Archive for the ‘Fishing’ Category
The Old Man and the River
When I ride my bike through the crowded, bustling city streets, I occasionally miss the simplistic ways of country living. When I’m feeling especially nostalgic, I pedal over to a local suspension bridge, where fishermen cast their fishing hooks into the roiling depths below, hoping to land a city-dwelling trophy fish. Sometimes I even stumble upon old men with waders who are waist deep in the river.
On one day in particular I stopped to ask an older gentleman if he’d had any luck so far. He trudged up out of the murky riverbed and onto dry land, water streaming off of his waders all the while. I noticed he was wearing a fly-fishing vest in lieu of carrying a tackle box. He undid one of the front buttons, reached in and cupped some object in his hand. “Here ya go,” he said, “Have a look at what I’ve caught so far.” I looked down into his palm and saw a tiny minnow wriggling around. “Just kidding,” the man said. “That’s just one of my bait fish.”
Bait Casting Reels
Uninformed individuals may use the terms rod and reel interchangeable, but they are in fact two distinct pieces of equipment. The rod is the long shaft that the ling hangs from, while the reel is the device that lets out and winds up the line. There are several varieties of each of these apparatuses.
Baitcast reels are some of the most common and use a bearing supported spool to keep the line organized. This type of reel is mounted on the top of the rod and works well with many types of fishing line. Due to its position on the rod, the bait casting reel is sometimes referred to as the overhead reel.
Know Your Lures
Enjoy the hot days of summer with early morning fishing in your favorite fishing area. Fishing can be a lot more exciting with good quality fishing lures. Fish live at a certain depths in the water. The balanced jigging lure allows you to reach them consistently and attracts them. The designs of these lures are very much like the ones fishes love to eat.
Freshwater fishing lures use movements, vibrations and color to catch the fishes’ attention. The constant jigging of lures attracts the fish to bite them. They contain multiple hooks to get a good anchor in the fish’s mouth. In order for lures to be effective, proper casting should be learned. It’s a skill that expert anglers should know. The basics of this skill are usually the cast and retrieve system.
Solar Power for Fishing Trips
When you’re out on the open water, you don’t often have a source of unlimited electrical power at your fingertips. While you can use the power from the boat, you don’t want to deplete the battery. Folding solar panels are essential under these circumstances, as with a solar panel, you have an unlimited source of power in the sun, and can charge batteries, power lights and lanterns, even make a hot cup of coffee in the morning! During an ocean fishing trip, portable solar panels are necessary, but solar panels are also great for hunting trips, camping, and are lightweight enough for backpacking.
Solar panel technology has undergone significant advancements in the last few years, especially as people around the world have been doing their part to support environmental wellness. With a portable solar panel, you can rest assured that you’re doing your part to support the environment in addition to powering the devices needed for survival outdoors.
Boat Fishing in Lakes
Lake fishing can be quite enjoyable from the shore or the docks, but to catch the big ones, you’ll need to move to the middle of the lake and fish off a boat. It’s wise to have a fishfinder when fishing off a boat, as this will help you to find the depth and detect schools of fish. When it comes to purchasing a fishfinder, a Humminbird fishfinder are is always a safe bet. Once you’ve detected a school of fish, make sure to adjust the length of your line accordingly, but avoid the very bottom or you risk your line becoming tangled in weeds and growth. Make sure you’re using the correct bait as well; often checking with other fisherman or at the local bait shop will yield advice about the best lures and even the best fishing spots.
When leaving the lake, be sure to check the hull of your boat for plant life and even for aquatic life. Transferring foreign plant or aquatic life to other lakes can contaminate the lake and even kill off native species.
Ball Bearings vs. Bushings
Beef up your bass fishing with the right fishing supplies like ball bearing reels. Ball bearings wear less than brass or graphite bushings. That means that they don’t develop the characteristic looseness or ‘wobble’ that bushings do after a year or so of heavy use. Of course, many anglers don’t put that much ‘mileage’ on their reels, so the difference isn’t that noticeable. Ball bearings are not necessarily smoother than bushings. When they are brand new, well made bushings can actually be *smoother* than ball bearings. Also, bushings require less ‘break-in’ time. That’s why a brand-new Shimano Citica can actually feel smoother than a Curado, even though the Curado has many more ball bearings.
For normal baitcaster reels, like Shimano reels, that have a 1-piece spool and axle, you have a bearing/bushing at 3 places on the spool shaft and 2 places on the crank shaft. With the ABU-Garcia “Ultra-Cast” design (spool separate from the axle), you have 2 bearings/bushings on the spool, and 2 more on the crank shaft. Any more than that are superfluous, IMHO.
The roller bearing found in some reels is a special kind of roller bearing that only turns one way. It is what gives the reel the continuous anti-reverse feature. They put it on the crank shaft, under the handle and drag-star. As such, it takes the place of one of those locations I mentioned above.
Some reels also have a ball bearing right above the roller bearing on the same shaft. This helps to reduce the load on the roller bearing to assure that your anti-reverse doesn’t crap out at the wrong time. You’ll probably see less of this as the quality of the one-way roller bearings improves. Ball bearings improve the life of a reel, but they are not the *most* important feature, IMHO. The features you should look for in a reel, in the order that they usually appear as the price goes up are:
~All metal, aluminum spool.
~All metal frame
~One-piece, cast aluminum frame
~Ball bearings
My Unbeatable Fishing Season
We’ve all heard stories about the “one that got away” – that whopper of a fish that was larger than life and perhaps embellished a bit in terms of length and weight. Fishing is like a microcosm of life in that sometimes you snag something great and other times you’re left sitting around for long stretches just waiting. I will probably never have a better fishing season than my legendary 2004 run.
Back then, I was still living in my native Alpena, Michigan. The area is only suitable for ice fishing about half the year, but summertime is perfectly tailored for catching bass and trout. The annual Brown Trout Festival features a weekend-long fishing tournament complete with weigh-ins and prizes. I caught so many trout that weekend that I thought I had stumbled upon a special technique. I kept casting bait and reeling in my Stren fishing line. It seemed that a fish would bite every time. Such runs never really last, but I can guarantee the hobby has me hooked for life.
The Simple Pleasures of Fishing
Fishing can be a complex and serious endeavor. Some anglers spend years figuring out which baits work best in which locations – and which fish actually bite. Others like to have top-of-the-line equipment, and they’ll spare no expense just to be able to brag to their fishing buddies about it. For my part, I just like getting away from civilization for a few hours and enjoying the peace and tranquility of a placid lake.
Now that my son is getting old enough to join me on my early morning angling endeavors, I’ve started shopping around on the Internet for some gear that’s suitable for kids. In my experience, bait-casting reels are overly complicated; they’re probably more trouble than they’re worth if a kid spends most of his time untangling the line instead of actually fishing. That’s why I prefer spin-casting fishing reels – they are so easy to use that a kid just needs to press a button when casting.
Don’t Let the Big One Get Away
As many fishermen would attest, just being able to get out of the house and spend a tranquil morning on the lake is generally rewarding in itself. But nothing tops off a lazy day of angling like catching a massive fish. What could compare to the thrill of reeling in that trophy fish that will live on in local lore when you retell the tale hundreds of times to anyone who will listen?
But before you get too carried away with thoughts of landing the big one, you’ll need to go about finding him. Some anglers wander aimlessly through the water, just hoping to strike upon a school of fish through sheer luck. For the proactive fishing enthusiast, a Garmin Fishfinder can add some logic and precision to the task. The Fishfinder works well in shallow water and updates the screen with live updates of any underwater activity in the region.
How to Choose a Cast Net
Ahi Cast Net
How to Choose a Cast Net
Using live bait is usually better than lures and it saves money. Cast nets are easy to use once you get the hang of it. Kids and professionals alike use cast nets to capture live bait. Cast nets can be use in fresh and salt water. The parts of a cast net include:
- The hand line: A rope which is attached to the caster’s wrist on one end and the swivel at the top of the cast net on the other end.
- Swivel: Metal rings that are attached together and turn on both ends
- Horn: A ring where the top of the net is tied to. It has an indention around the center to secure the cast net.
- Leadline: The rope at the bottom of the net where the sinkers are tied.
- Braille Lines: Attached between the swivel and the leadline. The brail lines close the net to capture the fish.
- Netting: Monofilament or multifilament nylon mesh. The bigger the targeted catch, the bigger size of mesh and stronger netting material needed.
The size of cast net required depends on the size of the catch you are going after. The following guidelines are useful.
| BAIT SIZE | MESH SIZE | NET BREAK STRENGTH |
| 1″ - 3″ | ¼”SQ | 5 - 9 LBS |
| 3″ - 6″ | 3/8″ SQ | 7 - 15 LBS |
| 6″ - 9″ | ½ ” SQ | 9 - 20 LBS |
| 9″ - 12″ | 5/8″ SQ | 12 - 25 LBS |
| 12″ OVER | 1″ SQ. OVER | 20 LB and OVER |