Rain Gear More Than Just Umbrellas

Remember not too long ago when getting your rain gear meant an umbrella and probably some rubber boots? Well, not any more! Now there are so many kinds of rain gear out there that it's hard to know which to choose from when you head to the closet to go out in the rain. Here are just a few examples of the many new types available these days:

Hunting gear - in every type of camouflage available on the market today, the avid hunter or outdoors person can find rain gear from pants and jackets to ponchos in their favorite camo pattern and style. For hunting, hiking, fishing, or just heading out to work in the yard, this kind of gear can also come in a wide variety of thicknesses and have many other added perks for those who might use it in heavily wooded areas or under harsher conditions than normal people.

Kid gear - for kids ages 0 - 100, you can find it with your favorite cartoon character, logos, colors, flowers, sports, pretty much anything! So, no matter if your little princess needs some pink princess rain gear or your little space invader needs some rainy alien fighting rain gear, you can find it out there today! Most come with hats and matching boots as well, so you're little angel will stay nice and dry, no matter how wet it is.

Adult gear - while the adult version isn't quite a fun as the kid's version, it is still just as useful. It also comes in a wide variety of colors and you can find styles from ponchos to pants and jackets too, it all depends on your preference and how you are going to use it.

Old trusty, the umbrella - of course, don't forget old trusty, your umbrella. These tried and true rain gear reliables are always great to keep in the car, office, or just by the door in case you need one to get to where you're going. So, no matter what other kind of rain gear you have, you should always keep an umbrella somewhere close by.

Basically, there are so many different types and colors of rain gear out there that it is almost impossible to name them all. Just remember that there is always something out there to fit your style, size, and needs, so don't get discouraged if one shop doesn't have just what you are looking for. Keep searching, you'll find that perfect rain gear for you and the entire family.

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Bass Fishing Tips

Bass fishing is a good way to spend your free time, check your skills and finally spend some time outdoors. Sooner or later, however, you might want to actually catch something, spending days on a boat doing nothing gets tiresome after some time. If you want to catch bass fish instead of only going fishing for them, there are some tips below that should help you both in that and in keeping your style.

1. Keep your feet dry. Seal skin socks and a waterproof pair of shoes are must-haves. It will help you a lot, especially if you need to push your boat. Wet feet will spoil the day and will make you think about them instead of bass fish.
2. Keep your rods in a good shape. Use a simple prep pad for cleaning the cork handles on the rod. If the cork is very dirty, it makes your rods look awful. To change it, use a light grade sand paper in order to sand the cork handles. This should be enough to make your rod look and handle like a brand new one.
3. High tech stuff helps. Such things as PDAs are extremely helpful. Logging the conditions, making a "before you go" checklist and storing the useful numbers of other bass fishermen are a good way to increase your fishing comfort AND your results.
4. Prepare yourself. Remember to take spare parts while going fishing sooner or later something WILL break down.
5. Take spare batteries. This will make your life easier and greatly increase your safety.
6. Organize the fishing. Make notes, buy fishing magazines and pay attention to other fishermen.
7. There are a lot of novice anglers who keep forgetting about checking the wheel bearings on the trailers. If you don't do it every springs, expect a serious accident soon.
8. Casting. Bait casting equipment should be cast overhand.
9. Graphite rods. Pay attention to what happens to them - the biggest killer of graphite rods is hitting it against something hard. While it does not break in that spot right away, this creates a weak spot at that point and may end in a rod breaking up for no apparent reason a few months later. Remember about that when storing rods for travel. Make sure the parts of the deck aren?t rapping against the rod while you're moving to your position. In case you use a locker, strap them or put them in a horizontal position, and generally, keep them out of the harm's way by preventing the rod's parts from hitting each other

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Fly Fishing is An Addictive Hobby

Fly Fishing is a method of fishing that utilizes an artificial fly, a long flexible rod, a reel, and line. It is a very ancient and distinct angling method, developed primarily to catch trout and salmon but which is now being used to catch other species such as pike, bass, and carp, as well as a wide range of marine species. Artificial flies are crafted and then tied onto a hook with thread, fur, feathers and other materials in different sizes and colors to match naturally occurring insect or simply to attract a fish.

There are several standard method of presenting a fly to the fish using a fly rod and fly line which involves many different casts such as Fly Cast, Spin Cast, Back Cast, Forward Cast, False Cast, Roll Cast, 'S' Cast and Shooting Line.

The most commonly used being the spin casting and the fly-casting. In spin casting the weight of the trap pulls the line out of the reel. In fly-casting the weight of the line is enough to carry the fly to the fish. You must learn to use the rod to cast the weight of the fly line.

The line and fly attached to it goes in the direction you point the rod tip during the cast. Good fly-casting is nothing to do about strength but it is all good timing which comes from practice. You have to spend at least 15 minutes a day to become a good caster in a month.

Proper stroking and correct stopping of the rod are fundamental to good fly casting. The caster loads all energy into the rod during the casting stroke. The rod then releases this energy into the line in the cast. The caster puts a short, low-energy stroke, into the top of the rod for short casts; while he loads a short, powerful stroke, into the middle and bottom of the rod for a long cast.

Casting arc is the arc the rod makes in the air during the cast, which is small for short casts and large for long casts. Precisely stopping the rod after the casting stroke is critical to forming the casting loop and it allows the rod to unload, thus casting the line.

Fly fishers never need to cast more than 50 feet when fishing. Still becoming proficient at long-distance casting can improve all your casting. You should first learn to cast short distance i.e.30 feet and then practice at greater and greater distances.

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Some Night Fishing Tips

Experienced fishermen advice that if one wishes to have a good bite it is best to begin fishing two hours before sunrise or after sunset. This is particularly difficult, but an alarm clock can always act as your wake-up call. In addition, it is best if you set up and have ready a wet-bait half an hour before the sun rises. Keep in mind that anchoring or cooking bait need to be completed prior to sunset. That is because cooking during your evening fishing can be very hazardous and because bait has to cool off before it is ready for use. One of the reasons to be ready at least thirty minutes before dark or sunrise is that fish typically feed shallower during this mirror bite time and you can catch them easier as they are only about thirty feet down the sea's surface. Experts point out that the twilight minutes can be very productive for fishermen.

To enjoy good and fast action, regardless if you are fishing in saltwater or freshwater, try to fish around piers that have lights on their end. Since fish are attracted by the beams of light that come through the surface in various sea depths, most fishing excursions have a happy ending when they occur around lights on buoys or piers.

Remember to use very large dry flies, oversized streamers, wet flies, and nymphs, if you are interested in catching the active feeding fish out there. Night-feeding is easier when the bait is large enough for fish to locate and you should remember to draw the flies and other bait slowly along the water's surface in a jerking motion to help attract trout. Of course, you should bring extra live bait along and keep your lure inside the boat or water, safely contained.

While fishing, try to keep yourself on alert for signs of feeding fish. Be always prepared that during night time you will be able normally to hear the fish feeding themselves before you witness their swirls or splashes. Remember to chuck your lure to the spot you think holds the fish as soon as possible after hearing or seeing fish break the surface. Since they do have trouble locating a lure during night time, make repeated casts wherever you believe that there is a chance fish circulate.

If you are about to fish in deep-water conditions, then remember to use a bait-caster in combination with a long graphite rod that has a lot of backbone. Check frequently your bow to detect subtle strikes as the bait drops. This way you will be able to catch as many fish as possible and will save you the anguish if you have made the right choice to go night fishing.

The downsides of night fishing have to do with the fact that you have to limit your group from socializing and partying while fishing. In case you cannot limit the noise, fish will not approach your area and you will not be able to catch any. Moreover, try avoid bringing more than two people inside the boat-especially if it is small-and avoid taking children during night fishing as it is more dangerous for them to get scared and fall in the water.

Finally, experts attest that apart from the sea main lake points may offer excellent possibilities for successful night fishing trip adventures, especially during the summer months, as the fish are inactive during the day due to the hot temperatures and will suspend in deep water which will leave to move closer to the surface during the night that the water becomes colder. In addition fishermen point out that your bow's color and weight can also advance or limit your efforts so pay special attention when selecting the right equipment as these make all the difference in the world while you are fishing in a lake of in the sea.

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Fishing, Oysters, Alligators and Me!

Sleet and occasional flurries of snow are making tap dancing sounds on my deck. Outside the cat is snuggled up inside his box in the garage. He's able to go outside if he wants, through the pet door which I have opened up again. A family of raccoons decided to move in with him and until they found a new home, I had to board up the pet door.

I'm keeping warm tonight by making plans for my summer vacation. I'm going to a warm and sunny beach on northern Florida's Gulf Coast. Having visited the Apalachicola area before, I've decided that that's where I'm going again! Since the last time I was there, I've done more research on the area and discovered that I missed a lot of things simply because I didn't do my homework before I arrived. This time I've made a list of some of the things I want to do when I get there this spring.

The first thing on my calendar when I get to the bay is to go oystering. I'm going to book a four hour trip with one of the guides who make his living harvesting oysters. I didn't make the trip any longer than 4 hours because after reading about the oystermen, who are called 'tongers', I don't believe my aching body would last more than a few hours. At that I may be pushing the limits of my endurance!

Charters will take 2-4 people with them at a time. That's about all the 20-24 foot boat will safely hold. The boat will have a culling board so you can sort the oysters according to size when you haul them aboard. The guide from whom I booked the charter says culling is not as easy as it sounds, but by the end of the tour I'll probably be an expert.

From what I have seen by watching oystermen from the shore, tonging looks like hard work. This is the way many of their fathers and grandfathers harvested oysters many years ago. They use a tool called 'tongs' that look like a heavy steel rake with long wooden handles that operate a little like a post hole digger. Sometimes the oyster beds are in 5-10 feet of water so the tonger has to be able to reach that far down.
This certainly sounds like work to me, but I want to take a shot at it.

Another item on my 'to do' list when I reach the Apalachicola area is to go to the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. It's a barrier island, providing natural protection for the mainland from damaging winds and waves. You can only reach this northwestern Florida Gulf Coast island by boat. One of the great things about this place is that there are no human inhabitants. There are caretakers who live on the island sometimes and keep the place as natural as possible.

This island, with its marshes on the bay side of the island, is home for many specie of animals including Sambar deer, white tail-deer, alligators, loggerhead sea turtles, raccoons, ospreys, and bald eagles. Threatened or endangered bald eagles, sea turtles and the red wolf, enjoy life of the island. My wife is not as thrilled as I about going to an island that has neither souvineer shops nor restaurants, but to me this sounds like paradise. Spending the day fishing on the gulf side of the island and picking up shells that haven't been picked over by others is my idea of a relaxing vacation.

One of the brochures I've read boasts that as many as 2400 visitors boat to the island and walk the beach each year. Can you imagine? There are 2400 people on most Florida beaches each day! The island remains primitive and pristine because visitors to the island take care and clean up after themselves as they should on every beach.

These are my two must see trips I'll put on my calendar for this summer, but no vacation would be complete without dining out at local restaurants. The last time I was on St. George Island which is one of the four barrier islands protecting the mainland, there were two restaurants. All I can say is that one was wonderful, the way a seafood restaurant should be when you're on an island. The other one wasn't great. I would not recommend that one!

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Just give me a couple of brochures about fishing and eating and I'm happy. With each day getting a little longer than the one before, I know it's getting closer to vacation time.

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Center Pin Reel - Reely

While the system has been around steelhead fisheries in North America & Great Britain for a Hundred Years or more, Center Pin Reel & Float fishing is enjoying a rebirth.

A main concept of Flyfishing, wet & dry, is presentation. Allowing your March Brown Spider or Peacock Caddis to drift with a current in a natural motion without drag is ideal if matched with the local hatch and water conditions. Presentation in a natural manner is also desirable in situations where other baits are used. Your fly or nymph, downstream, unimpeded and ahead of all rigging directly into the Steelies food stream makes a tasty temptation for even the big wary ones. The bait will present first and alone if weighted lightly enough with varying split shot for the indicator to show the slightest bite from wariest. Center Pin Reel & Float also allows a rig sensitive enough to work in low current situations like winter conditions with much of the water locked up in ice.

The Rig:

The Center Pin Reel is engineered to be free spinning without mechanical drag except for the engageable clicker. It may use precisely machined bushings or ball bearings. Handmade Center Pin Reels by experienced fishermen/craftsmen have attained heirloom quality and may become your most prized piece of gear. The drag is applied by palming, or a thumb or finger to keep from a bird's nest tangle. A Center Pin Reel is large compared to a standard flycasting reel, some up to 5.5 inch diameter. This reduces line twist, which may also be controlled by line selection. The larger reels also allow more line to be brought in per turn, offsetting one of the disadvantages of the 1:1 cranking ratio. It definitely takes some practice to master the cast.

The one to one ratio of a Center Pin Reel gives you a great feel when fighting your 'fish on'. This same feature can be a detriment when working long casts all day. You work harder per fish and don't make as many casts in a day. This means fewer fish caught for the day, but some enjoy the fishing style itself as much as the fish in the cooler. You will learn to pay more attention to detail.

The Float setup may be 10 or more feet between the bait and the float. This will require the use of a rod 12 - 15 foot or longer, for big water salmon some Oldtimers might use up to 20' rods. The longer rod makes casting this long rig much easier. You will find that the guides for Center Pin will be different from other rigs, especially for ice conditions. Rods can be many different types, 1 or 2 hand, bamboo, modern composite. Some rods called Spey Rods are designed specially for side casting in locations where an over head cast is impossible. They are named after the river in Scotland where they were devised to cast in spite of high banks which restricted an over head cast.

A light float/indicator, can be hand made from balsa or other light wood. Clear plastic, and hundreds of variations on any sensitive floatable wood or plastic float are available in all price ranges.. Hand made indicators are an art form of their own.

The manner in which your split shot is staggered from the float down, should be practiced until you get your desired results. Generally, heavier near the float and increasingly lighter shot towards the fly, allows bait and lighter shot to drift ahead of the float. Remember the water may be swifter at the surface than where your bait is if you are casting a Nymph or Wet Fly. A basic idea on split shotting is; Slow Water = Spread out; Fast Water = Closer together.

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