Norcross Hawkeye F33P Fish Finder
September 28, 2009
Ideal for fishing expeditions and family vacations, the Norcross Hawkeye FF3355P offers the latest in portable fish finder technology and is guaranteed to help you come up with better fish stories than ever before. Using an ultra wide, 45 degree sonar beam angle, this system delivers accurate depth, fish and bottom structure readings from 1.5 to 99.9 feet. Operationable down to zero degrees Fahrenheit, this unit includes a trollable, mountable, and floatable sonar sensor with 35 feet of cable and cable tie-strap. The FF3355P is exceptionally easy to use; simply turn the power on, toss the sonar sensor from the shoreline, bridge, or boat, and in no time flat you’ll receive instant depth, fish, weed, and contour readings. With its “SideScan” adapter, the FF3355P can also attach to a broomstick handle to scan under weeds, lily pads, ice, or docks. For added convenience, this system comes with mounting tabs for hull mounting of your portable fish finder to canoes, kayaks, an (more…)
Koolatron Fish Finder
September 29, 2009
Product Description
Don’t just guess! Portable Sonar Depth Finder, BIG BUCKS OFF! From the dock, boat, shore, anywhere… know how deep you (and the fish) are! This super-compact Sonar Finder is a super value. It consists of 3 components interconnected by 20′ of cable: hand-held readout, float and sonar module. Tough, compact and waterproof, no bigger than a fishing reel; Depth reading from 2 1/2′ to 80′; Can read through fiberglass hulls and ice; Bottom contour displays presence of weeds, grass and even fish; 20′ cable; Easy-to-read backlit LCD display; Sonar angle: 20 degrees; Operating temps. 14 degrees to 122 degrees F; Uses 4 AA batteries (not included); Waterproof housing; Display unit is 3 1/5 x 1 1/3 x 5″h. 1 lb., 13 ozs. overall; Reel in this Close-Out bargain now! WARNING: This item cannot be shipped to Canada. Please check your State, County and City laws for restrictions before ordering this product. Portable Sonar Depth Finder
Humminbird 383c Combo Fish Finder and GPS Chartplotter
September 30, 2009
The Humminbird 383c Combo Fish Finder and GPS Chartplotter is an all-in-one fish finder for the recreational angler that offers incredible ease of use and GPS chartplotting. The 383c Combo is compact, but full of already built-in capabilities, with the ability to add advanced accessories, making it the perfect companion for your fishing outings. The 383c Combo provides full GPS navigation, chartplotting and sonar right out of the box. This unit has a built-in 16-channel WAAS GPS receiver, and a four nautical-mile resolution UniMap of USA inland lakes, rivers and coastal areas. The 383c Combo uses DualBeam PLUS sonar, selectable between 20- and 60-degree beams, or simultaneous operation to deliver both wide coverage and better bottom definition up to 1,000 feet with a target separation of only 2.5 inches. This fish finder includes real-time sonar at up to 40 times per second, and Sonar Echo Enhancement sensitive enough to track a jig to over 40 feet. This unit’s high-spee (more…)
Featured: Proactol
Big Buck Diaries: Episode 1 by Mark Banta
September 28, 2009
Benjamin Steele came from a long line of loggers. He’d graduated high school in the spring of 1972 and went straight into the family business. In the 6 years he’d worked for Big Sky Logging Co., he’d done everything from a desk job to driving a logging truck. Driving the big logging trucks ended up being his favorite thing to do and was eventually what he stuck with. Driving around the mountains of Montana gave him the opportunity to view the vast beauty and at times do a little scouting before deer season.
From the time he was old enough to walk, he was at his father’s side in the deer woods. Pursuing the elusive Whitetail was in his mind; as good as it gets. It was his chosen profession and unshakable love of hunting that led up to a series of events that would shake his small community of Big Bend, Montana in the Winter of 1998. The following is his tale…
From the diary of Benjamin Steele:
05/08/98: I had a little time while my truck would be loaded, so I walked up to the top of the ridge to do a little scouting. Although this area is to be cut before deer season, I couldn’t help but have a look around. When I first saw it, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. No way could a buck’s head support an antler that big. When I got closer however, I saw that it was for real. I pulled the shed antler from the vines that had grown around it. It was unbelievable! It must have weighed at least 15 pounds. I immediately walked back to the truck and hid it inside. Luckily, no one saw me. I radioed my buddy Mike. When I told him it had 17 points and a base the size of a softball, he thought I was pulling his leg. Mike will find out later that it is no joke.
05/09/98: Mike came by before work today to see the shed. The look on his face was priceless. We’re going to get together this weekend to score the antler and also try and figure out how we can hunt him.
05/13/98: Mike and I figured out what the buck would score in the B&C record books if the other antler matched the one we have. When we had finished, both of us were quite excited to find it would potentially score over 300. We had a problem, however. Both of us desperately wanted to hunt the buck, but Big Sky Co. was due to clear-cut the area in September. We have to somehow convince them to hold off until after deer season. Mike said he had an idea before he left. He said he was going to think about it awhile before divulging it to me. He’s a bit of a drama queen sometimes.
05/16/98: Frank Wright, Big Sky’s district supervisor, agreed to join Mike and I on a fishing trip this weekend. Frank is second in command at Big Sky and also happens to be Mike’s brother-in-law. Apparently Mike thinks we can convince him to halt cutting until after we’ve harvested the buck. We’ll see.
05/20/98: Frank’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when I opened up the shell on my pickup to reveal the massive shed. We explained to him our predicament, while doing some bass fishing in Mike’s Ranger boat. We offered to let him in on the location it was found if he could arrange to bypass cutting the area until after deer season. Being an avid deer hunter himself, and excited by the prospect, Frank agreed to do everything in his power to make it so. There are 3 of us now hunting this giant of a buck, and I hope it remains that way.
06/12/98: Frank called Mike this evening, who in turn called me, to share the great news. Well, at least most of it was great. Frank had gone straight to the headman, George Loutin Sr. to try and delay the cutting schedule until the September of 1999. Things didn’t go quite as planned. Unfortunately, George Sr. didn’t agree with Frank’s assessment that the area pines needed another year’s growth before being cut. It turns out that George Sr. had personally toured the area back in January and had given instructions to the state supervisor, Glenn Mackey, to cut. Frank was caught off guard by this revelation. He had assumed that Glenn had given the order. Caught in the middle of a lie, he had no choice but to level with George Sr.
Frank later told Mike that when George Sr. heard about the buck potentially scoring over 300 B&C, he was sold. There is bad news, though. George Sr. wants in on the action. It seems like my chances are getting less and less that I’ll harvest the monster buck that I discovered. There are now 4 of us after the buck Mike and I have nicknamed, The ‘Big Sky’ Buck.
07/04/98: I attended the ‘Big Sky Fourth of July’ celebration this evening, along with my wife and daughter. Everyone was there, including George Sr. He pulled me aside during the fireworks display to talk with me about the buck. It seems that things just keep going from bad to worse. Apparently, Frank hadn’t made it clear to him that the whole thing was hush, hush! George Sr. has connections with some pretty big name hunters. They are mostly outdoor writers and one of them hosts a TV hunting show. He invited a total of 8 others to hunt with us. The TV guy is bringing a whole camera crew to film the hunt! The total is now up to 12 hunters, plus the camera crew. I feel sick.
09/28/98: George Sr., Frank, Mike, and I all went up on the ridge south of Big Bend today to do some scouting. We saw some of the biggest tree rubbings I’ve ever seen. There was one tree, nearly as big around as my leg, which had been nearly rubbed in two. I had a good talk with George Sr. about not letting anyone else in on our secret. He assured me his lips were sealed.
10/15/98: Somebody’s lips were apparently not sealed! While at the grocery store today with my wife, I had 4 different people come up to me and ask about the big buck south of town. I assured them that what they had heard was only rumor, but I don’t think any of them believed me. Rifle season starts on the 20th of next month. I’m starting to really doubt my chances of harvesting the ‘Big Sky’ buck.
11/18/98: Opening day is just two days away, but I’m not even sure I even want to go. George Sr. and all his friends are going to set up a deer camp at the base of the ridge tomorrow, and they invited Frank, Mike, and I to join them. I figure that if anyone gets a shot at the ‘Big Sky’ buck, it’ll be on opening morning. After that, I’m afraid he’ll leave the state of Montana and likely never return.
10/19/98: George Sr. is a big fat idiot! This whole thing is a disaster! I’m sitting around a campfire with at least 50 other hunters. Today at noon, his big shot friends rolled right through the middle of town. As if everyone weren’t suspicious enough! The guy who hosts a TV hunting show rolled through town in a big semi with ‘Dave’s Hunting World’ painted across the trailer. To top it off, they decided to stop into the local diner to grab a bite to eat before heading to camp. While there, Dave thought it would be nice sign autographs and hand out free T-shirts. After the circus in town was completed, they all loaded up and started heading south towards deer camp. Frank, Mike, and I had arrived early at camp and cleared off an area big enough for us all. We were sitting back admiring our work over a couple of cold ones when George Sr. and company came around the corner towards camp. I nearly fell over and cried! The whole thing looked like a parade! There were at least 20 pickup trucks full of locals that had followed them. I would go home, but my truck is blocked in by a huge semi!
10/20/98: I tried to sleep in this morning, but found it impossible with 50 coffee cups rattling all over camp! I went ahead and got up, but I didn’t have any desire to go hunting. The 50 or so other hunters started filing into the woods around 5:30 A.M. It looked like a small army going off to war. As expected, no shots were fired. There were however some notable events that took place. Upon returning to camp, one of the cameramen swore up and down that he’d captured a Bigfoot on tape. However, after reviewing the film, it was determined that he’d actually filmed one of the locals named, Buck Jacobs. He’s famous around Big Bend for his amazing ability to grow hair. It was an easy mistake to make.
A couple of hunters actually claimed to have seen the ‘Big Sky’ buck high-tailing it down the hill. Their claims were later collaborated by a local newspaper reporter who had driven out this morning in hopes of getting an interview with the lucky hunter who bagged the ‘Big Sky’ buck. He was on the highway, which runs at the base of the mountain we were hunting on, when it happened. He was looking up the mountain wondering what all the orange dots were. He commented later that it looked like a huge Christmas tree. Anyway, he stopped his car to take a picture of the strange site when old ‘Big Sky’ himself barreled off the hillside and across the road in front of him. Being an ace with a camera, he managed to get off about a half roll of film before the monarch disappeared into the heavy timber on the other side of the road. He drove on into to camp to let everyone know what he saw. From what I understand, they’re moving the deer camp to the other side of the road now. I’m going home!
10/21/98: I’m thankful to now be home and away from that group of morons south of town. I’m glad that the ‘Big Sky’ buck escaped that group of lunatics. If I even come across him again, you can bet I’ll keep my mouth shut! Mike and I are going to go hunt north of town tomorrow. There are a few hunters staking out my house. I guess they think I know something they don’t about the whereabouts of ‘Big Sky’. I’m going to sneak over to Mike’s tonight, and we’ll leave from his place in the morning. Otherwise, we’ll have folks following us around all season!
If you have comments on this article, feel free to post on our forum or contact the author at Mark@huntandfishfinders.com
Copyright Mark Banta 2009
How to Choose The Best Hunting Dog
September 30, 2009
If you’ve ever watched old television shows like The Beverly Hillbillies or The Andy Griffith Show, you’ve probably seen stereotypical old hounds portrayed as the companion hunting dogs. In reality, there are many dog breeds that are suitable companions for hunters and different dogs specialize in hunting different animals.
Hound dogs are divided into classes as sight hounds or scent hounds. Sight hounds such as whippets are used because they can see really well and are lightning fast, spotting their prey from a long distance away and stalking them until they are caught. Sight hounds have long lean heads, giving them some kind of binocular vision. They are much more quiet and calm than other hounds. Scent hounds obviously hunt based on their ability to smell and are used to track animals by their scent trails. A coonhound is one of those scent hounds that barks really loudly when he’s on the trail and has its pretty cornered or trapped. Hound breeds include the blue tick, the red tick, the walker, and the redbone.
Small game hunters who use shotguns work with that they call “gun dogs.” Falling into the gun dog category are retrievers, spaniels, and pointers. The retriever’s job is to find the animal that the hunter shot down and bring it back to the hunter. During duck hunting, for example, retrievers spend hours upon hours in a duck blind with the hunters to watch where the birds go down so that they can retrieve them. Retrievers are good swimmers, so they also retrieve stuff that lands in the water. Setters, spaniels, and pointers are used to find and flush out animals for the hunter to shoot. There are dog breeders that specialize in breeding gun dogs and they list the seven most popular gun dog breeds as Labrador Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Brittany Spaniels, English Pointers, English Setters, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and German Wirehaired Pointers.
Then, some dogs are used to hunt specific game. A Feist is a small dog that is especially good a hunting squirrels. They hunt in packs and stop at the tree where the squirrel has run and bark to alert their human hunter counterpart. Terriers are used to hunt mammals because they can locate the den of an animal and capture it or drive it out for their hunters. Curs are dogs that hunt bigger mammals such as boars, cougars, and raccoons. Deer hunting is very popular in the U.S. and the Scottish Deerhound is said to be the best dog for this type of hunting. Want to hunt a fox? You’ll need a Foxhound, of course! Looking for a wild turkey? Get yourself a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. Can you believe there’s even a dog for black bear hunting? It’s the American Bulldog or the Karelian Bear Dog. Both have very powerful jaws and are stocky built.
Hunters and their dogs have a great bond and the hunters have to take great care of their dogs in order to keep them safe while hunting. Just like hunters wear those obnoxiously loud orange safety vests, so too do their dogs. It’s important that the hunter can see where his dog ran and also for other hunters to be able to see the dog. The vests also protect the dog, to some degree, if he runs through a jagged or barbed wire fence so that he doesn’t get stuck or it doesn’t grab his fur and cause injury.
There are game bird hunting preserves specifically welcoming hunters with gun dogs and there are directories of them by state if you browse a search engine.
Provided by Suzi Matthews of www.pet-super-store.com: where you can find great deals on dog training collars and pet doors.
Finding the Right Fishing Guide
September 30, 2009
So you’ve decided to take a guided fishing trip! In order to book a fishing trip which you will enjoy completely and always remember, you need to invest some time up front in finding the right guide. There are lots of fishing guides out there, but you want to make sure you find the absolute best one for your needs. How can this be accomplished?
The internet is an excellent starting place for your search. Fishing resource websites such as www.huntandfishfinders.com have an abundance of information that can help, from listings of guides by state and species, to photos of catches and tips from experienced fishermen. Spend some time at the computer investigating links and learning about the individual offerings from various fishing guides.
Make sure to think about what is most important to you when planning your trip, and then use this list to determine the guide that best matches your wish list. Are you fairly new to fishing? If so, then a guide who is able to spend time instructing you may be a good fit. How many people will be in your party? Some guides specialize in smaller groups, or they may have limitations on the number of people their boats can hold. What types of fish are you hoping to catch? This may direct you to book your vacation at a certain time of the year, or in a specific area.
Once you have narrowed your search down to just a few guides, it’s time to find out detailed information about each guide. One of the best ways to evaluate a guide is through personal testimonials. Well-established guides should have reviews from satisfied customers posted on their websites or printed in their written materials. The local Chamber of Commerce can also be a good source of information about a guide. Often it makes sense before your final decision to email or telephone a guide who looks good “on paper,” so you can get a better understanding of the person you will be spending a large amount of time with on your trip. Happy Fishing to you!
Finding the Right Fishing Guide
Finding the Right Hunting Guide
September 30, 2009
HuntandFishFinders.com is the ultimate guide to find the hunting expedition that is perfect for you.
The web site offers listings of almost 3000 hunting guides and outfitters, in all 50 United States. Each entry includes the basic information which you might find anywhere, such as name, address, web site and contact information. There is also an extensive description and a picture included with each listing. But HuntandFishFinders goes one step better and allows registered users to add reviews of any listed guides that they have used. These reviews, by real users, ask for a rating, price paid, recommend choice, pros, cons, and details. The percent of reviewers who recommend a service is calculated and displayed. Having this kind of real life feedback gives hunters confidence that the guides offer quality services and provides an incentive for guide services to deliver what they offer.
The database is well-organized, and users can easily find a guide or outfitter in any state, or see which services have been viewed the most. You can quickly find guides which have had user reviews added, and you can see the profiles of the people who wrote them. You can also see recently added guides, and recently added reviews, with a thumbnail photo for fast recognition.
Information contained on the site is free, although to post on the forum or create personal reviews you must register. Registration is also free.
Registered users can post their favorite photos in general categories, or in custom created subcategories. A similar category exists for posting videos.
Also on HuntandFishFinders is a user forum to discuss any topics, but primarily related to hunting and fishing. There is a section on fishing, similar to what is described above for hunting.
The site includes a continuous news feed of articles that will interest hunters and anglers. The articles are archived under topics such as Hunting, Law, Tips, etc. to make older items easier to locate.
Other features include outdoor equipment reviews, classified ads, a link directory (to web sites of related topics), and a calendar to which events may be added. The site includes a continuous news feed of articles that will interest hunters and anglers. The articles are archived under topics such as Hunting, Law, Tips, etc. to make older items easier to locate.
Other features include outdoor equipment reviews, classified ads, a link directory (to web sites of related topics), and a calendar to which events may be added.
Finding the Right Hunting Guide
Gulp Leech Walleye Fishing
September 11, 2009
To buy any of our DVDs click here: www.amazon.com New softbait technology has taken the live bait out of live bait rigging for Walleyes. The ultimate combination for artificial success is explained by Al Lindner and James Lindner. For more info please visit us at www.anglingedge.com
Elk Hunting Wyoming
September 11, 2009
Bull Elk Hunt in Wyoming. I was lucky enough to get a beautiful trophy on the first day of the season.
Fall Fat Walleye Fishing
September 12, 2009
To buy any of our DVDs click here: www.amazon.com Al Lindner goes fishing for Walleye in early fall and shares his knowledge of favorite techniques for attracting Walleye in these conditions. Please visit us at www.anglingedge.com.