Consistant performance Emmrod after Emmrod

Just a quick post about this since it dawned on me.  I've been fishing these fishing rods since 2006 and realized just how many changes that have been made.  What I mean is rather than having specific favorite rods I had favorite styles.  So in other words the Emmrods perform rod after rod the same way.  No matter which Packrod and tip section I pick up when I add one of my reels the outfit is going to work every time the same as the last one.  Doing so many demos has also shown that shown how tough the rods are too going from angler to angler. Pretty cool.  I'll explore this more later.  Oh the picture, hey what's better than a happy child fishing with an Emmrod.

New Emmrod Packrod with TPE handle

This is one sweet setup!  The first fishing rod ever with a TPE handle.  The Packrod was chosen by Emmrod as the initial offering with the new material.  It's tough, easy to grip, very comfortable and lots tougher than cork.  Both versions of the Packrod, spinning and casting, will have this new material.  As with the first Ford cars it comes in any color you want so long as it's black.  The one pictured is a Packrod rigged with a seven coil Universal tip and a Shimano Citica bait casting reel.  Loaded with 12lb mono line right now it easily casts unweighted flukes and is killer with topwater plugs.  I can't wait to get hooked up to some big inshore fish on these rods.  For kayak fishing these new rods offer a powerful but compact way to land the big ones.  Oh yes and the cool part is there is no increase in the price!

Crappiethon and Jeffs Tackle Box Emmrods RULE

We had a great time today!  Set up this morning for the fishing booth portion of Crappiethon's Opening event in Cresent City Florida.  There was great interest in my fishing rods and we had a number of folks leave with a nice new Emmrod to have a blast with.  We also had some folks head home with one of the fantastic MuL 10 Qualia spincast reels.  They continue to impress me as the best spincast reel at any price.  This was a typical small town event, friendly folks and lots of great food.  There was a fish fry going on right across from our booth and it was outstanding.  Golden crunchy deep fried pollack was just the ticket.  Served with cole slaw and baked beans it made for a wonderful meal.  This was the first time we offered the new TPE handled Emmrods rods for sale.  I've tested them for a few months, this new handle material should be very popular.  It's much tougher than cork, the grip is non slip and very confortable.  If the Crappiethon folks have an event near where you live check it out. Oh yes the picture is of my wife Kate in the booth

A good friend retires

Over the weekend Kate and I attended a retirement party for a good friend.  He has spent over 40 years with the USDA/ARS .  Dr Richard Arbogast is one of the finest stored product researchers and experts in the world.  For over a decade he has been my go to person for situations I've had to deal with regarding those pests.  He is the best there is on the subject and for my life in the pest control world one of the best mentors I've had.  Here is a shot of his cake.  Dr. Arborgast is a pretty modest guy so the cake will have to do.   By the way he is also one of the formost butterfly experts on earth.  Best of luck my friend!   Yes, I know the cake is upside down, that just becomes a challenge to look at.

Dashboards or work space compared W500 and Grumman 13'

These are two vastly different work spaces.  One, the Grumman a WW2 updated by material design that has been around for thousands of years.  Then two, the Wavewalk 500 that has been with us less than a decade.  I've fished both designs extensively and spent many hours catching fish from both of them.  Figuring a trip from my regular saltwater launch.  The canoe while very well equipped takes time to get ready to go.  You've got to secure the Springcreek Universal Receiver, put in the floor, strap in  the seats,  then load the wheels plus stabilizers if you are going to drift flats and fish standing, finally you put on the foam gunnel pads. The wheels are required to get the canoe from the drop off space at the fish camp to the water down the wooden ramp.  The W500 needs the gear loaded up then the paddle clips put in place, that's it.  For getting to the water just pick up one end of the W500 by the two handles and drag it to the ramp, down and into the water.  It slides like a sled and none of your gear is displaced.  The dashboard or angling work zone is at your feet in the canoe.  With the W500 it's like a low table right at hand.  In the shots you see real world work space.  Messed up by fish and gear changes it's much easier in the W500.  Now for passenger use the W can handle two people but not for serious angling simply because the two anglers are too close to one another.  Flailing rod tips and lures even with my Emmrods in the W are just too close for comfort.  For solo angling however the W500 is golden.  So far as getting around on the water in either case I really like the double bladed kayak paddles over canoe paddles for flats work.  In creeks while sitting the canoe paddle is easier but if you are standing the long Wavewalk paddle is the way to go.  Besides paddling and standing in the W500 is just plain fun.  So far as toughness.  Roto molded poly is darn durable but so is aluminum.   Saltwater won't bother the poly much but aluminum must be protected by a coat of wax.  While aluminum will not corrode in the manner of steel it will still have issues over time if not cared for.  Now for storage the aluminum is the winner.  Just sitting outside uncovered leaning against the side of the house the poly kayak will have issues with our bright Florida sun and UV however the aluminum is just fine.  Both these boats offer different advantage and disadvantages.  They are light years apart in design but both are fine paddle crafts.  It's up to the individual what they are looking in a paddle style fishing boat.  My choice the last few years has been the Wavewalk 500.  Frankly I've gotten so comfortable being able to stand and fish at will with no effort it's hard to give that up.

13' Grumman movie clip

I shot this short movie before we put the Grumman 13' canoe in the water yesterday.  When this was all I had back in the mid 90s the boat went everywhere with me.  I car topped it to Miami when I worked down there and would carry it into my hotel through the patio door each week.  Then after work I would fish for a couple of hours each night.  With the wheel set up from Spring Creek it was so easy.  The canoe and I spent countless hours fishing all over the state when I traveled it working in different areas each week.  Sometimes I was lucky enough to have a waterfront hotel so it was only a few feet to the water.  What's funny was at the time I got the canoe I had looked at kayaks but nothing on the market in 1995 could match the light weight and ease of use the Grumman presented.  The gear and equipment for the craft included it's roll up floor (from the duck hunting world), the  Spring Creek rigged for wheels or pontoons, the folding seats, and the sections of foam padding around the gunnels.  Having the chance to use it yesterday gave me the opportunity to compare it to the Wavewalk 500 I enjoy so much.  For fishing frankly the W500 is a much better anglers tool.  For minimal prep and far less gear to deal with the Wavewalk is a dream for ease of use.   But for having the grandson along the canoe was a better choice since it gave me some distance between waving rod tips, lures and an excited child.  Working a  rod and fishing tools themselves is simpler in the W500 because of the work bench saddle area in front of me.  Also the tackle bin storage in the Wavewalk is much easier to use.  I always thought the Grumman was pretty quick but I believe the W500 is quicker yet.  Of course anything over a walking pace is wasted energy for fishing and both crafts are easy to keep going for long period of time with minimal effort.  I'll post a dashboard shot of the working area for each boat soon.  The Grumman canoe has been with us since the end of WW2, the 13' was the first model that was made.  The Wavewalk far less time but far more revolutionary.  Glad to have both on hand and it will be interesting to compare uses and water time in the future for both boats.

Floating Thunder returns to the water

My 13' Grumman canoe has been off the water nearly 10 years.  I got caught up in the wave of kayak fishing having a blast along the way.  My W500 hands down is my on the water office but it was time for a little time travel backwards.  Our young grandson has never really fished much and has only been on the water a couple of times and never in a paddle craft of any kind.  So having cleaned up Floating Thunder and gotten all it's rigging out and ready to go it seemed like a good match.  I had originally rigged my canoe to be a full blown fishing rig anywhere a paddle craft would be appropriate.  Everything from the floor to the seats worked great.  The boy had a blast even if the trip was fishing rather than catching.  The Emmrods worked great and he had fun just punching out castsin every direction.  He gets the joke and understands the joy of just being outside and on the water.  We will be doing this again for sure.