There has been a major slump in fishing video games lately - the old saying "They don't make 'em like they used too" comes to mind. Never fear! I'm here to help you find that perfect mix of fun and fishing realism! Before I was all over this fishing gig, I worked on a few video games... Nothing great - in fact, they completely sucked - but I'm not on trial here! I did feel pretty proud of myself when I saw people were pirating a crappy game I worked on (FIGHT THE MAN!), but I digress...

Yeah, I had to go back to 1996 to find a good fishing game - sad isn't it. This is an absolute gem though! I had the game for my SNES (Still do) and now I have the ROM and a SNES emulator on my Droid. I can't get enough of this game. Where it shines is in it's difficulty. You actually have to adapt to the conditions and use the right equipment. You can't just toss out a crankbait and start ripping in fish like you can with todays games. You also have a TON of different lures and rigging options in your arsenal. Texas rigging, Carolina rigging, Split shot rigging, weightless rigging... It has it all! Just watch this video and it will show you the total awesomeness that is The Fishing Master!

Another gem from my childhood and another game that banked on realism to make it fun. I can remember spending hours trying to get through the ranks and win all the tournaments. I still play it thanks to the emulators available to us and it is still as frustrating as it was when I was a little tike. While the lure selection in this game isn't as robust as Mark Davis' game, the overall presentation of this game is more fun. It makes you feel like you have more control over casting and fighting the fish. Jimmy and Mark's game should have had a love child - THAT would have been the 'be all, end all' fishing game of it's time... and it would still rule today. Below is the only video I could find of the gameplay:

If any game developers are reading this... PLAY THESE GAMES! This is how fishing games should play today. If you took these two games and modernized them, people would actually like it! Don't get me wrong - there are a few good games out today - Bass Pro Shops: The Strike and Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010 are OK games, but it's the same old crap we have been getting since games went 3D. Any idiot and any lure can catch the fish! I realize they do this to make 'gamers' like these games, but give us angler's a more realistic mode to challenge us.

Before we end this nostalgic voyage I would like to send a message to whoever was involved in the creation of this masterpiece:  

Kevin (I know you're not reading this) why!? WHY?! I expect better from you! This game is the complete opposite of fishing! Did Zoo Games threaten you in anyway? I have the utmost respect for you Kevin and I know this wasn't your doing... I won't hold it against you! If I were you, I would buy any and all copies left of this game and put them in a landfill somewhere. Atari could help you, they know all about getting rid of video games (anyone remember ET for Atari? Didn't think so). Maybe you should grow a mustache and change your name... Whatever it takes to distance yourself from this train wreck!

Outdoor Blogger Network asked us tweeps for any photo prompt ideas. I came up with shooting your favorite fishing/hunting spot and they decided to use that for this go 'round (I still can't believe someone used one of my ideas!). This in turn inspired me to round up my favorite shots I have taken over the years and put them all in one nice little post for the world (my 3 readers) to see!

Before I start, if you haven't seen - Everyone's favorite blogger, Owl Jones, teamed up with Hook and Hackle to bring us a great contest. Write an essay about why you think you should win an Xi 7'9" 3wt. Fly Rod Kit and it could be yours for the building! If you don't participate in this contest... then shame on you! A pretty cool Hook and Hackle hat is up for grabs too. I want Owl to give all entries an autographed photo - why wouldn't you want to stare at this face all day:

Ok, got a little off track there... So, why do I think I should win this rod kit? Simple - if I win, Hook and Hackle's sales of this rod kit would skyrocket. Everyone who ever wanted to build a rod would be kicking down the doors to get their hands on these kits. Heck, even people who didn't want to build a rod before would want one, or 20, of these kits. Why you ask? Because if they see a schmuck like me build it, they know they will have no problem's building their own! 

I should also win this kit because I need a 3 wt. rod. I'm currently using a 5-6wt. rod and it is absolutely tiring! I'm sure I look like a boob out on a creek that I could jump across tossing a midge on a rod that looks like it meant for salt water. If you won't let me win for the above reason, do it so I at least LOOK like I know what I'm doing. 

While we are on the topic of my awesome fly rod... Let's talk about how this kit could make my fishing worry free. My rod is beat up. The rubber stoppers on the ends of the rod have fallen off, so it doesn't like to stay together while fishing. How awesome do you think I look when my rod flies into pieces during a perfect cast. How many fish do you think that has scared away? Millions! If I had this kit, I could build a super rod and catch those million fish that I have been scaring off while I'm chasing my rod parts down stream. 

That brings up another point... Fish! Do you want to see what I accomplish with my trusty rod? I'll show you!

See, these are the only guys that stick around after I come running after my rod parts. I've seen the big browns... they lay in their holes laughing at me as I pull in their young. How great would it be to have one of these rods, so I could catch those trout that have mocked me for so many years! 

Ok, now lets get serious for a second. If I had this kit, I would have two fly rods. Then I could take out all my friends who have always gotten the chance to come fly fish with me, but had to use spinning tackle. They have seen me pull in these micro trout, they have laughed and they have caught nothing! Now I will be able to share the joy of my tattered rod with them and laugh as they pull in these dinks and I am catching momma brown on my brand new, hand built Xi rod! There is no better joy than taking a friend fishing and giving him the worst equipment you could possibly own... Only you can give me the power to share this joy.

In closing, I would like to add this - If you don't let me win one of these rods, at least give me the autographed photo of Owl, so I have something to look at while I'm weeping at my desk, thinking of all the fun the winner is having. Owl's goofy expression will give me hope that someday, I will have a proper fly rod.

For my first installment of "No BS Guide" I thought we'd hit one of my favorite topics: Expensive Fly Reels! Now let me start off by telling everyone that I am in no way an expert fly angler... I wouldn't even say I'm an advanced fly angler, but I'm set in my ways and you can take my advice if you want! That's why there are thousands of outdoor blogs - we all have our own opinions! But I digress...

To me a fly reel does 1 thing and 1 thing only - holds my line. Do I need to set my drag properly to fight the fish? Heck no! I use my hands! I'd rather fight the fish myself than let some reel tell me how it's going to be. My brain will tell my fingers when it's time to give the fish a little line, not some silly $200 advanced cable spool! 

I can hear you now... "This guy has no idea what he is talking about! He only catches dinks and has never caught a REAL fish!" Well, you would be correct. I have never fly fished for Tarpon or any other fish that may need a little extra power to bring in, but if I had the money to pay for one of these excursions, I'd have the money to buy myself an expensive reel and I wouldn't be talking about such blasphemy. I'm simply stating the facts here: I've never used my fly reel while fighting a fish and probably never will! I've been taken down to by backing before and I landed the fish without the help of any reel, so who needs 'em! Spend your money on a nice set of flies or a good set of waders and leave that impostor on the shelf to collect dust! It won't help you!

Well I'm not going to beat around the bush here... We added affiliate ads to the website. Why you ask? Because I want to make some upgrades to the site and I just can't do them without some funds. I need all of our loyal readers help though... Here's what I would like from you (please!):

- If you do decide to buy anything from any of our affiliates, PLEASE tell me if you have a bad experience. I don't want to be peddling junk and if you have a negative experience, I will remove all of that companies links from our site.
- Before you buy something, please check out our affiliates (through our site :) ), and see if you can get it from them... If it's more expensive, go buy it somewhere else. 
- If the ads become too overwhelming, let me know. While I'd like them to be used, I don't want them in the way and have you never come back. 

To make things easier, here are the companies I decided to go with. I did a lot of research on these companies and feel that they were the best fit and we shouldn't have any problems with them:

- HatCams - Record what you're doing - hands free! We've all seen these by now, but if you haven't, check them out! It's one of those "Why didn't I think of that!" products. 
- NorCross Marine Products - NorCross sells some pretty neat stuff. Portable Sonar Units, Sonic Laser Scales (it measures your fish without even touching it), Depth Sounders, Coolers.... A lot of cool stuff on their site. 
- OutdoorPros.com - Mainly sells outdoor equipment - products for camping, hiking, fishing, hunting... All that stuff  you're probably into if you're here. A lot of products ship for free. 
- RiverBum - Offers a huge selection of fly fishing products. Dry Flies, Nymphs, Steelhead and Salmon Flies, Rods, Reels... You get the idea!

Again, if this is turning people off, let me know and they will disappear! 

Well we finally got our first decent snowfall here in Central Pa. What does that mean? Time to take care of the tackle! I always like to do an inventory, inspection and cleaning at the beginning of the year. You'd be surprised at how much stuff you can lose in 1 season. Here's a rundown of my winter rituals:

Keep the lures and terminal tackle in check:

- Empty the tackle boxes and bags and lay everything out. I usually lay out lures by type (cranks - shallow, mid, deep; jerkbaits, lipless cranks, etc...) and see how many I have. While they are in their piles, I'll check for any rust or any components that need replaced. They ALL get a wipe down with water and a scentless soap to get any oils off of them. 
- Soft plastics are the next things to be 'dumped'. These are checked for tears, counted and cleaned (usually I just wipe them off with water). Any tore plastic is either melted back together or put in the junk pile. I save them in case one day I get around to pouring. Next, any stickbait or soft swimbait is checked to make sure they aren't bent - If they are, they get dipped into boiling water for 10 seconds and straightened out. Before everything goes back into their storage compartments, they get a hefty dose of scent. I also put a small piece of paper towel in the boxes to hold the scent all season long. 
- All of my terminal tackle is next. I'm terrible about keeping hooks together. Whenever I am fishing, I pull the hook off and throw it in the first hook compartment I see... I know, it's a bad habit, but I'm in the zone when I'm fishing. I don't have time to keep things pretty! My bullet weights also end up in 1 compartment and need sorted by size and color. I will also sharpen hooks if needed, but I'm pretty good about keeping them sharp throughout the season. 

Can't forget the flies:

- I usually go through my fly boxes around this time too. They will be the first lures to be used in the new year, so they get the most attention. All the flies get cleaned off, trimmed or repaired. The dries then get a trip in some form of dry fly treatment (I'm really liking the powder lately) then they are all organized by type and size. 

Time to tend to the rods and reels:

- All reels come off the rods and all line comes off the reels. Some of the line that is still good gets put onto spools, sprayed with line conditioner, then put back on the reel. I reverse my line when I put it back on my reels (used end goes on first). You'll get a lot more use of your line if you do this. 
- The reels are all cleaned and then lubricated. Pretty easy thing to do once you have one apart (baitcasters can be a little difficult, so make sure you find schematics or take photos as you remove parts!) 
- All my rods are inspected for any damage. Check each guide and make sure there are no nicks, these can cause stress on your line and that's never a good thing! I then wipe down all the rods with soap and water. Any cork is just wiped off with water. Some soaps and cleaners can actually destroy cork overtime, so it's best to just use water. 

Who has time to shovel when all of the above needs to be done? The snow will eventually melt itself, so just let it sit!

What a great year 2010 was! We got the site started, we got the hard baits designed and into production... well almost into production... and we also did well on the fishing end of things too. I hope 2011 will be even better, so here is what I want to see happen in 2011!


- More smallmouth fishing, especially on the Susquehanna! - I spent most of 2010 following largemouth and I miss my little bronzeback buddies! I hope to nail a few 20+ inch smallies in 2011.
- Kayak fishing - I have to give this one to Juan from KayakFishPa.com. I spent a day on the Juniata with him and I must say, Kayak fishing is the only way to really fish a river. You have so much more mobility and stealth and it shows when your pulling in 2x the amount of fish! No more will I fight the shallows with the 'V' bottom!
- Muskies and Pike - Ok, I started this one already, but I really want to start targeting those toothy critters. I see Muskies on the Juniata all the time and it's about time I get my picture with one!
- Get my lures out for sale - I've been sitting on a ton of hard and soft plastic bait designs for years. I finally started making some hard baits and hope to have them for sale soon. If those go well, then you'll be seeing the soft plastics too!
- Tie my own flies - Doesn't every fly angler want to do this? I know I could save myself a ton of money if I learn how to do it!
- Take more trips to salt water - I've only fished in salt maybe 2 or 3 times and all I came up with was a flounder. Unacceptable! Maybe I'll even take the kayak in the salt... but let's not get ahead of ourselves...
- Videos on the site - Videos are the way to go anymore, especially when you're running a site like this one. We hope to bring you some great videos in the coming months. 
- More content - Videos aside, we need to have more content! I'll admit I have been slow with getting updates out, but I'm spreading myself a little thin with all our projects!


What do you think 2011 will bring for you? Is there anything you'd like US to do in 2011? Leave us a comment!

Here's my quick rundown of the products I want this year for Christmas. 

Quantum Smoke rod and reel - Who wouldn't want such an amazing set up? Lightweight, sensitive and just plain awesome looking! 

Temple Fork Outfitters Clouser Series Rod and Prism Cast Large Arbor Reel - The rod has Bob Clouser's name on it... What more of an explanation do you need?

NuCanoe 12' Solo Ultimate Adventurer, Minn Kota Endura C2 50lb. Thrust and an NRS Chinook PFD - Why this and not a kayak? Because I can customize the way I want it laid out and they are wider for more stability. Not to mention I can slap the trolling motor on the back and zip around without having to paddle.

What are some gifts YOU want this year?

Be sure to check out my latest article for TCO Fly Fishing Magazine entitled "Cold Water Safety". If you fish in the winter, you need to understand how to stay safe and also know what to do in case of an emergency. Don't be afraid to go out in the cold - a lot of great fishing opportunities can be had in the winter!

http://www.tcoflyfishing.com/FlippingBook7/index.html

If you haven't taken notice yet, we have a banner at the top of our home page where you can buy discount tickets to the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show. I hope to be there this year, as I missed last years show because of a bad cold and some serious snow (which I'm still bummed about because Aaron Martin was at that show!). Looks like it's going to be another great show this year, packed with a lot of big names in hunting and fishing!

Hope to see everyone at the show! Pass our site around so you can share the discounts!