Just Go Fishing

Here recently, I have been working seven days a week and am currently in what I like to call zombie mode. If you have ever worked a stretch of seven day weeks in a row, accompanied with long hours, then you might know the feeling. You become mentally and physically exhausted but still well aware of your surroundings. That being said I haven’t been on the water in a few weeks and it is starting to get to me. Every day that I am stuck behind that refinery gate with the sun shining, it seems a piece of my soul is on the verge of dying. My only thought is to stay safe, keep grinding away, and I’ll hopefully be back on the water soon.

One good thing that is coming from all this work is that I’ll be dropping my skiff off at Jorgensen Marine next week to have a new set of lithium trolling motor batteries installed. I have heard nothing but good things from all the anglers I have spoken with that have made the upgrade. Their universal response has been that they will never again go back to AGM batteries. This upgrade has been a long time coming and I am really looking forward to seeing how they work out.

Even though I have been busy I was able to escape work early one day and check out the Houston Fishing Show. As always it was great to see some old friends of the industry and to get to see some of the new products being showcased. One of them is the new J.I.G. rod that JH Custom Rods is building. They took a light action offshore speed jig rod and turned it into an inshore rod. I have checked it out very thoroughly. It is lighter than any graphite rod you can find anywhere and the strength cannot be matched. They had a 10 pound weight there in the booth and demonstrated by making a dead-stick lift with the new 7’0” light action rod. Needless to say I had to get one.

Another product I simply couldn’t resist was another Bates reel. If you haven’t heard of them, just wait because I think they are going to be the next big thing in the world of lightweight, precision baitcast reels. What sets them apart is the design and manufacturing method of the reel frame. They start with a solid block of aluminum and machine it down to become an exceptionally rigid one-piece baitcasting reel. I purchased one last year at the show and it stills casts as flawlessly as the day I bought it. I have had no issues of any kind with it and that is why I had to get another one. On top of that, they also make their own fly reels. I was excited to get one in my hands and, hopefully before summer, I will have added one to my arsenal and will be conducting testing in the real world on redfish and other species. I’ll be sure to provide a performance update as soon as I can put it to use.

Of course I had to swing by the Sight Cast Fishing booth. These guys have made a business of tying saltwater flies and rightfully so. They tie some beautiful flies and I can attest that they catch fish. While I was there I stocked up on a good supply of tying material and more of their attractive stickers…as if I needed anymore!

Fishing has been on my mind 24/7 since the Fishing Show and I cannot wait to get off this turnaround cycle at the refinery and hit the water. The more I think about it the more I cannot help but think people should strive to get back to the basics of fishing. I think that we rely on technology and modern day conveniences instead of just going and enjoying what’s out there. I remember the days of fishing with my brother on the Levy Road at Sabine chasing trout. Literally, all we would have with us would be our fishing rods, a pocketful of Norton Sand Eels, and at most a topwater or two. We still managed to catch plenty of fish and learned a lot about the area.

This past year I have caught myself not wanting to get on the water unless everything was pointing toward a day of perfect conditions. Looking at it now and with work depriving me of my passion, I’d do just about anything to simply go out and wet a line. The fact is, you don’t need all of this elaborate gear to just go fishing. Spring is right around the corner and this is a perfect time of the year to be outside and on the water. The birds should be working with plenty of trout stacked underneath while the redfish should be moving into the marsh backwaters. There are plenty of opportunities to catch fish right now, you just got to get up and go!