A few weeks ago, the folks at SmartShield contacted me and asked me to do a review of their sunscreen. While sunscreen isn’t what you think of first when getting gear together to go fishing, it is one of the most important. So I agreed. They sent me a free bottle in the mail last week.

Unfortunately, I got my bottle a week too late. If I had received it earlier, I could have brought it with me to Cincinnati and really put it to the test. That week was my first major exposure to ultraviolet rays this year and once I get that first major exposure, I don’t burn easily the rest of the summer. I did, however, bring my bottle with me on my Mille Lacs trip and used it there.

Because the main role of sunscreen is pretty much the same across the industry, sunscreen companies have to differentiate themselves in other ways. That’s when you get into features like being sweatproof or waterproof. However, Smartshield adds one more feature: it’s not greasy.

You can tell this immediately when you put it on. It doesn’t leave that greasy film on your hands after you’ve spread it on your skin. In fact, SmartShield lives up to another claim that the lotion gets absorbed almost immediately. There’s almost no residue on your skin after you’ve put it on. I brought my bottle to my son’s T-ball practice the other day and gave some to one of the other moms there. She doesn’t like traditional sunscreen because of the greasy residue. But she didn’t mind SmartShield at all.

My fishing buddy, Mark, is so paranoid about sunscreen that he uses a rubber glove to put it on while he’s out on the boat. He cites studies that show sunscreen residue actually repels fish. I’m not sure if that’s completely true, but I would be interested in trying an experiment with SmartShield to see if it is a problem or not. By the way it feels after application, it doesn’t seem like it would contaminate lures or fishing line like other brands. I’m going to put it to further tests this summer and will report back if I find out anything about its affect on fishing.

In the meantime, stay tuned. SmartShield is letting me give away a bottle to one of my readers so you can try it yourself. I’ll be posting a contest in the next week or so. I just have to figure out what you should do to win it.

Author’s note: As mentioned above, the bottle I evaluated was provided to me at no cost by SmartShield. I try to evaluate products as objectively as possible whether or not I pay for them myself.

Related posts:

1. FREE SmartShield Sunscreen

I was very impressed with how well the site was put together. It was intuitive and easy to use. Within minutes, I was entering fishing trips I had gone on during the year. Most of the variables I talked about in my previous post are included, and then some. The site was developed by a fly fisherman, so it has a severe fly fishing bent, but it is still very useable by other anglers.

As with a basic spreadsheet log, what you enter is up to you. You can get into as little or as much detail as you want. But the more detail you provide, the better you will be at predicting future patterns for future success.

The best part of the site is its reporting. It has an annual summary report and also allows you to do searches like, “Which pattern produces the largest average fish size for me?” and “What pattern has worked best for me on sunny days?” You can also search any member’s log that has made their entries to be public so you can benefit from others’ experiences.

I like having a log online because I can get to it anywhere I am fishing (and I’m also a techno-dweeb). And for those occasional places without an Internet connection (like the Gunflint Trail), the site provides a printable log that you can take with you. You can fill it out off-line and enter it later.

Overall, I really like Fish Swami. The only things it’s really missing is a way to see other member’s profiles, a way to export the log entries, and a way to enter the catches of a fishing buddy. Many of my fishing buddies aren’t avid technology users and it would be nice to enter their results for a fishing outing so as not to contaminate my own records. These are very minor issues, however.

I’ve actually exchanged emails with the developer and he is very open to ideas. However, he mainly does development when he’s not fishing, and most of the time he’s fishing. Frankly, I don’t know where he found the time to write the site in the first place.

Fish Swami is a great place to keep fishing logs and I intend to keep using the site for years to come. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Related posts:

1. Keeping a Fishing Log

The moral of the recent post by Kramer Gone Fishing is simple:

I can’t say it any better than he does. Read his article: You already think like a fish…

Related posts:

1. Simpler is Better
2. Tips for Taking Great Fish Photos
3. Review: Fish Swami

Since I’m daydreaming/night dreaming/pretty much all-the-time dreaming about catching bass, I wanted to show you a cool video.

About two months ago, Tyler Brinks posted a very interesting video on his blog showing a fisherman catching a largemouth bass. I was flabbergasted by the footage because usually you see a strike from the fisherman’s point of view, or the fish’s point of view, but never both at the same time. I don’t know how they walled off the water. It’s almost like it was in an aquarium.

I was also amazed at how the video ended. The “family” of fish that swam through the frame at the end with the battle going on in the background was like something out of a Hollywood script.

Watch the video at YouTube if you don’t see the embedded video below.

The cool thing about this video is that it has a lot of lessons in a very short amount of time. I learned a number of things from watching just the last 30 seconds of the video:

1. Just because a fish isn’t there one minute doesn’t mean it won’t be there the next.
2. If one lure doesn’t work, switch it up and try another.
3. A strike can happen at any time.
4. A fish can strike and spit out a lure without you even knowing it.
5. For every fish that strikes, there could be several that don’t.

The video is an excerpt from Glen Lau‘s Bigmouth Forever DVD. I’m so impressed with this little video that I may have to buy the
dvd and watch the whole thing. If I can learn that much from 30 seconds, just imagine how much I can learn from its full 45 minutes.

Original post at TBrinksFishing.com: Glen Lau Bass Video Collection – Bigmouth Forever

Related posts:

1. World Record Largemouth Bass
2. Review: Zoom® Super Fluke®
3. Amazing Ice Tale

This post is a faux review since I haven’t seen the motor in person, or used it yet. This is more an article of impressions. But I thought you might want to know about it.

Everything that comes with the Hobie eVolve Electric Motor

I like how innovative Hobie was in adapting the Torqeedo motor to their kayaks. This opens up a whole new realm for kayak anglers. You’re not just limited to where you can get “on foot.” You now have a much larger range of distance to get to that spot you know holds fish but couldn’t get to because of time constraints.

The motor allows you to get to your favorite fishing hole much faster and still allows you to switch to the MirageDrive if you don’t want to spook your prey.

The Torqeedo motor itself is no slouch. It looks solid and well thought out. The remote throttle display is impressive with the extremely useful information it provides. Including the ever so crucial “Remaining range at current speed.” I wish the trolling motors I use had that information!

Personally, I would still use the MirageDrive most of the time because it allows for hands off propulsion and is likely quieter (as implied by Hobie pro angler Morgan Promnitz in the Kayak Angler Magazine article). If you’re a kayak angler, you’re expecting to do some physical work and a few hours of exercise is never a bad thing. But for those times I want to explore an area on the opposite side of a lake from a public access, the eVolve is a great way to get there without expending too much time and energy. Then, when I get there, I can still pull it out and drop in the MirageDrive to pedal around to causally after I get there. Not to mention that the motor won’t allow you to get into super shallow areas like the MirageDrive does.

The only downside to th eVolve (without having used it) is its price. At a retail price of US$1899, it’s going to cost almost as much, or in some cases more than, a Hobie kayak itself. A non-MirageDrive adapted Torqeedo kayak motor retails at US$1799, so I can see why the cost is so high. But if Hobie wants the eVolve to take off, they should have made a deal with Torqeedo to make the price a little more reasonable.

Being that I’m not a professional angler (kayak or otherwise), I can barely justify the cost of a Hobie kayak. But I can argue the quality and usefulness of it. However, paying nearly $2000 for a trolling motor on top of that would be a hard sell at best. Maybe Hobie can put together a package deal for some of its angling kayaks. That might make the price more palatable.

Links to more information:
Article at Kayak Angler Magazine

Hobie eVolve Electric Dive

Related posts:

1. Review: Hobie Mirage Pro Angler
2. Kayakers Beat the Motors
3. Review: Fish Swami
4. Review: Fitovers Sunglasses

When I was a teenager, I always wore those black ray-ban like sunglasses, but the cheap versions because I always misplaced them. I could never understand my peers who bought $200 brand names.

In college, I discovered I needed prescription glasses, so I haven’t been able to wear those cheap sunglasses since. I couldn’t wear them with my glasses and I wasn’t allowed to drive without my prescription, so I have either had prescription sunglasses, or clip-ons.

Prescription sunglasses were fine, but kind of annoying to have to switch glasses, especially on those in between days. You know the kind. Too sunny for not having sunglasses, but not bright enough to keep them on all the time. Fortunately, because of the cost of them, I kept pretty close tabs on them, so I never misplaced them. But I didn’t like having to get a new pair every time I got a new pair of glasses every couple of years.

Then I switched to clip-ons, which were a lot cheaper, but annoying to put on at times. And almost impossible to put on with only one hand. Not to mention, easier to misplace than even the cheapo ray-bans.

That’s why I got really excited when I saw Fitovers.

The first time I tried them on, I had to have a pair. They fit over my prescription glasses and hugged my head perfectly. I liked them more than my clip-ons because clip-ons still let light leak in from the sides. They really only shade from the front. The Fitovers enclose my eyes completely, kind of like safety glasses, but aren’t solid on the sides. They have holes on the sides to still let light in. With them on, I reminded myself of Babe Winkelman.

The bonus is that the Fitovers are polarized. Perfect for fishing. In fact, I found my pair in TW’s Bait and Tackle in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’ve worn them fishing twice and they are so comfortable, I forget that I have them on. At first, my nose was feeling itchy with the plastic touching it all the time, but that was more psychological than anything. Once I got focused on fishing, that was no longer a problem.

My only complaint is that the sunglasses feel a bit on the cheaply made side. Cheap plastic frames and cheap lenses that feel like they cost less than $5 to make. But considering I paid only $20 when I see them online, and in local stores for $50, I still consider them a good value.

[Disclosure: As mentioned above, I paid for my Fitovers myself and was not asked by anyone affiliated with Fitovers to write this review.]

Related posts:

1. Faux Review: Hobie eVolve Electric Drive

Read more on why it’s my favorite lure in my post, “The Magic Lure.” And learn how I rig it in my post “Rigging The Magic Lure.”

Try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Related posts:

1. The Magic Lure
2. Rigging The Magic Lure
3. Simpler is Better
4. The One That Got Away
5. Walleye Frenzy

I’m in love.

I got a chance to try out the new Hobie Mirage Pro Angler tonight at a local lake. Our local dealer takes the entire Hobie line out to local lakes for people to try out. I was able to try the Mirage Pro Angler, the Mirage Outfitter, and Mirage Oasis.

I’m not a terribly good swimmer, so while I’m comfortable in a canoe, I’m always a little bit nervous when it gets tippy from activity or choppy waters. There was no such problem with the Pro Angler. At 38″ in width, it felt very stable. The lake was pretty choppy tonight and while the boat moved, I didn’t ever feel unstable. I even stood up on it and turned left and right. I could never have done that on a canoe.

I tried accessing the storage areas in the front and back and didn’t have much trouble. The front was easy, of course, and the behind the seat storage was a little awkward, but nothing unmanageable. Both are very large and have ample space to store anything you’ll ever need on a fishing outing.

I love the fishing rod holders. They go horizontal toward the front bow on both sides of your seat. I like that they lay horizontal rather than standing vertical because then you don’t have to take them out of storage for travel. There are 3 rod holders on each side with enough room for poles at least 7ft long, which means that I’ll be buying some more rods right after I buy this boat.

The MirageDrive was a dream to use. You just move your feet back and forth and you can really pick up some speed. It was a very comfortable motion. I could tell I’d have to get in shape if I were to use the boat very much. Against the strong breeze tonight, I was starting to get winded. The downside to the pedals on the Pro Angler is that being only 5′ 6″ tall, the pedals had to be set at setting #2 for me (on a scale of 1-7; #1 being closest). Even then, I was slouching in the seat just a bit. That didn’t give much room for adjustment if I were to be out on a lake for an extended amount of time. I would see that I’d have to put a cushion at my back to help with that. That wouldn’t be a problem since the seat had a backrest. The seat was very comfortable.

I have three very minor complaints about the Pro Angler. First is what I just described about the distance of the seat from the pedals. The second was that the rudder was a little hard to move. I don’t know if it was just the boat I was or the mechanism. It was hard to move left and right at times. And there was no real indication of where the center was. So I wasn’t sure when the rudder was set to go straight. I had to keep making minor adjustments. The rudders on the Mirage Outfitter and Mirage Oasis were much easier to use.

My last complaint is about the MirageDrive itself. There’s no reverse. This isn’t a problem with recreational kayaks because you would never get yourself into a spot that would need reverse. But when you’re fishing, there are all kinds of nooks and crannies you could get into. Fish are always hiding in structure and not being able to back up could be a real issue. A paddle is included, however, so you could use that to back up if need be.

At a hull weight of 88 lbs (completely unloaded) and over 100 lbs with gear, I was a little concerned about whether I’d be able to get the Pro Angler on top of my car for transport. But I just noticed a video at the Hobie site that shows how easy it is to put the boat on top of a car. Plus, you can get wheels that fit in two holes behind the seat that would make it easy to haul once on the ground.

Overall, I still love the Mirage Pro Angler. I’d jump at one if I could afford it right now. Help me out by clicking on an ad.

Other Pro Angler Reviews:

Hobie Community Review by Roadrunner Part I
Hobie Community Review by Roadrunner Part II
Hobie Community Review by Roadrunner Part III
Review by ninja of Texas Flats Fishing Forum
Kayak Fishing Magazine

Related posts:

1. Faux Review: Hobie eVolve Electric Drive
2. Kayakers Beat the Motors
3. Review: Fitovers Sunglasses
4. Review: SmartShield Sunscreen
5. Crazy Like an Angler

I used to still fish with a bobber and live bait when I was a kid. Since I picked up fishing again about 9 years ago, I turned into an artificial lure fisherman. I’ve used all kinds of lures since then, but one has stood out to catch fish consistently, no matter what the conditions. If fish are nearby (and sometimes finding the fish can be the challenge), they usually strike. I’ve caught bass (both smallmouth and largemouth), walleye, northern, and muskie all on this lure. If you’ve read a few of my stories, you have probably already figured out which lure it is.

[Disclaimer: I am not employed by, nor sponsored by Zoom Baits in any manner or form. I am, however, open to offers... ]

The super fluke by Zoom Baits is a soft plastic lure that looks like a fish (as you can see above). But it’s magic is in the way it moves in the water.

The way you fish it is by casting it into the target area and letting it drop to the bottom. Many times a fish will strike that first drop (that’s how I landed my big walleye). If a fish doesn’t hit right away, let it drop to the bottom and wait a second or two. Then twitch it a couple of times. If you still don’t get a hit, start the retrieve, twitching randomly as it comes back. The effect is that it looks like a wounded yearling, darting erratically. Every so often, let the fluke drop back to the floor. Usually, if a fish sees it, the opportunistic instinct kicks in and it will strike even if it’s not hungry, usually on the drop.

I was first introduced to the white pearl color and like that color as a “color for all occasions.” It’s rare that I don’t get a hit no matter what the weather conditions. However, I was recently told that bubble gum (shown above) can get even more hits. I’ve only used bubble gum (men don’t buy “pink”) a few times and haven’t seen it produce, but I’m interested to try it out some more. I’m also thinking of expanding into some other colors. People swear by watermelon for other soft baits and the baby bass color looks really intriguing.

If you do some research on the Zoom fluke, you’ll notice that there are a few different sizes. I like the super fluke because it has been the biggest fluke on the market. Bigger lure = bigger fish. But just last month, Zoom also recently came out with the Magnum Super Fluke. It’s 7″ long vs. the 5 1/4″ long super fluke. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of those try it out to attract bigger fish.

As with most soft baits, the super fluke doesn’t come with a hook. I was taught to rig it Texas style with a Gamakatsu Offset Worm Shank EWG, size 4/0 hook, sans the weight. What’s nice about this set up is that it is weedless. It can cut through thick weeds and hop over logs and other cover.

The trick, though, with weedless rigging, is that you have to wait to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. Because the hook isn’t exposed, you have to let the fish expose it before you can set it. In teaching others about the super fluke, this is the hardest thing they have to get used to. Many fish have been missed (including by me) because they were too quick on the draw to set the hook. If you use the technique above, at some point, you’ll feel some resistance in the line. The retrieve won’t feel “normal.” When that happens, tighten the line slowly until you feel the fish’s weight, and set the hook as hard as you can. Then the fun begins.

One could argue that the super fluke is my magic lure because I use it so much. That could be true, but I’ve never seen a lure catch such a wide range of fish. When I cast it out and get that little tug, one of life’s great surprises is what will be on the other end when I get it to the boat.

Related posts:

1. Rigging The Magic Lure
2. Review: Zoom® Super Fluke®
3. Fishing a Plastic Worm or Jig
4. Wait for the Weight
5. Simpler is Better