Hobo Fishing Rigs
My first thought was to look into getting a collapsible rod for backpacking. There are several good ones on the market for not a lot of money, and I had one as a boy that worked well. Fortunately, my search didn't end with the purchase of a new collapsible rod, and several days later, I ran across an article on the Hobo Fishing Rig. I wish I could remember the site I was on, but there is actually a good deal of info if you Google that term. Then, lo and behold, Alex posts a picture of a similar rig, and his fishing success with it, on his blog. The article that caught my attention first discussed the typical survival fishing kit of line and hooks, and how the effectiveness of a minimal kit could be increased by adding a simple casting improvement - a handle - without much size increase. In fact, a handle for the basic kit could be easily fashioned in the field.
Interested, I found quite a few images of these rigs online, threw one together as a prototype, and hit the front yard for some cast testing. My best casts were probably around the 30-40ft mark, so it isn't going to be my go-to setup for serious lake fishing, but for stream fishing where the river does a lot of the bait transport for you, this has potential!
I have a trip back to Pine Log this coming week, so this hobo rig is going to get a thorough field test in place of the rod. Either it'll work, or I am going to be hungry!
**Update** First Use Impressions
Alex Yerks and Adahy’s Trading Post
Alex Yerks is a craftsman located up in New York whose work I have been watching since November. He is able to create the most incredible vessels from green harvested birch. It's amazing the life some people can coax out of wood. If you haven't heard of him or haven't heard of a kuksa, stop by his site or his vendor forum on BCUSA.
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| Photo by Alex Yerks - The Axe is Bold as Love |
NE Allatoona
Got a couple hours off this afternoon on my way back from Canton. Thought it was going to be an epic day of fishing and caught a good sized bluegill in the first twenty minutes. Alas, that was the only one!
Simple Deadfall
Well, it doesn't get much simpler than this!
Part I
The creator of this video is Joshua Hamlin. He's got a very interesting life story and was interviewed by Sam Coffman at the Human Path a while back. If you have the time and interest, listen to the two part interview below.
Part I
Lightweight Pack
While I am mentioning maps above, I was recently impressed by the guys at MyTopo. I was trying to get a custom map printed up for this trip, and has reached out to a couple local places with no luck. Finally, I ordered a topo map online from MyTopo, but managed to botch the scale of the map all by myself. I called them up, told them what I was after, and they set the map to my exact specs and gave me a small discount on it too! Great service!
Parang Sheath
Since I primitive-ized the BG parang, I couldn't have this knife sleeping in a nylon sheath...
Gerber Parang and More Cord Wrap
I have been looking for a large knife for a while now. I'm good on small knives, but own almost nothing in the way of choppers, machetes, etc. I was at the local Dick's this past week and saw the Gerber Bear Grylls parang. I'd seen a few online reviews, but more good than not, so I picked it up. Not having seen the tang with the handle removed, I wasn't sure if there was much I could do as far as getting rid of the orange/black rubber grips. Once home, it turned out the handle was easily removed and revealed a tang that went the length of the grip, but not the width. Anyway, it did allow for me to change out the handle, so here she is:
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