Flashback Fishing Challenge

 The other day I was in my fishing room doing some long overdue organizing, cleaning and general “fish futzing”. As I was going through my rod rack, I came across a couple old rods I built myself back in the mid 80’s. One was a six-foot medium action spinning rod and the other was a 5’ 8” spinning rod that I used to jig up more Missouri River walleyes than I could possibly remember. It got me thinking … why did I ever stop fishing with these? The six-footer was rigged with an old reliable Cardinal 4 while the jigging rod sported the Cardinal 3. I owned and relied on several Cardinal reels back in the day, and as I checked these reels out, both were still as smooth as ever.

I also pulled out my first baitcasting rod and reel, a custom Boron rod my dad had made for me for my high school graduation with a classic ABU Garcia Ambassador 5000 my mom had bought me to go on that rod. I had retired the combo in the summer of 1987 after I used it to catch my first trophy walleye (an 8-pound chunk) casting a perch colored #7 Shad Rap along a weed edge in one of my old honey holes. The memories these fishing items brought back gave me a goal for this upcoming season; to spend at least a few fishing trips using nothing but gear I haven’t used in over 30 years.

The more I thought about it I figured why limit it to just using old rods and reels? I have got a ton of old lures that haven’t been wet in over 30 years either.

As I started digging through some of the old tackle boxes on my storage shelf and found some real gems like my old Smithwick Rogues (the “pre-PRADCO ones) that used to be my favorite jerk bait for spring smallmouth. I found some original Storm Thin Fins and Flat Warts, several original Rapala Floating Minnows (which catch just about everything that swims) and a few old balsa Shad Raps.
I discovered (or maybe I should say “rediscovered) a Rebel Wee Frog, a couple Moss Boss slop spoons and a handful of Johnson Silver Minnows. Then I found a box of old topwater baits that included a frog pattern jointed Jitter Bug, a couple Tiny Torpedo’s and my old Devil Horse lures. I also came across a few old inline spinners, mostly Mepps and Vibrax, that were my go-tos when nothing else would get bit.

Bottom line is I had a pretty solid arsenal of proven fish catchers picked out and I couldn’t be more excited to give them their opportunity to fool some bass this coming season. Time had taken its toll on a few of them, with hooks and hardware showing some rust and finishes that could use some attention, but I always have a good selection of replacement split rings and hooks on hand and after an afternoon of refurbishing these lures, I am sure they will be ready to get the job done.

The rods and reels too would take some effort to get cleaned up, lubricated and respooled but that’s all stuff I do for all my gear before the season so adding a few more combos to the list isn’t going to be an issue. This won’t be a huge task as I have always been pretty serious about taking care of my tackle, so everything is in pretty solid condition.

This entire idea has me so pumped to get back on the water (like I need another reason to want spring to get here) so I can try these “well-seasoned” tools on the current crop of fish. I’ll certainly report my successes as well as my failures, but I have a feeling that even the failures will be fun days on the water …  like spending time on the water with old friends.

Now if it would just quit snowing ….

 

 

 

A Boyd's Eye View: Publishing a Kid's Book

I have long wanted to write a book, the big question was always what it would be about. To most that know me, the obvious answer would be to do a book on fishing, since that does seem to be a subject I am known most for and have written about extensively over the years. But that would be too obvious I thought, and quite frankly, the market for "how-to" fishing books is not what it used to be and there are already a ton of really good books out there on fishing and so I have let that idea go to the wayside. It would also be safe to say that in today's world, video has killed the book when it comes to how-to material anyway.

I considered writing an insider's look into the world of professional fishing. After spending 20 plus years in that world I think I could share some interesting insights and stories, as well as advice on what to do and what not to do if you are working to be a professional angler. But again, the audience for such a work as that would be small, but I still think it's a good idea as I watch so many young hopefuls make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe I will do this one someday, if only to save one or two would-be bankruptcies from occurring. 

Then I came up with a couple ideas for novels. My favorite one involved fishing, but was set in the genre of a murder mystery. I quickly discovered that my writing style does not lend itself well to novels. I am going to keep that idea in the "file" however for future consideration.

A big reason I wanted to write a book was to share something of myself with the world, and hopefully something that would bring joy and a positive vibe into other's lives. If it was a successful seller or not has never been a consideration, that's not at all why I wanted to write ... it's never been why I write anything. I write because its my best form of communication and always has been.

It was shortly after my grandson Camden was born that my son-in-law came to me with an idea I had not considered. Marty is an avid outdoorsman, almost to the extent that avid is a gross understatement. When his son was born, he wanted to find books to read to him that would help him instill the love of the outdoors that he had. However, he was disappointed in the lack of outdoors-related story books in the Children's Books section of every source he explored. Oh there are a few good ones out there, mostly geared toward a little older child, but very few that really expressed the adventure and fun that hunting and fishing offer to those of us that love these sports.

That's when he asked if I would be interested in trying my hand at writing a story book for kids. One that a parent could read to a young child sitting in their lap with pictures that would help tell the story and capture the youngster's imagination. It was a challenge I immediately embraced.

The inspiration came naturally. In almost an instant, I began to recall the memories of my earliest fishing and hunting adventures, imagining how they would lay across the pages of an "easy reader" style children's book. It was like a switch was flipped in my brain. I knew the main character's name, I knew what the first story would be about and I was flooded with ideas of follow-up books and the stories they would tell.

That first story poured out with very little effort. I'm not saying it was easy really, because I was having to tell a story in 20 pages with no more than two sentences per page, but in less than forty minutes, there it was, the manuscript of my first kid's book.

Now I had to figure out a way to get the thing published. These days an author has many options. I looked into self-publishing, but I had one major obstacle. With a children's book, illustrations are key. I had to find the right illustrator to bring the story to life. After much research I decided that a publishing house that could provide an illustrator experienced in children's books was the best path to follow.

This in itself turned out to be more than I had bargained for too, in both time and in money. But eventually I came across a small publishing house that had a program I could live with and after many rounds of seeing samples of work from various illustrators I found the one that captured my character and the look I was after perfectly.

To date, the editing on the book is done and the illustrator is doing his magic to bring my story to life. My hope is that the first in a long line of books chronicling Hank's outdoor adventures will be available in time for Christmas. I hope my vision will be stuffed in many stockings and be read to hundreds of youngsters by parents that embrace the joy that the outdoors can bring.

Stay tuned ... I will keep you posted as to how the adventure of being a children's book author is progressing. 

I must say, I am very proud and happy to have been given this inspiration and I am grateful to have the opportunity to bring these stories to others. It's my feeling that by sharing the love of the outdoors with our children, we are ensuring the future of not only the outdoor sports we love, but the very planet we occupy. At least that's my Boyd's Eye View. Carry on.

A Boyd's Eye View: Passing it on pays pretty well.

Most of my friends know I am the type that does not necessarily live for my work. To me, life comes first. I have no idea how long I will be on this planet, so I choose to live my life with a freedom many can not bring themselves to understand. Oh don't get me wrong, it does have its drawbacks ... like the fact that I make very little money. But I don't need a lot to be happy, especially when teaching what I know makes me happier than just about anything.

Over the past couple months I have been approached by a handful of groups asking if I could lend my experience and background to help them grow their respective entities. The best part is, each one of them is about reaching people and helping them to get more from their outdoor experiences. What could be more rewarding than that?

In one case, I spend time each day reaching out to people and companies asking for support for an organization dedicated to making the fishing experience better for everyone. In another, I help organize programs and events through church that dovetail people's love of the outdoors with the message from our maker. There's the group of young "millennials" working hard to make their mark as outdoors entrepreneurs that have reached out to me and sharing my advice with them has helped fuel me more than they will ever know. And then there's the newest request for my time, to help bring a group of high school age folks together as a fishing club - to teach them not only how to fish, but how to enjoy the outdoors to enrich their lives.

Do I get paid for any of these endeavors? Yes, in a way, but not in the financial sense. I have a lifetime of knowing how to get outdoors and have fun fishing, hunting, etc. Being able to share that experience and pass it on to others pays me more dividends than I can count. That's not to say that there may be some financial benefit down the road ... but there may not be either. I simply don't care about that part. Thank goodness I have a lovely wife with a good job and a keen understanding of how I tick.

I recently turned the big 6-0. Funny .... I don't feel like I thought 60 was supposed to feel. I do ache more than I used to, but a warm shower and a couple Tylenol usually take care of that. Where I have struggled the most at this stage of the game is what can I do to leave my mark on the world. I'm happy to say I know what that is and I am enjoying sharing what I know with those that are willing to listen.

Here's a piece of unsolicited advice; If you find yourself struggling with where you are in your life, give some of what life has given you to someone else. Share what you know. It could be a favorite recipe, it could be a craft you are particularly fond of, even if you don't think you're all that good at it. It may be something as simple as sharing a story.

We've all heard the phrase "You can't take it with you." Most folks think of money or material things when they hear it, but maybe more importantly it goes for what you have learned in your life. I can honestly say these days the phrase "The more you give, the more you get" carries more importance with me. That's my Boyd's eye view anyway. Carry on.

A Boyd's Eye View: I think fishing is infected.

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, an infection is "the invasion of an organism's body tissues by disease-causing agents, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to these organisms and the toxins they produce."A long winded way of saying the host organism is sick. I've been working in the fishing industry for a very long time, and I honestly feel it is among many such industries these days suffering from sickness. I don't know exactly when the infection was introduced, or how long it has actually been festering, but the results are as noticeable as a massive cold-sore.

I have my opinions as to what the cause and effect of this infection is, and I have been warned by numerous friends and colleagues to keep those thoughts to myself or risk being ostracized. But as it turns out, I am not very good at that, and because I feel so deeply that there is still hope, I am driven to bring attention to the ailments I am witnessing.

The short-sighted view of profit before all-else is exactly what brought disaster to the housing market, and ultimately our nation's overall economy in 2008. Even today, while things are certainly on the rebound, many of us would have to say things are still not back to where they were before that crash happened. People and companies are still a bit gun-shy and I for one can't blame them completely. But the time of holding one's cards close to the vest is over now. I'm not saying its time to go "all in" - I've never been that kind of gambler and I don't think that's a good business practice for

long-term success. But I do think it is time for the sporting and recreational industries - the fishing industry in particular - to lighten the purse strings and get back to making the sport of fishing as popular as it once was.

Rampant is the business mind-set that profits must come before everything else. Now I'm not naive enough to think that completely ignoring profits is a good idea either - that would just be down-right ignorant. But there is a process that is being ignored and it will ultimately bring doom to many in the fishing business and that is cultivation. Just like a farmer's crop, a company's market needs to be cultivated. A business needs to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc. - in this case a sport) by labor and attention. If there is less fishing going on in the world, there will be less business for fishing companies. It seems elementary, but its a principle that many agree is being neglected in favor of "current numbers", "this quarter's profits", and the "latest return on investment".

I recently attended one of fishing's largest national events. I saw hundreds of fishing companies spending thousands and thousands of dollars to reach a market of consumers that were already a part of their consumer base. But reaching out to those same companies to reach new markets, new anglers, a new and grow-able market, and the purses are zipped tight and we are met with the immortal words, "its just not in the budget this year," or "I don't see how that is going to help me increase my sales numbers next quarter." Again ... short-sighted vision in my opinion.

I don't mean to say that there are no companies doing their part to help the sport of fishing because there are. But consider this - Most programs designed to build on the sport of fishing (or hunting or any other outdoor activity) are run by nonprofit organizations and while a good amount of the support for these nonprofits comes from membership dollars, a large portion of their funding comes from corporate partnerships. Now, among the top 12 hunting 501c3 non-profit organizations, they raised over $412.5 million in the 2014-2015 accounting period (the last such accounting published). In that same period, the major fishing 501c3 non-profits raised much less; Trout Unlimited ($45 million), IGFA ($4 million), Issac Walton League ($2 million - half of which was designated to hunting programs), and American Sportfishing Association (which by the way is not rated on Charity Navigator) raised $5 million, for a total of around $55 million dollars. Considering that there are 13.7 million hunters in the country, compared to the number of freshwater anglers estimated near 28.8 million (according to the U.S. Department of Interior), that equates to about $2.78 raised per angler compared to $30 raised per hunter in support of their respective sports. I think a plan going forward needs to bring more designated corporate dollars to fishing nonprofits, along with a plan to educate the angling public that more support is needed in the way of membership support. Together we can make a huge difference for the future of fishing.

Those of us that grew up with a fishing pole in our hand know what joy, peace and serenity can come from time spent fishing. It's time to share that experience with those that have not had that experience. And its more than just a one-time thing. It's time for anglers, as well as companies to take on a mentoring role. A love of fishing does not just happen with one fishing trip. It happens over time, it happens as one accumulates a bucket-full of experiences on the water. It happens because companies that rely on fishing also invest in fishing, in fisheries and in organizations that bring the sport to masses of new-comers. It happens because state and federal agencies work with people trying to make fishing more accessible to more people, and not see them as a thorn in their side, out to make them look bad. That's not the case at all ... we just want to help and do what we can to make everyone's fishing experience more enjoyable.

I know I sound like the old hippie that I am - preaching the gospel of social compatibility ... peace, love and fishing will make the world a better place to live. Naive perhaps ... but I stand by it. The bottom line is, if the fishing industry does not begin to really put it's money where it's market is, someday it's going to find out it had the cure for an ailing industry and failed to treat it. That's my Boyd's Eye View at least. Carry on.

A Boyd's Eye View: The joys of tackle tinkering.

For the majority of my life I have lived in a part of the country where winter descends upon the land in November and holds fast until the waning days of April. As an angler, that offers some real challenges. Sure, ice fishing is an obvious option, and while I have had many an enjoyable day fishing on the ice, as I grow older the thought of venturing out on a frozen body of water is less and less appealing. I could travel to warmer locales for a "fishing fix", but while that does help, it's only a reprieve from the chill. So for half the year I need to find other ways to feed my fishing addictions, and I have found that "tackle tinkering" fills the void rather nicely.

Tackle tinkering has many facets. It includes such activities as tacklebox organizing, reel cleaning, lure sorting. There's also hook sharpening and replacing, unspooling and respooling line and of course, hours upon hours of tackle shopping, both online and in various tackle outlets. But some of the most satisfying hours I spend in my fishing room during the winter months are spent making lures, modifying baits and creating tackle that I am sure will help me catch more and bigger fish. Its a creative process that I, as well as many other fishing-folk, find fills the time wonderfully between fall and spring.

I have written before about various aspects of this somewhat obsessive compulsion I have with fishing tackle and tinkering, covering various lure modifications I have found particularly effective (Building my favorite popper for bass), or my favorite tackle organizing methods (Label me "OCD"-Organized, Compartmentalized and Departmentalized). I have even written about how lure making can be a wonderful way to get a youngster introduced and excited about fishing (Finding a way to get kids into fishing). But its a topic that I am passionate about, so therefore I can seem to always find a new reason to write about it.

This time around I am excited to share a couple new tinkering tidbits I have stumbled upon the past couple winters along with an entire new genre of fishing tackle tinkering I have come to love recently.

Last winter I was deep into a tackle tinkering session when I came across a couple spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and a couple bass jigs that were all in dire need of skirt repair. On each one, the small rubber sleeve that held the skirt on the lure was deteriorated and needed replacing. Now I always keep pre-packaged replacement skirts handy so replacing the skirts would be a simple matter of just removing the old one and putting on the new one, but in each of these cases, the skirt material itself was just fine and tossing it out would just be a waste. I needed a way to replace the small rubber keeper sleeve on

the skirt material. Now these little keepers are available in tackle supply outlets online, along with tools for getting them on the skirt, but I wanted to come up with a way to do this myself. Like any good tackle tinkerer, I had a supply of rubber surgical tubing on hand (get some - it can be used for a number of things!). All I had to do was cut a small piece of the tubing for the keeper. To get it on the skirt took a little more thinking. What I came up with is this; I found a fat-bodied marker or pen, removed the top and the insides, and I had a skirt tool. I just rolled the small rubber keeper over the tapered end and up close to the opposite end. Then I dropped the skirt strands into the larger opening of the pen body, slid the rubber keeper off the pen and onto the skirt and viola - new bait skirt. I even made a small video at my workbench showing the procedure using an old marker body as a skirt tool:

My latest tackle tinkering session spawned a tip I am honestly surprised I did not come up with sooner. I was looking for a better hook-keeper option for trailer hooks on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. In the past I used that same rubber surgical tubing as mentioned above but I wanted something smaller and more "streamline". The idea of a small rubber disc came to mind and I remembered I had a couple of those silicone bracelets in a drawer that would make ideal keeper material. To cut the small discs I simply used a standard hole punch that can be picked up at any office supply or craft supply store. (By the way, the hole punch is also great for cutting discs of reflective tape for adding a little flash to spinner blades or to use as eyes on crankbaits). Just slip your favorite trailer hook onto your spinnerbait, buzzbait or even a swim jig, and then slip the little silicone disc over the lure hook to keep it from coming off.

As if tinkering with my fishing tackle weren't enough, I have found a new activity that involves not only my fishing tackle obsession but my love of photography. Taking close-up photos of my tackle sort of began as a necessity when I started selling a few items on ebay. I learned pretty quick that a few good images of the lures and reels I was selling went a long way to getting more interest and therefore more bids on my items. It then evolved to include my vintage lure collection and wanting to document the old lures and equipment I had been collecting over the years. Now I have a "mini-studio" set up in my office with a light tent and a variety of sets for taking my tackle photos. Its fun, and I have even used this hobby to do product photography for a few folks I know in the fishing industry. 

It certainly doesn't stop there of course. I know guys that have gone full bore into the custom lure painting craze, and many anglers are into lure making from tying tiny flies to carving monster muskie baits. The tackle tinkering possibilities are endless and down-right fun.

So if you're like me and love fishing, but live where winter is cold and long and you have no real desire to spend much time dropping a line through a hole in the ice, getting into some serious tackle tinkering might just be what the doctor ordered to help get you through the "off season". That's my Boyd's eye view anyway. Carry on.

A Boyd's Eye View: Creating a fishing lure relationship.

I recently made a post on LinkedIn asking "What was the first fishing lure you ever used that really got you hooked on fishing?" and the responses really were eye-opening. Most made simple comments like "The spinnerbait", or "a jitterbug" and I even got a "Good old fashion live night crawlers works fine for me!", and who could argue that one. But a couple of the comments took a different twist, taking the time to share fond memories of their Dad or Grandfather and how their sharing of a particular lure brought back an emotional connection to a particular fishing lure and/or fishing related memory.

I did notice that one particular lure was mentioned more than any other; the Rapala Original Floating Minnow, and the small-but-mighty size 7 seemed to be the one that most everyone started out with. That really shouldn't be all that surprising as the Rapala Minnow has no doubt been responsible for innumerable first catches over the decades. 

For me, it was an old Abu in-line spinner; one with a yellow body covered in black dots, a silver French blade and a tuft of yellow marabou dressing the treble hook. The memory is as vivid today as if it had happened yesterday. I was in the front of a canoe maneuvered by my Uncle Don on the Elk River in the southwest corner of Missouri. At the base of a large bluff rising above the river were two large boulders that created a current break and what I realize now was an ideal ambush position for a predator fish. I was instructed to cast my spinner right between the boulders, which I did, and was instantly hooked up with a three pound channel catfish that, as an eight year old boy, seemed enormous. That memory still gets my heart beating a little quicker. I wish I still had that lure just to look at once in a while.

Unfortunately these days I think that tradition of passing along the pure joy that comes with your first "lure relationship" gets lost in the moment. Too often when we take kids fishing it's all about just keeping them occupied or trying to teach them everything you know about fishing, and not so much about creating an experience for them to cherish. 

I encourage all of you that share my love of fishing to make a point this year, and every year, to help at least one young person create just such a relationship with a lure and with the sport of fishing. I know its not all that easy, we all have busy lives these days. But if we are to keep some of those prized traditions we cherish alive in future generations, it's important that we don't let such opportunities go by the wayside.

If you are not really sure what lure to use to introduce a young person to the sport, it's really not as complicated as it may first appear. Most of the old standards are still good choices in many situations, like the Rapala which can be cast on light tackle and, with a slow retrieve,

entice most any species to bite. Another great choice is the Beetle Spin, a wonderful lure for panfish and bass and even the occasional walleye in sparse, shallow weeds. I have always had a soft-spot for topwater bass fishing, and my son learned early the sheer excitement of catching bass on a popper-style topwater bait. The inline spinners, like a Mepps, Vibrax or Roostertail, will always be fish catchers, especially in small streams (it certainly worked for me). And let's not forget the most basic of all, the bobber and live worm rig. Safe to say most of us started that way after all. And I suggest if you go with lures, you stick with the smaller models. It has long been my experience that a small lure gets more bites, and can still lure in a big one from time to time. 

When it comes right down to it, it doesn't matter what you use to get a kid interested in fishing, as long as they catch fish and have fun. Make that happen, and you will give that child a memory that will be with them the rest of their life. In fact, it's my sincere belief that a good lure will catch as many fishermen as it does fish. That's my Boyd's Eye View anyway. Carry on.

A Boyd's Eye View: Finding a way to get kids into fishing.

For the past few years or so I have been asked to speak to a group of youngsters in a local summer-school class that are learning all about fishing. It's honestly one of the funnest things I get to be a part of and I look forward to it every year. The first few years I did this I spoke primarily about what was involved in producing a fishing TV show. I told a few entertaining stories, talked about how they could go about making their own fishing videos, and then the kids got to watch an episode of the program I was involved with. But the last time I did this, I sat back and observed the kids and realized that while they were watching the TV show they weren't really learning about fishing; I was simply entertaining them, not engaging them in the sport. I realized I needed a new plan.

I began to think about what it was that got me so fired up about fishing as a youngster and how I was introduced to the sport. Like so many of us, I was lucky to have family that fished and were willing to get me involved. My grandfather and uncles were my early mentors, teaching me the basics and getting me out on the water. And while those experiences obviously played a key role in my love of fishing, I can honestly say there was one special moment in my past that set my path to where I am today, and it happened in an upstairs closet of my grandmother's house.

My Grandma Boyd was tiny in stature but big on self reliance. She'd worked in a clothing factory most all her life operating large pressing machines. But while digging around in a closet in the seldom-used upstairs of her house one day I discovered a box that piqued my interest. When I opened it, I found it was filled with hooks and feathers and thread and a fly tying vise. My initial thought was that it must belong to my granddad. I mean, I knew he fished alright, but as far as I knew he was a bank-sittin' catfish kinda guy, not one that would use a fly rod. I took the box downstairs to ask Grandma about the items I had found.

"Oh my", she was obviously taken back by my discovery. "I have not seen those things in many years. I didn't even know they were still around." As it turned out, the fly tying materials were hers. The story goes that one day a man from Montgomery Ward came to the clothing factory where she worked to enlist a handful of willing ladies to learn to make flies that were to be sold via the Montgomery Ward catalog. Grandma figured she could use the extra money and signed up. She was taught to tie a half dozen popular fly patterns including a couple streamers, an Adams, a Royal Wulff and a few others. She told me she was then supplied with a box of materials, a vise and a bobbin along with some shipping envelopes. She tied flies in the evening after dinner and once she got a couple dozen finished, she would ship them off in the envelopes provided and a week or so later she'd receive a check. She made about twenty five cents for every fly she tied. It was only a few extra bucks every month, but back then, it was a nice bonus.

So she sat me down and taught me the basics of tying a fly. I didn't fly fish, but it was the idea of making my own fishing lures that got me so excited to learn. Within a few years I was making fishing lures out of all kinds of things. I purchased some materials from mail-order catalogs, but using things like tableware and old costume jewelry also proved effective. Some of my creations were junk, but a few actually caught fish, and the satisfaction of catching a fish with a lure I made myself was immeasurable. 

That was the passion I wanted to instill in the kids in the fishing class. So the next time I showed up to speak to the group, I came toting a box of feathers, thread, hooks, split rings, wire, 

Speaking to the River Studies class about making fishing lures.

beads and even some old silverware - all sorts of things I could show them that they could use to make fishing lures themselves. The effect was more than I could have ever hoped for. The kids were engaged. They asked question after question, their minds churning as they came up with ideas of their own. The instructor for the class later told me I had created "some monsters" as the kids were excited to head out on their next class fishing outing to try the lures they had made at home after my visit.

Those of us in the fishing industry are constantly talking about ways to grow the sport. Putting rods and reels in the hands of kids and getting them out fishing is no doubt great and effective. But if you can tap into a kids own creativity and show them how it can relate to fishing - that's a special gift you can give a young angler. At least that's my Boyd's Eye View on it. Carry on.