Simple is good.

In lots of trout fishing situations, you don’t need a drag system that’s capable of stopping a locomotive. There, we said it!

Slapping a mega-reel on a lightweight trout rod isn’t going to result in an outfit that’s well-balanced. And really, you don’t need all that technology most of the time.

If you’re targeting trout that are less than gigantic, the drag on your reel really needs to do two things well.

• Engage easily and allow line to peel off the reel smoothly, protecting light tippets.
• Keep your reel from backlashing on a fast run.

For small- to moderate-sized trout and lightweight rods, one of the reels that we think you should check out is the Sage Click.

Here’s why we like Sage Click reels.

• They’re lightweight.
• They’re really simple and the clicker drag is super smooth.
• They retain one really important element of modern reel design – a very large arbor. This allows for fast line pickup and less memory when your line and leader come off the reel.

We fished the Sage Click III with a 7 foot 4 weight on some tiny water in Southern Chile last week, and we loved it. The outfit balanced great and the drag did an excellent job, even on some fish that were quite a bit bigger than expected. Nothing wrong with that.

by Deneki Outdoors

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Yeah, you’re gonna need to dry that gear out.

Today’s Universal Fly Fishing Tip is one that most anglers know, but few actually follow through on. After a day or a week or fishing, make sure you dry out your gear well.

Gear that gets stored wet gets nasty. Waders stink, rod socks mildew, flies rust and backing turns black. When you’re done with your fishing session, make sure you get all your gear dry.

That means…

• Hang up your waders inside out so any sweaty condensation dries out. Go to the extra effort of pulling your stocking feet inside out – they’ll get really nasty otherwise.
• Take your rod socks of of their tubes and unroll them.
• Hang up your raincoat and take everything out of its pockets.
• Set out your wading boots.
• Open up your fly boxes. If you’ve got a bunch of matted down flies all crammed in there together (say with marabou or bunny fur), spread them out.
• Take the covers off your reels.
• Unzip the pockets on boat bags, hip packs, etc.
• Open up any waterproof cases (like that Pelican case for your camera) that might have gotten a tiny bit of moisture in them – those cases keep water in as well as they keep it out.
• Do your laundry right now, you slob

by Deneki Outdoors

See the original article at GotHunts.com

MyNature – Is your digital guide to animal tracks and wildlife in the palm of your hand for iphone or ipod 3.0 or higher.

A couple of weeks ago Rick at Whitetail Woods wrote about MyNature and because I think it’s a great app, I thought I would write about it here as well.

I loved to explain how it all works but it is much easier to watch the video.

What a great tool to have when out in the field or spending a day out in the woods with your kids teaching them about nature.

And if it was designed specifically for The Hunter’s Wife – I’d love for it to say…

“Fresh bear track – you better hightail it out of there – NOW!”

“And don’t climb a tree – bears climb trees.”

Rumor has it that soon MyNature app will be available on other phones as well.   I have a Blackberry so I will have to wait until then.

Blog: MyNature Blog with updates and tips.

Download: The app is priced at $6.99 – download MyNature app.

Interview: My good friends at Outdoors With Dan Small radio did an interview with Jeff Greco from MyNature.

Have a great day all … and happy animal tracking.  And hightailing it out of there.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

In western Mongolia, an ancient tradition of hunting with Golden Eagles is still alive. We know from history that Genghis Khan had 1,000 hunting birds – eagles, falcons and gyrfalcons – and so did Kubla Khan. There were protected areas in the steppe marked with stones where only the khans were allowed to hunt.

The Kazakhs of Mongolia train their eagles to hunt and here the bird of prey is often considered a family member. The Berkutchi is a falconer who hunts with the Golden Eagle. The training of this bird was seen as difficult and even perilous even by the experienced Synchy. the bird is never a slave of its owner, only a partner in hunting.

From ancient times, berkutchi-falconers in the nomadic herder societies had the role of preserving and stocking furs. The high social status of the berkutchi and his family was conditioned by the climate, as warm strong and durable clothing for the people during the winter seasons was a vital necessity. Best-suited for this were the pelts of wolves and foxes.

Apart from hunting, berkutchi can give spiritual support to pregnant women, who experience or may experience difficulties in childbirth. Through the owner of the bird, which in the imagination of Asian peoples is a symbol of well-being and power. According to folk wisdom, a berkutchi is the indisputable authority in the sphere of childbirth or of renewing fertility. In the cultures of many nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Asia, it is said that a berkutchi, regardless of age, can make pregnant a woman who for a long time had not had children.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

While fishing around the internet I came across the blog Fishing With Dad.  I loved one of his recent post about his memories of fishing with his Dad and then I came across a picture of a Tiki Bar.  So I emailed Dennis and asked if I could share the story of his Tiki Bar.

Outback Tiki Bar story from Dennis:

My wife went away on business for the week before Mother’s day 07 and I wanted to do something special for her for Mother’s day.  The traveling was getting to her and my kids (me too but they’re first).  I had been thinking about doing a bar on the deck so I decided to run with the idea.

Me, my four y/o, 3 y/o, and one y/o (she didn’t help but was there for moral support, lol) built the bar, with a three tier roof to allow smoke out when cooking, smoking an occasional cigar, or if company smokes out the top.  I did the roof so it keeps rain out but is well vented.

We did it ourselves (from plans in my head), didn’t even want to call a friend, wanted it to be from me and the kids.  I pinned beams half way up, climbed the ladder, unpinned, leveled and then bolted them in.  I did the bar to mimic stuff we saw while on our honeymoon.

She got home Mother’s day, we had finished it that morning.  She was really really surprised and it’s been a lot of fun out there since.

Dennis

Ladies how would you like to come home to this …

And this …

Dianne (Dennis’s wife) is one lucky lady.  I personally think it’s the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Or birthday gift. Or anniversary gift.

“Where’s Jody?”

“Out Back”

“Again.”

“Yep.”

“Did she come in from last night?”

“Nope.”

Have a great day all … and did you notice the parrot hanging?  lol  Polly want a tiki martini?

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

I saw this picture the other day on Ben’s Twitter background and I asked if I could share his picture with my readers.

Turkey hunters…

Oh goodness.  I’ve never seen anything cuter in camouflage.

And not the big guy on the left.

He’s married.

But the little guy on the right.

Now you all know I don’t own any camouflage.  I’ve worn borrowed camouflage twice in my life. And on our fancy dinner date nights, I pray while putting on my makeup that my husband has not selected one of his camouflage dress shirts or the skull polo shirt.  And my prayers are never answered.  It never fails.  Fancy dinner wardrobe fail.

And I say nothing.  He’s a grown man and I don’t need to lay his clothes out. And I’m not one of those bossy wives that needs to tell my husband how to dress.

Even though I want to.

Even though I think I need to.

Even though I’ve thought about hiding them.

But Little Camo Baby Ben (that’s not his real name) … he can wear all the camouflage he wants.

Have a great day all … I think I need to go clean out a closet.

You can visit Ben’s Blog -  Ben G. Outdoors.  For the record, Ben has an adorable family!

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net