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Archive for the ‘Outdoors’ Category

Okay – I’ll admit it. I’m not the world’s greatest fisherman. Not by a long way. But I have to say I’m quite proud of this Garfish (34 inches) I caught last Sunday – it’s by far the best thing I’ve caught from the shore in the small town on the little Atlantic island on which I live!

Having spent many an afternoon fishing for small bait fish and catching either nothing or very little, Sunday was no exception. I’d spend a couple of hours sat there watching my float bob up and down while small fish stole the bait.

Getting a bit tired of this I decided to just put on a bigger hook and more bait – not thinking I’d necessarily catch anything – but feeling safe in the knowledge at least if there was a few pieces of bait on the hook I might at least not to have to be brining it in and casting it out every two or three minutes. First cast my float shot under the water within seconds – and I knew I had something half decent as soon as the line went taught.

It was a really fun fish to bring in. If you imagine a mini-swordfish jumping out of the water and throwing it’s head around in anger – that’s about the best way to describe it. Once I’d got it in, I didn’t know quite what to do with it – there was no way I was putting my fingers in that mouth! So – it was soon out of it’s misery and heading for the dinner table next day…

The big hook taught me something…. I now have a new philosophy on fishing!

If I’m going to spend a day not catching – I’d rather be trying for a big nothing than a small nothing…

I recently bought a new basic filleting knife after I lost my previous one between some rocks where I live on the coast  – I wish I’d seen this adjustable one from ebladestor.com before I’d bought it! It looks ideal… Here’s the description;

The unique design of the Seven-Step Adjustable Fillet allows you to adjust the length of the blade at 1/2″ intervals from 5 1/2″ to 9″ by depressing a locking lever on the top of the handle for the ultimate in versatility. The stainless steel blade provides the ideal degree of flex for fast and easy filleting. This softer steel enables the blade to bend without breaking so that it moves easily through the body of the fish to give you the ideal fillet. The injection-molded handle is contoured for a secure grip, even in slippery conditions.

Very impressive for $19.97 in my opinion…

River rafting tours have long been very popular vacation ideas for families, adventure lovers as well as anyone else who wants to experience the thrill and beauty of adventure tours rafting. What’s the big deal, though? Why are river rafting tours so popular? Well, you only have to experience river rafting touring one time to know why it’s such a popular vacation activity. When you’re going down that river, across rocks and rapids, and you’re experiencing nature first hand, while also working with the rest of your raft mates as you steer and manoeuvre the raft to its destination; there’s just nothing else like it.

The True Experience

You can’t just go on a river rafting tour with no experience and no education and expect to get the true experience. You have to be shown what to do, how to use the equipment, you need to learn the names of the equipment and how they work, and you need to learn how to be as safe as possible. That includes knowing what first aid techniques are important during a river rafting tour. How do you learn all of this? You can learn all this and more by listening to your guide when you show up to the river rafting tour.

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By having the correct backpacking gear you will be assured that it will be an enjoyable and pleasurable trip. It really can really make or break your adventure so follow these great tips to make sure you use the correct gear and have a fantastic time.

Buy gloves those are thick enough to protect and insulate from the cold and heat, but have good grip too.

When you turn in to sleep for the night make sure you wear a hat when sleeping in the cold. It is a highly effective way to get extra warmth as so much heat is lost through the head. You will be helping essential heat to not leave your body. Also, if you do feel yourself getting too warm then simply take it off – which is so much more convenient than taking off other layers of clothing or bedding.

Zip top bags are highly recommended as you can use them for both damp and wet items of clothing to isolate them away from your dry gear until you have a chance to dry them. It’s a great idea to carry your map in them to. Read the rest of this entry »

I love my Swiss Army knife – or should I say knives as I have a number of them around the place – my favourite being the Forester which is a clean and simple lock knife just over 4″ long, that has basic but often used tools.

The daddy of Swiss Army knives at the moment must be Victorinox Swiss Army SwissChamp XAVT which has 80 tools. A sign of the times is a digital display on the handle that includes a digital clock, altimeter, barometer, and thermometer.

Big knives and multi-tools like this never look practical to me, I wonder how you can handle them properly being so thick from the additional (and usually unnecessary tools)? I’ll be sticking with my Forester for now – but there’s a part of me that know if I were to buy one of these I’d get $230 worth of entertainment just trying to figure out what all those tools were for!

A bit of trivia for you. Did you know that as part of the Victorinox factory tour (should you find yourself in Switzerland) you can select and make up your own custom Swiss Army knife from a selection of available tools…

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