Category Archives: Gear Reviews

Dirty Downrigger Trick: Silver Horde’s Rudder Flasher!

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Now that “seminar season” is begrudgingly giving way to fishing season, I’m looking back on the most frequently asked questions I’ve heard after my  “Dirty Downrigger Tricks” PowerPoint presentations.

I’m always looking for some new and interesting blog ideas and I believe a series of blogs answering these questions regarding controlled-depth trolling techniques may just be what the “downrigger Doctor” ordered!

One of the relatively recent additions to the downrigger fisherman’s attraction repertoire is the Silver Horde Rudder Flasher!

“We originally marketed it as a halibut spreader back in the mid 1970′s and by the late ’80′s some guys out of Edmonds started using them as rudders on their downriggers” said Silver Horde’s Kelly Morrison. Indeed, it is the “spreader effect” that is one of the most endearing qualities of the Rudder Flasher. As soon as it’s placed in the water, it immediately “weather vanes” or points behind the boat which allows you to easily reach your release -without untangling it- and quickly get your gear back to the fishes’ depth.

There are two ways to rig the Silver Horde Rudder Flasher: One, simply run your release directly off the back of the rudder…

…and two, running a “Dummy” or remote flasher off of the Rudder Flasher and then stacking your release a few feet up from the flasher!

By far the biggest advantage of the Silver Horde Rudder Flasher is it’s fish attraction characteristics. The Rudder Flasher affords your downrigger presentation a consistent horizontal profile which allows salmon to find your gear more easily. Simply stated, a rotating flasher makes noise and vibration in the water column but it’s continually moving, rolling aspect can often be a challenge for a salmon on the far reaches of the attraction threshhold to locate. The combination of a rotating flasher and a Rudder Flasher is a one, two salmon attracting “punch” that will result in more fish in your box!

Next time you’re out on your favorite trolling drag and you see someone land a fish, take a close look at what is running just on top of their cannon ball… The Silver Horde Rudder Flasher used to be the trollers secret handshake. Now, it’s more like the mark of the highliner fishermen.

Tom Nelson
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Every-Body, Needs a Buddy

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Every-body needs a Buddy, as in “Portable Buddy”. Mr. Heater has been making portable heaters for years.

A couple years ago when I sold my aluminum drift boat I left the attached heating system that I installed in the boat. It worked great for that boat, as I had multiple Mr. Heater heating elements mounted in three locations. I also had a propane tank secured in the back of the boat and several hoses secured under the left gunnel tray that went from the tank to the heating elements.

I would remove part of the system in the spring as I didn’t need it until fall rolled around again. The hoses and some of the brackets I would leave in the boat. To be honest, at times, that extra crap was kind of in the way. In the bow of the boat up under the dash I had a bracket that I left in place because it was screwed in. This minimized some storage room up front and was kind of a pain.

The bottom line is that I spend many days on the water each year, some of which I don’t need a heater, and some I do. Let’s face it, heaters are nice to have, but we don’t always need them.

When I sold my aluminum boat and purchased my RivTech driftboat I spent a little time looking around for exactly what type of system I could put in my new boat. I had several ideas but was really trying to make it so that when I needed the heaters…they were there. When I don’t need heaters I didn’t want extra components in the boat cluttering things up.

I finally settled on the Mr. Heater “Portable Buddy”.

For me, now in my glass boat, it was a no brainer. Truly a heating system that was actually portable and safe. Here are some of the manufacturing specs that make these little heaters so great.

  •   4,000- to 9,000-BTU radiant heater for spaces up to 200 square feet
  •   Approved for indoor/outdoor use;   clean-burning; nearly 100-percent efficient
  •   Auto shut-off if tipped over, if pilot light goes out, or if detects low oxygen levels
  •   Fold-down handle; swivel-out regulator;  connects to propane tank (not included)
  •   Measures 9 by 14-1/5 by 14-2/5 inches; 1-year   limited warranty

It actually can run off of a 1 lb. screw in cylinder or off of a larger tank connected by a hose.

With a glass boat safety from an accidental fire was kind of on my mind. Perhaps it’s thefFiremen in me or just common sense. Either way the fact that these little portable heaters have “auto shut-off tip-over protection”, pretty much sealed the deal. for me

Did I mention that they will heat up to 200 square feet…”BONUS”!

I did the math, and here is what I came up with!

“NOT 200 SQUARE FEET”

 The view from my oarsman seat, again “NOT 200 SQUARE FEET”.

Finally, the view form the rear seat, I think you get the idea. The bottom line is, these things are compact, portable and crank out the heat. With three of them in the boat, every seat gets the heat. When the day finally warms up they are compact enough to tuck away in the back of the boat, and well out of the way.

I don’t know about you but usually the first thing to get cold for most folks in the boat are their feet. These Portable Buddy heaters are perfect for getting the feet warm and throwing out enough heat to keep everyone happy. A single one pound cylinder on the medium heat setting will last about 6 hrs. Throw a couple of extra cylinder’s under the seat for those long cold winter steelhead days and you’re good to go.

Sportco and Outdoor Emporium usually have these in stock and on-sale for as low as $69.99.

Do yourself, and your friends in your boat a favor and pick up a couple of these Portable Buddies. It may not turn one of those non-fish days into an epic one, but at least you’ll be warm which is far better then No Fish, COLD and Miserable!

Duane Inglin
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Shotgun Cleaning with Hoppe’s Boresnake

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I was kicking around the cabin with Outdoor Life blogger Brian Lynn on a recent hunting trip to Mar Don Resort and Brian was chatting and cleaning his shotgun at the same time. He had just met up with us after hunting honkers in Tri-Cities, Washington and his gun was a mess from the light, powdery soil they have in that neck of the woods.

After wiping down the outside of the gun he unraveled a long contraption called a Boresnake to clean the bore. I fully expected the usual brush/swab treatment on the bore but this new dealio immediately caught my attention.

Brian pulled what looked like a rope with a brush on it thru the bore and whammy-bammo it was instantly clean as a whistle. It was the quickest I had ever seen anyone ever clean a shotgun bore and actually get it clean.  What a slick gizmo!

All you have to do is douse it with a little lubricating oil and pull it thru the bore with the attached tether. It should clean the bore entirely on the first pass, but if you need to hit it again it takes just a second to run it back thru again.

Hoppe’s Boresnake is available for just about any rifle caliber, most pistol calibers, and most shotguns. With Christmas coming this is another great Christmas gift idea for the hunter in your life. Hint, hint!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Wings and Legs Jerk-a-Spread Decoy System

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I had the opportunity to hunt ducks with Travis Brewer from Banded Hunts in Mount Vernon, Washington yesterday and he used a jerk string called the Wings and Legs Jerk a Spreader decoy system to make our spread look a little more lifelike.

We had bluebird conditions yesterday and the birds would circle a few times before heading back into the ozone layer again to carry on their way. They had been shot up pretty good the last few weeks and I’ll be darned if they were gonna dive into a spread of motionless duck decoys.

That’s when Travis broke out the Wings and Legs jerk string to apply some major motion to his spread of 120 plus dekes.

This system is comprised of a 60 foot jerk string with three snap swivels attached, a 4 foot stake with a bungee cord, and three separate spreaders that will hold 4 decoys apiece. The whole system is pre-assembled and outside of hooking it all together all that’s needed is to snap the decoys into the large snaps attached to the spreader bars and you’re ready to jerk your dekes to life.

When it was my turn to pull on the jerk string I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to impart motion to all twelve of the dekes at the same time. All I had to do was pull it back a foot and let go and all the decoys would swim.

Here’s some video that we shot yesterday of the Wings and Legs jerk string system in action. Pretty slick ‘eh!

I think this system will be a huge advantage for late season waterfowler’s who deploy small spreads to lure in decoy-wary waterfowl. Birds that are used to seeing huge spreads in the early season might just fall for a small but very lifelike flock of decoys.

The spreaders fold up nicely and the whole system can be easily carried into a field or small pond with a dozen decoys making it a super lethal setup for the field or small pond hunter.

The only drawback we had with the system was snapping the dekes into the large snaps. They didn’t close easily and Travis had to enlarge the holes in the keels to get the snaps thru. Placing some wire zip-ties in the keel holes would make this connection a lot quicker in the field.

The really nice thing about this setup is that it retails for less than $40. I might just treat myself to one for Christmas and heck, I’ll probably get one for the wife too. Isn’t she lucky to be married to such a caring husband?

You can find them online at Mack’s Prairie Wings and various other online retailers. Buy yourself a Wings and Legs Jerk-a-Spread system and treat yourself to a few more late season limits!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Sunglasses You Can Hide Behind

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If you’re looking for a Chistmas gift for the sportsman in your life or just want some super cool shades look no further than Costa’s new lineup of polarized sunglasses in AP Realtree camo.

Costa’s camo series is available in their popular Fantail, Blackfin, Double Haul, and Zane frames and of course you can also get them with uber-schwanky 580P glass lenses for the ultimate in color enhancement and glare reduction.

Costa’s 580P glass allows maximum depth perception and light transmission in the early morning and late afternoon when animals and fish are most active and these lenses provide maximum glare reduction.

I know this firsthand because I wear them nearly every day on the ocean in Alaska and when I’m river fishing in Washington where it seems like we have “low light” conditions more often than not. Even on those rainy, drizzly days we’re famous for here in the Pacific Northwest it’s surprising how much glare is cast off the water.

Now I’m all fired up to try the new Costa Realtree camo shades in the duck blind and in the fern-choked blacktail woods of Washington. If they can give me even the slightest edge detecting an elusive blacktail buck in the early morning darkness I’m all over it.

If you haven’t done it already click on over to Costa AP Realtree Camo and snoop around. You can bet these sweet shades will be on my Christmas list!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Danner Pronghorn GTX Field Test

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How do you write a review for a pair of hunting boots? I’ll tell you how. You put them on your feet and wear the hell out of them for three years. I’ve hiked, climbed, side-hilled, walked, stalked, ran, ascended, descended, and slept in these boots. I’ve put my barkin’ dogs (that’s what I call my feet) thru every bit of torture and cruelty you can imagine. A few hundred miles later my Danner Pronghorn GTX’s have passed the field test with flying colors.

I’m one of those guys that buys something and then uses it until it falls apart. My last pair of Danner hunting boots lasted me 18 years, so when it finally came time to buy some new boots there was no question which brand I’d go with. I loved those boots so much that I had the Russian shoe guru in my old hometown of Bellingham, Washington slap a new set of soles on them towards the end of their life. Wishful thinking, but it bought me a couple more years of abuse and would’ve been more, but I melted them badly attempting to dry them out next to a camp fire on a cold and soggy deer hunt. Time for some new boots!

After trying on a number of different styles I settled on the 8″ Danner Pronghorn GTX’s with 400G Thinsulate. The boots are available in 200G, 400G, and 600G Thinsulate insulation. I chose the 400G because I wanted some insulation, but didn’t want to overheat in my boots. We just don’t get that many frigid hunting days here in the Pacific Northwest, at least not where I hunt, and I thought that overheating could be an issue.

When I was checking these boots out I liked the waterproof Realtree Goretex outer layer and the Predator TF outsole that provides what Danner describes as a “super-gripping, claw-like” quality that reduces the chance of slipping on the gnarly ground I’m typically hunting in. I also like the sole because it’s stiff enough to keep my feet from aching after climbing around in the rocks all day, yet soft enough to provide much needed “grip-tion”.

A 1000 Denier nylon upper section and Camohide leather makes these boots lightweight, yet tough as nails. Danner uses a system they call Terra Force to construct these boots that results in a very rigid and stable platform. That and a full eight inches of ankle support have kept me from rolling an ankle on numerous occasions, one of which was this fall. I rolled my ankle badly coming down off a ridge at the end of the day and had I not had been wearing these boots I would’ve spent the rest of the season, well, here on the computer. No swelling, no ankle sprain, no nothing. Good to go!

I would recommend the Danner Pronghorn’s to anyone looking to invest in a hunting boot that’s going to last a very long time. I’ve done the field work for you on this one and I can attest to the toughness and hunt-ability of these great boots. I’ve put my Pronghorn’s through three hard years of work and expect many more out of them.

For more information about Danner Pronghorn boots visit www.dannerboots.com.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com