Stearns Gloves Review

$20 for a pair of waterproof neoprene fishing gloves? Sounded like a deal, but after only using them four times the palm seam tore. I was not even rough with the gloves and the seam in the right hand split open about the size of a dime. The gloves were terrible for warmth. Might as well have been bare handed in the 25 degree weather. I had to modify the gloves, as I do everything else. It seemed the engineers thought an average person, someone who would wear these gloves had 1 inch diameter wrists, so there was lots of extra Velcro, which I had to cover with strips of Velcro straps, as it would catch the inside fleece liner of my North Face jacket. All-in-all, I would not wish these gloves upon my worst enemy. Will keep them in the trunk of my car in case of a flat tire. Sorry Stearns, gave it a chance. The price was right, but the quality and design were all wrong.

PFD

A personal floatation device (PFD) is essential for kayak and canoe fishing. I used to have a CO2 inflatable, but switched over to this NRS Chinook PFD for easier access to my vest, which used to be underneath my lifejacket. The NRS is a vest and PFD all in one. It is great. I use it not only for kayak fishing but for everyday river and lake fishing as well. Not sure how the heat factor will fall into play during the hot days of Summer, but for now it is perfect. Even keeps me a bit warmer around the core.

Fishing Story # 1

Shot Joey a text. Said I was going fishing at the pond. He said he’d meet me there. I was going to hook him up with a big cat using sweet corn and bread chum, but I accidentally, after waiting for some time, caught his fish. With the water now murked decided it was time to go and try the lake with Paul instead. We found him ankle deep on the end of the pier smoking a cig and handed us over the report - just sheephead (slang for freshwater drum). But hey, Joey has never even caught a sheep before. Joey, having Autism, has really never caught much before, that’s why I take him fishing. 

Paul and i had flip-flops and shorts, the usual summer lake fishing attire. Joey had jeans and hiking boots. i told him not to venture out past the ankle level so his feet would stay dry, for the last half of the pier has been under water all year due to the highest water levels the lake has seen in 15 + years. 

We could see the storm front rolling south from the Canadian (north) side, like a blanket of genie smoke. But, as an angler you fish until the very last moment - and sometimes a few moments beyond if they’re hittin’ and this storm, though lightening (meaning no walleye) was going to just pass. We felt the pressure drop, temp drop, but the water was another story. We had all our gear at the wave crest edge on the pier. And when I looked over at Joey I said, ‘Thought I told you not to go deeper than your boots. You’re wet over the knees!’ I’m so used to being submerged in the water that I had not realized that the waves were touching my shorts. Paul’s too! That is when it hit me - THE GEAR! We all ran towards the shore trying to catch the tackle box, the net, the extra rods, Paul’s radio, and my vest that I had left behind paranoid I’d drop my iPhone into the drink. My cellphone was completely submerged and has yet to work. Paul’s radio went down to Davey’s locker, also his hitches. But he said he went back the following day and found most of it again. I had gone back in the morning to see if I could find anything of mine, but without luck. So Paul lost a radio. I lost a cellphone, a scale, and some other small items. Joey didn’t catch any fish and I hoped he was jaded from every fishing the Lake again.

But the jist of this story is that I have never seen Lake Erie rise a foot of water in less than five minutes before. just when I thought I had seen it all! Not a single rain drop, but the barometrical pressure was enough to push down on the top of the nearly perfectly calm water so it rose more than 12 inches in an instant. I’m not sure if this adventure ruined it for Joey. Of course, his first time and he’s introduced to a freak of nature! But that is what I love about my eerie lake, you never know what she’s going to throw at you. Predictability is just boring.

What should have been Joey's fish.

• Freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central America

Plano 3400 Waterproof Stowaway Review

New from Plano Guide Series 3400 Waterproof Stowaway (Smart Phone dry-box)

I'd been looking for a decent, reasonably priced dry box case for my Apple iPhone 6s for awhile and saw this little guy at Wal-mart and decided to give it a try. Fits perfectly. Wanted something to carry on my person, in my vest while in the water fishing. I had the iPhone 6 and it was submerged and had to scrap it. The new 6s is supposed to be more 'water resistant' but I'm still weary and take caution nowadays. I have a Plano tackle box (who hasn't?) and like it is made here in the U.S.A. This box seems really water tight, with Dri-loc O-Ring Seal and sturdy construction. To test it out I threw it at the side of my garage - no cracks or damage, unscathed. Now this will be something to be considered if in temps lower than the 36 degrees of today. This type of plastic may not hold up well in severely low temperatures, but for the average use it is very well constructed and suitable for normal use. And the cost is low as compared to Pelican cases, only $6. I can't see this beast of a cellphone getting any larger than it is in the future, so this compact case will accommodate most beefy phones yet to come. It fits rather snug, leaving a little room for fishing license or something thin. I give it a thumbs up.

Lake Transition

The Lake is beginning to thaw. We had some really warm weather the past few days, even reached mid 60's! The robins have come back two weeks ago. In the matter of a day all the snow vanished. The rivers are running too hard for any decent fishing, and the Lake is in a transitional stage, so I just dusted off my Nikon D810 and took some 'snaps' as they call photos in India.

Huntington Beach, Ohio

Here is what the Lake looked like last week before I drove to Detroit (Novi) to raise money for Down Syndrome Awareness at an RV show. This is one of my favorite lake ice phenomenon, when the top of the water begins to freeze up, but rolled into a soft bluish blanket pushed inwards towards shore before it can completely turn to ice.

Novi

Here in Novi, Michigan getting ready to go to work. I took this job and purposely left my fishing rod back at home in Ohio knowing that any free time I had I would be out trying to find an open hole along the Grand River. Instead I dreamed of fishing. Just five days ago I was fishing the Black. Lots of beaver activity along the banks.

Did my time at the BMV for my new kayak/canoe decals. Could it get any uglier than lime green? Going to look great on the fluorescent orange (Sea Horse) kayak! Having your water vehicle registered is a absolute must. Not only is it state law, but it could also save your life, as it did in my case three years ago when Lake Erie almost claimed my life. 

Though fishing the Black was a bust, I did hear this piece of driftwood calling out. I had to walk it out for about a mile all uphill, but believe it was worth it as it made a complimentary addition to the new furniture. But this is only a portion of the tree, which was about 15-18 feet long. 

Crapp(i)ed Out

The Black River trek was a bust this morning. All the conditions were perfect, but I had decided to try something new (considering I could not make it to the bait shop during business hours) and neglected to test it out beforehand. Without bait it was like firing off a cap pistol at a shooting range - basically pointless. Regardless it was still nice to be out there. I remember fishing with my father as a kid and it really didn't matter if I caught anything at all, just good to be there with him and most of all be outdoors. And this location is what I prefer, no people, no cars, no commercials, and no stress. 

Had scoped out the lake conditions on the way out and they were perfect, or how I prefer as a yakker - no wind. I mean ZERO wind and the lake cucumber calm. Figured if I crapped out on the crappie at the Black River I'd just salvage the rest of the day on the lake. But by the time the time had arrived her temper changed, which is not unusual and I went back home with my tail between my legs to each nachos and take a nap. Looks like more and more rain till sunrise then high winds the rest of the day. Still, I might just give it another go at the Black since I picked up some bait at Gander Mountain this afternoon. 

Miller Park Pier

5 in the AM

5 in the AM. Been up since 4. Will leave by 7 to catch the Sun on the rise over the Black River. Used my mountain bike to scope it out while doing a metro park circuit. There are a string of Lorain County Metro Parks up and down the Black River, mostly on the east side. There are kayak/canoe launches at Bur Oak park, and also one at French Creek park. Depending on the time of year the launch at Bur Oak can be altogether pointless as the water level is too low even for the most buoyant of kayaks. But the launch at French Creek stays fairly consistent, and once out of the tributary and into the river proper, it gets very deep (how deep? I’ll let you know when I take the fish finder out on it) and not-to further upriver it is dredged for larger vessels to port. Rumor has it that at the mouth of the Black River, where it opens into Lake Erie a launch is to be built this coming spring. I don’t really see the point in this, for on the east side is a beach front as an access point just a couple hundred yards from the parking lot. Maybe due to swimmers one may not be encouraged to set off from the beach?

It is currently 25 degrees, but may reach a high of lower forties by mid afternoon. Yesterday was a perfect kayak day and built/customized the car rack and would have loved to be out on the lake. Zero wind, water like mirrored glass, in the mid-forties, and a brand spanking new bait casting reel that is thirsty for its first water. But we all have obligations in life which must take priority at times, and my day was chopped and diced, driving here and there and back again until at the very end with just 45 minutes of daylight figured I could at least fish the (Miller Park) pier. But the very last stop was at my fishing buddy’s house and he greeted me with a beer and convinced me that it was not worth the effort (he knows I don’t enjoy that kind of fishing very much) and one beer turned into several and we agreed to give the Black River a go come morning. Amazingly steelhead have made it upriver despite this winter’s lack of precipitation. With the water temp the way it is I won’t be using lures. Would be using the standard jig & maggot with a floatation device, but I’m going to experiment with some ideas that have been fish bowling inside my head. And in all honesty I’m not really specifically targeting trout. I know during spring this one hole is a hot spot for crappie. I’m going to give it a go and see what happens. 

Prepping up the 'Sea Horse' for spring fishing. This yak is mostly for friends who want to come along fishing.

Black River in summer time. The 'Sea Chicken'

The Black River (yesterday)