The Gear Hound

Tips on Trailer Maintenance, Part 1

We’ve all been there. You may not hear the incendiary whining of the bearing starting to fail (depending on how loud the music is playing in your truck), but you will feel the shudder as the wheel on your trailer locks up and smokes away a significant amount of your tire’s rubber on the highway.

The experience is highly unpleasant.  You will lose precious time and incur significant expense, even if you’re only pulling a 16-foot jon boat. Once your bearing seizes on the highway, you will need a tow truck and a mechanic to get home or back on the water. Over the next few days, I’ll give you some tips that will keep you moving to the lake or the duck blind this fall.

Tip #1: Lube Your Fittings
If you don’t have a factory zerk (grease) fitting, or “Bearing Buddy” on your trailer, you need to get a set—today. Grease your fittings every 300 miles. Make sure to only fill the hub until a tiny amount of grease comes out. Too much grease pumped into the hub will push the inside bearing seal out, sending all your lubrication spattering, and sentencing your bearings to a very short lifespan.
   

Killer Socks: Replace Your Worn-Out Wool with High-Tech Synthetics

Go check your sock drawer. If any pairs are looking tired or thin, trash them. Your feet will thank you, and so will your significant other. Now consider two of my favorite pairs, which  have survived at least 25 trips to the laundry:

Thorlo Warm Weather Hunting Socks are super soft and made of synthetic fibers, which do some serious moisture wicking to keep sweat off your feet. They also have well-padded bottoms and a lower density space in the arch for better boot contact. The Thorlo people take their socks seriously, possibly too seriously; check out the video of the “Love Your Feet” guy on their website. $16; www.thorlo.com

Smart Wool socks are made from soft, no-itch, no-shrink merino wool, and almost spring when you step. Smart Wool manages sweat well and is especially warm even in middleweights.  A blend of 69 percent wool, 27 percent nylon, and 4 percent elastic, they also offer great blister protection.  $16; www.smartwool.com

Fit Tip: The next time you buy a pair of boots, don’t try them on while wearing everyday socks. Instead, wear a pair of high-quality socks and a thin liner—a sock combination you’re likely to wear in the field. You might find that you’ll need to jump up a half boot size.

    

Canadian Walleye Trips: "Fishing Outpost" and "Comfort" Don’t Have to Be Exclusionary Terms

So you want the classic Canadian fly-out experience?  To start, you must have the will to guide yourself. Secondly, you need the patience to tolerate a week of bugs, tar-paper shacks, old motors, and leaky boats. In return, you’ll net some excellent angling for around $1,400. 

That’s a realistic view of what many Canadian walleye fishing outposts offer. But in the past few years, some outfitters have been setting new standards in wilderness camps with some impressive amenities, like electricity, hot and cold running water, showers, toilets, full kitchens, two bedroom cabins, and new motors every year. 

Pipestone Outfitters, in Emo, Ontario, meets that description (807-482-1143; www.pfo.net).  They operate a fly-out service to five different lakeside cabins in Wabakimi Provincial Park in central Ontario.  Groups of six to 10 people pay prices starting at $1000 per person for six days.

After a 16-hour drive from my home in Missouri to Emo, six of us unloaded the truck’s gear into a 1950’s twin engine Beech float plane and landed at camp an hour and half later. For five days, we caught our share of walleye ranging from 10 to24 inches, lost and landed a few huge pike, observed the northern lights three nights in a row, saw eagles and caribou, found a lost canoeist, and watched a raging forest fire that almost forced us to evacuate. It was a memorable excursion, but what made it that much more enjoyable was the comfort. I got a good evening rest every night, ate well, and even took a couple of showers. A tar-paper shack would suffice with just one other angler, but with a large group, I recommend springing for a camp like this.

Covering Your Assets: Why You Should Think About ATV Insurance

If your ATV mysteriously levitates from the confines of its trailer while you’re tooling down the road, or your buddy plants the front of your beloved bike into a tree, you should ask yourself, Do I feel lucky?  If you don’t have a special rider with your existing insurance company or specific ATV insurance, you may end up limping to the bank.

Keep in mind that ATV accidents typically leave you responsible for more than just the bike. If someone is hurt, or property is damaged, you may be open to legal action. Save yourself the fear and loathing, and call your insurance agent to ask if you’re covered.  You can also get an ATV insurance quote on the web from Progressive Insurance: www.progressiveinsurance.com   

    

Get One While You Can: The Orvis CFO IV

While writing this blog, I just discovered that my beloved click and paw Orvis CFO IV fly reel has been discontinued!  Trout anglers everywhere should go into a state of mourning and then buy every new one (and reasonably priced used ones) your credit card can handle, because from this day forward I promise you they will never be cheaper. 

This is my copy that appeared in the August 2002 issue of Field & Stream

“In 1978 I scrimped and saved $110 to buy my first quality trout reel. It was the Orvis CFO IV.  Twenty-two years later and more than 1,850 days on the water, it is without question my most beloved trout reel. Introduced in 1968, the British-made CFO reel has extraordinary balance, time-honored design, and a sweet singing click that makes it a memorable partner with every trout I’ve connected to for over two decades.

The reel is made of meticulously machined aluminum with a click and paw drag that gives it the musical ring the reel is so famous for. Still manufactured to the same standards today in several sizes, the CFO IV is ideal for 5- and 6- weight lines. Priced at $235.”

For a nominal charge (about the cost of shipping) Orvis will refinish and clean your beaten CFO IV, bringing it back to brand new. Just send the reel to Orvis Customer Service (The Orvis Company, Inc., ATTN: Reel Department, Route 7A Tennis Way, East Dorset, VT 05253) in Vermont with a note that reads, “Please repair and refinish my CFO.” 

Here’s an Orvis dealer that still has a few CFO IV’s in stock.
http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/onlinestore/shop.html?target=p_19.html&lang=en-us

Silence Your Treestand: The Best Tape for the Job

If you read my last blog, you probably figured out that I hate treestands that make noise. The way to get your stand in a real state of silence is to add a noise-dampening product to the rails and platform. It will prevent the metallic pings from your bow or gun that would send a deer fleeing.

Silent System tape is wonderful stuff. It’s a spongy neoprene with a peel-and-stick back that adheres to the painted metal of your stand. Before you apply the tape, make sure the metal is clean. Wipe the surfaces with rubbing alcohol and let it completely evaporate. Cut strips with a pair of scissors, and stick the tape on the parts of the stand that might come into contact with your bow or gun. I carry several strips in my pack to apply to stands when I’m hunting as a guest. The tape is easily removable at the end of the day.  A 20-foot x 4-inch roll in camo costs $19: http://www.deerhuntinggear.net/camo_tape.htm

Treestand Safety: How to Get Your Stand Ready for Fall

I live in the Midwest. When mid-July hangs heavy with heat and humidity, I move into the shade of my glorious garage (or, as my wife refers to it, the “Man Cave”), get a cold beverage, and check all my treestands. If it doesn’t happen in July, it never gets done. August is reserved for prepping waterfowl gear and building duck blinds.

I pull every stand off the wall and check every nut and bolt. I have yet to find one that is dangerously loose, but I do often come across nuts and bolts that need to be lightly tightened. Along with a thorough spraying of penetrating oil, I look over all the straps for rot, and test the buckles to make sure they’ll tighten. Then, if necessary, I give each stand a quick touch-up with black and gray paint. Come October, when I hang the stands in the woods, I can be confident that they are safe and won’t squeak.

On Monday I’ll tell you about a new product that will keep a treestand dead quiet when you make a mistake. In the meantime, here are some more tips to hold you over.

Clear Vision: How to make your glasses fog-free

If you wear glasses, one thing you can count on is that they are going to fog up. Here’s how to stay fog-free. 

First, get some dishwashing liquid (such as Dawn or Joy) and a soft cotton cloth. Rinse your glasses in cold water, then apply one to two drops of detergent to the fronts and backs on your lenses. Polish both sides with the cloth until all streaks are gone. When you’re done, your glasses will be clean and won’t fog for at least five or six hours, even in humid conditions.

I keep tiny travel bottles of detergent and hand-size squares of cotton cloth (cut from old shirts) in my fishing and turkey vests, hunting backpack, and truck, and I use them constantly. Just make sure the cloths are clean.

In a pinch, liquid soap from a hand-wash dispenser in a public bathroom work well, but do not use paper towels, as they’ll scratch your lenses. 

Road Flares: The Fastest Way to Roaring Campfire

Whether you’re floating a wilderness river in Alaska or on a family camping trip in the lower 48, if you to need to get a fire going fast, there’s only one sure way to burn the wettest wood in the forest. You don’t even need a match, or gasoline. 

What you do need are road hazard flares, which generate an intense amount of concentrated heat. You can take an arm full of 3-inch water-soaked logs, lay them in a pile, crack one or two flares, and you’ll have a roaring blaze in less than 10 minutes--even if it’s raining hard.

This is a handy trick to know, and well worth a visit to the auto parts store before your next camping trip. If you’re traveling by air, buy the flares at your final destination. They would not be received with the same warmth by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

You can order a box of 20 15-minute flares for about $48 from this link: http://www.redesupply.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=108

Tough Boots: They Don’t Wear Nikes in Alaska

If you’re going to Alaska this summer, it makes sense to wear what the Alaskans wear, especially when it comes to boots.

If you go to any coastal town in Alaska, you’ll find most inhabitants wearing a less-than-attractive neoprene rubber boot called Xtratufs, made by the Servus Rubber Company of Rock Island, Illinois. 

These boots are super supple, stretchy, and will stand up to any fish blood or chemical you come into contact with. The boot rests on a traditional cork foot bed with a Goodyear sole that sticks like glue to boat decks. They’re a generous fitting boot, so if you’re a size 10 1/2, buy a 10. One of the very few easy-to-kick-off rubber boots I’ve ever owned, Xtratufs are warm and comfortable, perfect for a long day of salmon fishing.

The Xtratuf is the number one selling boot in Alaska. It’s so popular that the town of Sitka has a “Running of the Boots” every year. The first run, in 1995, was done by locals wearing nothing but Xtratuf’s. (Nowadays, entrants wear clothing.) Check out www.runningoftheboots.org.

Show up at a fishing camp wearing a pair of Xtratufs and your guide will be impressed. You can get a pair at this link for about $65. http://www.seattlemarine.net/products/xtratuf_boot.html