Feb 4th 2009

Today was another overcast windy day so it was time to do more catching up. Then I get a call from my neighbor Hank wanting to go to Bill Jacksons to buy some waders and look at some Kayaks. Considering I needed to get backing on my Nautilus NV reels I got in a couple weeks ago anyways I said sure.

So now it’s Hank, Dell and I on a mini road trip. I packed my bags with my reels and my smart phone so I could do some emails in the truck. For one I  am not driving, thank god!  I did some emails and texting on the drive over and did some catching up.

It’s amazing what these smart phones can do these days. I am getting use to my Droid but I have to admit the Iphone still has an edge. Now if Apple will ever dump AT&T they will really we awesome.

We got to Bill Jacksons and walked around for about 15minutes. They were pretty busy in the fishing department. We walked out so Hank could look at another kayak to buy and no one was out there. We went over the waders that Hank wanted to buy but they had very limited selections and no one was there as well. For whatever reason they were super busy this Wednesday. We did buy a fish gripper before we left though.

I suggest we go to Tampa Anger Fly shop. I knew they would carry the Simms waders and I could get some backing on my reels. They didn’t open until 12 noon so we stopped and had some lunch. We ate Pho at the Vietnamese restaurant next door so it was perfect.

Gel Spun vs  Dacron:

Me being pretty much a newbie fly fisherman had to asked the age old, what’s the difference and of course price. In interpretation basically,  Dacron is larger in diameter, takes less to put the backing on, cost less. Gel Spun is basically the braided line you use in your spinning outfit, like PowerPro, TufLine, Master Braid, Suffix etc. It is much thinner so you can put more of it on but cost more.

One thing about fly line backing especially using the Gel Spun is that you should have it done at a shop. Since you are not putting in on a spinning rod which has guides that lay it on the spool evenly, reeling it in yourself on the fly reel can be an uneven mess not to mention taking forever.

I chosed the cheap Dacron except for the 12 wt for bigger fish that takes longer runs.

How to pick waders for fishing Florida waters.

Ok back to the waders. Hank wanted some really good pair of waders. (yeah he tends to buy top of the line stuff). He wanted something with pockets to warm his hands. He wanted pouches to carry stuff. He wanted the Gortex model for breath ability. It is also a must to have a gravel guard for his boots. Simms has all kinds of custom sizes and a lifetime warranty. I hear stories of people owning them for 15 years, send them back because of a leak, they get new ones in the mail.   Believe it or not they have waders in stock, made for people with 27″ inseams, waste of 36″+. Hank went with the G3, not cheap but it should last him a lifetime.

After stopping off at Tampa Fishing Outfitters to see the latest greatest in lures, rods and reels. (BTW: they are an Orvis dealers if you do not know it.) I had to get home to get things done.

One of which is to start working on the video for the mothership operation:

I didn’t have much time but I did get a chance to put something rough together.

The $6900 Skiff has been getting lots of attention since I posted it.

Here are a couple more photos of the “unfinished” boat.

The dimensions are 17′ foot long and beam of 81″ inches.(corrected 4pm feb 4th)) It’s  looks to be very stable. It should be perfect little inexpensive no frills skiff, to fish the flats From Tampa all the ways to the Keys.