Salmon Fishing Report & Water Gremlin Contest Reminder

I just posted a short report and photos in the forums about the salmon fishing trip I went on yesterday. Dave landed three solid fish, and there were several other guys that landed some absolutely massive ones. I still haven’t managed to land anything on my float setup yet, but I’m getting better and closer. I also dropped my reel in the water and had to fish it out by stripping all the line and backing which was a huge headache. I may head out again in the morning to the Credit River, hopefully I’ll have better luck.

Don’t forget about our new contest where you and a friend could win some fantastic gear from Water Gremlin! Here is a simple breakdown of the contest details.

1. Register for our Forums
2. Post in our Member Introductions Forum

Refer a friend to Fishing Fury Forums by having them and you could win! Winners are chosen every month for the rest of the year, with the year-end winners receiving a full weight set from Water Gremlin!

Continue Reading the Salmon Fishing Report

Traditional Japanese Rod Making by Adam Guy

Adam Guy recently sent me a new editorial on making traditional Japanese bamboo fishing rods. In his email he described the process and techniques used to handcraft these beautiful rods, which I found very interesting, and once completed he takes his rod fishing for the first time. Adam is never one to leave us hanging, but always the one to leave us hungry, he takes us home with him and shows us a fully prepared plate of fresh Japanese Whiting caught on his handmade rod. If this doesn’t impress you and make your mouth water I don’t know what will.

The editorial is 3 pages long, but it’s a great read and I recommend you start at the beginning. However if the internet has modified your behavior patterns, or you’re the type of person who enjoys reading the last page of a novel first, you can skip to the end for the fishing report and food.

Here I will describe the process of making my first bamboo fishing rod, with a few photographs. Some of the stages, particularly the lacquering, I was unable to photograph as I had my hands full; also some of the tools and techniques are trade secrets that must remain in the workshop. For beginners it is usual to start with a rod for either madai (red snapper) or shirogisu (Japanese whiting) with a bamboo body and fibreglass tip. Since I go fishing for whiting much more often than for snapper, I went for the latter type. The first step is the selection of bamboo; there are many varieties, of which about six or seven are used for rod making. My teacher showed me a variety from his stores, which is bamboo which has been cut and then dried for a number of years. So long as the bamboo is kept free of burrowing insects, it can keep for decades; some of his best bamboo is from his own late master, whose stock dates back to before the War. Unlike bamboo ‘cane’ that is split and fashioned into rods in the West, bamboo is almost always used whole for Japanese fishing rods.

Continue reading Making A Traditional Japanese Bamboo Fishing Rod by Adam Guy…

Jack Lake Fishing Report, August 21-22 2004

Here is another one of our older articles, this time it’s one of my favorite Musky reports from 2004. Unfortunately, it was also the weekend that my thumb got a nice gash when a Musky tried to have it for lunch, it was still one of the most beautiful and memorable weekends of 2004.

Enjoy!

“We were no longer men. We had become something more. We were like gods, fishing from the clouds in search angels…”

Our day started late, we arrived at Jacks lake around one in the afternoon. The sun was bright and shone down with great heat. We layered up with sun block, packed up the canoe and set out on our way. We covered the opposite shore with soft plastic baits in search of lunker bass. We quickly advanced over shallow shorelines covered by weeds and rock. Within a couple hours we had reached the bay we wanted to fish. We decided to stop and prepare some food, allowing the afternoon sun to cool down.

We headed directly to the spot we planned to fish. Prior visits to this location had led us to believe muskie
could be located here. We cut the motor a hundred yards away. A cool breeze drifted us perfectly into position. I tied on a Mepps black fury (Musky Killer) with a black bucktail. Jon did the same. The smell of muskie was in the air.

Continue reading…