Fishing in the
winter and especially active fishing is not fun when your fingers are frozen.
You can feel your line, can’t tie a lure on, and its just miserable. What is
worse is constantly having to take gloves on and off that are wet. Most winter
gloves for fishing don’t really help.
What sold me on
these gloves was the waterproof and wind blocking features. Most importantly it
was the addition of the hand warmer pocket that really sold me. I will admit
they don’t keep your finger tips hot, but it makes fishing bearable in the fridged
temps that face us in the winter.
Check out the link to purchase these great gloves for winter fishing.
The Simms Guide Windbloc Half-Finger Mitt keeps
your hands warm while providing much needed finger dexterity with this half
finger style glove. The glove itself is 100% windproof thanks to Simms Windbloc
material. A heat pocket found in the wrist area allows the insertion of a heat
pack to apply heat directly to the area where your maximum blood flow to your
hands. Simms is always on the forefront of providing gear for the dedicated
angler and these gloves are no different.
WHY YOU SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS ROD & REEL COMPANY NOW!
This post is not sponsored or solicited by Sixgill. The National Angler has no affliation with Sixgill Fishing.
Most companies in the fishing industry are very big and feeling part of their family is hard, but that is something today’s anglers are wanting. In the past only, the biggest names were part of a pro-staff, today’s company’s like National Pro Staff bring those companies to you. This was my first introduction to working with a company and feeling like you are apart of something. For me personally, that has passed and the whole pro-staff thing just isn’t for me. However, I still wanted to feel like I was a part of something and provide input on the gear I want.
I recently found that company in Sixgill Fishing and they are growing extremely fast and offer an opportunity that not one other company in the industry offers. Sixgill really has figured it out, they offer that experience that I was looking for and they provide value and that is #1 for me. One other thing that makes Sixgill different is the marketing strategy. Sixgill is direct to consumer and that means they cut out the middlemen and sell from Sixgill to the consumer. There is a bad part for this strategy, you can only buy Sixgill products from them. You will not find these products in stores and therefore you won’t be able to try them out. The up side to the strategy, you get great prices and steep discounts on great gear.
So, what really makes Sixgill great, simple its the value they provide. Go on Facebook and join the Sixgill Fishing page and see for yourself. I will provide the link at the bottom of this article. In this group, you will find the value. First, you get direct access to the President of Sixgill Mr. Justin Geisel and he is not shy about his love for Sixgill. How many company Presidents regularly interact with their clients, none! To me, this is a big deal to have him so close to his customers. The customers have a direct impact on all new products and pricing sold by Sixgill. He is constantly asking for input on specs and pricing. Again, you won’t find that anywhere.
Price and quality are the other part of the value that Sixgill brings to the table. Let’s go back to the sales strategy, direct to the customer. This allows Sixgill to steeply discount products and have great sales and incentives. Let me tell you, they run sales that are really hard to passup. You will find BOGO’s, 50% off, 30% off, etc., but the one big sale that got me hooked was the Deposit Program. Products that are just being designed and intended to be released the following year are offered up for early sale to gauge interest. You will get an even steeper discount for your up-front deposit of about 25% and save up to 75% off retail. I recently received a rod from the deposit program that will retail at $389, I paid $45 deposit and $90 at delivery. That is a great program and you won’t find that anywhere else.
Quality is the next piece to the value you will find with Sixgill. First, I have never really seen the testing that goes into selecting rods and blanks that are being used. Justin will routinely post videos of the factory stress testing the blanks. I have my hands now on several of the rods and reels from Sixgill and let me tell you the quality is superb. It exceeds other companies and really rivals some of the biggest names in the industry.
Community is the last piece of the value that Sixgill brings to the table. If you want to be part of something this is the company to get involved with. Just the other night one of the employees went live on Facebook. I heard an important term mentioned over and over again. Bart Gore, kept mentioning that Sixgill is a family, and I believe that. Again, head over to the Sixgill Fishing Facebook group and find out for yourself just how good Sixgill really is, you won’t be disappointed.
The most sought-after swimbait rods on social media are lightweight and under $200, which is almost impossible to find unless you have a custom rod made. The Cabela’s Predator Musky Rod is just that rod, it’s now $129 and weighs in at 10oz. You would be hard-pressed to find a comparable rod at this price.
I won’t bore you with all the technical details, just the ones important to me.
1. Price: You can’t beat a big bait rod for under $200, and this one just had a price drop to $129 and they go on sale frequently. I got my first one for $129 and my second $99.
2. Weight: This rod only weighs in at 10oz. Combined with my Ardent Apex Magnum at 8oz, that an 18oz combo. The closet combo to that was nearly 800 dollars. It was a high-end JDM rod and reel.
3. Comfort: This goes along with the weight of the rod, but the grips are great. Most models have 100% Winn Grips, while one has half rubber and half Winn.
4. Action: Wide range of typical stout H through XXH, but they have one rod that is XH with a Moderate Action. This rod is perfect for big baits with treble hooks with its parabolic bend. Same idea bass guys have for their crankbait rods.
Conclusion: This is my new and go-to big bait rod for swimbaits, while I’m also going to start to target Muskie’s as well. Again, you can’t beat the price. Let me know what you think as well. As always, if you have questions, ask below!
Semper Fish!
I’ve always been looking for the best deal on batteries for my boats and I’ve actually been faithful to one battery since my first one. Wal-Mart deep cycle batteries are always affordable, available with great warranties. We all know how easy it is to return something to Wal-Mart so that always helps.
These three particular batteries were bought back in the summer of 2013 and used heavily. I fish trolling motor only lakes predominantly and thus the need for three. I can burn through all three with two trolling motors in about 8 hours of fishing on these lakes.
At the time of this review, I’ve had these batteries almost 4 years and used them heavily. Here is the part I’m not proud of, but glad you can see the quality of these batteries due to my abuse. Now, I could get even more time out of them had I followed proper guide lines for maintenance. But…..things happen.
I left these batteries in the back of my truck during cold and scorching days, and they repeatedly were tossed and bumped around for weeks at a time. Let’s just say, these batteries took a beating. I drained these batteries beyond use on so many occasions I could never keep track of. I consistently brought them home and never charged them until days or the day before a fishing trip.
I did absolutely everything you are not supposed to do to a battery and these batteries have lasted over four years and should go to year five.
If you are in the market for a reasonably priced battery that will last, the Wal-Mart EverStart deep cycle batteries are a great choice. If they can take the abuse I subjected them to and on trolling motor only lakes they will work on any boat.
Please comment and below and let me know your impression and questions.
Thanks to some good help I have realized that I’ve left out good info and stuck to too much of the basics just like the details on the Amazon site. While I’ve used it I’m still experimenting with the fishfinder. So with that, I will say the following. My only complaint is the noise. My first time out I pulled up to a bridge where some guys were catching catfish. I cast it out and the cats stopped biting. About 15min went by and they began again. The guy said something to me “hey since you showed up, they stopped biting…” They started catching again, so I asked if I could experiment. Well, the noise definitely had an impact on fish in shallow water.
Also a big shoutout to my new friends at the Facebook Group “Texas Crappie Fishing”
Semper Fish
Joe
This fishing review covers the Deeper portable fish finder geared specifically towards shore anglers. A majority of the cast-able fish finders are sold on Amazon, and the Deeper with the highest cost also came in with the highest reviews and most capabilities. The Deeper can be used on a fishing pole, through a hole in the ice, mounted to a small boat or kayak. It operates on a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone which saves on battery time. You can also charge it with a micro-USB adapter, which happens to be the same charger for my smartphone. Overall this fish finder has some great options and I look forward to getting to use it. I will be doing more reviews covering specific functions of the Deeper.
If you are on the hunt for a fish finder like this, I highly recommend the Deeper and you can purchase it on Amazon. Click on the image below and check out the reviews to see the almost 5 stars.
PROS: Multiple uses from shore, ice, and small crafts. Bluetooth saves battery life of device and phone. Convenient charging. Mapping feature which is usually found on very expensive fish finders. Excellent phone app.
CONS: Sonar is loud (pings). Large splash when hitting the water. Bluetooth distance ( I can outcast this easily), Poor shallow water performance.
Watch how the Deeper casts below!
Surfing the internet for fishing info usually runs you into some very interesting things. One evening I ran across a YouTube video of a guy using a Deeper fish finder. Intrigued I continued to find related information on the device. I found some very generic information, but not the in-depth reviews. I went on the Deeper website to find it was sold on Amazon. Yes, Amazon is one of the first places that I go to for reviews of anything fishing related that I might want to buy. I quickly discovered that along with the Deeper fish finder, a multitude of other brands existed for attaching to the end of the line. I quickly reviewed all the different options and discovered the Deeper was the most expensive and had the best reviews.
The Deeper is a fish finder that attaches to the end of your line and can be cast out onto the water and slowly retrieved to view depths and potential location of the structure, bait and hopefully fish! It can also be used for ice fishing with its flasher mode and with the optional mounting arm, attached to a small boat or kayak.
Top 3 uses for this phone are for finding fish, finding structure (depths, weeds, etc.), and water temp. These are a few thing only available to boaters and now you can have all this from the bank.
Deeper works with both Android and Apple devices and uses Bluetooth to transmit the images back to the smart device. The range of the Bluetooth is advertised at 150 feet, but I can easily outcast this.
Charging is done via USB and I’ve charged mine with my computer and both home and car charger for my smartphone. The battery is said to have a battery life of 4 hours. I haven’t personally tested this yet. It also recommends recharging every 2 months. This was a problem for me after a few weeks. I will check the rate before every fishing adventure.
The sonar operates on a dual be at 290 kHz which is a narrow 15 Degree and 90 kHz at 55 Degree angle. This gives multiple options to scan for fish and structure. Depth is advertised from 1.5 feet to 130feet, not much of worry for me since I have never fished that deep, yet… I’ve had issues with performance at depths less than 3 feet and the device doesn’t’ work perfectly.
The application that is downloaded is very user-friendly, which includes a great color display. The display has a regular view, flasher, split screen and my favorite a mapping option. The ability to put this device in boat mode and track the bottom contour is great. I’m looking forward to using it more and providing a review for it as well. The weather and social functions are also great.
Accessories included in the package with the sonar are; attachment bolts, USB wore, neoprene carrying pouch and manual. Optionally you can buy a flexible are to mount this sonar to your boat or kayak and multiple colored covers for night fishing. The color caps allow the blinking light to show and help keep track of your sonar unit. The attachment bolts go in three separate areas and are for different uses, boat, casting, and ice.
One accessory I purchased separately was a cell phone holder for a bicycle. This attaches perfectly to the handle on any fishing rod and securely holds a smartphone. I got the one pictured below of eBay for about $6 including shipping.
Technical specification
Size: 2.55 in / 6.5 cm
Weight: 3.5 oz / 100 g
Connection: Bluetooth
Range: Up to 140-160 ft / 50 m
Depth: 130 ft / 40 m
Temperature: -4F to 104F
Battery: Li-Poly. 6H
Sonar: Dual beam
Frequency: 290 & 90 kHz
Cone angle: 15° & 55°
If you have any questions for future reviews, let me know!
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