DansFishyBlog

Berkley NANO FIL - The New Kid On The Block.

2011-10-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

Berkley NANO FIL - The New Kid On The Block.

Whilst at the Tackle & Gun Trade show last week, I was given a spool of line to try that is set to take the lure fishing world by storm.

So what is NANOFIL?

Well its not a braid and its not a monofilament, its what Berkley call a unifilament.

The line is made from dyneema fibres, as are many of the company’s other super lines (braids).

In this case, though, the fibres aren’t braided but are molecularly linked and shaped into a unified filament.

This makes the line super slick and smooth.

Berkley are claiming up to 30% more casting distance compared with braids of the same diameter.

Nanofil has been specifically designed for use on spinning reels, it also has very little memory which make working lures very easy indeed.

The line has been in development for the past seven years and it looks like all the hard work has really paid off.

So how much does it cost?

It will be available in breaking strains up to 25lbs, price wise a 125m spool will be £17.99 and £34.99 for a 270m spool RRP.

What’s bad about it?

Well the only downside that I can see is that you have to be careful when tying knots. As it’s so smooth, the knots can slip.

Berkley recommend a double parlmor knot for tying directly to your lure clip or a double allbright knot for attaching to fluorocarbon leaders.

First impressions are that this line will play a big part in lure fishing in the UK over the 2012 season.

It has everything the lure angler looks for in a line. Low diameter, high breaking strain, it casts light lures a dream and is extremely abrasion resistant.

Ill let you all know what its like to fish with in the next few weeks.

Kayak Season is of to a flyer!

2010-05-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Its been abit of a marathon first week of kayaking this year. I was watching the forcast all week and was chomping at the bit to get afloat after the dismal winter we've had.
The first session was at on of our favorite early season cod marks, 'Skinningrove'. Fishing was fairly slow but Damo and Tony managed a few codlings up to 3lb between then but all I could manage was two pesky billet. The wind picked up in the afternoon so we headed in. The GPS indicated a total distance travelled of 11 miles.

We had the idea to go out the following evening after work but that first session killed us so we decided to give it a miss.

Monday was the next outing and Sandsend was our mark. We paddled around 1.5 miles off shore and was traight into fish me with a pollock of 1lb and a nice codling of 4.5lbs. I was thinking to myself that this was going to be a bumper session. As the tide slackened off the drift sped was perfect and i managed to pick up 8 pollock in one drift but they were all around the 1lb mark. just a tad too small for the table.
Damo was straight in to the cod and quickly boating 9 in succession. Unfortunatly only 1 was of legal size weighing 2lbs.

As the sun was setting the tide slackened right off and the bites dried up but we were accompanied by 4 dolphins which were feeding about 200yds off our yaks.
We headed in in a glorious sunset contemplating our next venue.

The next day we headed to Runswick bay to meet up with Glenn and Mike. There was a strong south easterly breeze blowing but with the drogues deployed we were soon on our first drift. I was first into fish with a pollock for the table and a nice codling weighing 2.5lbs. Next drift I hooked into a belter of a fish only to loose it half way up. That was all for me but everyone else managed a few fish each up to 3.5lbs.
All in all a good start to the season and with the water clearing nicely it can only get better.

Fantasista road test.

2010-05-03T01:59:00.000-07:00

Well i took the Fantasista Oren'ji out last night in the harbour to see how it handled a few different lures at different weights and types.

the first lure was a 40g Rapala Skitter Pop. I Cast out around 80yds or so which is around 20yds more than I could with my old 10ft Abu Ruby Crest. :)

The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to work surface lures. It also worked them alot more vigorously than my old softer spinning rod. Surface lure test - DONE :)

I then went for my old faithful Maria Chase BW Red Head. The rod brought the lure to life instantly as I darted it towards me.

All in all im thoroughly impressed and I cant wait for that first bar of silver to get hold.

My new weapon for the summer!!!

2010-05-02T00:50:00.001-07:00

With the summer season fast approaching, I thought it was time I treated myself to a new plugging rod. Working in a tackle shop I had every catalogue out and I started my search. There were a few nice examples but nothing that jumped out and said 'BUY ME!!!'.
The week after one of the reps was in the shop showing us a new plugging rod from abu garcia. The 'Fantasista Oren'ji'. I held it and fell in love with it...I had to have one.

The very next day I was on the phone ordering one. Watching every delivery for it to arrive it but no sign of it. Then one day I had a phone call from our warehouse saying there was a strange rod arrived on its own from Holland. I knew exactly what it was. For the next few hours I was like an over excited child at Christmas waiting for it to be brought down to the shop.

And here she is:

Intitally I was concerned about the rod being too powerful with the casting weight being up to 70g so i put an 18g plug on and it fired it out like a bullet.

Good times to be had I think :)