Muskoka Outdoors

It is time for something new...

The Muskoka Outdoors Blog has landed at its new home! With a shiny new Content Management System (CMS) at the helm, it is my hope that I will be better able to promote the pursuits of fishing, hunting and conservation to a local and worldwide audience. Consider taking a look around by following this link.

In case you are a last minute Christmas gift shopper, like myself, here is a list of fishing Christmas gifts ideas that could keep you focused in the fishing product aisle.

1. Koppers Live Target Frog – $10 to $15

Koppers Frog

This newly released soft-bodied, top-water lure should be shattering a glassy, calm lake near you this summer. This frog bait made some headlines at this year’s 2010 iCast Event and won their soft-bodied award. Koppers try very had to create ‘the world’s most anatomically accurate line of fishing lures‘ and this frog SHOULD catch some bass for you. Feel free to put one under my tree Santa! Visit your local tackle store to purchase or buy online from Bass Pro Shops.

2. A new tackle bag - $30 to $80

Plano Soft Sider Guide Bag

This year I ‘purged’ the junk from my old tackle box and exported them to smaller, fabric-shelled guide bag. It has 4 plastic trays that pull-out with multiple slot size configurations.  I was able to find a place for everything my older tackle box contained.  My gear stays better organized in a more streamlined container.  The molded-hard bottom lining is a must have feature. You can place it in the bottom of a wet boat or dock without water being ‘sponged’ into your tackle.

You don’t need to get the exact one I as I did. I bought a Plano Soft-Sider Guide Bag.  The point is, any new tackle box will cause any angler to re-organize their old one and feel better about themselves…

3. A new handcrafted fishing rod – $150 to $300

This my take a creative note in a stocking (or gift wrap), but consider getting your special fishing jedi a custom rod from from Fetha Styx. They fish the rods they build and the production versions of their rods all come from the DNA of a custom, hand-crafted version. I have been able to interact with some of the crew behind the ‘Styx’ and they are the real deal.

Afraid to get the wrong fishing rod? It may be obvious, but visit the Fetha Styx website with your favorite angler and get some guidance from them. You could also note the printed details, of an old rod, located close to where the reel is attached to the rod handle. Still not sure? Send me an email and I would be happy to help you determine a good fit.

Fetha Styx Fishing Rods

4. A new fishing float tube – $100 to $300+

Fishing Float Tube

Experience your favourite fishing lake from the view of float fishing tube. They are stealthy and easy on fuel. You will be able to access areas that boats can not spook less fish. So far, I have not hooked into a fish my flippers could handle. Prove me wrong.

Higher priced tubes are more stable, easier to enter and support the angler higher out of the water. Cabela’s has some nice examples here.

5. An Ultimate Fishing Trip to Queen Charlotte Lodge – $3800 to $5900

Every time I watched an episode from WFN’s reality fishing show called, The Lodge, I am reminded why this fishing resort is at the top of my own ‘bucket’ list. Catch big fish and relax in style. Meet the stars of the show. Book early through the QCL website – they fill up fast!

Catch The Fish of a Lifetime at QCL!

* for those interested – I make NO money from the links I have direct you to in this post.

It’s funny how you come across fishing tips. Quite often fishing tips can double as life lessons.

I was sitting with my friend, Darrell, in my dad’s living room when he shared this personal story of one of his fishing trips from years ago…

The story goes that, Darrell, and a friend had been fishing Tim Lake in Algonquin Park. They had been fishing hard without any success and were constantly weighing anchor, from spot to spot, around the lake. Finally, they decided to quit and return to the river mouth that would lead them to their vehicle.

As fate would have it, the winds picked up and they began to struggle against the wind and waves. They quickly became frustrated from the amount of work they were doing while fighting the wind. An hour and half into their epic and blustery battle, Darrell, noticed that they had canoed past the river mouth they were attempting to find.

He told the man in the bow who was paddling ferociously against the wind. Darrell did not get a reply.

Fatigue and desperation began to ‘set-in’ for the two paddlers. Despite the wind, they should have reached the river mouth sooner than they had.

At that moment, Darrell noticed something.

He debated whether or not to tell his friend in the bow. He yelled one more time over the wind,

“We forgot to bring the anchor up!”

“What?!”, his friend yelled.

“WE FORGOT TO BRING THE ANCHOR UP!”, Darrell repeated.

The story ends there. I guess the look that, Darrell, received from his friend was priceless.

The lesson is simple

When fishing in high winds, don’t forget to bring the anchor up.

On a practical note – Is life, away from the fishing boat, sometimes like that? We all paddle furiously, at times, to get ahead and reach our goals. It can be so frustrating when the ‘over-worked’ ground we make is so minuscule.

Check for anchors.

Perhaps there is something that is holding you back. An anchor long forgotten. Something like a broken relationship, or a mis-management of priorities, or a wrong you need to make right.

Your hardest and best work may all be for nothing if you have not dealt with a forgotten anchor. It can also keep you from seeing what is important – like the river mouth that leads you to your car.

End of sermon.

*My reloaded blog posts are some of my favorite previous posts made current again.