Boating Geek

Looking at Fishing Lines  From the time when anglers began to appreciate catching fish as a sport, and not only as a skill used to harvest food, the earliest fishing lines were reported to be made of horsehair and gut, later giving way to silk—the era was the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These silk lines were cast with a whippy pole or rod, the precursor to a fly rod. Later, silk bait-casting lines became popular. The leader on the horsehair or silk line was gut, a material which was less obvious to fish when underwater and therefore less of a threat to fish than the heavier silk casting line to which it was attached.  The leader was the transitional piece of the connection intended to be as translucent as possible so the fish might be fooled into eating the fly or bait. This principle of using a line less visible or at least less noticeable to fish paved the way for the nearly invisible lines such as today's monofilament (a single strand of extruded nylon, he...

The Danger Of Drowning  Drowning is a constant danger to fishermen. Each year we hear tragic stories of anglers who have fallen out of boats or off the bank and were lost This danger is easily avoided. Following are commonsense rules for making sure you won't become a drowning victim.  Wear a life preserver Using a life preserver is the "ounce of prevention". Very few anglers drown while wearing a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (PFD). whenever you're in a boat, you're required to have such a preserver with you. You're not required to wear it, however, and this gets many lackadaisical fishermen in trouble.  Accidents happen when you least expect them, and they happen quickly. If you're not wearing your life preserver, and your boat suddenly overturns, you probably won't have a chance to put your PFD on. Always wear your PFD when the boat is running, and zip it up or tie it. Also, it's a good idea to wear it even when the boa...

Popular Fish Species of North America  Fish are some of the most interesting creatures on earth! They come in an amazing variety of species and sizes. They live in virtually all waters where their life basics are available to them. Some are predators; they feed on other fish and aquatic creatures. Others are prey species, spending their lives in danger of being gobbled by larger fish that share their waters. The first step in learning to catch fish is learning about fish: which species are available, where they can be found, and what they eat. The more you know about your target species' life habits, the more likely you are to catch them. Many expert anglers learn even the smallest details about the daily patterns of the fish they're after. This helps them locate the fish and select just the right bait and technique to make them bite.  Following is a brief look at the freshwater fish species that are most popular with North American anglers. As your fishing skills grow ...

 All the cruising parents we have met found the experience of voyaging with their children very positive, and the ties established during several years of voyaging built the foundation for a lifetime of intense and fulfilling family relationships. Though some parents worried about the risks to their children initially, most ended up feeling cruising was better for their children physically and mentally than life ashore. In fact, cruising with kids is harder on the parents than on the children. In addition to the things all of us have to deal with while voyaging, cruising parents spend a good deal of their time educating, entertaining, and worrying about their children. We've met children aboard ranging in age from infants to young adults. Any age can work, but most parents say the children get the most out of it if they are old enough to remember the experience but young enough not to want to be somewhere else. Toddlers and teens tend to create the biggest problems aboard....