Comal White Water or More Blue Green
May 23, 2007
White Water on the Comal river in Central Texas is more of of toobers paradise than a rafter or kayaker’s dreamland, but for a fun and relaxing family adventure I highly recommend the trip. For the second time in the last two years my family and I spent a few days partaking of fun, water and sun in and around New Braunfels, Texas on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers. Day one was spent on the Comal floating gently down the lazy 72 degree water from Prince Solms Park to the Rockin R take out. I have always rented tubes from Rockin R for as long as I can remember Rockin R claims to have been established in 1979, so maybe that first time I went to Camp Warneke it wasn’t called Rockin R, but it sure seems it was on the same corner. Though Camp Warneke is no longer, the signs along the river still point to a simpler time when multi-million dollar water parks didn’t dominate the landscape of New Braunfels.
Swordfishing Fort lauderdale Style
May 22, 2007
I was laying down on the bow of the boat gazing at the brilliant stars on this moonless night. All of the rods were set out, staggered by depths and distance away from the boat. As we all were enjoying ourselves on this night away from the anxieties of life, we listened to the clickers make there familiar tunes as the waves picked us up and put us back down. I prefer to keep to keep the drags loose, clickers on and then tighten up after the strike. All of the rods sounded alike going click,— click,— click… I got up from the bow and said, "something don’t sound right". One of the rods was going a bit faster, click, click, click. It was like a shark bite, steady and slow. I ran over to the rod and put the drag lever in the strike position and waited for the fishes turn. Within a few seconds the rod tip bent over, and I yelled "We got one!" I cranked hard and fast and then the rod really doubled over but this fish still didn’t take any drag. I don’t think the fish knew there was a hook set in him. I tried to crank some more but the spool stood still with the rod bent over. Within a split second we got the reaction of a lifetime. The drag started slipping like we hooked on to a locomotive and would not stop. It seemed to go on forever as the line quickly disappeared off the Penn 80 TW, it looked like we were going to get spooled. We were fishing in about 1,400 feet of water and it looked like we had about that much line out. With less than half the line left the heated drag started slowing down. Now it was our turn. "The bent butt rod stays in the rod holder" I said to the rod man, "just crank the best you can and keep that rod tip bent at all times keeping consistent pressure on the fish". We were able to get about 3 quarters of the spool back when our fish decided to make another locomotive run. This fish took what he wanted, when he wanted. We were in for a big battle. Paying close attention is crucial during this fight, because pressure has to be kept on this fish 100 % of the time. Three people are on this boat and we each got about 5 turns to crank this baby in as we could only last no more than 15 minutes each. Over three hours later then I stuck a large flying gaff into a Broadbill Swordfish estimated over 300 lbs. This is what world class Sword fishing is all about.
Ireland Golf Vacations ? Top Tips To Help You Plan an Ireland Golf Vacation
May 21, 2007
Live your golfing dreams on an Ireland golf vacation.
The K Club, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Doonbeg, Druids Glen? the names of the courses may not trip off the tongue quite as easily as those of their Scottish cousins but the quality is just as high. An Ireland golf vacation will introduce you to some of the grandest, most charming, most testing and most mystical golf courses in the world. You’ll return home with your putter coated in magic and with memories to fill after dinner tales for decades to come.
An Ireland golf vacation is special ? unique even ? don’t miss the chance to come.
There is no finer place to play golf in the whole world than in Ireland. You might yearn to feel the Atlantic breeze tugging at your sweater as you wend your way between the high sand dunes on a coastal links. Or you may prefer the lush and rich emerald green of an inland pasture studded with silver bunkers and flower banks. All of this and more is here for you if you care to venture on an Ireland golf vacation.
Reviving Billfish
May 20, 2007
Last summer we had an unfortunate incident with a swordfish we brought to the boat.
It was about 8:30pm and we had been set up for about 45minutes when we had our first bite, the second balloon at 150′ baited with a dead squid started to scream. My brother Rocky was on the rod and the instant he pushed the drag up to strike, which on our rods is set at 25-30lbs of drag, the fish stopped and Rocky cranked the fish in effortlessly. Less then five minutes later we had a small swordfish boat side. We couldn’t see the hook and since this fish was brought to the boat so quickly we didn’t want to put this green fish through any trauma. Rocky handed me the pliers and I clipped the leader as close to the swordfish’s mouth as possible. The swordfish kicked away and seemed to be fine, then less then a minute later on the other side of the boat we spotted the swordfish belly up. We pulled in the drift anchor and moved the boat to the swordfish. Rocky grabbed its bill and brought it along boat side. I put one engine in gear and Rocky held the fish’s bill underwater in the hopes of reviving this small swordfish. After a minute or so of attempted reviving, the swordfish just became even more copper colored, stiff and lifeless. We realized there was no hope of reviving this fish so we brought him in the boat. Once he was in the boat we inspected the fish and the hook which we decided to cut was just a little bit inside the corner of its mouth and not bleeding what so ever. Since this fish was brought to the boat in minutes and received no trauma from the fight or from us upon release made us believe that this fish must have had heart failure.
Top Five African Safari Destinations
May 20, 2007
Any vacations in Africa will not be complete without going on a safari to experience the wild animals and the peace and tranquillity of the bushveld.
But there are literally hundreds of national parks and wildlife areas in Africa that you can travel to. And some are definitely better than others when it comes to providing the potential for a great safari holiday.
In my experience, and in the general consensus of the wildlife tour industry and other sources such as the first hand accounts of safari trips in the travel diaries at African Safari Journals, here are the top five safari vacations in Africa:
1. Tanzania - Serengeti
During the annual migration, when the wildebeest and zebra pack up and leave their grazing areas to find fresher ones, the Serengeti is an astonishing place to be.
It’s a very good safari vacations in Africa destination at other times of the year too but the migration has been ranked by many as one of the wonders of the natural world.
Hard to beat in the safari stakes.
2. Kenya - Masai Mara
Swordfishing in South Florida
May 19, 2007
Southeast Florida Swordfishing ? "Purple Fever"
Once you have your tackle ready to go, let us describe a typical drift out in South Florida’s Gulf Stream. We are basing this drift using 4 lines. Some of your center console fisherman may be able to fish 5 or even 6 rods, but we believe 4 rods is sufficient and will cover the fathoms needed to catch that broadbill you have dreamed of. Swordfishing off the southeast coast of Florida has really taken a turn for the better. We are experiencing a fish size of 75-100lb on average. Although we are deemed to be the breeding grounds and anglers routinely catch "Pups", we have our share of three-hundred pound plus fish move through. November thru January is usually some of our best months, as the water temperature is cooler. But with all good comes some bad. The seas are usually much rougher this time of year. In the summer time, we don’t see as much action, but we still get our share. This is a year-round fishery and will be around for a long time as long as we don’t abuse it. We ask that you please report you fish! Please report your catches and releases. We know you are not required to report a release, but by reporting that we are routinely catching the numbers, lessens the chances of commercial fisherman entering our waters. We cannot stress enough how important it is to report our catch.
The Cast of Culture in South Africa
May 18, 2007
Drive along one of South Africa’s scenic strips and you will notice a landscape composed of a backdrop of wide open spaces, blue mountains and blood-red sunsets. These scenes abound, but given the nature of the culture in South Africa, your attention could swiftly switch to a small boy gallantly escorting herds of cattle, end to end, over a rainbow-like walkway crossing one of the largest and busiest highways in South Africa. Culture makes Africa special and aside from beautiful landscapes, this kind of exuberant and contrasting culture in South Africa is what you really should experience.
Imagine this scenario for a moment: You are hopelessly stranded deep inside the African interior, without a spare tyre and waiting for help. You prepare to flag down the first car that passes by. "When will that be?" you think to yourself. Time wears on. You picture yourself dragging your dehydrated self over the many kilometres of parched semi-arid terrain towards the nearest town, while hordes of hungry vultures looming overhead contemplate you for lunch.
Marine News Fall 2004 - Endangered and Threatened in Florida
May 17, 2007
Our oceans are home to many marine mammals, fish, turtles, corals and others. The delicate balance between man and the ocean is constantly being challenged by the demands of our society. Most of our planet is covered by water, a necessary ingredient of human life. The state of our oceans should be uppermost in our minds in order for quality of life for all species to remain as it is.
Florida’s West Indiana Manatee-What is Killing Them? The top manatee story after the recent hurricanes was in Lee County where residents rescued a manatee that was the victim of Hurricane Charley’s storm surge. The stunned and tired manatee was splashed onto Pearl Street after the storm surge receded. This was one manatee that did not have to be included in the mortality numbers this year.
The manatees killed this year are divided into categories by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. 1/1/04 - 9/30/04 numbers: Watercraft-60, Flood Gates-1, Other human-4, Perinatal-65, Cold-36, Natural-20, Undetermined-43, Unrecovered-2 for a total of 231.
According to the February 2004 count of manatees in Florida by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission there were only 2568 manatees remaining in Florida.
A Hiking Guide to Easter Island
May 16, 2007
Ask me which Pacific island has the most to offer hikers and I’ll probably answer Easter Island. Here on an island 11 km wide and 23 km long you’ll find nearly a thousand ancient Polynesian statues strewn along a powerfully beautiful coastline or littering the slopes of an extinct volcano.
The legends of Easter Island have been recounted many times. What’s less known is that the island’s assorted wonders are easily accessible on foot from the comfort of the only settlement, Hanga Roa. Before setting out see the sights, however, visit the excellent archaeological museum next to Ahu Tahai on the north side of town (the term “ahu” refers to an ancient stone platform). Aside from the exhibits, the museum has maps which can help you plan your trip. On online map is available at http://www.mapsouthpacific.com/easter_island/
Fishing for Salmon? Do You Know the Different Salmon Species?
May 15, 2007
Did you know that there are five species of Pacific salmon and one species of Atlantic salmon? Further, did you know that all 5 species of Pacific salmon run wild in Alaska?
We’re proud of our wild salmon here in Alaska, and rightly so. On the one hand the wild salmon are great sport fish and we Alaskans love to spend gorgeous summer weekends challenging them.
On the other hand our commercial fisheries are healthy and self-sustaining. They are able to catch enough wild salmon to satisfy most of the world wide demand for fresh wild fillets in the restaurants and packaged wild salmon on grocery store shelves.
King Salmon
The Chinook salmon is nicknamed king salmon in Alaska. It is the official Alaska state fish.
Description
Of all the Pacific salmon the king is the largest. A 97-pound king was caught by a sport fisherman in 1986 on the Kenai River. In 1949 a 126 pound king was caught commercially near Petersburg, Alaska. Typically king salmon weigh 30 pounds and above.
The king is lightly and irregularly spotted on their blue-green back. They also have a black pigment along their gum line. Spawning kings in fresh water range in color from red to copper to almost black.
