I’m not one to either endorse or talk ugly about anyone's fishing equipment. But I’ve got to tell someone about the remarkable experience I had this week with the lightest gear I can lay hands on, especially my new 7’ ultralight Fenwick HMG Trout & Panfish rod. And I want to tell everyone I know to forget that old cliche’ about it taking a big lure to catch a big fish.
So there I was, peacefully fishing a small Northern Colorado pond from a belly boat with that 4.8-ounce Fenwick rod, a 1000 series Daiwa reel spooled with 4-pound Nanofil braid and a fluorocarbon leader, tied to a barbless 1/32-ounce Mule Fishing mushroom head jig. Just hoping for a nice bass or bluegill, with no warning I found myself confronted by the biggest carp I’d ever seen: 34-inches long, just a tad under the Colorado state record.
That bruiser and I battled it out for well over half an hour, likely longer. At least I thought of it as a battle; the fish seemed indifferent as it tugged me around and around that pond in a Colorado equivalent of a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride.” Nonstop, the rod was bent like a pretzel and yanked from side to side. From the outset, I was pretty sure I was about to test the replacement warranty on that Fenwick.
Anyway, though it was terrifying to see that $160 rod being put to such an ultimate test, the sweet little thing just wouldn’t break. When part of the fish was finally crammed into my net, I was exhausted, my right wrist was bruised and sprained, but the carp and the Fenwick were unharmed.
Over seven-plus decades of fishing, I’ve managed to torture and snap my share of rods: tried to pull a jig free from an overhead tree, mishandled more than one rod while landing a fish, dropped a couple over the side of my belly boat, even had the wife slam a trunk lid on three rod tips all at once. Also had a kinda costly, heavier rod snapped by a much smaller carp a decade or so back.
Anyway, I’m sold on that ultralight rod and ultra finesse fishing, and thinking I really should add that little Fenwick one-piece 5-footer to my arsenal. Father's Day is coming.
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