Shopping in Toledo
Ever get that feeling like its Christmas morning, when you just know that there is something going to be delivered in the mail that day? That was Monday around here, only question would it be an early afternoon delivery, or would it take all day to get here? It was the early afternoon variety, and I couldn’t wait to get that duct tape off the ends of the long white tube.
The rods from St Croix were here, two 8′ Premier glass trolling rods and a 6′9″ Medium Light Avid casting rod. I choose these carefully to match up with the right applications. Will any rod get the job done in a pinch, answer is probably. Will these rods perform exactly the way I want, to get that optimum feel, absolutely.
I picked the glass rods out to run my inline boards, these may be a bit stiffer to some anglers who target walleye. They are rated Medium Moderate action and will handle lines from 10 to 20 lb test. Some believe they need a really soft rod for pickerel fishing to absorb the strike. My philosophy is that the boards will do that in the first place, on the strike the boards slide back. That little extra bit of stiffness, coupled with the glass tech that goes into them, just handles the constant stress that the boards cause better.
The 6′9″ Avid Medium Light casting rod, actually says “dropshot” on the blank. It was designed for a method of fishing for bass, that until recently was illegal under Michigan regulations. Because the walleye tour that my partner and I fish has included Houghton Lake this year, I needed to expand my rod inventory just a bit to be able to adapt to the situations that can come up on that shallow inland lake.
What does this have to do with shopping in Toledo? I had to put some new reels on them of course. The original plan was to get a pair of linecounter reels to match up with the glass rods. I will drop in a shop or sporting goods store from time to time just to see what they have in stock, but when I go shopping for something specific there is a little planning involved.
I always call ahead, to make sure they have the item in stock, and to check with the store if they will allow me to bring the rods in, as well. Why bring the rods in? Because I want to check the balance of the rod and reel together, to get a feel for the weight. I could have gone to a place practically in my own backyard, but what fun is that. Besides with your better linecounters, the price is the same wherever you go and after a couple of times you know the place and speel by heart.
I wanted to see a pair of Daiwa SG 27 LCA’s, without the walleye handle. I might want to double this rod and reel combo some day for salmon fishing, and cranking handle is best suited for it. So I called a place in Taylor, all they had was the walleye handle model, then called another downriver location I haven’t been too in a very long time, all they had were the 17 sized models. So I called down to this place in Toledo. Just a straight shot down Lewis Avenue and they had them in stock, even said bring the rods in, no problem.
I walked in and started looking around. It was a small area to browse through, and the kid working there was quick to ask if I needed any help. I told him I was just looking the place over before I picked up some linecounters that I had called about. He remembered the call, and had them sitting out when I got to the counter. My mistake was that I kept looking at other reels. Found another reel that would be perfect for the Avid rod, wouldn’t you know it, it was on SALE. Normally I would have looked at the line after that, but knew I had some at home in the shop, and thought I better get while the “getting was good”!
I knew I had spent a little more than I had planned, but I could always tell “Betty”, “look honey, I saved us 60 bucks because of the sale”. I always wanted to turn that around to the other foot!!!!! Bad news is that I think I have to go shopping this weekend, and it won’t be for more fishing gear.