Finally landed a 10-pound silver salmon on my own rigged gear

I've been fishing the Kenai River for about 4 years now, mostly borrowing my buddy's rods. Last month I built my own setup from scratch - a Lamiglas rod and an Okuma reel - and I took it out last Saturday. After 3 hours of nothing, I hooked into a 10-pound silver that fought like crazy for 15 minutes. I actually landed it without any help, and it felt WAY different than using someone else's gear. Guess I finally understand why people get so particular about their own combos. Has anyone else had that moment where your own rig just clicked compared to borrowed stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerychen2d ago

...and then you realized your buddy's rod had been compensating for your bad hooksets this whole time. I swear, the first time I used my own setup, I finally felt what a real bite was supposed to feel like instead of just yanking on a rock. My buddy's old Ugly Stik was like trying to feel a fish through a 2x4. Now I can actually tell the difference between a nibble and the bottom. Congrats on the silver, but you're probably going to spend more on gear in the next year than you did on the last four.

claire642d ago

Got into the same situation myself last year when I finally upgraded from a hand-me-down rod. Realized I'd been missing half the bites because I couldn't feel them, not because the fish weren't there. Ended up buying three new rods in six months because I couldn't believe how much better fishing got with decent gear.