Laying out the Floor Frame

The First of many parts cut to size...

And the framework laid out on the living room floor...

Starting this project is going to be fun, and later this winter the whole project is headed to a new location, where more workspace is available and the final assembly will take place.

Keep watching...

Construction has commenced....

I've been busy the last month, did a trip to Salem Ma to the Witch Museum, the Haunted Trolly Ride, and House of Seven Gables. Definately a good rest and relaxation trip. Throw in a new co-worker and two days off a week in a row, I'm actually able to work on the new truck camper project.

After getting all this literature and books about RV construction, I broke down and bought the Glen L Acapulco Plans.

After spending several weeks reading, measuring, checking, rechecking, and budgeting, I finally bought some lumber and started construction.

First thing is that you need to lots of 2x2s which are actually dimensionally 1 1/2" by 1 1/2"

So a trip to Home Depot produced a 2x14-16' for just under $17.00

Then after cutting it in half, the ripping commenced. Recommendation... Do not rely on a battery operated saw to rip 2x stock. I can get only 14 feet of rip before the battery goes dead.

But the plate vise I used to hold the lumber (capacity is 2x6) worked well.

Here's a pic.

Planning for the Future Sportsman Camper

Howdy folks, been a little while since I last posted. Been busy at work and also busy working on the plans for the new truck camper. Well I went and did something I didn't plan on. I ordered a book from England called "Travel Vans" by John Speed. Nice book, talks about European RVing and Camping trips around Europe, along with how to plan and build a RV for travel.

I read this book cover to cover several times since receiving it last month. It's well worth the 23.99L (British Pound) including the shipping to the US.

I also went and bit the bullet and bought the plans from Glen L in California for the Acapulco Camper. Nice blueprints, very basic construction, and best of all, I can build this in sections over the winter and do the final assembly when the weather is good and dry. Overal the camper will be 7 foot wide, have an 8' floor, a extended cabover sleeper making it about 13'8" overall length, and a center height inside of 6'4".

I'm also modifying the plans from Glen L, bringing the combination of Old School and New School together for the next 20 plus years. First is the plans call for the bed to be 64" wide between the tailgate opening. I've only got 60", so the first thing is to narrow the base by 4" overall. Second the overall floor is actually 8'1", so i would need to pull the tailgate off the GMC when using the camper. But with a floor length of 8'0", I can keep the tailgate on and use the tailgate as a deck or porch when entering and exiting the camper. So the camper is getting shortened 1" in length.

Other modifications include a Fantastic Fan, a roof vent over the sleeping area of the cabover, a vent over the bathroom area, rubber roof, aluminum siding, 4 corner jacks, an insulated floor, and modern windows, a modern door, and LED lighting. Toss in a 12V Refrigerator, propane heater, and possibly a hot water heater also.

And to start the project off I purchased the SMEV Sink Stove combo off Ebay, a nice little package of a 2 burner stove and stainless steel sink attached. Overall it's 31" by 13" by 5" with a sink 13" by 9" by 4 1/2". So I'm already started in planning, and will be starting construction next month.

Funny part is now I find that staying in the truck camper is more relaxing, especially when out on a fishing trip or just out sight seeing the countryside. It's like staying at a hotel on wheels that I don't have to pay for unless I stay in a campground, plus I can retire to after a long day of fishing.

Stay tuned and keep looking.

"Rolling" Fish!!! New Form of Fishing?

I was reading the Field and Stream Fly Talk Blog the other day, and Kirk Deeter was talking about a friend who was into cutting off the hook of a fly to make it hookless and fishing just to see the fish take the fly, tug a little, and have the fly come out without harming the fish. The friend called it "rolling" the fish.

Now I am all for having fun, but this sounds like it would be fun to try, especially when it's warm out and the trout are deep and you don't want to stress them by having them out of the water to dehook them.

Heck Tim Romano's wife has pictures of him stalking lizards around a pool using hookless flies at a resort down south of the border.

Maybe there is something to be said, definately would gain approval from the animal rights people, but PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals) would object.

Moffitt Angling System... Will it work?

I received a package today from China.... I ordered the Promo-18 fly package from Moffitt Angling (http://www.moffittangling.com/) last week and it arrived yesterday but because they require a signature on International Deliveries, I had to go to the Post Office and sign for it.


So here's what I got....



18 Hookless flies tied on Rubber Loops
5 Threaders with Foam Floats on one end
10 Circle Hooks
1 Hook Removal Tool
and the instructions in a plastic case.

Will it work? It should, but I won't know until later.

A couple of questions came up though....

Seeing the hook catches the mouth on the outside instead of the inside, is it considered snagging? even though the hook is in the outside of the lip?

If you attach multiple of these hookless flies on your leader but have only one hook, is it considered 1 fly or multiple flies?

I didn't get any answers from Moffitt Angling, but I did send them an e-mail stating that on their site it did not say anything about having to sign for the package or the fact that it would be coming from China.

The patterns look easy to tie, and I'm working on a vise system to try and tie some of these flies myself.

Now with that said, if it is considered snagging, and I don't want to do anything harmful like that, then I could just tie on one of the flies on the end of my leader, and go "rolling" (more on that later)

How To Be A Trout Bum Days 7 to 9

OK, Here's the last of the Trout Bum Trip.

The initial plan was to drive to Pittsburg NH, get a campsite, fish for 3 days, catch some trout and salmon, and feel great.

What actually happened was....

The 6+ hour long drive up through some beautiful countryside.... (got to talking over an hour with Bob Donnelly, a Native American Indian who works at the Visitor Center off Route 93N just below the Lakes Region, and who knows a lot about fishing New Hampshire, along with drawing maps of where to fish for the trout and salmon. Really nice fellow to talk to.)

Crossing the 45th Parallel, 1/2 way between the Equator and the North Pole....

Arrived at Lake Francis Campground, got a walk in sites with Electric and Water both nights. Rasonable rates too, $30.00 a night.

Fished the inlet to Lake Francis, helped an elderly gentleman from Connecticut land a nice Salmon.

Fished the Bridge Pool the next morning. Crowded, plus one fellow took a 21" Brook Trout around 11AM, lots of big fish were pulled out that day.




Getting bored due to no fish, I went sight seeing and scouting. Way too many fishermen in a lot of the spots, and the spots without fishermen were without fish.



Did get up to Lopstick Lodge, bought some flies and a guide book. Got some info while I was there.

Went back to my new site, right across from the site I had the night before. Campground was crowded due to start of Memorial Day Weekend.

Went back to Bridge Pool on the way home, then drove up to the Catch and Release between the First and Second Connecticut Lakes. Decided to drive home, fishless, but need to pick up my girlfriend and her daughter at Airport in Rhode Island that Saturday Afternoon.

Meanwhile on the road trip back, I did get stopped at a roadblock at Mile Marker 95 on Route 93, just below Franconia Notch. US Customs and US Border Patrol were checking cars and trucks for illegals and smugglers. They asked if they could look in the camper, I told them not a problem, and the remark by the border agent was "Damn, that's a small bathroom" when he opened the door to the bathroom / closet.

All in all, I loved the trip. It was with downfalls and disappointments, but I did learn a lot of new things and learned where to go for next time. So there may be a future saga of being a Trout Bum... someday.

How To Be A Trout Bum Days 4 to 6

Sorry about the delay, been under the weather since returning from the trip, plus the one fly competition.

So here goes....

Left Indian Hollow, had tick removed, stopped for replacement vent regulator arm and gearbox at Diamond RV, stopped for gas, resupplied the fridge, and made it to the Mohawk State Forest.

Had the best campsite, paved right to the edge of the site, and minimal levelling required.

Also had the Cold River behind the site, some really nice boulder strewn pools of gin clear water.

Not far from the Deerfield River, and the Cold Meets the Deerfield about 1 mile from the campground entrance.

Unfortunately no pics of fish, broke off 3 leaders fishing the turbulence of the Deerfield and Cold River flows meeting. Did raise one fish near the surface, but broke him off. I was bummed. But I did get my Tenkara Rod out for a nice 10" rainbow in the pool behind my camp site on the Cold River. Unfortunately he spit the fly just as I was getting the net out. But the people in the neighboring campsite saw the whole thing, and were surprised there were any trout in the pool.

Two nights in the campground were it for me, I had to preside over the Millers River TU meeting that Wednesday night, then drove home, clean up, resupply, and get some rest.

Next stop Pittsburg NH, home of large Brook Trout, Salmon, and beautiful wilderness.

Recap of the One Fly Competition

OK, here's what happened.....

Woke up late....

Drove 75 miles north to Millers River....

Went up to the Bearsden...

Had the place to myself.....

Tied on Black Wooly Bugger....

Fished for an hour...

Caught nothing...

Went to Lower Catch and Release on the Millers....

Talked with another angler....

Didn't cast anything....

Time ran out.....

Went to cookout at Wagon Wheel Campground....

Dried out waders....

Helped clean up....

Drove to work....

No Fish at all...... :(

Millers River One Fly Competition and Free Fishing Weekend

It's that time again, the first weekend in June, free fishing weekend in MA, where you don't need a license to fish June 6th and 7th.

Also the Millers River TU is holding the One Fly Competition, you can fish one pattern of fly, can't change colors, but you can change size of the fly. Also you can only fish the Millers River only, no tributaries or feeder streams. And the competiton runs from dawn until 12PM, with a cookout and awards at the Wagonwheel Campground in Wendell MA.

Further details, check out www.millersrivertu.org

See you streamside.

Being a Trout Bum Recap Days 1 to 4

How to be a Trout Bum.....

Take one angler...

Add in one truck and camper to make life soo much easier...

Added bonus, my father actually attended Satuday to do some trout fishing! good thing I brought the extra lawn chair and portable awning!

Add in some wonderful campgrounds next to water...

Add in some trout....

And some great fishing action...

And throw in a cookout... even my daughters showed up for the cookout....

And a good old campfire at the end of the day....

This is the life!

Of course there were several mishaps while during the first 4 days....

Limited Cell Service if you have Sprint or AT&T. Verizon and T-mobile don't work at all along the river or campground.

Slipped on rocks in Chesterfield Gorge, got swept downstream by current, soaked cellphone which using for photos, and broke the 4 foot fly rod on Saturday.

Thunderstorms Saturday Night blew out the river, so fishing was really tough, almost non existant on Sunday. Also had the lifting mechanism on the center roof vent of the camper separtate at the gearbox making opening the vent impossible.

Monday at 4Am woke up to find a Deer Tick burrowing in my right leg, packed up quickly and drove to the nearest Emergency Room, 10 miles away on backroads. They removed it, and started me on antibiotics for next couple weeks. Also got vent fixed, $12.00 kit at Diamond RV in Northampton MA. (Right off Route 5 and 10 North)

Coming Soon.... Trip Reports and Pics

OK Folks, I've been overwhelmed with computer issues and going through the mail that piled up while I was gone.

A short recap of my 9 day Trout Bum trip....

Travelled a whole bunch of miles and 4 trips to the gas station...

Fished 5 rivers, the Upper Connecticut, East Branch of the Westfield, Millers, Deerfield, and Cold Rivers...

Soaked my cellphone a couple times...

No Cell Service in half the places I went...

Hooked 6 fish and broke off 5 of them...

Broke 2 fly rods...

And got bit by a Deer Tick possibly carrying Lyme Disease.

So with that, I'll be posting more on the trip later this week...

How to recharge a camper battery if.......

OK I know this definately sounds like a redneck joke.

How to Recharge Your Camper Batteries without spending lots of money on rewiring your truck.

When I bought my GMC, it came through with no tow package, and the nice little pigtail of light duty wires to hook up your standard turn and brake lights through a 4 way connection to the trailer.

What I needed was the hevy duty wiring package which includes brake controls and 12v charging line.

For a large sum of money I could have this, compliments of GM, as they make a replacement harness that plugs into the plug behind the cab over the gas tank. It will give me a 7 way connector for a 5th wheel or camper, and a 7 way for the rear of the truck to tow with.

So being the thrifty person I am (ok, so I'm too cheap to get the harness)

I went to Walmart, home of everything you wouldn't need, but realize you can't live without it.

I found a set of jumper cables 20 feet long. The idea, jump the batteries in the bed of the truck from the alternator to charge the batteries.

So this is what I have to charge when I need electricity in the camper....



12 Volts when the truck is running, charging 2 deep cycle batteries. Only downfall is it only works when stationary, but then again I only draw a few amps a day for lights and the fridge, so I may only need to do this once or twice a trip.

Now I'm off on vacation.... see you streamside.

Fishing the Millers River

I think it went well yesterday, I got my father to head out with me to fish the Millers River for the ever present "stocked" trout.



It was a good day, except for the breeze which was more of a constant 10 to 40 mph wind, and the large grey clouds which turned the temperature down dramatically when they shaded the landscape from the sun.



On the plus side, we caught over 22 fish, all in the 10" to 14" range.



On the down side, I thought my refrigerator was broken, I went to load it in the morning only to find the flame detection meter in the white instead of the green. After spending 5 minutes trying to relight it, I decided to open the cover and see if it was working. It was. Later on I pulled the refrigerator out and there was voltage at the meter, but the meter wasn't moving. So for now I have to open the cover and check the flame manually, not a problem, but makes more work for me.

Trout Stocking on the Millers River

It's Official. Mass Division of Fish and Wildlife will be working with the Miller's River Chapter of Trout Unlimited to stock the Upper Catch and Release section of the Millers' River today at 2PM.

They will be working with Harrison Anglers to float stock a good portion of the river with Brown Trout.

Then on Saturday May 9th, the Upper Millers will get a special Kid's Stocking of Rainbow Trout compliments of the Millers River Fishermens Association.

Looks like I'll be spending time up in the Upper Millers this weekend.

See you streamside.

Indian Hollow Here I come!!

May 15th to the 18th I'll be at one of the states most overlooked almost gin clear waters. If you click on the link below, You'll end up on the MA-RI TU Council Webpage for Indian Hollow:

http://www.ma-ri-tu-council.org/Indian-Hollow.html

This is a once a year event for me, where I see old friends, catch some nice trout and salmon, and just relax. The key to starting a nice vacation.

From the site:

About Annual Indian Hollow Campground Weekend, May 15 - 18, 2009 Annual Council Meeting at 10 AM Saturday, May 16.
Fly fisher men and woman from all over Massachusetts and Rhode island make the yearly Indian Hollow Weekend a must. They all envy our Taconic Chapter being located in the beautiful Berkshires and surrounded by the many fine Trout Streams there. Members of our Chapter will be camping out at Indian Hollow Campground from Friday noon to Monday noon. Camping is free. Come and enjoy it with your friends. A large rental tent is erected in the center of the campground and the Council caters a free Saturday lunch. Marc Hoechstetter, one of our very active members provides the material and builds a huge and I do mean huge bonfire for the Saturday night entertainment.
John Salemi reported 6 fish in 7 casts - although your catch may vary.
The nights are usually cool so bring a jacket for the evening campfire. The river is heavily stocked with good size trout for this event.
Mike Shepard once took a nice Rainbow trout pushing 5 lbs. The following year Dwayne Anderson did the same thing.This is a catch and release river. Other nearby streams are not.
At a large upstream pool you’ll often see beaver in the early evening. Gene Chague watched a moose cross the river one year. Paul Ouellette saw a huge salmon leap in the air below the Rainbow Pool. Bring a few pieces of fire wood if you can. Free fire wood is scarce. The campground has hot showers at the men and women’s toilet facilities.
This is a fine chance to commune with nature and your fellow TU members.
For those of you who like Google Maps, Click here for more info.
Read more about Indian Hollow at the Taconic May 2006 Newsletter
Basic Directions:
In the center of Chesterfield on Route 143 is the Town Hall, a large white columned building. Next to it is South Street.Turn (south) on South Street and follow it to the TU signs for 2.3 miles to Indian Hollow Road. This is a dirt road which leads down to the campground, a fly fisher’s Shangri-la there on the Westfield River.

This is the beginning of my annual fly fishing vacation, where it ends, no one really knows.

Loop rod techniques gone Tenkara?

I was reading the Field and Stream Fly Talk Blog the other day when I came across a posting about Tenkara.

What the heck is Tenkara?

Well if you click on the link:

http://www.tenkarausa.com/index.php

You'll come to their webpage, describing an old Japanese fishing technique, which turns out is similar to what I've been doing with the loop rod, and the old timers have been doing with the old cane poles down south. (Only thing is that the boys down south use bait on a hook, not flies)

Tenkara uses a 11 to 13 foot telescopic rod and only 12 to 14 feet of line. Not anything long distance, unlike the Compleate Angler which "caste a lyne of 15 to 18 yards" makes long range work sort of a thing of the past. Of course my daughters were fishing the Kids Fishing Derby and casting only 10 to 15 feet from shore using spinning rods, bobbers and 3 to 4 feet of line under the bobber to a nightcrawler on a hook. They know that the trout run close to shore, so why cast out so far?

If you read The Fly Fisher's Craft, then you are familiar with the loop rod and long braided horse hair lines, furled leaders, and many different flies.

The nice part is they simplify the casting in pictures:

Photo Courtesy of Tenkara USA

And Simplify how to land the fish:

Photo Courtesy of Tenkara USA

Another technique, maybe it will catch on. I'll keep you posted and let you know how Tenkara works for me.

Orange Gun Club Kid's Fishing Derby

On the First Sunday in May the Orange Gun Club in Orange MA, hosts the Kids Fishing Derby. This is open to all kids from age 0 to age 14.

My daughters have attended this 6 years strait. Cassandra took the trophy this year, knocking her sister out of contention for it with 30 minutes to go in the derby.

Of course Holly had the first fish recorded and the largest for her age group for the first 90 minutes of the derby. The nice part was that her first fish was a tagged 11 7/8" Rainbow, so she got a special prize for the tag.

And here's Holly holding up her 11 7/8" rainbow and her sister's trophy fish, a 12 7/8" rainbow.

Way to go girls!

Field and Stream losing the Huntress!

I checked into the Field and Stream Huntress Blog only to find out that "due to budget constraints, Field and Stream is no longer going to run the FSHuntress blog after April 30th"

This is very heartbreaking.

Kim Hiss started the blog back in 2007, and has had a rather large following. She is very talented with her writing in the blog and her articles.

But unfortunately the big wigs at Field and Stream decided to axe the blog.

It is an extremely sad day in the world of hunting

Good Luck with your future endeavors Kim.

April was a tough month.....

Howdy all, I'm back after a really rough month. April was the roughest month of all months.

First I got my new bow, a Ragim Wildcat 24# 68" takedown recurve. Shoots well, I just need lots of practice.

My Radio from Yaesu was finally repaired a second time. The first time it was "supposedly" repaired, yet on the return trip they found more problems with the repair from the first time around.

On April 14th, I crushed the last 2 fingers on my left hand while repairing a garage door at work. I spent more time doing paperwork and safety training than I spent at the emergency room that night.

And I caught a flu bug, no not the H1N1 Swine Flu ( If I was ever so lucky) but I have been fighting it for 2 weeks, and spent a few days home from work because of it.

But on the plus side, I've been reading, surfing the web, working, and getting ready for Indian Hollow Weekend and the start of my vacation.

More on the Orange Gun Club Kids Fishing Derby, Trout Stocking, Indian Hollow, and the Millers River One Fly Competition coming soon.....

The Loop Rod, A modern day version

I started on this a few weeks ago, when I read the Fly Fishers Craft. The concept is as old as Dame Julianna and Sir Isaac Walton. Using a rod of fair length and limberness, with a line of 15 yards and a leader of 9 feet, with one or more flies, one could catch fish. Now with that said, the old rods were made of different species of wood, one being lancewood, which I haven't the feintest idea of where to get some of that. Also I don't know much about braiding horsehair or silk for fly lines, so I'm still learning about this and turning this into a modern day project to kill some time and relive the old days of fishing. With that I opted for modern day materials, Fiberglass, Cork, Rubber, to create my own version of the Loop Rod.




Behold the Loop Rod, ready to go out on the town, it's line hanging from the switch, by the door, ready to go. Just add a leader, flies, and some trout waters for a day of fun. Notice the cane or walking stick shape, sort of hides the fact that I am going to go fishing, but the unsuspecting may think I'm out for a stroll with a new hiking or walking stick.

Here's more of the modern day Loop rod, not to be confused with LOOP Rods. (More on them later)



The butt, a rubber doorknob style cap press fit over the cork tape grip.



The other end of the cork tape grip, not pretty yet, but taped until I can figure out what I want to do about a decorative wrap, if any. Maybe I'll just shrink tube the end, as a possibility.



Another Doorknob Style Rubber End Cap, press fit over the telescopic rod end.



Once removed, the rod pieces can be pulled out and friction held in place to give the rod a length of 9 feet. Notice the metal rod tip, a small loop inwhich to tie or handshake connect the loop from the line.



And what shall we use for a line, well they used horse hair for fly lines with braided loops in the ends. I don't have the patience to braid horse hairs or make loops. So I turn to Cortland.

Slip the loops on the 15 yard fly line, (Cortland 5DT Floating) and go out and enjoy. Just attach a leader to one end, and the other loop to the rod tip. Casting is more of a roll cast or spey style cast, not too much overhead double hauling casts on this one.

Scouting New Places

I decided to take a little side trip on the way in to work. This had to be one of the best days in March, slight breeze, sunny, and in the 60's.

Hit the A1 Site pond in Westborough MA

Nice place, unfortunately you need to portage the canoe in to get to the water.

And the trees and stumps make navagation by boat really tough.

But it's fun to watch the Purple Line of the MBTA cruise by headed to Boston.

Too bad I had to go to work, I could have stayed out here all day.

One note, if you do drive down to the water's edge, beware that you need either a good ammount of speed or 4 Wheel Drive to get out around the ruts, the boulders, and the trees before you hit the pavement.

Slight Disapointments....

Here's a condensed version of my latest disapointment.

I ordered a Rifle It / Shelf It overhead shelf for the GMC a month ago from Cabelas.

It came in Tuesday.

I tried to install it late Tuesday Night.

Nothing lined up perfectly, except for the sun visors....

They were right at my eye level and couldn't see the road without looking below the sun visor.

Needless to say, the pictures in the catalog are deceiving, the shelf sat down 3" below the top of the windshield....

Back in the box... Looks like another road trip to Cabelas.

The New Canoe

I decided that this year I needed to get into the remote areas a little better. So I went out and bought a 12' Radisson Canoe from Pelletiers Sporting Goods in Jaffrey NH. I was thinking of a longer canoe, but at 34 lbs, you can't beat it for carrying it across fields and through the woods.

And of course if you get a new canoe, what's next.... The maiden voyage.

From the shore of Jenks Reservoir, Bellingham MA.

"It handled beautifully in the wind, tracked straight, and stayed afloat even when I switched to the rear seat" (big mistake....almost swamped the stern)