Quick now, what makes the biggest racket beneath the ice-a hand augur, a power augur or a metal spud?
TV angler Tony Dean had a diver sit beneath the ice in a Minnesota lake to uncover the answer.
”There was no question,” Dean said over lunch the other day. ”The spud produced unbelievable shock waves.”
Dean explained that ice largely cushions sound. Noise from hand and power augurs was modest and about the same. ”Our diver felt nothing until he swam up and touched the ice and felt the vibrations,” Dean said.
Still to be determined is whether hand spuds drive away fish or attact them. Arguments can be made for either case.
Dean`s underwater experiments advise caution in dropping an anchor.
”When you throw an anchor into a clear lake, the silt cloud resembles an explosion,” he said. ”It can take 20 minutes for water to become clear again.”
– Remember those infamous Meals-Ready-to-Eat from Operation Desert Storm?
Well, they`ll soon be in the camping stores, marketed as Bright Path wilderness food at $4 an entree. Surprisingly, they aren`t bad at all. The barbecued pork was a hit at the recent American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association trade show. ”The problem in Saudi Arabia was the military distribution system,” said Thomas Cavano of Flexpac Foods, the manufacturer. ”If all you had was the same meal three times a day for five or six days, you`d hate it, too.”
– Slowly but surely, products are being developed to assist the handicapped outdoorsman. But not quickly enough, says ex-Chicagoan Judy Pachner, who publishes a catalog for the disabled in California. Pachner has a lengthy
”want” list for inventors, including: a spring-loaded or battery-operated device that can cast a fishing line, a wheelchair flotation system, something to allow a quadriplegic to row a raft or canoe, a wheelchair fishing-rod holder with a quick release and 180-degree pivot up and down and sideways, an easy-access rod and reel storage case for wheelchairs, a similar bait and tackle storage container, a portable wheelchair lift for boat loadings, a universal rifle or shotgun rest that pivots up and down and sideways, and a freshwater electric reel with enough power to pull fish without pumping the rod.
”It`s especially hard to develop needed equipment because the market is small and the costs are high,” Pachner said. ”For example, we have a request from a man who only can blink his eyes. He wants a computer device that will lift him into his pontoon boat and cast and reel for him by reading the blinks of his eyes.” For Pachner`s catalog, send $1 to 13 Via Di Nola, Laguna Beach, Calif., 92677.
– When Berkley Inc. introduced a forthcoming line of ”Roughneck” rods that apparently withstands the crushing tires of a pickup truck, wags insisted it should be tabbed the ”Ron Lindner Model.” No one is harder on gear than the Chicago-bred publisher of In-Fisherman magazine. He smashes rods just by getting into a boat.
– Notes from the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association trade show: Chicago`s Cullerton Co. was honored as tackle rep of the year by Plano Molding Co. for outstanding sportfishing promotion as well as community service. . . .Kudos to Chicago`s South Bend Tackle Co. for a bold and forward-looking catalog that depicts blacks, Hispanics and Asians as well as whites. No other tackle company has made such a nod to the overlooked urban fishing market. . . .After some public and private nudging, Barrington-based AFTMA is beginning to promote urban fisheries in a bigger way. A large supply of excellent teaching and student manuals is available to schools. They not only are worthy primers on fishing, but focus on ethical angling as well as the angler`s responsibility to the environment. . . .”Fishing Facts”
magazine has unveiled a spiffy new layout that lifts it into the Sports Illustrated visual category. . . .Watch for several line brands to follow
”Silver Thread” into the copycat world of ultra-thin. But don`t forget the breaking strength of thinner lines does not make them impervious to abrasion. In fact, thinner lines can wear more quickly.
– Bowing to the public`s repudiation of certain toxic chemicals, Tender Corp. of Littleton, N.H., has produced a ”Deetless” insect repellent with 10 percent citronella. ”We found that 35 percent of the market was not using anything to stop insects because they didn`t like the smell and oiliness of Deet,” said spokesman Boyd Rush. The product, called Natrapel, is targeted for children and adults who are leery of absorbing large doses of plastic-melting Deet. The mild citronella should be effective in 75 percent of outdoor circumstances, Rush said, and should last 1 1/2 hours. But for clouds of marsh and Canadian bugs, Deet remains the ticket. Tender also will offer sticks of Ben`s Outdoor Medic, an antiseptic, anesthetic treatment for minor campsite scrapes and burns modeled after tubes of ”After Bite.”
– Ripoffs: At least 12 firms have unveiled products that baldly imitate the revolutionary Slug-Go plastic worm, the hottest new topwater bait in bassdom. The tailless worm comes in 4 1/2- and 6-inch sizes, plus an assortment of colors. Slug-Go executives promise an avalanche of patent-infringement lawsuits. . . .Also heavily imitated this fall will be Fuzz-E-Grubs and J-Plugs.
