It’s a shame really, this product is amazing it’s the packaging that sucks. In this economy the $25+ (CDN) price tag, coupled with the possibility of having to replace ($220 rug from Ikea) or professionally clean any surface that happens to absorb this liquid. I can’t recommend this product without sticking a huge warning on it.
Permanent stain from a leaky Berkley GULP! Alive bucket.
We put flour and baking soda over the stain before we left, hoping it would soak up some of the moisture and oil. As you can see it did absorb some however a large stain can still be clearly seen and a second ring of oil can also be seen. The stain is about 18 inches long to put it in to perspective. When we attempted to clean the stain with some soap and water the awful smell immediately returned. Mike said he’s going to keep the rug in the boat house where the smell or the stain wont matter.
It’s been over 5 years since we last visited Mystery Lake and just as long since we’ve fished with our good friend Mike Westlake. Mike would definitely be considered a founding member of Fishing Fury, in our first year he joined us on many of our trips and witnessed us catch trophy fish in every body of water we fished. After some catching up via email a few weeks ago we planned a last minute trip to Mystery Lake last weekend, we knew the trip could only end in a epic tale of man vs beast. And that’s exactly what it happened.
Updated: I’ve uploaded photos from the trip to the Mystery Lake 2009 photo gallery. I realize the 2004 gallery isn’t even complete and I hope to fix this over the winter.
Adam Guy recently sent me a new editorial on making traditional Japanese bamboo fishing rods. In his email he described the process and techniques used to handcraft these beautiful rods, which I found very interesting, and once completed he takes his rod fishing for the first time. Adam is never one to leave us hanging, but always the one to leave us hungry, he takes us home with him and shows us a fully prepared plate of fresh Japanese Whiting caught on his handmade rod. If this doesn’t impress you and make your mouth water I don’t know what will.
The editorial is 3 pages long, but it’s a great read and I recommend you start at the beginning. However if the internet has modified your behavior patterns, or you’re the type of person who enjoys reading the last page of a novel first, you can skip to the end for the fishing report and food.
Here I will describe the process of making my first bamboo fishing rod, with a few photographs. Some of the stages, particularly the lacquering, I was unable to photograph as I had my hands full; also some of the tools and techniques are trade secrets that must remain in the workshop. For beginners it is usual to start with a rod for either madai (red snapper) or shirogisu (Japanese whiting) with a bamboo body and fibreglass tip. Since I go fishing for whiting much more often than for snapper, I went for the latter type. The first step is the selection of bamboo; there are many varieties, of which about six or seven are used for rod making. My teacher showed me a variety from his stores, which is bamboo which has been cut and then dried for a number of years. So long as the bamboo is kept free of burrowing insects, it can keep for decades; some of his best bamboo is from his own late master, whose stock dates back to before the War. Unlike bamboo ‘cane’ that is split and fashioned into rods in the West, bamboo is almost always used whole for Japanese fishing rods.
About a week ago I took a trip up to Springwood Cottages with a few friends. We planned this trip perfectly for the opening of bass season here in Ontario and wanted to visit a lake that wouldn’t see much boat traffic. Opening season on some lakes near Toronto can be brutal in terms of the number of anglers on the water. Since Springwood is about 4 hours from Toronto is was both close enough and far enough to provide good fishing and low angling pressure. On top of that Springwoods cottages and services were both top notch, I was so pleased that I decided to review them, which makes this the first cottage review we’ve ever posted.
Springwood Cottages is a beautiful cottage resort open all year, owned and maintained by Cezar Spirala, located on Kennebec Lake in the Land O’ Lakes region of Ontario (near Napanee about 4 hours from Toronto). There are several cottages spotted around this beautiful piece of Canadian Shield land and each is very well maintained and clean. Each cottage also has its own personality and extra amenities, some of which can get pretty luxurious including things like flat screen tv’s and jacuzzi. The decks surrounding the cottages were also in tip-top condition. The area is nicely landscaped and the staff are young, energetic and very friendly.
While getting ready to publish this story I realized that we haven’t had any original Fishing Fury editorial for 2009 which makes this the first! What an amazing start to the year!
Kim Bain-Moore has been called the First Lady of Fishing after securing her name in history as the first woman to fish the Bassmaster Classic. We recently had the opportunity to have a short interview with Kim and ask her a few questions about her love of fishing, her experience fishing competitively and what it was like to be the first woman to fish the Classic.
Kim Bain-Moore shows off her catch during weigh-in at last years Women's Bassmaster Tour event in Lewisville, Texas.
Fishing Fury: Hey Kim, let us start by saying it’s a great pleasure to speak with you. You’ve broken a lot of barriers in the world of fishing and it’s great to see the sport grow and evolve with women competing in big tournaments.
Who would you credit with building your love for fishing from a young age?
Kim Bain-Moore: Without a doubt, my Mum (Lynn) and Dad (Steve). They were always proactive in creating opportunities for me to get outdoors and enjoy nature. My fondest memories are spending time with my family fishing and hunting on my weekends and vacations. I was also a member of many sportfishing clubs in Australia, so I have been very privileged to have grown up around many diverse and talented anglers.
Last week I did an interview with Bryn Weese (left) of the Toronto Sun about TTC accessible fishing spots around Toronto. Turns out that Bryn is an avid fisherman himself and we ended up talking about much more than could fit in the article.
Jonathan Marshall [sic] and Clive Mathias, creators of the website [...]
