geartalk

Rock Salt to Lower the Temperature of Your Cooler

It’s June, but many parts of the country are already heating up and much of the country will soon be sweltering.

This tip is simple. If you add rock salt to your ice, it lowers the temperature of the cooler (a lot) and quickly.

The salt does melt a little of the ice, but in turn, creates a slurry. Many times, this slurry is actually quite a bit colder than the freezing point. The slurry acts in two ways. One, it envelopes the contents of your cooler, covering more surface area. Second, it achieves an even lower temperature than melted ice alone.

So, the next time you think about prepping your cooler for a day fishing on the boat, get a decent-sized bag of rock salt and add to the first layer of ice–then add more ice before topping it off with more rock salt.

More rock salt, cooler information from the boys at Out The Smoke:

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Seven Tips to Ensure Your Boat Shuttle Goes Smoothly

There’s plenty of ways to shuttle boats and vehicles, and I’ve probably done about 90-percent of them. My guess is that you have too. The regular old car-truck run, a state trooper’s back seat, municipal bus, Uber, a moped, dirt bike, electric bike, regular bike, horse, donkey. I’m kidding about the donkey...

Of all the shuttle types available, the driver-for-hire is probably the easiest, but most expensive. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks that can either make, or completely wreck, your day when shuttling a boat. Some of the tips below should be pretty obvious. Other tips, a little less obvious. But all of them have helped me one way or another.

1. Pre-tip. I know there’s huge disagreement on this, but why not ensure your driver is happy right when they get in your vehicle? This is a person you’ve never met. Driving your car, sometimes great distances. Make sure they are set up for success, i.e. phone numbers, key placement, any quirks with your vehicle.

2. Be clear and let the shuttle driver know if your vehicle is a standard, or automatic. It’s crazy, but more and more I’m finding shuttle services that claim they don’t have anyone who can drive a stick. This has burned me more than once.

3. Always bring an extra set of keys and keep them on your person. You never know what the shuttle driver is going to do with your other set. I’ve had to break a few windows to get back into my rig, and without a spare key, you’re kind of dead in the water.

4. Occasionally, I like to leave a pack of gum, or bag of candy, for the shuttle drive with a little note, in addition to my tip. It’s a nice gesture that goes a long way.

5. Triple check if you’ve left any lights on in the vehicle, or anywhere else, especially if you’re doing an overnight trip, or remote take-outs. A couple of years, ago I did a three-day float with my family on the Yampa River, and the take out was remote and desolate. When we got to the truck, it was dead. Luckily, there was one other party taking out and they jumped us, but if they weren’t there, we would’ve been in trouble. Also consider getting a gizmo like Uncharted Supply Co.’s Athena "battery jumper". It’s a compact, portable energy system that can jump start a car multiple times on one charge.

6. Get your gas tank completely full before dropping off your car. You never know what could happen before, during, or after your float.

7. Last, but not least, get recommendations on your shuttle service. They are not all created equal.

The Venturing Angler Podcast: Flylab

The Venturing Angler Podcast: Fly Fishing Travel, Careers, and Flylab with Tim Romano and Andrew Steketee‍

Tim Romano and Andrew Steketee of Flylab have spent decades working in the fly fishing industry and traveling to exciting fly fishing destinations. In this episode, we chat about their experiences and Flylab.

And to check out the podcast, please click below or download our podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, or Spotify

When Hunting for Big Fish, “Restart” Your Fly Line

When hunting for big fish, I have the propensity to only cast half the fly line I just stripped off the reel, then strip it back (into the casting basket) on top of the line that’s already there. I’ll do this a multiple times: cast, strip off more line, cast again, etc….  

While this is tolerable for trout fishing, it’s a different story when hooking 100-pound, saltwater fish.

The problem is that you’re creating different layers of fly line every time you re-cast, and when you do hook up, and that fish tears off a pile of line, there’s a good chance it will tangle and–pop–the fish is gone.

This is especially true for textured lines, which cast amazingly well, but also have a propensity to “grab” themselves, given the chance.

Solving this casting challenge is easy.

One, don’t cast unless you’re absolutely sure you can reach the fish you’re hunting. This seems simple and obvious.

Two, every time you do throw at a fish, either reel the line all the way back up (then start over by stripping fresh line again), or be absolutely sure your fly line isn't tangled in the stripping basket.

In a sense, you're constantly “restarting” your line in the stripping basket by keeping it clean and tangle-free when a big fish eventually takes its first run.

If you hope to become a competent saltwater angler, developing proper fly line management is a core skillset.