Grand Slam

I've had this Major Craft Trapara 562SUL for a while now but haven't used it as I've been fishing on a big river since the season opened. It's 5' 6'' and rated 0.8-3g. I paired it with an Abu 800 'Specialist' loaded with 10lb Super 8 Slick Power Pro. At first glance it looks like a fairly standard spinning outfit....

...until you get a sense of scale.

The rod, reel, line and lure weigh about 6 1/2 oz  and the blank is incredibly thin!

I decided it needed its first outing and decided to take it on a small stream I haven't fished for almost 12 months.  I have enough Matt Holmes (fishfooler - see links) snap beans to make a chilli con carne and they are perfect for this outfit. The stream is very shallow at the best of times but in this extended dry spell  is only inches deep for long stretches. Matt's beans are perfect as they run super shallow with the rod held high and can work down to a foot or so with the rod tip low. They have a fantastic tight wiggle and are super stable even in fast water - I've never come across such a small lure which is as stable in fast water.

The first deeper pool produced a small perch.

The water was like gin and the fish super spooky and I spent an interesting hour or so watching fish follow but not take or nip at the lure without hooking up.  The rod has a through action and I found it hard to set the hook by striking in the usual way. I eventually worked out that the best way to get them to stick was to point the rod straight at the fish and use the reel with the clutch set fairly tight to set the hook.

The chub in this stream are mostly not as big as on the river but are really nice looking fish.

I did see some better fish that looked around the 2 or 3lb mark but they just ghosted away at the first plop of the lure landing.

 

 Once I'd worked out how to set the hooks I landed a few of the gorgeous little brownies to complete a grand slam of sorts !

This one came from this little tongue of fast water in a typically tight swim.

I absolutely love this rod - even the tiny perch were bending the rod. I've tried a variety of lure fishing styles over the last couple of seasons but I get the most fun from the ultra-light set ups and this jungle style approach - fishing at its finest.