Did you know that fly fishing is one of the most relaxing sports around? Casting a line into a calm stream can be said to be one of life’s greatest pleasures. Fly fisherman can seem a bit fanatic in their quest for the perfect river and the perfect spot to spend the day looking for a good catch. I’ve done a little research into the world of fly fishing vacations and have come up with the three tips that can turn your next fly fishing trip into an experience to remember.

1)Consider lesser known fly fishing spots. Did you know that there is absolutely incredible fly fishing available in a lot of states that wouldn’t seem obvious at first glance? There sure is. One such spot is Montana. True pros know that Montana has a ton of incredible fly fishing spots and that you only really need to find one to make your vacation incredible. During the summer, Montana and Wyoming can become very crowded with tourists looking to visit the stunning national parks. However, these 1 week tourists might not be overly interested in visiting the secluded lakes and streams that you might love to fish in Montana.

2)Compare online deals. Orbitz and Expedia can offer some really good deals on package vacations. However, sometimes it’s best to check out discount airlines for really good deals. Southwest and JetBlue have become extremely popular airline options and they cover a good part of the US now. Booking separate hotel and (a discount) airfare might be a great option if you want to save some bucks. You should spend your money on fly fishing gear, not overpriced transportation and accommodation.

3)Canada. This is the most important tip (and overlooked destination) of all. There is nothing quite as good as saving some money during the exchange rate process. Canada is just over the border and has an absolute bounty of natural resources. Lakes, ponds, and streams team with fish. This country is a fly fisherman’s dream come true. There are tons of places that will gladly book you in for a fly fishing vacation.

Linda Harrison is author of Fly Fishing Canada - A Reel Good Time.” Grab your copy at http://www.zippysflyfishing.com

As the surface of the water explodes, adrenaline shoots through your body. Your muscles lock you into position for a fight against whatever has just smashed your top water plug. No doubt about it, you’re in for a scrap. You sweat, ache, curse and pray you’ll get the fish into the boat. Your heart pounds as you wonder, “Will my knots hold? Did I set the hooks deep enough? Will everything hold together long enough for me to get this fish in?” The eventual catch is made all the sweeter by one outstanding fact - YOU hand crafted this plug yourself. It was you who dreamed it, whittled it, sanded it, painted it, and fabricated its every facet. Now you have your dividends in spades. There’s a fish on. But first, let’s hand craft a minnow-imitation, Rapala type lure.

Hand Crafting a Lure

To hand craft wooden top water fishing plugs requires minimal equipment. Here’s what you basically need:

• 5″ long Wooden plug blanks, sawed off from an old broom or mop handle You can also use wooden dowel stock

• A whittling knife or a box-cutter with break-off blades

• Small cans of white, red, yellow and blue enamel paint to color the lure

• Two Plastic doll eyes for each lure (the kind where the black eye part moves around)

• 3 or 4 Long-threaded screw eyes in brass or stainless to attach hooks and leaders

• A small spool of red or white sewing thread for wrapping on buck tails

• 3 or 4 number 5, 6 or 7 stainless steel split rings to attach hooks and leaders

• Barrel swivels to help prevent line twist above the leader

• A few 3″ to 4″ square pieces of medium to fine sandpaper to finish the lure surface

• 4″ lengths of nylon ribbon or nylon rope to make the buck tail

• A tube of Super glue to cement in the screw eyes into the plug body

• Rubber cement to seal the thread wrapping of the buck tail

• A little love, patience and a sense of pride to add to the patina of your work

Lure Assembly Procedure

The procedure is simply to whittle down the wooden plug into a minnow-like shape, then sand the plug body to a smooth finish. Screw in the screw eyes, back them out, fill the holes with super glue then immediately screw them back in. You’ll need one screw eye in the head, one in the belly and a tail screw eye. Paint the lure with a color pattern of your choice. The lure assembly should thoroughly dry for at least a day in good sun. You want solvent odors and residue gone completely.

Make big, bug-eyed lures

Attach lure eyes with super glue. Use the largest doll eyes that you can for the lure size. Yes, the bigger, the better. They drive the fish nuts, so you want a big-eyed lure. Attach hooks to belly and tail screw eyes using split rings. Wrap a buck tail on to the tail hook shank using the sewing thread. I like red thread with a white buck tail. Coat the thread with rubber cement to seal it. Use a fine comb to “comb out” the buck tail so it’s nice and fluffy. It should be just a bit longer than the hook. I use a moustache comb and small scissors to trim it up just so.

Attaching Terminal Tackle

Clip or tie on your leader or leader material. For strictly salt water use, I always use stainless steel wire leaders which are wrapped or double-looped and hand-tied on. The lure assembly should thoroughly dry for at least a day in good sun. You want solvent odors and residue gone before its baptism in seawater.

The final step is to test your lure by trolling it a moderate speed about thirty yards behind your boat. Just be ready for an explosive strike. Then, as the surface of the water explodes …

Prof Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. He lives in Cali, Colombia, fishes the South American Pacific coast, Amazon and Orinoco River basins for exotic salt water and fresh water game and food fish. For no-obligation information on how to get original, exclusive Exotic fishing stories, fishing technique articles, fishing-action photography and one-of-a-kind content for your fishing-related newsletter, blog or website contact him today at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com for a free, action photo-packed, South American fishing adventure article.

Fish finder

Imagine you’re sitting out there on your fishing boat, you whip out a cool gadget you just bought from the Internet and after a couple of beeps, the device tells you that there is a school of fish some 3 meters or so away from you. Now, how cool can that be? It’s almost like an ultrasound scan of the sea or the lake that tells you exactly where the fish are.

But of course, this is not news because many different companies have developed their own ultrasound-like fish finding gadgets a long time ago. But Maptech’s new i3 module is the first of its kind. It’s the first ever touch screen, hi-resolution 3D Fishfinger. Yes, you can literally see the kind of fish that’s swimming around under your boat, in super clear images and in real time.

The i3 Touch Screen command on the fishing gadget can help you navigate the floor of the lake or sea with a radar, combine it with satellite communication and a weather report too.

This is an absolutely MUST for those who seriously looking into easy-fishing.

Monofilament fishing lines

There’s absolutely nothing worse than to have a fish on the hook and have the line snap! Well, no more snapping of fishing line with the latest development in monofilament fishing lines. Monofilament fishing lines come in a wide range of colors, sizes, thickness and strength. Although it’s stronger than some of the other more conventional fishing lines, they are cheaper. Monofilament fishing lines comes with special coating that keeps them from snapping easily. The only thing is that they don’t stretch as good as other types of fishing lines but they make up for it with their bulk and strength.

Monofilament fishing lines are also quite transparent over the water and hold knots pretty well.

Fashion is always cool too

Sometimes, cool has nothing to do with technology. It’s got more to do with the brain and ‘creativity’. If your husband, brother, or father is a fishing fanatic, you can always get them fashionable fishing gear with extra pockets to place their scissors and hooks. Perhaps the water-proof raincoat with fluorescent streak for night fishing, perhaps. And how about the water-proof watch? That’ll work perfectly. And how about an X-LOOP flash mirror polarized lens? Sunglasses for baking in the sun and raincoat for fishing in the rain are exceptionally cool gears we cannot ignore.

Let’s take the sunglasses as an example. The sunglasses not only remove the glare and improve the quality of what you see with your naked eye, you see the same scene in deep colors and contrasts. These sunglasses are developed specifically for fishing enthusiasts.

Dylan Miles, journalist, and website builder, lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.fishingcreek.info on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.