On a pleasant Sunday afternoon, I catch the first bass of my life. The moment I felt the strike on the ned rig I had set up just ten minutes prior, I torque my rod with great force. The dirty little pickle fights and fights, splashing out of the water once, twice, three times! I wasn’t going to let this one go like the previous one. Once it was close enough to the bank, I heave it out the water. There it was, my first bass, flopping on the grass. By the time I gripped its mouth, it had already picked up heaping amounts of loose grass and dirt around it. I didn’t care though – I just caught my first Large Mouth Bass.
I wake up the next morning and notice that my rod tip had bent downward toward the base on the rod. Perplexed I examined it closer to see the structure around it had given way. It could have been a number of things, but I assumed it broke while it was in my car. I headed to the store the next day to repair it.
I walk into “The LongFin” a local tackle shop in the Southern California region eager to repair my rod tip. Mark welcomes me in. He’s dark from the many hours on the water and he looks me up and down. I present my rod and explain the situation. He takes one look at the rod and says “this isn’t a rod tip” to which I looked back with even greater confusion. “Your rod tip broke off and whats remaining is the 2nd or 3rd guide” he explains. At some point, my rod tip must have broken off and I had been fishing off the guides!
Josh who had tagged along jokes “you should just get a whole new set up”. My irresponsible side kicks into overdrive and immediately I agree with him. He cracks a devious smile knowing he had incepted a brilliant idea. Mark sees an opportunity and rides the wave. “The current generation of the Shimano Vanfords are on sale $50 off, any size”. Josh is intrigued because he’s got the Shimano Stradics, the previous generation of Shimano’s top line, but he remains quiet allowing me to fall deeper and deeper into my thoughts. My practical side makes a valiant effort to counter as I consider my perfectly good reel – just my rod needs replacement.
In a blink of an eye, I’m shaking Mark’s hand and leaving the store with a Shimano Vanford 2500HG. What have I done? Buyer’s remorse immediately sets in, but I dont care. Nothing can stop me at this point. I return home and jump on my laptop ordering the Bass Pro Shop Tourney Special (Medium Heavy/Fast/6’6″). I was now at a place of no return.
The Reel
The Rod
Pictures to come…
Chanbin 찬빈 