04.28.08

Getting Ready for the WallEye

Posted in Fishing, Walleye by Haikal

Getting Ready for the Eye-Opening Walleye Season Opener

Walleye season is just about to open and the first day is always an eye-opening experience for all. You need to start preparing in order to enjoy maximum fishing pleasure. Although you do this every year, you still end up forgetting one or two essentials. For a perfect start this year, use the following tips as a checklist of things to do and bring.

Checking Your Fishing Gear and Equipment for the Walleye Season

Fishing License - do not wait for trouble to come knocking at your door. Apply early, submit your requirements promptly, and keep your fishing license together with the rest of your fishing gear.

Fishing Rods, Reels, and Lines - For fishing novices, keep in mind that this recreational activity is just like playing golf or tennis. There are certain rods, reels, and lines that work better in certain situations.

Tackle Box - You can not catch walleye without bait so make sure your tackle box contains all the necessary equipment: live and plastic bait, jigs and rigs, hooks, slip bobbers, split shots, hooks, plugs, crank baits, and crawler harnesses. Keep in mind that the quantity of bait and other tackling essentials you will bring with you will greatly depend on when and where you will be fishing.

Fishing Nets - Consider taking with you several types and sizes of fishing nets to meet all possible fishing needs you will encounter on the opening day of walleye season.

Troubleshooting Kit - Take a pair of pliers with you: this is the ultimate fishing tool that will help you solve lots of small and big troubles while you are fishing for walleye. Make sure you also have a filet knife, side planers, fish chains, nail clippers, forceps, and hook sharpeners included in your troubleshooting kit.

Locating Tools - To help you search for more walleye, make sure you have got with you fish markers, a portable fish finder, compass, head lamps, fish scale, fishing maps, and tape measure.

Electronic Equipment - Have a camera with you at all times to keep photographic evidence and remembrances of your catches. Make sure you have got an extra electric motor ready for emergency needs. If possible, have GPS and batteries as well.

Comfort - To be able to fish more comfortably and successfully, make sure you are wearing fishing boots and you have got life jackets and rain gear ready in cases of emergency. A pair of fishing gloves, a bottle of mosquito repellent (one that won’t be easily washed off by water, preferably), sunscreen and sunglasses, all-purpose rags, and a small bucket for your dumping needs. Pillows and sleeping bags are also necessary if you are staying the whole day. There will be times when you will need to take a short nap while waiting for some walleye to take the bait.

Consider any special health conditions you may have. If you are wearing contact lenses, be sure to take with you all your supplies.

Consider bringing means to entertain yourself especially if you are fishing on your own. Take with you a couple of books, a portable DVD or music player, or playing cards. Other essentials you could bring are garbage bags, a knife, axe, and flashlight.

Food - If it’s going to be a long trip, decide if you wish to go to the bank once in a while to eat. If not that, check if you have got all your cooking supplies. Have your coolers ready, a bottle opener, coffee maker, ice, eating utensils, plates and glasses, and sealable bags.

Medical Kit - Besides the usual essentials of a basic medical kit, take with you as well a couple of painkillers, moist towelettes, tissue paper, and allergy medicine since you will be spending a lot of time outdoors.

Boat - Have a professional give your boat a thorough checkup at least a month before the opening of walleye season to ascertain if it’s ready to face another fun but challenging voyage. Make sure you have got boat seats, anchors, and an adequate supplies of oil or gas. Take a repair kit on board and make sure you know the basic troubleshooting solutions for common boating problems.

If you are fishing in a new area, make sure your boat is capable of meeting the expected current strength, depth, and weather conditions.

General Concerns - Of course, preparing for the opening of walleye season is not limited to checking your gear and equipment. Familiarize yourself with the rules and requirements as well.



02.19.08

Gold Coin Collecting

Posted in Coins Collecting by Haikal

coin collecting is something that dates back to the when coins were first issued for trade. It was only in the Middle Ages that people turned this into a hobby because of the art work and the historical value.

coin collecting today is still a hobby that many people enjoy. One of the most precious and most expensive collections that anyone can ever have are those of gold coins. The most expensive gold coin ever bought was worth around $8000000. This was the American 1933 Gold Eagle. This is why the collecting of gold coins deserves to be called the hobby of kings.

Gold coins were one of the oldest forms of money. This was later followed by silver coins. Gold coins were in circulation in the United States from 1838 to 1933. The design was the Liberty Head bust but this was only made until 1907. The design was then changed to the Indian Head and Saint Gaudens motifs and was used until 1933 when the Great Depression began. This prompted the recall of gold coins which makes them very difficult to find today.

Since these are no longer in circulation, the price for one of this rare commodity is quite high. Gold is now used for other things such as jewelry or bars that people retain as an investment.

South Africa minted its first gold coin called the Krugerrand in 1967. This coin has no face value but merely stands as a symbol. It is made of 1 ounce of gold and can be purchased for investment purposes.

Since then other countries also minted bullion coins. Canada made the Gold Maple Leaf in 1979 and Australia made the Nugget in 1981. These two are much more popular than the South African coin because of its 24 carat purity.

A lot of people retain gold today as an investment because they speculate that the demand will cause its market value to increase. Others hold it as a form of insurance should the financial situation become worse. There was a point in time when the more paper money that was made, the higher the price of gold which maintained gold and cash as equal value. After this standard ended in 1971, this enabled government to produce more paper currency without increasing the price of gold.

Since gold coins can longer be used to purchase merchandise most coin collectors just keep them to remember that people once used them.






Fishing Charter

Posted in Fishing by Haikal

Things to Know About Fishing Charter

Recreation is an essential factor in the life of every human being. The anglers or the fishermen represent the largest single group of recreational seekers, and have a decided advantage over the other groups who utilize nature’s creatures and elements for recreation or food.

The popularity of fishing in many areas has been largely based upon the angling pressure, which is far beyond the normal capacity of the streams and lakes. There are species of fish for every type of angler and each one may choose the species of fish or the method of fishing that has the greatest personal appeal or attraction.

It is for this reason that many people are enticed to spend their vacation in a fishing activity. But, for people who would like to have planned fishing activities, they opt for fishing charters.

Fishing charter is one way of enjoying fishing even if an individual doesn’t have the means or the equipment as far as fishing is concerned. It aims to provide the necessary services in a fishing activity.

However, not all fishing charters are created equal. Hence, it is important to know the factors required to be taken into account before jumping into conclusions.

Here is a list of some important factors that need to be considered:

1. The cost of the trip

Like any financial decision, people who would like to use fishing charter should know the required charges of the trip.

It is best to know the necessary requirements like deposits or contract agreements before committing to a fishing charter.

Best of all, people should be aware of the items they are paying for. They should know what the kinds of services included on the package are.

2. The length of time required in each charter trip.

Most captains are enticed to do a little fishing before going back to the dock. This will not pose a problem at all but if it will cost the person, who requested the service, additional charges for extra minutes or hours spent beyond the agreed number of hours, then, that is a problem.

Hence, it is important for the individual to know what time the charter will start and end.

3. The captain

It is important for a person who wants to engage in a fishing charter to know the competency and the skills of the captain. Hence, in order to have a successful fishing activity, it is best to get an experienced captain.

A fishing charter is one way of enjoying fishing at its best.



The In’s & Out’s of Landscaping

Posted in Landscaping by Haikal

Success in home landscaping design is one that you can attain with enough hard work, patience and creativity. However, there are some disadvantages to it that you should work on to avoid.

Take a look at the pros and cons if you’re considering home landscape design and you plan to do it yourself:

Pros:

  1. One of the advantages of designing the landscaping of your own home is primarily the cost. Professional landscape design fees have soared over the years. If you can not afford this service, you opt to design the lawn yourself.
  2. It would give the home owners an immense sense of achievement once they see the end results. Seeing the completed results of your hard work and imagination everyday when looking out of your window should be enough motivation for you.
  3. Another advantage of designing your own backyard is your ability to seek the help of your friends and family. This will give you some bonding time together as well as quality time together, just remember to inject some fun while doing all the dirty and hard work.

Cons:

1. Nature may work against you.

After you implement the design that you made for your backyard or front lawn, several problems might crop up:

  • weeds
  • animals
  • flood
  • insects
  • pests or disease
  • soil problems

2. Drought conditions.

This is the most common lawn problem that a home owner needs to deal with.  There are areas in the United States that experience drought during summer and this will work against the landscape design of your home.

To avoid this, choose plant shrubs that don’t need much water. Also ask a professional gardener about how you can make your lawn more drought-resistant

3. Floods.

Floods are a natural problem for your landscaped lawn. There are plants and parts of your garden that may survive flooding, but if some do not, just be patient because you can always start over.

4. Improper maintenance can ruin your lawn.

With a trimmed and landscaped lawn, you need a lot of time to maintain it.
This is one disadvantage of landscaping your backyard or front lawn. If you don’t have the time or the patience to maintain it, consider someone to do it for you.

By knowing the pros and cons of ‘do-it-yourself’ home landscaping, you have an idea of what can do and the things to avoid.






02.04.08

Black and White Photography

Posted in Photography by Haikal

As with television and the movies, black and white pictures were first developed long before colored pictures were born.

The history of the modern photograph is much printed in monochromatic pictures, which are basically black and white pictures. The photograph back then was rendered in dark and light patches which were used to create black and white effects. The dark portions would sometimes be rendered as gray or brownish.

Fall of Black and White

When the colored picture came into the scene during the 1975 era, black and white pictures came falling down, and they fell hard. There were many reasons behind this plummeting. The different manufacturers were developing better-than-ever color films and they were creating these films at low prices. The number of good developers of black and white films was also declining. The attention of the public was turned into the more elaborate and exciting colored pictures.

Because of the different factors that were affecting the photography market, the use of black and white film went further down to rock bottom. People started to see the use of black and white film as a difficult thing to do and they wanted to shift to the use of colored film as soon as they could. So, in those periods, people who studied photography or took photography classes were deprived of the beauty of the black and white picture. The market and the conditions around the photographers were shaped so as to repress the black and white scene in general.

Rise of Black and White

The black and white photographs are back in town. People are now seeing the inherent beauty that these photographs capture. They are back in print advertising. The modern print advertising materials are so cluttered by so many colors and pictures and when the black and white materials are put side by side with them, the black and white pictures gives the beholder a sense of reality which the colored ones can not give.

As the cliché goes, “black is beautiful.” And black would not be black if there was not white, therefore, “black and white” is beautiful. The black and white picture was never really gone away especially from the point of view of the professional photographers. The art scene was never detached from using black and white pictures, so as the newspaper industry, where many newspapers would want their photographers to get their pictures in the black and white format.

With the advent of digital photography, you can instantly convert your colored photos into black and white ones; the black and white pictures are definitely making a strong comeback. This time around, the black and white scene is here to stay.