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Of the Outdoors: Tipping The Ever-Changing Odds In Our Favor
By Gary Howey
Hartington, Neb.
It’s been said that fishing a young man’s sport as it requires good eyes, quick reflexes and a lot of determination.
I’m not saying that people my age aren’t good fishermen, I’m saying that as we get more mature, (I hate to admit that I’m getting older) we need to change the way we do things.
I’ve learned a lot by fishing with mature fishing partners as they learned long ago that in order to keep up with the younger guys; they needed to tip the scale in their favor when fishing.
Take for instance the way we see things!
Now that I’m more mature, my eyes are much more susceptible to sunlight and the wind, in order to protect my eyes and to keep them from drying out I need to wear sunglasses all the time.
I’m a sight fisherman, so I also need sunglasses that are polarized, allowing me cut through the glare to see below the surface of the water.
Since I’m now far sighted, I have prescription glasses that I use when working with small items such as snaps or when tying knots in light line.
In order to keep from replacing my sunglasses with my reading glasses, jumping back and forth all the time, I and my fishing partners us Onos polarized sunglasses with reader magnification enhancement. Similar to bifocals, they allow me to cut the glare coming off the water and be able to deal with those small pieces of tackle that we use when fishing.
They come in different magnification allowing users to choose what ever one they need, giving us more time fishing and a lot less time switching glasses.
More information on them go to www.onostradingcompany.com
If you’ve done much fishing, you probably know how important watching your line is, as many times the fish simply stop or inhale your bait, dropping it seconds later and if you aren’t watching your line, you’ll miss the fish.
With many line companies worrying about the line being seen underwater by the fish and they have developed lines that are hard to see by the fish under the water, making them just as hard for the fisherman to see above the water.
In the dirty water conditions that we fish in, I’m really not worried about the fish seeing my line since I use a light line and the distance a fish can see in our turbid water isn’t all that far.
I find myself going more towards a line that’s highly visible above the water so I can see what my lines doing while I’m retrieving or jigging my bait.
The brighter line allows me to see, detect any pause or change occurring in the way my line lays on the water and any slight movement that my line might make off to the side.
There are several companies out there that offer the highly visible fluorescent fishing lines including; Berkley and P-Line.
• Berkley has fluorescent lines available in both monofilament and super lines. In their XL line, they have a Fluorescent/Clear line and in their FireLine, they offer a Fluorescent Green which is a lot easier to see than the clear or green line.
Information on these and other Berkley products go to www.purefishing.com
• The folks from P-Line also offer a line that’s Fluorescent Green and information on it can be found at www.p-line.com
For those of us that fish both open and hard water, there are numerous things out there that help to make ice fishing easier, less tiring and much more enjoyable during the cold season.
One of these is ice augers that used to take two men and a small boy to handle are now much lighter, easier starting and easy to use.
Jiffy was the first ice auger on the market and since introducing it back in 1947 and since then has made their drills a lot lighter.
They are several models available including a 2 and 3 H.P gas model as well as their Lectric battery powered auger.
One thing that I’ve learned over the years that makes my ice fishing less destructive on my body is that I don’t need a huge auger, as the larger the auger, the more horsepower it takes to quickly cut through the ice.
More horsepower and a larger auger mean more weight you’ll be lugging around and the more you have to hold and support when drilling through the ice.
I used to think that I couldn’t get by with an auger smaller than 10” in order to get those “big” fish I was going to catch through the ice.
Well, we’ve taken walleyes over 10 pounds, crappies up to 2 pounds and pike over 12 ponds through the ice and had very little if any trouble getting them through an 8” hole.
If you aren’t using an 8”, you’re beating yourself up and when you decide to purchase a new auger, consider the smaller more portable 8” ice augers, your body will thank you for it.
To learn more about the different types of ice augers available, you can go to www.jiffyonice.com
Another item that allows you to spend more time productive time on the ice while be comfortable are the new portable ice sleds/houses.
They fold up, allowing you to haul them in the back of a pickup, they’re lightweight, can be used to haul your tackle, auger as well as other gear out to your favorite fishing spot and once your holes drilled can be set up in a few minutes allowing you to get out of the wind and cold weather.
Most of them have padded swivel seats, windows, vents all of which allow you to fish comfortably during the coldest of weather.
Some are made for one man others two and even a few where you can fish four people.
There are numerous manufacturers making portable ice sleds/houses and I’ve used several of them.
Since I never ice fish alone and often film out of my ice/sled, we need at least a two man unit and the Otter Ice Lodge has plenty of room and has worked very well for us.
Information on it and other units can be found by going to www.otteroutdoors.com
Another piece of gear that has changed over the years, making fishing a lot easier as well as less physical in colder weather is the new lighter weight clothing.
It used to be in order to keep warm; we had to bulk up, with layer after layer of bulky heavy clothing.
It was a chore to move around in as you had to shuffle across the ice because the numerous layers made it almost impossible to bend you legs or even bend over to scoop out a hole. Not only were the clothes bulky, they were heavy and if you had to walk too far, you were worn out as well as ending up soaking wet from sweating before you even started fishing.
The new light weight materials used in cold weather clothing allow both the younger anglers and the mature folks to spend more time on the ice without wearing ourselves out.
Because of the lightweight materials these suits are made of we can stay warm without having several layers of clothing, move around more easily, allowing us to spend more quality time on the ice with less exertion.
Arctic Armor clothing manufactured by idigear is one of these companies making cold weather clothing for both the angler and the hunter that not only keeps you warm and dry but will also keep you afloat if you happen to end up in the water.
You can find out about their products by going to www.idigear.com
These are just a few of the products out there that are made to help to make your days in the field, on the water and ice much more productive and enjoyable, especially for us “Mature” individuals.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb. has been an outdoor communicator since 1980. His weekly television series Outdoorsmen Adventures airs weekly throughout the upper Midwest. For more information on the outdoors, pictures and outdoor video, go to www.outdoorsmenadventures.com.
I’m not saying that people my age aren’t good fishermen, I’m saying that as we get more mature, (I hate to admit that I’m getting older) we need to change the way we do things.
I’ve learned a lot by fishing with mature fishing partners as they learned long ago that in order to keep up with the younger guys; they needed to tip the scale in their favor when fishing.
Take for instance the way we see things!
Now that I’m more mature, my eyes are much more susceptible to sunlight and the wind, in order to protect my eyes and to keep them from drying out I need to wear sunglasses all the time.
I’m a sight fisherman, so I also need sunglasses that are polarized, allowing me cut through the glare to see below the surface of the water.
Since I’m now far sighted, I have prescription glasses that I use when working with small items such as snaps or when tying knots in light line.
In order to keep from replacing my sunglasses with my reading glasses, jumping back and forth all the time, I and my fishing partners us Onos polarized sunglasses with reader magnification enhancement. Similar to bifocals, they allow me to cut the glare coming off the water and be able to deal with those small pieces of tackle that we use when fishing.
They come in different magnification allowing users to choose what ever one they need, giving us more time fishing and a lot less time switching glasses.
More information on them go to www.onostradingcompany.com
If you’ve done much fishing, you probably know how important watching your line is, as many times the fish simply stop or inhale your bait, dropping it seconds later and if you aren’t watching your line, you’ll miss the fish.
With many line companies worrying about the line being seen underwater by the fish and they have developed lines that are hard to see by the fish under the water, making them just as hard for the fisherman to see above the water.
In the dirty water conditions that we fish in, I’m really not worried about the fish seeing my line since I use a light line and the distance a fish can see in our turbid water isn’t all that far.
I find myself going more towards a line that’s highly visible above the water so I can see what my lines doing while I’m retrieving or jigging my bait.
The brighter line allows me to see, detect any pause or change occurring in the way my line lays on the water and any slight movement that my line might make off to the side.
There are several companies out there that offer the highly visible fluorescent fishing lines including; Berkley and P-Line.
• Berkley has fluorescent lines available in both monofilament and super lines. In their XL line, they have a Fluorescent/Clear line and in their FireLine, they offer a Fluorescent Green which is a lot easier to see than the clear or green line.
Information on these and other Berkley products go to www.purefishing.com
• The folks from P-Line also offer a line that’s Fluorescent Green and information on it can be found at www.p-line.com
For those of us that fish both open and hard water, there are numerous things out there that help to make ice fishing easier, less tiring and much more enjoyable during the cold season.
One of these is ice augers that used to take two men and a small boy to handle are now much lighter, easier starting and easy to use.
Jiffy was the first ice auger on the market and since introducing it back in 1947 and since then has made their drills a lot lighter.
They are several models available including a 2 and 3 H.P gas model as well as their Lectric battery powered auger.
One thing that I’ve learned over the years that makes my ice fishing less destructive on my body is that I don’t need a huge auger, as the larger the auger, the more horsepower it takes to quickly cut through the ice.
More horsepower and a larger auger mean more weight you’ll be lugging around and the more you have to hold and support when drilling through the ice.
I used to think that I couldn’t get by with an auger smaller than 10” in order to get those “big” fish I was going to catch through the ice.
Well, we’ve taken walleyes over 10 pounds, crappies up to 2 pounds and pike over 12 ponds through the ice and had very little if any trouble getting them through an 8” hole.
If you aren’t using an 8”, you’re beating yourself up and when you decide to purchase a new auger, consider the smaller more portable 8” ice augers, your body will thank you for it.
To learn more about the different types of ice augers available, you can go to www.jiffyonice.com
Another item that allows you to spend more time productive time on the ice while be comfortable are the new portable ice sleds/houses.
They fold up, allowing you to haul them in the back of a pickup, they’re lightweight, can be used to haul your tackle, auger as well as other gear out to your favorite fishing spot and once your holes drilled can be set up in a few minutes allowing you to get out of the wind and cold weather.
Most of them have padded swivel seats, windows, vents all of which allow you to fish comfortably during the coldest of weather.
Some are made for one man others two and even a few where you can fish four people.
There are numerous manufacturers making portable ice sleds/houses and I’ve used several of them.
Since I never ice fish alone and often film out of my ice/sled, we need at least a two man unit and the Otter Ice Lodge has plenty of room and has worked very well for us.
Information on it and other units can be found by going to www.otteroutdoors.com
Another piece of gear that has changed over the years, making fishing a lot easier as well as less physical in colder weather is the new lighter weight clothing.
It used to be in order to keep warm; we had to bulk up, with layer after layer of bulky heavy clothing.
It was a chore to move around in as you had to shuffle across the ice because the numerous layers made it almost impossible to bend you legs or even bend over to scoop out a hole. Not only were the clothes bulky, they were heavy and if you had to walk too far, you were worn out as well as ending up soaking wet from sweating before you even started fishing.
The new light weight materials used in cold weather clothing allow both the younger anglers and the mature folks to spend more time on the ice without wearing ourselves out.
Because of the lightweight materials these suits are made of we can stay warm without having several layers of clothing, move around more easily, allowing us to spend more quality time on the ice with less exertion.
Arctic Armor clothing manufactured by idigear is one of these companies making cold weather clothing for both the angler and the hunter that not only keeps you warm and dry but will also keep you afloat if you happen to end up in the water.
You can find out about their products by going to www.idigear.com
These are just a few of the products out there that are made to help to make your days in the field, on the water and ice much more productive and enjoyable, especially for us “Mature” individuals.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb. has been an outdoor communicator since 1980. His weekly television series Outdoorsmen Adventures airs weekly throughout the upper Midwest. For more information on the outdoors, pictures and outdoor video, go to www.outdoorsmenadventures.com.
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