Carp Fly Fishing Gear
Carp Fly Fishing Gear
Brant Goose – The Goose With Three Names
Canada’s North is dark, cold and hostile. Very few people live there. There are few roads, swarms of mosquitoes and frequent bad weather so it’ s safe to say the climate is inhospitable. Expect to be surprised by what does live there.
For one, the Brant Goose (branta bernida) breeds here. (It is commonly called by all three of the names in the title, though Brant Goose was the original and the most widely accepted name). Only two snow-free months of the year are suitable for this, and within this time, it lays and hatches eggs, raises the young and takes off to winter either further south or to fly the 8000 miles across the Atlantic to places like Jersey’s coast. That’s some journey and it needs to be in good shape to complete it.
It’s main breeding areas are the lower Arctic regions of the Yukon-Kushokwim Delta, Mackenzie Delta, Victoria Island and Melville, Prince Patric and Eglington Islands. Melville islands flock are thought to be distinctive. If they are then their numbers are quite small, around 6000.
It has to sustain itself for this flight and it is really only partial to certain types of food. These are in particular eel-grass and to a lesser extent, algae and herring eggs. This turns out to be one of the reasons for its decline. It really does need to change its palate! Eel-grass is not found everywhere. It is a blooming underwater grass in shallow sub-tidal areas, which spreads by roots or rhiazomes, and it is a little factory for a variety of feasters.
Brant Geese and Eel-grass are entwined. Industrialization kills off eel-grass so it’s important to get the balance right between human progress and the natural environment.
The Brant Goose resembles the smaller, shorter-necked forms of the Canada Goose but it is much darker without white cheeks. It breeds farther north than any other known goose. The eggs and downy young are preyed upon by crows, gulls, mink and a variety of other small animals including bullfrogs, pike and carp. But it is man who preys upon the adult goose.
Geese are tasty to eat. They provide goose fat, considered by some to be one of the highest class fats of all. Their belly feathers provide down for duvets and pillows and then there is foie gras, a goose pate made from force feeding the geese. Goose confit is also a food speciality, having a strong following in France. Originally it was a method used to preserve the meat when no refrigerators existed. The leg meat is seasoned and herbs are added. It is then deep fried slowly in its own rendered fat. When cooking is complete the dish cools down and the fat solidifies around the leg thereby preserving it. There is evidence that geese have long been domesticated though it is not likely that the Brant Goose, because of it’s Arctic breeding environment, ever fell into this category.
Additionally, hunting geese was a popular water sport. Using decoys and mimicking their honking noise attracted geese flying in the area to investigate closer, often to the detriment of one or other of the flock. Even digging pits, camouflaging them and setting out fifteen or sixteen decoys on the ground above the pit, making everything look as real as possible, proved a successful way to lure them in, ready for the kill. There is a school of thought that the more decoys you have, the more likely you are to attract geese to settle among the decoys.
It is only legal to hunt Brant geese today if you have a licence by DEFRA which in turn is only awarded when it can be proved that the goose is damaging crops. They will remain a protected species until their numbers return to sustainable levels.
The following boats are especially suited to hunting or fishing:
Sevylor Fish Hunter Inflatable Boats. Model HF280, Length 92?, Beam 46? Wt 30 lbs., Max.Cap 700 lbs. This is designed specifically for fishermen. It accepts a 3 hp gas motor at the stern and Sevylors 12 volt motor at the bow or stern. It features two fishing rod holders, small Gear Bag, a battery pouch, plenty of grablines, and 4 drain plugs. It comes complete with Boston safety valves, swivel oarlocks, chafing pads, and two inflatable seats. Priced at $159.99. Oars and motor sold separately.
The Challenger Boat Kit by Intex – 3 Person. It has 2 air chambers for safety, an all-around grab line and grab handle on bow. It has an inflatable floor for comfort and rigidity. Welded oar locks, oar holder, 2 inflatable seat cushions and US Coast Guard I.D. It includes 2 x 48? aluminium oars and High Output Hand Pump plus other features. At present it is just over half price at $71.62
Nu Canoe also do a series of 10? and 12? boats in various colors, suited to a variety of purposes of which hunting is one.
Factual information in this article was researched mainly from Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia.
About the Author
http://www.theboatingstore.co.cc
A retired high school teacher of geography and maths. Try ‘Quick Compare 35 Brand Name Kayaks’ to help you make a choice. Also if you would like a free ebook – an unusual story set in the days sailing by well-known and respect author Joseph Conrad, ‘The Secret Sharer’ or a book about travel in El Salvador ‘Slow Bus To Ahuachapan’ by John Drewman then email admin@theboatingstore.co.cc
Crappie Fishing Basic Gear
There are some bare essentials that every crappie fisher needs: pole, reel (although truly optional I think you will want one), fishing line and a hook. I hope those are somewhat obvious but let us look at the basics first. Crappie poles are generally long, slender poles reaching lengths of 18 feet or longer. I do not recommend a super long pole for someone that is just getting started or not ready for them. Longer poles have their advantages such as reaching into tight areas and also extending your reach from a central point. This is an advantage when employing a technique called spider fishing, using varying length poles you can create a blanket of hooks, often in a semi-circular pattern.
Longer, and often more slender, poles provide amplified sensitivity as well. Most crappie specific poles would be poor poles for catching catfish or large carp. When choosing a pole consider your application such as how are you planning on casting. Long poles work for just dropping a line in the water but slightly shorter poles will help you when bait casting.
If you have a good idea of what you want for a pole you will now need a reel. There are as many reels to chose from as there are crappies, not really but almost. There are three main components of a reel those are a barrel, crank and a guide or eye. There are two types of spinning reels, an open face and closed, these are easily distinguished. If you can see where the line is stored it is open faced if you cannot it is closed faced. Both types also vary greatly in operation, one you must flip the bail back while holding the line and the other uses a simple push button on the back of the reel which is loosely egg shaped. I like the first one because you can see what is happening with your line and the general feel is better. The later is very popular with kids and the very casual fisher.
There are two more types of reels, a bait caster and the fly reel. The later is not extremely popular with crappie fishers but should not be excluded especially in the spring where fly fishing can be a great weapon in your armory. The first reel has been around in some form for hundreds of years and is very popular with bass fishers and for good reason. Theses reels are easy to recognize as they are the only ones where the axis of the barrel, the part that holds the line, is perpendicular to the pole where all others are parallel to the pole like a spinning reel.
Of course there is an exception with the fly reel but the size of the barrel often gives it away. The bait casting reel gives the user the greatest control over the feed of the line and is also one of the most difficult to master. Simple answer for this is pick a reel you can use and become familiar with all of its various adjustments as I’m sure there will be many such as brakes and clutches.
About the Author
Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on basic crappie fishing gear here: http://www.askcrappiefishing.com
