Great Gear
Why waste your time with lousy gear and horrible fishing tackle?
I don't.
This section will deal with gear that really works. No bullshit, no-nonsense fishing tackle that I can recommend.
Fly Gear
A three week fishing trip to Chilean Patagonia will really test your fishing gear to the limit. Any piece of equipment with a weakness will break down.
On my recent trip I was fortunate to fish with the best rods I've ever used from Zpey
I used the 5-weight Dreamcatcher. it really lived up to it's name. I used it a lot from the bellyboat. A great rod, with lots of finesse felling but still strong enough to kick some butt on those stubborn and hard fighting Chilean browns
I also used the Zpey Infinity series, and particularly like the 966. A great rod with loads of power. A real pleasure to cast as well. It works deeply, and you can really load a lot of energy in that blank.
This rod really got bent a lot from the bellyboats. Here's Bo with that rod in the tube:
Fishing from the tubes was great fun, but sometimes getting to the water was a bit of a challenge:
If you hike in rough terrain, it's vital that you gear is up to it. That's why I am so pleased with my Patagonia stuff. Their waders and wading shoes are in a different league. They are simply a lot lighter and strong as hell. Some brands market their waders as the most puncture resistant on the market, but forget to explain that the reason is that they use five to six layers of goretex. Patagonia's equipment is simply much lighter and made from less material. That means a lot for your comfort. You instantly feel the difference, and at the end of a long day of hard work, you especially feel the difference, because you are not drenched in sweat. I use their waders, their fleece, insulation, well just about all my clothing is now Patagonia. It's not just better and more durable, you can also wear it with a cleaner conscience, because it is made with the greatest attention to the environment. I like the thought that my fleece is made from used cola bottles, and if I should be able to wear it out, I can return it in a store, and it will be turned back to cola bottles.
Well okay, any wader will suffer, when put under extreme stress:
But that's why someone invented Aquaseal, I guess.
Underneath the waders I wear Patagonias lightweight merino wool longjohns. Fantastic comfort and moisture wicking qualities in that little piece of equipment. I will never go back to the stinking underwear made from various synthetic materials.
I know..I've got a softbait abuse problem....
I'm going to round this section about jigging off by inclding a picture of a jig you simply cannot be without, if you're a serious jigger. The Lunker city Shaker.
This jig is equally good for spinning and vertical fishing. It excels at slow paces. It is a sturdy jig as well, it can take som abuse from sharp-toothed predators.
With this jig, I'll round off the jig academy for this time. Maybe I'll be back with a section about vertical jigging later, but this is it for now...Unless, that is, you want to read the article about jigs right HERE
This time, I'm going to praise an all-time favorite of mine
Relax Kopito 4L
Relax Kopito is probably the best jig on the face of the earth for any kond spin jigging. It works really well as a vertical jig as well, but I think it's in a league of it's own for casting. You can retrieve it any way you like. It is a broad bellied round body jig, that will roll and wobble when retrieved at a steady pace. I favorite method of mine is to simply let it sink to the bottom, retrieve the jig steady and let it sink to the bottom for every one or two metres. If the jighead you use is the correct weight, you can fish really, really slowly this way. Something zander simply love! Strikes are usually really brutal and agressive.
Here's a highly recommendable softbait dealer:
Michael Jensen's Top Predator
The Relax has given me more than one 5 plus zander, but in smaller sizes it's a killer jig for perch as well...
SavaGear Jig 'n Spin 7-25 g.
Simply a great rod!
Fast, sensitive, and great value for money.
I've now used this rod for a year or so. The simple fact that I haven't broken it yet bears testament to the sturdy nature of this no-nonsense jiggin' rod.
it's a great and very versatile tool for all kinds of jiggin and spin fishing with cranks and stuff.
No nonsense No bullshit gear. That's what we like...
Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid
I never thought I'd do this, but here it is, my recommendation af a woven superline.
The new Spiderwire Fluorobraid is simply great! It does what it says on the package. It sinks! This is a great feature for many kinds of fishing. You get absolutely direct contact with your terminal tackle.
Allow me to give you an example of why this is a great line: Right now it's peak season for zander fishing. If you spin fish a jig by casting it, line and lure control is essential. You want direct contact with your jig at all times. You can detect bites no matter how subtle, and you can set the hook with full force. There's no slack line in the equation, which simply translates into more hooked fish.
You can also fish a lighter bait, which is sometimes a huge advantage, because jig retrive speed is of the essence. Sometimes the large lunker zander prefer a small bait barely crawling over the bottom. Now you can fish lighter baits with greater precision and control.
The reel, by the way is the excellent RedArc from Spro. A great no-nonsense workhorse reel at a budget price. Great value for money. Use it, abuse it and replace it. I am pretty sure this reel will last me just as long as any other brand selling at thrice the price.
Slayer
I still remember it. Vividly. Listening to the ultimate heavy metal band in my teenage years: Slayer. The horribly explicit "Reign in blood" could really make my long hair stand on end, expecially if I listened to that tune in the dark, with the lights killed...
The long hair is long gone. The love for metal is still there somewhere, but the the distinct tail action of the Fox Slayer jig, rudely interrupted by a savage take by a fierce predator, can give me goosebumps just by thinking of it, especially when I cast for zander in the dead of night, with only the sound of rain on silent waters as company.
This is a killer jig. And it gave me a present just recently: a 6 kilo vampire of the night...Zander Zlayer!
Notice the stupendous mistake made by the guys at Fox. How can anyone who've ever listened to true metal let Slayer and Cappuccino be even remotely connected? Death to you wicked merchants of sin!!!666etc..
You can basically mount this shad on any jighead you like. It makes sense to rig it with a sharp stinger treble, or even better, a deadly Gamakatsu twinex. More about that later...
The Cannibal
This is a classic shad jig. I won't go into why it's called a shad jig. It's got something to do with a small baitfish present in North American waters. Enough of that nerdy stuff already. A Shad jig, like this Savage Gear Cannibal Shad is THE go-to jig for all kinds of jiggin'. Small Shads are killers for perch, medium sized shads tempt Zander like no other jig I know of, and any pike with any self-esteem will hammer a decent sized shad jig.
But which shad jig is crap and which is gold?
What you want is a shad jig with a rolling, flashing action. In some kinds of situations the jig has to mimick a preyfish trying to escape a big toothy predator. Not every shad jig out there has that kind of action. It all depends on the tail.
If the tail section of the jig is properly designed, and you mount it on the right kind of jighead, the lure will get an irressistible rolling, flahing action, that will tempt predators of all kinds.
Savage gear shads all have that action. On top of that, the Cannibal series are realistic as hell. For daylight fishing or fishing into the twilight, and clear waters, this is a great lure. Take a look at this monster. It inhaled a 10 centimetre Cannibal Shad like the one above. The take felt like someone throwing a rock on the rod!
Oh, and: sorry about the moustache. Movember and so on....won't happen again...
