Summer Steel on the Rogue

August 30, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Spent a couple mornings out on the water with my good friend Jon Geyer. We were float fishing and tossing big ugly bugs with assorted dropper flies looking for some summer steelhead. We had a couple of great days. The fish were willing and it was nice to fish some steelhead for a change since we have been fishing salmon so much lately.
Here is my friend Mike Hansen with his first Rogue River Steelhead:

Some bent rod shots, the rods in these photos are Reel Tech Custom Float Rods as shown in the Custom Fishing Rods section. These rods are SWEET!!:

Some Rogue River Summer Steelhead:

I love the Rogue River….there is always something to catch, and often times you have the hard decision between targeting salmon or steelhead….life is rough!!
Tight lines and screaming drags to all!!!!

Fishing

8-27-28-11 Middle Rogue Salmon

August 30, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Spent the weekend camping on the middle Rogue with the family. We even had some time to enjoy some fishing. Took my brother-in-law Stephen and my Dad on Saturday morning to see if we could get Stephen into his first salmon. Lots of fish showing, but not going. We eventually found one that decided to chomp on the kwikfish.
Stephen Wittenberg with his Rogue River Chinook:

Sunday I took my wife Jennifer and my sister Diane out for a quick float in the morning. My sister went bendo 15 seconds after putting her plug out and the fight was on. We slid the net under her fish. My wife released 2 salmon at boatside that were smaller grade as well.
Here is Diane with her salmon:

A great weekend with the family, with some productive fishing thrown in for good measure!!
Tight Lines!!

Fishing

8-7-11-Salmon fishing on the Rogue

August 9, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Spent the day with a couple of great friends on the Rogue again. The salmon fishing has been good and getting even better. The quality of the fish has been great. It is of the opinion of many that the removal of the dams and the higher than normal water levels we are having are making these fish travel upriver much quicker than usual. Good news for us on the upper stretches of the Rogue River!!

George Freitas with a Pig of a Chinook!

George with another:

George hefting some Rogue River bounty:

Wyman White with a nice salmon:

The Reel Tech with a nice bright hen:

Custom Fishing Rods

Reel Tech Custom-Matching pair of steelhead sidedrifters.

August 5, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

A customer and friend of mine wanted a matching pair of steelhead sidedrifting rods for his boat. He chose Rogue 9′ SS904-2 6-10# blanks for the build. These blanks make fantastic steelhead sidedrifting rods. He wanted to go all out and chose REC Titanium Recoil Guides for their lightness and toughness. He wanted a butt section that was not too long to be cumbersom while wearing the heavy clothing of winter steelhead fishing, but also wanted enough but to have plenty of power while fighting fish. We went with 10″ rear carbon fiber handles which are just about perfect. He really liked the palm swell of the American Tackle AERO Comfort grip seats, so we incorporated them into the build. They turned out fantastic! Two lightweight, super sensitive, steelhead slayin’ tools!!

Fishing

7-31-11 Middle Rogue River Salmon

July 31, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Spent a great day on the water with my good friends George Freitas and Barry Fillipone. The weather was hot today, and the fishing was a bit slow. I did get lucky with this one big Chrome Chinook late in the morning. Caught while backbouncing RGB (Real Good Bait).

Captain George Freitas at the helm of his fine fish whackin’ drifter!

Custom Fishing Rods

Custom Salmon Backbouncer Builds

July 27, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

I just completed a couple of custom salmon backbouncer builds for some dear friends of mine. Both are built on Rogue SM827 8’2″ 12-25# one piece blanks. Jon Geyer wanted something with a red/white/blue patriotic theme. Dan Ingledew wanted something in dark blue/silver to match his new custom Willie Sled. I had a blast making them, and they came out AWESOME. The recipients are also very pleased with their new weapons!!

Custom Carbon Fiber Split Grip design:

Jon wanted alternating main guide wraps in red/white/blue:

I did some custom diamond pattern wraps on the exposed blank of the split grip for each rod:

Photos of the signiature area just above the hook keeper:

Got a pair of custom steelhead sidedrifters in the works….photos coming soon!!

Custom Fishing Rods

Custom Rod Build for my wife

July 1, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Finished a custom build for my darling wife Jennifer in her favorite colors. Built on a 7’2″ 6-12# blank, I chose a split grip design with the American Tackle AERO comfort reel seat. This seat is so comfortable, it has become my favorite spinning seat. My experimentation and design for the decorative wrap on the blank below the rear grip came out AWESOME. Many smallmouth will fall victim to her magic with this custom wand in her hand!!

Fishing

Spring Time Fun!

June 26, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Between fixing reels, repairing rods, and building rods, I have been hitting the local lakes chasing big smallmouth. It has been pretty good and we are catching a few better grade fish on each outing. The topwater bite should be coming on here pretty quick…..fun times!

Dad Bendo on a nice one:

Smiles:

Jerkbait Smallie:

Tube lovin’ Bronzeback:

Fishing

Passing it on

June 26, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

Had the pleasure of taking my neighbor Sean Dega out to show him the ropes of bass fishing. Needless to say, he was very happy and connected with the his largest smallmouths to date.
Sean Bendo on a nice Smallie!:

Happy man:

Fishing Reel Repair

Resurface and Rebirth

June 3, 2011 The Reel Tech Leave a comment

I had a customer bring me two Abu Garcia reels for service and repair. One of which had a story behind it. While fishing in the Rogue River, he caught an Abu Garcia 6500 C-3 reel that was at the bottom of the river. He gave me both reels with this story and told me to see what, if anything, I could do with the one he brought up from the bottom of the river. I looked at the reel, did a few quick troubleshooting things to determine if the reel was a total loss or not. Other than the obvious “river rash” it had from bouncing along the river bottom, I told him I thought I could get this thing to fishable condition again. Some thorough cleaning, a couple of replaced bearings and drags, and she is ready to fish!!