Monday, August 27, 2007

Boys Toys - III

Pocket Pen Rod & Reel




I will start by saying the rod is broken. It snapped halfway along the rod. No idea how. That may be the good news, because it means more stuff I can throw out and simplify my tackle box.


For all the traveling I do, I thought this might be neat – or at least cute. After putting some braid on, I tried casting with it. Nothing happened. So it turns out one has to hand pull it out – just like a drop line, but not as convenient. Perhaps at a small “tourist” pier, with 6’ to the water.


But then looking at the reel and trying to reel line in, you can feel right away you will get carpal tunnel syndrome for the tiny amount of leverage you have on the reel. It is smaller than a spool of thread, maybe the diameter of a dime. This is way beyond ultra-lite.


So in the spirit of Mythbusters, I have to say this is a WoM – waste of money. It might have worked if they had chosen fibreglas and a spin reel, but this is really a toy.


For travel, the best I have found is a Rhino 4-piece rod that packs down to 22” and expands to 6 feet. I have an old $10 Shimano spin reel I use; so the whole thing cost me $5 more than this toy.

N.B. – I have looked on the web for the same Rhino rod I have and have NOT found it; instead there is a baitcast rod with a trigger grip. I bought mine last year at Dick’s Sporting Goods, but have not seen them since.


Probably a distant second would be the Pocket Fisherman, with which I was able to cast, but unfortunately, was unable to change the line without it no longer working ... actually, just could not get it back to together.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

iPhones

There you are in Wal-Mart and you remember you promised to take your 10-year old nephew fishing. What do you do? Whom do you call? The 30 Second Fisherman, of course! Not only is the website available on your iPhone, but many of the original episodes are on YouTube as well!

Need to know what rods to buy? Go straight to Combos (You only have five minutes to shop, right?). No $20-30 combos appealing? Get a Shakespeare Ugly Stick or Berkley Lightning rod, 6 ½ feet, $25; then a Shimano reel with Quick Fire II plainly visible! Black = $10, Silver = $30

Line:

30lb braid. (Spiderwire; Stealth if you can find it)

Hooks:

2/0 Extra Wide Gap (EWG), - Gamakatsu


3/0 circle - Gamakatsu


snelled #6. - Eagle Claw

Snaps/swivels.

1 package (brass or black; no way to know which are the right ones …)

Sinkers:

Forget them

Bobbers:

maybe; both cigar and ball are tricky to put/keep on line.

Lures:

Anything Zoom; in black, red shad, chartreuse, white

Wow, that’s EVERYTHING in less than 30 seconds! (Oops, better learn to cast when you get home …and the easiest and fool-proof knot, the Palomar) Bait: take worms if you want, but chopped up cheese dogs do fine; use on snelled #6 hooks.