Monday, April 11, 2016

GoPro Aluminum Housing

Just received this item, an aluminum housing unit for GoPro 4 Black. Very nice, good design, but I did find a flaw. The screw heads were too long, actually the screws themselves were too long, and I had to bore out the holes with a 9/64th drill bit to get it right. Also, had to add two stainless steel washers. Not a big deal. I prefer this housing over GoPro's rinky-dink generic rubberized plastic housing they sell for $40. This item can be found on eBay for half the price, even less if you order it directly from Hong Kong, but I chose a place here in the states so it would arrive faster.
I went with this type of housing for two reasons; the audio mike is not covered up and muffled by the waterproof plastic housing, and this device allows attachment to any standard tripod. And filters can be added - most importantly a polarizer. But, there's a catch to that. In order to use a polarizer you have to be able to turn it correctly to block out/intensify. How do you do that with a camera you can't see out of? GoPro has an app that uses your smartphone as a preview/remote trigger. So DON'T go and buy the cordless remote! You already have it and it won't cost you a dime, the app is free.




Sunday, April 10, 2016

Fishing Story #2

I was just telling Paul about my buddy who had just lost his rod while putting it down to bait his wife’s hook. ‘There goes your rod,’ she commented nonchalantly as it disappeared down into the depths while his hands were occupied. This was just 10 minutes after i had told Brent about the Russian guy who had done the same thing and lost his rod to a big cat or carp just days before. I felt like i had started a domino affect.
Paul and I were en route along the bank and I suddenly bring us to a halt. Is that a grass carp finning the top of the still waters? No, it’s not finning, actually it is not moving at all. Upon closer inspection we find it is a floating fishing rod. I tie up a husky jerk walleye lure and snag it, bring it back to shore where we find the rig is still intact and with a half an hour of drying the long lost Russian rod is usable. So i put on a Norwegian black hook and catch a monster goiter cat before giving the pole to Paul to later restore and add to his rod rack collection. Paul nailed a huge goiter cat and some others before the yank of the clock chain pulled us to leave. 
As I’m loading the poles and gear Paul rounds the front of the truck and says we should take a walk about the lot because he just found a dollar bill tumble-weeding along with the southeast breeze. i find another dollar and he yells from the lucky side of the lot he’s found a five and another two singles!
good fishing day. free rod. free money.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Hook-Eze

This is a cool little gadget from a place down under. 'Takes the pricks out of fishing.'
Comes two to a package. I find it really handy for protecting the inside of my car and hooking my dog accidentally. 

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Goiter Cats

Though it was raining (as usual) my friend, Tom came a-knockin' at the front door. I saw his reflection peaking thru the front window off the screen of my laptop as I was doing some photo editing. He asked if I wanted to go fishing? Like anyone even has to ask!! He wanted to have some fun, get away for awhile before boarding the plane for Florida the following afternoon. So we geared up, put on some waterproof coats and headed down to the local pond to do some 'goiter cat' fishing. Though it has been cold and still snowing/sleeting/hailing/raining some guys have been catching some. 'Da catfish, deh be a movin' I was told by the Russian guy whom I've seen there many times over the summer. But the water was extremely cold, the fish sluggish, but I still wanted to get a chance to use my new GoPro Black. (insert link here later)
Example of a Goiter Cat
Paul dimed the name 'goiter cat' for the pond's catfish with their unique mouth and under chin deformities, probably from many generations of inbreeding. Walker Pond is a catch & release pond. I usually try to go for the big ellusive grass carp. 
36 inch grass carp
Carp are very smart and shy. Great sport. Catfish put up a good fight and will eat just about anything. Carp are picky and more of a challenge. The grass carp is an invasive species to North America. The common carp don't usually get as large, especially in a pond. But I have caught some huge commons in Lake Erie in the past. They tend to have a thicker girth and are more powerful.
Tom and I did not catch anything at the pond, just a handful of bites here & there. But it was good to hang out, and later that night we put back a few cold ones with some pirate rum.
'There are good ships and wood ships, and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they ever be!!' Will be a sad day when he finally moves to Florida in June. But friends we will always be...


Friday, April 1, 2016

Backwater Assault Paddle

This is a cool device with many applications. Lightweight and super strong. I bought the olive green version. Definitely worth the $30. And if you want to avoid shipping costs buy it on Ebay.
And they send you two cool stickers.