guy
I have long been a critic of Governor Schwarzenegger's Resources Secretary Chrisman who, between the two of them, have done enormous harm during their term to the environment and especially to our salmon, striped bass, and the entire Sacramento River delta. So now Chrisman steps down (finally!) to be replaced by Lester Snow. Mr. Snow has been a water bureaucrat his entire career as evidenced by his resume sent out in a press release last week:
I have long been a critic of Governor Schwarzenegger's Resources Secretary Chrisman who, between the two of them, have done enormous harm during their term to the environment and especially to our salmon, striped bass, and the entire Sacramento River delta. So now Chrisman steps down (finally!) to be replaced by Lester Snow. Mr. Snow has been a water bureaucrat his entire career as evidenced by his resume sent out in a press release last week:
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The Fun Option
Calico bass action is the fun option – especially when large swells stir up surging whitewater around boiler rocks at the SoCal islands. Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Nicholas, San Clemente are the hottest options for braggin'-size sportcoats. When the swells are up, we're casting larger swimbaits (5 to 7 inches), slugs or Gulp! grubs (6 to 9 inches) rigged weedless to target the biggest bruiser bass around.
Calico bass action is the fun option – especially when large swells stir up surging whitewater around boiler rocks at the SoCal islands. Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Nicholas, San Clemente are the hottest options for braggin'-size sportcoats. When the swells are up, we're casting larger swimbaits (5 to 7 inches), slugs or Gulp! grubs (6 to 9 inches) rigged weedless to target the biggest bruiser bass around.
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