A fishing rod is a fishing rod is a fishing rod, right? Yeah and a golf club is a golf club is a golf club. Fishing rods may all seem the same, but they are just as unique as golf clubs are.

Golf is a good walk ruined in my opinion, but that does not mean even I do not know the clubs. To say a putter should be used for driving the ball in the fairway would be nuts. That simply is not what it is designed for.

Fishing rods have the same element of specialization. A bait casting rod is distinctly different from a fly rod. A basic glance at each makes the distinction generally clear, but a closer inspection of a fly rod fleshes out the differences.

The first thing you will notice with a fly rod is the grip area is much bigger than on a spinner rod. Why? Well, you are going to be casting over and over. The larger grip is designed to give you plenty of space to do that.

A fly fishing rod design has to account for heat caused by friction. Your basic bait casting rod does not have this problem. The movement of the line is not frequent, so any heat derived from friction dissipates.

A fly rod, on the other hand, is designed with a lot of thought given to the issue of friction. The problem that arises is the fly line is much thicker and is sent out and pulled back repeatedly as fly fishing is basically repetitive casting.

Subtlety is the name of the game. The first thing to note is the strip guide is ceramic instead of metal. This is the first loop off the reel. This will cut down on the heat, but also limits the length of the cast.

Continuing on this theme, the wire guides on the remaining of the rod are not loops as you see with most rods. Traditional spinner rods use simple metal loops for the wire guides.

On a fly rod, the guides are placed in similar areas, but are not circular. Instead, they are more of a spiral shape and are thus called snake guides. By using a spiral design, friction is diffused and heat is not nearly the issue it would be with circular guides.

Fishing is like any sport. There are specialty tools for every situation. If you are going to fly fish, knowing how your rod is designed and why it works the way it does is vital. Now you have an idea.

By Todd Gibson
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Finding gifts for dad is not easy. If he likes traveling or the outdoors, NomadJournals.com has the gifts that will put a smile on his face.

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Sausage meat is now part of carp and cat fishing history having proven its worth as a very effective cheap bait ingredient for small and big fish (many thousands of times, and for decades.) It is far cheaper than using the popular Pepperoni and similar luncheon meat type products for example. But how do you make extremely effective but very cheap baits and ground baits using it; see a few very proven big fish suggestions right now!…

Using sausage meat is rather more ethical than basing your baits on very valuable marine resources, but you can use it to bulk-up certain fish or shellfish bait mixes to cut costs and create different nutritional profiles, tastes effects etc. you can easily get sausage meat fresh or frozen fresh and fresh is best although catfish are also renowned for loving baits just souring, but I would prefer to use this effect with blood based baits for instance and not pork. Often the biggest fish in your water will take a new safe bait pretty quickly and certainly sausage meat based baits are not trendy so can really give you many competitive edges!

Sausage meat is very simple and easy to use and you can either mince it up or use the minced product. The nutritional value of pork sausage meat is very stimulatory to both carp and catfish and has a fair proportion of those important fish stimulators; amino acids and oils. Pork sausage meat is often made with bread crumbs and it is very simple to make a bait by simply mixing it with eggs and very cheap wheat flour for example, although other more nutritional binding flours and meals are very numerous, to help bind bait into a dough.

To make these economical protein based baits is fast and very easy!

Use a large pan or bowl to make a bait mix using a test batch of about half a pound of meat plus about 2or 3 hen’s eggs and enough wheat flour added to bind into dough. This is practical bait to use immediately, or you can store it in plastic bags and store in the freezer or fridge for future sessions. Although these meat baits (like any bait ingredients) may vary in nutritional profiles and fish effects and catch results, they are normally instant type baits and reliable fish catchers straight from the first cast.

Pre-baiting with a new bait is definitely a good edge putting things far more in your favour. (This is not totally necessary with this bait though.) I got a friend to do this for me in a swim (not such a clever move,) and I never got in the swim as incidental catches by other anglers meant it was too popular as a result of the baiting; so bait less obvious swims! Even just introducing a few pounds of bait in golf ball sized pieces the day before fishing can make a big difference!

The effect of pre-baiting is that the fish will be far more prepared to eat your bait with even more enthusiasm when you start actually fishing; so hold onto your rod! Sausage meat in this form makes fantastic ground baits too. Fishing paste balls has always been extremely effective, but these days you might prefer to make your baits more resilient to smaller fish (by par-boiling,) so they are still intact when the bigger fish arrive; but add some dough to your bait or hook or PVA bag anyway too!

You might make your boilies from small half inch odd shaped pieces and these odd baits will have a competitive edge over all those expensive uniformly shaped machine-rolled baits! Just get a half pan of water boiling and add a handful of baits at a time usually for about 2 minutes on average before removing them. Use handy towels or papers (or special drying trays from Gardener tackle) to dry your baits and remember to keep your water boiling at all times.

Boil your baits for anything from a minute to 5 minutes; the longer boiling makes them harder, but this loses more attraction in the process. To help attraction there are so many choices to add to your bait, or just to keep results coming. For instance you could add sea salt at about a teaspoon per 2 eggs worth of bait mixed, or add curry powder at a heaped teaspoonful per egg used in the mix or more depending on the form of curry powder used.

As sausage meat is a fatty, oily bait, incorporating additives and ingredients and flavours to boost digestion and fish metabolism is a very good idea indeed. You might simply add spice and herb powders, any of a range of essential oils and extracts, or boost attraction with parmesan or blue cheese powder and added garlic granules or seaweed granules etc. Adding some liquid amino acids supplements is always useful in boosting nutritional attraction and this can be made at home very easily although it’s not for this piece. For colder weather you might add liquid lecithins and add oat or wheat bran which improve digestion, liver function and the vascular system of fish being rich in the feeding trigger, betaine!

The fact is that there are thousands of additives, liquids, flavours and some very refined and advanced bait ingredients and extracts you could use. Many ingredients are often used to most exploit the food detection systems of fish which have internal and external specialised cells which enable fish to instinctively home in on your bait. You might use a proprietary flavour like Secret Agent, Megaspice, Mulberry Florentine or Maple steep liquor, vodka, spice oleoresins, or add MSG to enhance taste, or simply add salted liquidised liver or liver pate, (just a desert spoonful per egg of 2 these will keep big results coming your way!)

The options are limited only by your imagination; but using proven fish feeding triggering substances and metabolically stimulating substances are among the best proven substances when you look at bait components… Homemade sausage meat baits (and ground baits) for big carp and catfish are well proven against any popular modern baits (even enzyme-active ones,) and I’ve proven this myself (although my baits are sometimes rather more complex than here.) So give them a try and you might decide to get much deeper into making your own homemade baits; but beware - they can become addictive!

By Tim Richardson.

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One of the basic things you must do to plan a tremendous angling trip is to identify your priorities. You need to be more specific than just saying you want outstanding fishing trip. Remarkable fishing may mean different things to each person in your fishing company.

One individual might be glad with catching 60 fish per day, while another might be hoping for 30 fish per hour. So, you require to decide this up in advance.

Let us take look at some of the most essential things to look at when deciding where to go on your fishing trip.

What type of fish do you desire to catch?

While this may seem apparent, it is something that needs to be talked about. One person may desire to fish for walleye and northern pike, while others may want to go bass fishing. Since many northern lakes have water too cold for bass, you may end up at a lake that would actually let down the bass fisherman.

Do you wish for tons of activity? Or trophy fish?

Some anglers just enjoy catching lots of fish with the hope of getting a few large ones. Other fishermen would rather give up catching a great amount of fish for a better opportunity at catching the biggest fish they can find. You need to make up one’s mind which is more important to your fishing group… lots of fish that perhaps aren’t the biggest or fewer fish but a bigger opportunity of a really big one.

It should be noted that there are numerous places where you can do both… take heaps of fish and get tremendous large ones. But, these tend to be at the more remote and expensive lodges and are not always feasible for many fishing groups.

How are you going to catch your fish?

Do you like to troll? Or drift? Fish in flows? Deep water fish?

We’ve seen individuals trolling in sixty ft of water thinking the fish were only a few feet from the surface of the water. Not much probability of getting anything this way. Be sure you know the type of fishing your group opts for and that the lake will provide it.

What do you require to expend for this fishing trip?

The cost you’re prepared to pay will have a great impact on the type of fishing trip you’ll have.

Be realistic. How much do you really desire to spend? Are you happy to camp or tar-paper hut on a lake with tremendous sport fishing?

Or would you favour staying at a more upscale fishing inn?

Do you want to take care of yourself… or do you want the fishing camp to do the cooking?

And what about shower installations? Are you prepared to use a community shower bath or do you want a private shower and bathing tub in your own cabin. Gentlemen, if you’re taking your better half on this trip, make utterly sure you consider this one! If you do not, it could screw up an otherwise great trip.

Other things to think about are how extended the trip will be and the type of fish you are wanting to catch. A trip to a fishing hostel on a lake with pan fish and bass will likely be much less money that a trip to Alaska or Northern Canada for arctic charge.

So, if you in truth want a great fishing trip, begin by planning just precisely what you wish out of the trip and how much you are happy to spend. Do it the right way and you will have the fishing trip of a lifetime.

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How will you squeeze work-from-home time into your day already packed full of stuff? One of the first things is to identify as best you can, how much time you can give over to your ‘home business’, then create a work plan, or schedule.

First, set some ground rules with yourself, family and friends. Regardless of whatever you home business is, start adopting the attitude you have a ‘business at home’ and as such you (and those around you) need to respect this. If you have children at home, you are now a ‘working father’ or ‘working mother’, even if your office is “home”.

One of the first things to set up is your answering-machine. Use your answering machine consistently to screen calls and prevent interruptions. Learn how to say: “Sorry, I have to work!”… because you do.

Next, set ‘office hours’ - times when you solely focus on your work. You could decide on regular days and times or, if your life is more unpredictable, identify the times when you will be able to do some work, even if these are different every day.

Structure and being consistent with your ‘work times’ is key and (this bit is vital) when work time comes around, turn your back on other demands. Don’t start washing the car, going to the shops, cleaning the house, etc - go to your work space and go to work! You may find it helpful to set exact times so that you carry on working for an allotted time span.

Draw out a week’s agenda or calendar as a Work Schedule and be sure to factor in… - times of day you’re naturally most productive - times when there are least amount of distractions - other priorities, like time with partner and kids, - consider other draws on time like making time for health and fitness, and of course social time with your partner and family.

Identify right up front what might knock you off your work schedule and be prepared for those factors; possibly build in some spare time to allow for eventualities that you hadn’t planned for, which always crop up in life. Think about what factors could prevent you from achieving the work schedule that week, and try and to build in a ‘plan B’ if they do crop up. Also be realistic with yourself. If you only have three hours a week to work on your business, then that’s what you schedule. Just make the most of that time, and ensure you use every minute in a productive way.

You may be reading this saying “but I can’t find any free time?” If that’s the case, answer this question honestly to yourself “Which is more important to me - earning an income from home, or all the “other stuff?” Never forget we all have just 24 hours in a day - it’s how we each choose to use that time that makes the difference. You need to decide that ‘working from home’ IS important. I suspect you’re filling all your day right now as it is, so If you want work time you’ll have to spend less time doing some things, or completely eliminate some activities from your schedule. You won’t be the first facing this dilemma - what you need to ask yourself is … “what am I prepared to give up to give my business time and move it along the road to success?” …and yes you will have to and cut down on…

…TV-time - aren’t there shows you could live without? …E-mail and Internet surfing - if they are not related to your business. …Kids’ activities - review and consider dropping all but the essential ones (probably some the kids don’t enjoy anyway!) …Shopping - do it one swoop, or order online and have it delivered. …Cleaning - delegate chores, hire help, create a system

Here are some other terrific ways to free up more time, and just an extra 15 minutes a day can make a big difference: - Practice saying “no” more often - it’s hard I know, but it will be an invaluable lesson to getting better control of your time. - If your home role involves doing much of the cooking, then plan menus, prepare food ahead of time and max out your freezer. - Create a regular “Daddy/Mummy Night”, when the kids get quality time with their Dad or Mum, while you get to work uninterrupted. - Use a daily/weekly/monthly planner that works for you and your personality (paper, electronic, scraps of paper… just make sure it helps you stay organised). - Schedule regular “work retreats” …go to a relative’s home, or hotel, and work for one or more days without interruption.

For all of us that ‘work from home’, finding time to work - and sticking to it - is about the most challenging aspect of working from home. It will be an ongoing struggle but the better structured and organised you are, the more likely you are to achieve your weekly work schedule. In the end, it will be clearly worth with everyone in the family benefiting as you enjoy the fruits of your success. Just roll up your sleeves, stay focused and just do it!

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Fall is just around the corner. While most people are thinking about the upcoming hunting season, fall is a excellent time to think about Crappie fishing. These crappie fishing tips will help you locate the Crappie and put some fillets in your freezer for the Winter!

First, as the water cools in the Fall, Crappie will begin to move from their deep water Summer hangouts to relatively shallow water I typically find Fall Crappie in 6 to 12 feet of water. After the first good Fall cool front, look for Crappie at the first good drop off from the bank.

Fall Crappie can be caught with a variety of tactics in the Fall. One method I use to find Crappie when they’re scattered is using a Spider Rig. A Spider Rig consist of multiple rods rigged up to fish different depths. When you find Crappie hitting at a certain depth with this method, you can then set all your rods to the depth Crappie are feeding at and take advantage of their aggressive nature.

As most of you know, the best time to go fishing in the Fall is just prior to a major cold front. This is the time you can find Crappie very shallow filling up their stomachs on everything from Shad to insects.

Post cold front Crappie can be hard to get to hit your bait. I typically use smaller jigs and minnows. If the weather warms up after the cold front, look for Crappie to become active as soon as a week after the passage of the cold front.

Slow drifting small jigs and minnows can be just the ticket to get post cold front Crappie to hit your bait. Don’t forget that post cold front Fall Crappie become less active and will not chase a bait very far. Even more so, many times you’ll have to have the bait right in front of their mouths.

Look for Crappie along South facing shorelines after a Fall cold front. South shorelines heat up faster, thus attracting baitfish. Where’s there’s baitfish, hungry Crappie won’t be far behind. Don’t be afraid to fish right up against the bank, especially if there is a South wind blowing baitfish up on the bank.

South winds can blow baitfish against the shore, presenting easy pickings for hungry Crappie. Use a Spider Rig or a Float and Jig rig to target these fish and fill your live well! Floats and jigs can be fished faster than minnows, plus since there is not rebaiting, you can keep your jigs in the water longer, catching more fish.

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