Went to Olathe after work yesterday with the intention of fishing my new Pinnacle Optimus reel and Pinnacle Perfecta DHC5 rod. I was really planning on mainly fishing and not doing much catching but the 42.7 degree water at the ramp was higher than I expected and gave me a little hope. I ran straight to the high rock bank on the far north end because I know it has the deepest water in the lake and the sun was already shining on it. The rod and reel felt great, I could really sling my 7/16oz finesse jig a long way even with it being spooled with 20lb fluoro. I'd only made about a dozen cast when I felt what I assume was a limb or brushpile in 25-30' of water (I was impressed I could still feel it since my fingers were already numb). Just like I had been, lifted slowly and it was mush, then an ever so slight pull downwards that I immediately met with an almost straight up and down hookset. Just an average Olathe fish but it was 1 more than I planned on catching

I was momentarily sidetracked while trying to retrieve a spook that someone cast into a tree that was a good 30' away from the waters edge. After another 30 minutes of casting with no luck and the wind blowing way harder than the 6mph they forecast, I started just casting out to deeper water and drifting down the bank, fishing uphill and looking for baits as I floated. Right about the time I started to hit the curve in the bank, I drug my jig on one of my first pulls after it hit bottom and got whacked. I set the hook and nailed a limb    Irritated that I'd missed the fish, motored out to my bait to try to get it back. I was snagged in about 19' of water on the edge of where the bottom begins to climb up to the 15' range when all the sudden my depthfinder was spotted with fish everywhere    I had a feeling what it was and after quickly switching my jig to a War Eagle jigging spoon, it hit bottom and I got all of 2 hops in before I felt the telltale "tick" as it was fluttering back down. The line getting ripped from the spool was a pretty dead giveaway, the broad white side and stripes just confirmed it. 

After that it was on like bing bong Jack!

The last one was my biggest at 5lbs 10ozs and bigger than my 22" board. She was a real fighter who had beaten another angler at some point.

Quite a workout for it's first time out and both the rod and reel performed flawlessly. Got the reel dialed in really fast so it was easy to cast even with frozen fingers, then the drag got way more work than any bass will ever put it through and it never missed a beat there either. Loved the combination of power and sensitivity of the rod. Not what I'd typically use for a jigging spoon but it's what I had and it worked just fine. I actually got to use the Quickflip button on one of the fish that hit my spoon on the initial fall and it worked just like it should. Obviously not a real thorough test but if yesterday was any indication of what I can expect, I'm going to really enjoy fishing with this setup

Awesome, looks like that worked out very well. Gorgeous and healthy fish.

Great report!

 

 

 

 

Nice fish, man. I like that combo.

Good Deal ~

 

Nice bunch of "Drag Evaluators" 

 

Congrats

 

 

A-Jay

Looks like you had a lot of fun out there!

Nice write up Clayton. What were the specs on that rod?

Lets just say it was hard to stay at work yesterday with Clayton texting me pic after pic of the fish he was catching!

Next time we are out I'd like to try that combo, it looks sweet!

They still have an uphill climb perception wise, but Pinnacle has really stepped it up with their offerings. It's nice to see some new blood in the quality tackle market. 

Looks like a great day at 'product testing'.  Congrats!

Glad to hear you liked the pinnacle. I won't be able to test mine till Saturday. Ill either be on Guntersville or on my home water.

Nice write up Clayton. What were the specs on that rod?

It's the 7' 6" MH/F 12-25 1/4-1 ounce with the 7.3:1 reel. It's the light flipping/pitching, small swimbait, frogging rod, and apparently jigging spoons too 

Lets just say it was hard to stay at work yesterday with Clayton texting me pic after pic of the fish he was catching!

Next time we are out I'd like to try that combo, it looks sweet!

Forecast for next Friday looks good right now. I'd love to get to Wolf Creek and try to stick some smallies with it  

They still have an uphill climb perception wise, but Pinnacle has really stepped it up with their offerings. It's nice to see some new blood in the quality tackle market. 

Admittedly, I've only ever owned 1 Pinnacle rod and reel, and I did like it despite the fact that it was a very inexpensive casting combo. I've always been guilty of listening to other fishermen who talked poorly about Pinnacle's offerings, despite the fact that a lot of them were probably just repeating what they'd heard from other fishermen, as I can't ever remember fishing with another angler who ever actually owned a Pinnacle rod and/or reel. Despite that, I've gone into fishing this setup with an open mind and have been thoroughly impressed thus far. The reel is very tight and smooth and was easy to set. The handle is comfortable, the weight is the exact same as a Curado I that cost $20 more, and it's a good looking reel. The rod looks and feels great as well. I really like the power and sensitivity, really can't wait to get a hold of a big fish in heavy cover with it to see how well it will move a fish in that situation. 

I'd love to go get some Nucular Smallies next Thursday or Friday. I just checked the winds are 18 Thurs and 30 Fri but they may change by then?