Gear Review - Garcia Veritas Rod

Back in May I won the opportunity to test an Abu Garcia Veritas Rod through the Outdoor Blogger Network.  Since we do a lot of bass fishing, I was really excited to get the chance to try this rod.

Right out of the box I liked the look and feel of the rod.  First off, it's a beautiful white color and it's extremely light weight.  My husband fishes a lot of bass tournaments, and if you know anything about tournament fishing, they are on the water for about 8 hours per tournament.  Multiply that times 1 rod cast every 5 minutes or so and you get the idea of how many times they are casting rods each tournament.  Some rods are rather heavy and really give your arms a workout.  For that reason alone I felt the Veritas light weight rod would be a big plus.

From the Garcia website, here are the rod specs:

Features:

• 30 Ton graphite construction with NanoTechnology for Decreased Weight and Increased Compression Strength
• One piece double anodized aluminum screw down creates a secure connection with the reel
• High density EVA handles are more durable and comfortable
• Abu designed extreme exposure reel seats provide direct finger to rod contact for increased sensitivity
• Titanium alloy guides with SiC inserts create a lightweight, balanced rod design
• Texas-rigged hook keeper for all bait applications
• 1 piece rod

Since we are a fishing family, we really gave this rod a work out and everyone got in on the testing process.   We've been on the lake constantly for almost 2 months and the Veritas got used practically every time someone got in the boat.  Louie set it up first with the Berkley Schooling Rig Kit.....

He loved the light weight feel of the rod and felt the length was perfect.  He also said that the rod responded well when he threw the Rig Kit and he liked the rod action.  He didn't care for the white color.  He also didn't like the feel of the grip and said he would prefer the regular, thicker grip.  He feels a beefier grip is more comfortable in his hand.   

Junior tested it using a Carolina Rig set up and he was impressed with the light weight feel of the rod as well...

He liked the way the rod responded and thought the weight and balance were very nice...

Junior also liked the construction of the rod, the connectors and the eyes.  The only thing he didn't care for either was the thin rod grip.  The color of the rod didn't matter to him either way.

When I used the rod I have to say that I loved the lightweight feel of it.  I felt it was easy to cast and responded very well.  I could feel the bass strike the rod and it had nice action reeling it in.   The thin grip was a plus for me - however, I would like it better if it was coated with the foam all the way down the butt.  I also really like the white color.  It makes it super easy to spot whether it's in the boat or hanging on the rack.  Your eye is just drawn to it!

But the person who had the best luck with this rod was Chablis.   We all went out one night and she snatched up the Veritas before anyone else could grab it.  We all set up with Carolina Rigs and she smoked us!  She out fished all 3 of us put together and I kid you not.

Smiling because she grabbed the Veritas....

The butt of the rod is a nice length...

I wanted to show you the grip we're talking about.  The guys felt the metal grip was too thin and not beefy enough for their hands.  Chablis and I loved the size of this grip.

The rod casts like a dream....

I told her that I was taking photos for the Gear Review and I wanted her to fling the rod around.  I told her when she caught a fish that she should let it play a little and then whip it up into the boat so we could see how the rod responded.  In addition to catching fish, I think she was having a great time.....

Look at the nice bend in this rod....

Now that's a winning smile and a nice bass!  One of many I might add.

Chablis liked the white color of the rod and felt it was very easy to cast.  I have a feeling that her dad is going to have one heck of a time getting this rod back from her.

We caught a lot of bass with this rod.  It's sturdy, lightweight and responds well when you have a fish on the line.  All 4 of us thought the Veritas was lightweight and responded well when a bass was on the line.  2 of us liked the white color, 1 didn't and 1 was neutral.  The grip was the only real split decision - the men didn't care for it, feeling it was too narrow but the women loved the slimmer feel and grip.  In summary we all liked the Veritas Rod and recommend it. 

I'd like to thank Abu Garcia and OBN for giving us this opportunity to review the Veritas Rod.  This rod was given to us for free to review by Garcia.  I did not pay for the item, receive payment for this review, or agree to give a positive review. Aside from information supplied from the company website, the opinions are my own.

Rock Quarry/Party Cove

We drove the pontoon boat over to the "The Rock Quarry" aka "Party Cove" several times this last trip.  I did another post about it last year.  Alex hadn't been over there yet and we wanted her to see it and get a chance to jump off the rocks.

At a depth of 105 feet, the rock quarry is the deepest part of the lake.  It's also extremely popular for a number of reasons.  In the summer boats pile up in there, tie up together and it's one huge party.  We usually try to go early, swim and jump off the rocks and skedaddle outta there before the party boats arrive.  The rock cliffs are about 2.5 stories high and it's a right of passage to climb and make the leap.  People also bring spray paint and decorate the rocks, and recently someone hung a new swinging rope that we were dying to try!

Alex leaping in....

Here's a photo of the cliffs, just to give you an idea of how high they are and how they are decorated with paint....

Alex makes her first jump!

Chablis leaps!

Tony and Alex go together - aren't they cute?

Kyle climbing higher....

The second day we went back armed with 4 cans of spray paint.  The kids had sprayed their names on the walls many years ago, but only Kyle's name still remains.  We aimed to make our mark again.  Kyle is scoping out a good spot....

We took turns holding the boat steady.....

Even I had to get into the act....

Chablis writing her name....

Tony and Alex working hard....

Kyle's nickname is "fo-a-min-jar-o."  Don't ask me why, but the kids all have crazy names for each other and that one is his.  That took the longest to write...

Alex, Tony, Chablis & I all managed to squeeze ours close together....

All finished with the spray painting!

Kyle and Chablis headed over towards the rope swing....

It's a short climb....

Kyle takes off first....

 Then Chablis....

And finally Tony....

The party boats started pulling in, so we pulled out....

And Kyle ended the morning by doing some somersaults off the boat!

The Rock Quarry is always a good time!

Marion Pit Barbecue

What's a trip without a little good food?  I had read an article in Southern Living Magazine about good southern Bar-B-Que joints, and it mentioned a place in Marion, Ky. that wasn't too far away from the lake.  So you know me, that has 2 of the main ingredients for a road trip - food and geocaching.

Anytime we go anyplace, I look up the area on my geocaching map and see what geocaches are nearby.  One of the geocaches - Marion's Covered Bridge -  was hidden on an old covered bridge, so we loaded it into the GPS and headed out.  The co-ordinates were off by about 20 feet, but Louie made the find.

We found one more geocache and since it was about 105 degrees in the shade and we were all a hot mess, we decided to forego any more geocaching and go directly to the food.

The Marion Pit Bar-B-Q is located on the main drag in Marion.

It's a small little building and you order at the take out window...

I had a pork sandwich with pickles and a side of potato salad.  The pork was seriously about the best pork I have ever eaten.  It was delicious and tender.  I felt they skimped a little on the barbecue sauce, which was really kind of poured over the pork.  I would have preferred more sauce with the pork kind of swished around in it.  But that's just me. The potato salad was very good as well...

They had a cute little enclosed building with tables so we could sit and enjoy our lunch out of the way of the blazing sun.

After lunch we high-tailed it back to the air conditioned house for a nap.  105 is too hot to do much of anything, even for me.

Q & A with Standing Bear - July 10, 2012

Mike and Brooke (Standing Bear and Molasses) have hiked 1606 miles on the AT and are now in Vermont!

Mike was telling me how he's lost 35 pounds since starting his hike on the AT.  That is some kind of extreme diet, don't you think?  Here's his "before" photo....

Mike and Brooke are standing on Mt. Greylock, which is the highest point in Massachusetts.  Don't they look great?

Now for my favorite part - our Q & A session.....

You mentioned Brooke getting her trails legs.  Explain what trail legs are

A person typically gets his/her "trail legs" after 6-8 weeks.  This means that you are able to hike longer miles in a day and without fewer breaks; your legs have become accustomed to hiking all day and therefore you become fatigued less frequently.  I got my trail legs in Virginia.  You will know you have your trail legs when you can do a steep climb without feeling the need to take a break. 

For example, back in Georgia I had to take my pack off and lay down several times because I was exhausted as I was ascending Blood Mountain.  My calves were burning and it seemed like I had to stop and take a break every 10 minutes!  However, when I climbed Mt. Everett in Masschusetts (which is much steeper than Blood Mountain, although not as tall) I did not have to take a single break.  The difference is trail legs!

How bad are the fleas, ticks and mosquitoes?  Do you use a repellent?

The depends on the area.  Ticks were all over the place in New Jersey.  Brooke and I had to pull many ticks out, and a hiker named The Dude counted 52 ticks on himself in just one day!  I haven't seen a tick in a while.

The mosquitoes were awful in Massachusetts, and I had some run-ins in Virginia too.  There were a couple nights when I had so many bites that I literally could not go to sleep.  When you have 50+ bites, there is almost always an area on your body that is itching!  I picked up some 100% deet which works well, but I don't like to use it unless it's absolutely necessary because I suspect it might be harmful to my body in the long-term.  Brooke uses 100% deet almost daily, as she has more problems with mosquitoes than me. 

As soon as we arrived in Vermont, we encountered a new problem:  flies!  I don't know if they are deer flies, horse flies, or what, but they constantly land on my head are simply annoying.  Combine that with no-see-ums, which enjoy flying into your eyes and ears, and you've got the recipe for a very troublesome day.  Unless you've got a bug net for your face, which I've been dutifully carrying for over 1,000 in preparation for times like this.  Brooke kept wanting to mail her bug net home, but I said "there will come a day when you are glad you kept that thing!" and that day has arrived.  Brooke and I wore our bug nets most of the past week!

You just crossed over into Vermont.  Are you amazed that your progress is so quick or do you feel like it’s slow?

That's a tough question to answer.  On the one hand, I feel like I've done a lot of big mile hiking days.  However, I also took five days off when Brooke visited over spring break, three days off when I had shin splints, etc.  Plus, I slowed down when Brooke joined me since she didn't have her trail legs yet and I didn't want to push her.  She had some physical problems which led to me carrying her weight, which further decreased my speed.  I went from carrying a 16 pound pack to a 45 pound pack, which means less stamina, a slower speed, etc. 

Ultimately, however, speed isn't that big a factor to me.  Many hikers currently on the trail get very caught up in how many miles they can do per day, but I'm more focused on the end goal:  finishing the AT and then coming home to Missouri to finish the OT.  As long as I can finish, I'll have achieved the goal! 

When you spend a night in a town does the noise make it hard to sleep?

Spending a night in town is typically awesome.  We stay at a hostel if there is one available, otherwise we find a cheap motel.  I almost always get a great night's sleep.  Air conditioning feels amazing!!!  I also love the feel of a nice comfy bed.  I got excited in Cheshire, MA when a church let us sleep on a concrete floor.  We've got blow-up mattresses, so I didn't mind the hard floor.  It was nice just to be out of the elements and in a climate-controlled environment.  The "great outdoors" are certainly great, but only in modest doses.  I will never take air conditioning for granted again!!

You mentioned “getting arrested” for pitching a tent in certain areas.  Do rangers actually patrol the trail and give out tickets?

I didn't see any rangers for almost 1,200 miles!  One day when Brooke and I were in Pennsylvania, we decided to pitch our tent before reaching a shelter or designated campsite.  Brooke was tired and it was getting dark, and I didn't want to push her on if she wasn't comfortable.  We pitched the tent, but before we could even get in it three Game Comission police officers showed up and gave us each a $177 ticket ($354 total!!).  We hadn't seen a road in miles, but it turns out there was an ATV/dirt road ahead of where we had been hiking, and the Game Commission guys were riding around giving everyone tickets.  The end result was that Brooke was forced to hike an additional 3 hours in the dark to reach an allowable place to camp. 

I really have a problem with this.  Just recently, there was a 14 mile stretch with no shelters or campsites... what is someone supposed to do if they can't make the 14 miles?  Sometimes unexpected things happen; you might hurt your ankle, you might become more fatigued than you expected, etc.  You definitely cannot predict with absolute certainly how many miles you'll be able to hike each day!  I understand that people are trying to protect certain areas by prohibiting camping, but in certain situations it is not safe for a hiker to go any farther and they need to stop for the day.  When that happens, I don't think they should have to pay several hundred dollars as a result. 

The White Mountains in New Hampshire are regularly patrolled, and they have very few places to stay.  The few places they do have charge a fee.  If you stay at an AMC-operated hut it costs $95+.  As might be expected, many AT hikers have a lot of animosity toward the AMC and do not believe it is right to be forced to stay in certain areas and pay exorbitant amounts.  When you're trying to hike 2,184 miles, the last thing you want to deal with is logistical issues like this!  But I've heard that in Maine it is mostly remote wilderness, and you can pretty much camp anywhere.  We're looking forward to that!

To read more about Mike's journey, visit his Hike4Kids page and consider making a donation to his cause.  You can also visit his FB page for more up to the minute news and photos.  Read more on his latest blog post about teamwork and how he and Brooke are helping each other on their trip.

Keep on truckin' Mike and Brooke!  Be safe out there.

(all photos courtesy of Mike McLaughlin and cannot be used without permission.)

Water Skiing Success!

If you read my water skiing post last week, you'll remember that I made a vow to get both my kids plus my nephew up on one ski during our next lake trip.  Well, I'm thrilled to report that all 3 co-operated and can now officially say that they are slalom skiers!

Chablis did it first and skied slalom longer and farther than anyone else each time.  She's a natural!

Tony is definitely what we termed a hot dog back in the 60's!  A hot dog liked to do the tricks and fancy moves.  I have to admit that I was a bit of a hot dog myself at one time!  LOL!

Since our last trip was Kyle's first time ever on ski's, he impressed us all by getting up on one ski this trip.  He'll be an expert by next summer for sure!

As an extra bonus, we got Tony's girl friend up on ski's for her first time ever as well.  Alex, we are so proud of you!

All in all, I have to say that this was one of our best trips to the lake.  We got up early every morning and spent about 2 hours skiing.  I think I had as much fun teaching them as they had at learning.  And just for fun, I dug out this really old photo of me trick skiing.  It's a little grainy, but I promise you this is me.  I was 16 years old here and skiing on top of a whirlyboard and a 3 foot stool.  See, I told you I was a hot dog!

Kyle and I were talking about building a whirlyboard in anticipation of next summer. I already have the stool......