I started my Wednesday (03/12/14) out by going to my third session of PT for my left replaced knee at 10:00 a.m.. This is my second attempt at straightening my knee since I stopped PT in June, 2013. I had my spinal fusion (L5/S1) on December 3, 2013 and I have become very limited as to what I can and can't do physically. Because of these limitations, my "replaced and revised" left knee replacement has locked up on me once again. I was once at -6 degrees and I'm now back at -26 degrees. I've lost 20 degrees in flexion which is a lot of mobility.
I had to first get permission from my back surgeon, Dr. Marotti, neurosurgeon, to be able to attend PT for my knee. Then I had an appointment with Dr. Parrish, my knee revision surgeon, to get an order for PT sessions once again. I have great PT insurance that allows any number of visits. Dr. Parrish suggested I go to Drayer PT just off of Noll Drive, Lancaster, Pa. Drayer PT has a new "Ortho Bike" designed by a gentleman from Allentown, Pa. It's designed for people, like myself, who have limited range of motion in their knees. I can still work the revised knee and get cardio exercise while attempting to get more mobility. I seem to be tolerating the sessions.
I start each of my sessions on the "Ortho Bike", stretch my Achilles tendons (3 sets of 30 seconds each), and then I get tortured, I mean stretched, by my PT. The PT stretching is pretty rough on me because he pushes on my knee with the weight of his body... Ouch!
Yesterday, March 12, 2014, Susquehanna Fishing Tackle (SFT) started their four day "Cabin Fever Sale". Julie and I went over after PT and bought a few items, including a protecting "SavePhace" mask for inclement weather and also several pieces of tackle to replace items I used up last season.
I then returned later to catch a seminar by Strike King's Crispin Powley, Crispin is in charge of North American Sales and also is into lure designing for the company. I arrived around 6:00 p.m., an hour before the seminar, and got to speak personally with Crispin. He had an "Umbrella Rig" set up on his demonstration table. I told him that I had bought a new rod and reel during the holiday season as a gift from my wife and I was dedicating that combo to fishing an "Umbrella Rig" this fishing season. Although Mike Acord help me select the rod and reel combo and tackle, he didn't actually set up the "Umbrella Rig" for me. Mike had agreed that afternoon to later help me set up the rig. So, Crispin asked me if I had brought it along. Of course I hadn't because I knew Mike would be busy with the sale. But I told him that I would be willing to buy a new set up of tackle if he would personally show me how to rig it, which he did!
So we walked throughout SFT selecting tackle for the "Umbrella Rig". I told him that Mike Acord had selected a set up without the spinners attached. So, Crispin selected an "Umbrella Rig" with the added spinners. Now I have one of each style to try.
After selecting the required tackle, we returned to his demonstration table and he showed me how he personally sets up the rig. He uses hollow body swim baits and uses the weighted hook to measure the distance from the eye of the weighted hook to where the hook will exit the hollow body swim bait. He pinches the spot at the curve of the hook and then takes the pointed end of the hook and slightly cuts the hollow body swim bait down to the opening. He then moistens the lead head and slides it into that hole towards the front of the bait. When it reaches the spot where he wants to eye of the hook to exit, he pokes it out and through.
After all this is completed, he then attaches the five lures to the "Umbrella Rig". Because Pennsylvania only allows legally three exposed hooks, he used a pair of metal clippers to cut off two of the five swim bait's hooks. These two cut hooks will be slightly lighter than the other three and will most likely ride higher in the water column, but not always. Thanks to Crispin, I am now ready to try my very first ever "Umbrella Rig" on the smallmouth of our beloved Susquehanna River.
At 7:00 p.m., Crispin started his seminar on lure design for the Strike King Lure Company. He had a lot of stories to share regarding professional staff and anglers he has had the pleasure of fishing with. In fact, my favorite stories that he told related to Kevin VanDam. He said that he believed Kevin catches more fish than most professional anglers because he fishes extremely fast. Crispin also likes to fish fast. He uses a heavy weighted long rod with a 7:1:1 reel for speed. His line is always 17 lb fluorocarbon. He rarely, if ever, flips and pitches, anymore. In fact, he said that he doesn't even own a flipping rod anymore, despite the fact that he did a lot of professional tournaments at one time in his life before he got a "real job"... LOL!
Crispin also said that he was a bull rider in rodeos and had moved to Texas to take advantage of what Texas had to offer. But after injuring himself and having a wife that liked food and electricity, he went to work for Stratos Boats. When the economy started to go south and the boat industry was falling due to our poor economy, he said "out of the blue" he got a call from the good folks at Strike King Lures who offered him a job. He actually turned the job down several times before making the decision to go to work for them. Good choice!
On another "Fishing With Dad" blog entry, I'll tell you the story of how the color "Sexy Shad" became the biggest selling color for crankbaits (plugs) in Strike King's history.
Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad
