I use the following lines when fishing. Sometimes Bass Pro is cheaper, sometimes Amazon is – check both!
Category Archives: Products
What Are Some Last Minute Fishing Christmas Gifts?
Last Minute Gifting Ideas for Fishing
from The Fishing Wire
Some great ideas for the fisherman, fisherwoman or fisher-kid on your gift list.
We’ve all been there. The final days of shopping before the Christmas mêlée have arrived, and here we sit with no gifts purchased. It is time to act. Is it possible that the angler in your life could live without a new rod or accessory, perhaps. Doesn’t your fishing buddy deserve something nice? After all the fish he’s boated and the stories he’s heard you tell over and over again, I think he has earned it, and that angler needs some new gear.
Here are a few selections to take the guesswork out of your next purchase.
Fishing Buddy Gift Idea
Spooling line can be an arduous task, but it doesn’t have to be. The new, compact design, the Berkley® Portable Line Spooling Station takes the pain out of spooling fishing reels. This is one of those gifts that can benefit you in the end. When your buddy gets really good at using the Portable Spooling Station slide over a few of your reels for a quick spool.
Holding up to a 300-yard spool, the spring-loaded spool arm provides spool tension for ease of use. The spinning reel spool attachment eliminates annoying line twist experienced while spooling using conventional methods.
Anglers can manually spool spinning reels or speed up the process using the integrated hex shaft with a drill. The compact design with hang tab makes storage easy for later use. MSRP for the Berkley Portable Line Spooling Station is $29.99.
Ladies Gift Idea
For those of us that have forgotten our female anglers this Christmas, rush out and grab one of the Shakespeare® Ladyfish combos. Purchasing one of these also benefits the American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF.) So really, you’ve purchased a great gift and donated a portion of your money to a great cause.
Each rod in the refreshed lineup features tapered, more comfortable grips with ladies’ smaller hands in mind. The expanded assortment also includes a variety of lengths and actions with EVA, Cork, and Hybrid-Tech Grips (HTG™). The Ladyfish lineup offers solutions for female anglers with varying skill levels and is available in a variety of price points starting at $19.99 to $39.99.
Youth Gift Idea
This is perhaps the most difficult purchase. Youth want to be indoors playing on a video game or rummaging through the mountain of toys in their closet. This Christmas ignite the outdoor adventure with one of the Shakespeare® Wild Series rods or combos.
The Shakespeare® Wild Series includes 16 specifically tailored combos for walleye, trout, panfish, salmon/steelhead, catfish and flyfishing.
Adding to the adventure-packed Wild Series’ lightweight, functional features, the reel has a durable aluminum spool and handle with soft-touch knob that performs under the most rigorous conditions.
Salmon/steelhead and catfish models offer a carbon-fiber drag system while other models have the reliable multi-disc drag system. Fly reels are prespooled with backing and weight-forward line.
If anglers aren’t in need of a combo, Shakespeare is offering 16 Wild Series rods that match what is offered with the combos. These one- and two-piece rods give anglers a wide range of sizes and actions. The Wild Series’ MSRP is $39.99 to $69.99.
Don’t get left behind this Christmas season. Give the gift of angling and the outdoors to those around you. It’s crunch time so get out there and finish the year strong.
Are the St Croix Triumph X Rod Cool Rods?
Just Call it the “Cool Tool”
Triumph X backs its sporty, confident looks with the performance you expect from St. Croix
from Traditions Media
St. Croix’s new Triumph X rod series
Park Falls, WI (November 24, 2014) – Even in fishing, style sells. In a sport where product performance should be the ultimate measure – even the deciding factor in sealing the deal at the cash register – looks do matter. Regrettably, some rod makers prey on this premise by putting “lipstick on the pig.”
Fortunately, there are proud, legacy manufacturers like St. Croix Rod who embrace the coolness factor while never succumbing to cheapness.
While visually alluring, even radical in appearance, St. Croix’s new Triumph X rod series owns its price-range in quality and performance. But long before the vibrant, airbrushed colors visually distinguish Triumph X from surrounding rods on the rack, technology and decades of advanced St. Croix engineering underpin its stature.
Beneath the striking burnt-orange and purplish-black façade is an SCII graphite blank that begs to accompany a more expensive rod. But at a hundred bucks, Triumph X is a triumph in blank construction at a reasonable price.
Component wise, the Triumph X features an EVA split-grip handle – again, a feat for the dollars. Split-grip practitioners embrace the progressive design’s balanced casting, comfort and lessened overall weight. Triumph X users will appreciate said benefits, which were once reserved for more expensive rods.
Fuji® DPS or ECS reel seat with black hood(s) complement the blank cosmetics while providing all-day casting comfort. Hard aluminum-oxide guides set in distinctive black frames support casting distance while holding up to the rigors of the sport. And this while precision-wound thread-wraps are safely situated beneath two coats of Flex Coat slow-cure finish.
All 12 spinning and casting rods in the Triumph X series are cultured for outstanding strength, sensitivity and hook-setting power. And amongst those dozen members are select rods for targeting bass, walleyes, pike, panfish and whatever else swims across your path.
Backed by a 5-year warranty and St. Croix’s celebrated Superstar Service, your affordably priced Triumph X rod doubles as a capital investment.
The Triumph X series is designed and engineered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, and handcrafted in St. Croix’s advanced facility in Fresnillo, Mexico. They retail for $90 to $100.
About St. Croix Rod
St. Croix Rod is a family-owned and managed manufacturer of high-performance fishing rods headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin with a 65-year heritage of USA manufacturing. Utilizing proprietary technologies, St. Croix controls every step of the rod-making process, from conception and design to manufacturing and inspection, in two company-owned facilities. The company offers a complete line of premium, American-made fly, spinning and casting rods under their Legend Elite®, Legend® Xtreme, Legend Tournament®, Avid Series®, Premier®, Wild River®, Tidemaster®, Imperial® and other trademarks through a global distribution network of full-service fishing tackle dealers. The company’s mid-priced Triumph®, Mojo Bass/Musky/Inshore/Surf, Eyecon® and Rio Santo series rods are designed and engineered in Park Falls, Wisconsin and built in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fresnillo, Mexico. Founded in 1948 to manufacture jointed bamboo fishing poles for a Minneapolis hardware store chain, St. Croix has grown to become the largest manufacturer of fishing rods in North America.
Internet Routers and Other Computer and Phone Hardware and Software
I have had a Linksis 2.4 GH router for many years. Recently I got a Windows 8 computer and everything worked fine with my old computer on Windows Vista. WHen my wife got a new computer, a Dell like mine with Windows 9, every time she turned it on it crashed our router. We are ordering the router below to see if that solves the problem – Dell says it can’t be the computer! We will see.
Update – I ordered the router below and received it in two days. It works! I have two Dell Windows 8 computers, an old Dell with Windows Vistas, a Dell laptop with Windows Vistas, a Samsung netbook computer with Wiondows XP and a Lexmark printer all running through it and it is handling them all fine. And it seems faster!
Lexmark printer ink I use.
I dropped my IPhone 4s and broke it so I upgraded to an IPhone 5. Of course the power cords from the 4s don’t work so I had to order new cords. I had plenty of the USB plugs for outlets and cigarette lighters so all I needed were the cords and they are not too expensive.
I also put my new phone in an Otter waterproof case. It costs $90 at the Verizon store – should have waited to get it from Amazon! I am on the water a lot so waterproof is important. Of course, if I drop it in 30 feet of water the phone wills still work but I could not get it back but if I fall in with it in my pocket, or get soaked in a downpour, the case should protect the phone.
Soft Plastic Baits I Use and Like
Fat Albert Twin Tail Grubs
I use these on my bigger jigs
Frogs
Tubes
Senkos
NetBait TMac
Zoom Trick Worm
Zoom Lizards
Zoom Baby Brush Hog
Zoom Creepy Crawler
Global Positioning Systems – GPS – Has Come A Long Way!
This was written about GPS – Global Positioning System – hand held units in early 1997 – these units still do the same job, but they have come a long way since then.
I got an amazing toy for Christmas. It is a small device called a Global Positioning Satellite – GPS for short. My GPS is about the size of a TV remote control. It takes readings from satellites and tells you exactly where you are.
The GPS has a small screen where you can view different functions. You can record the location of different spots and the GPS will show you exactly how to get back to them. For example, you can mark a brush pile in the middle of a lake you don’t fish often. When you want to return, put in the name you gave it and the GPS will show you a direct line to it. It will tell you if you get off course. It will tell you how fast you are moving, how long before you get to it and other information.
If you mark a spot and then leave the GPS on as you go back to the dock or boat ramp, it will mark your exact course. You can then follow that track back, going around obstacles and avoiding problems. Most pro tournament fishermen have one mounted on their boat since they fish unfamiliar lakes often.
A GPS is also useful in the woods. You can mark a deer stand and the GPS will show you how to get back to it. If you have one, it is better than a compass, giving much more information.
New Year’s Day I was playing with my GPS while walking around the deer club. Maybe that is why I didn’t see any deer! I don’t think so since I only looked at it when stopped and after looking for deer. I had marked a deer stand and then walked out of the woods. I planned on following a small creek and then cutting across back to where I had parked.
As I walked down the creek, I saw the deer stand appear on the screen. Sure enough, I was within 50 feet of it. I thought I was at least 200 yards away. I did not realize the creek turned and came back to the stand. There were several other instances where the GPS made me realize what I thought I knew was not exactly right.
The GPS I got costs less than $200. It will record up to 250 different “waypoints,” or spots I mark on it. It is hard to believe what such an inexpensive device can do. Hooked to a depthfinder or computer, you can map your course or make your own maps. The GPS uses the same technology that guides missiles to their targets. Many airplanes have them so the pilots can find their way. They are amazing!
My Favorite Non-Outdoor Books and Movies
I love Science Fiction, as you can see from my list. These are some of my favorite non outdoor books and movies.
Terminal Tackle – Hooks Sinkers and More – That I Use and Like
Weedless Hooks
Spinner Baits and Buzz Baits I Use and Like
What Is A Hydro Glow Fishing Light and Why Do I Need One?
Hydro Glow Light
I first saw the lights in action a few years ago during a night tournament at Lake Sinclair. I had fish until almost dark without catching a bass then just as it got dark went into a cove to fish a brush pile I knew was there.
As it got darker I noticed a weird green glow in the water on a dock across the cove from me. I eased over to it and saw it was an underwater light so I started fishing around it. The cabin door opened and a guy came toward the dock. I just knew he was going to tell me not to fish around his dock and start casting so I would have to leave.
Instead, he started asking me about the fishing and told me the light was the Hydro Glow Light system he produced. He said the bass would move in a little later to eat the shad that were already swimming under the light and I could catch them.
As we talked Darrell Keith explained he owned the company and this cabin, and tested his lights here. The green one was new and it was working better than other colors they had tested. Then he said there was a bass at the dock. I could not see it from the boat but he told me to cast a crankbait to the light. I did, and caught my first keeper of the night.
I got a card from him and he told me to stay there, that more bass would move in, and he went back to his cabin.
I did not leave until the tournament ended and caught a limit of bass, winning the tournament. Every time I have gone back to Sinclair at night I have not been able to fish the dock. Too many other fishermen have found it and there is always a boat there.
Hydro Glow makes several lights and have just come out with a high intensity light that is compact. You can choose 12 volt lights for use from a boat or 120 volt for permanent mounting on a dock. Green works best in freshwater but there are different colors for use in salt water that work better there.
Check out their website and watch some of the videos. The lights are fairly expensive but you never have to buy fuel for a lantern like we used to, and they will last you a long time.