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Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand. Margaret Bourke-White

These tips should help you relive those moments back where you’ve said “if only I had a camera.” Now you will have it captured on film. These tips should help you to be camera ready.

1. Get as close as you can to the subject or action

Remember, if you’re using a instant camera
a lot of them have a minimum shooting
distance. This is usually about two metres.

If your closer than that, your shots will be
out of focus.

Try to take shots with the viewer
focused on the subject. Meaning the closer to the
subject filling the viewer the better.

2. Photos Tell A Story

Photos of an event or activity such as camping with a
group or fishing trip with family and friends tells a
great story for all to relive and enjoy.

3. Decide What It Is You Want and Don’t Want in The Picture

Its best to keep the background as uncluttered as you
can. Background clutter will remove the focus from
your subject.

4. Take Surprise Shots

You’ll get some great shots if you take pictures when
people least expect them. Just think of the facial
expressions you’ll get.

5. Make a Slide Show

Slide shows are great to have later when those involved
in the activity can watch and laugh at themselves and
relive the activity in their minds.

6. Liven Up Posed Shots

Try to avoid taking boring posed shots. Instead of using
“Say Cheese” try have people say Rumplestilskin.

That should help get a real smile. If people see you’re going to
take their picture, tell them you will click on four and
then click on three.

That should catch them in a more relaxed state.

7. Camera Hardware Tips

Does your camera have the correct options set up?

Check your lens and make sure its clean. it could have a
finger print on it. That would make it almost impossible
to focus.

Check to see if you have auto focus or manual focus. Test
it to see if it will work as stated in your manual. Make sure
you know how to control it.

if you are using slide film set the ISO button
one spot ahead of the film. An example would be
if your using ISO 64 slide film, set the ISO at 80.

The results will be deeper colour saturation and
more vibrant shades of yellow, red, and orange. This
tip will not work with print film.

Using a digital camera, always make sure the battery
is charged.

For more room on your memory card delete all
pictures you don’t want to keep. Your now ready for some
fun and games clicking away with your camera.

For more excellent tips, surf to Kodaks web page at
www.kodak.com.]]>

Fly tying patterns are techniques for building flies. If you want to try your hand at making your own flies you will need to know a few basics. Different flies are used depending on the species of fish you want to catch. Once you determine what fish you want to attract you need to know what flies they are attracted to. There are wet fly and dry fly tying patterns

Fly tying patterns can be as simple or complex as you want to make them. We have seen flies that are made of several types of hair and hurls. Replicating a particular fly is a lot of fun. Elegance is usually in the simplicity of the pattern and the skill of the knot tying.

When you first start you will want to take a few lessons from a pro. Many fishing shops will have classes on learning how to tie flies. You can also find videos and books that teach the art of fly tying patterns. Get ready to become addicted to tying your own flies!

There are lots of fly fishing knots that you can learn for different situations, we will cover a few of them here.

The first fly fishing knot you should learn is the Arbour knot which is used to connect the backing to the fishing reel. Then there is the nail knot, so called because you use a nail in the tying process, which is used to connect the backing to the fly line and the leader to the fly line. Two of the knots that can be used to tie the tippet to the leader are the blood knot or the double surgeon knot. For tying the fly to the hook the new improved clinch knot works well.

For all fly fishing knots, retie the knots before pulling them tight. This will reduce the amount of friction as well as lubricating the surface of the line. Whether the fish you catch are large and small, always retie your knots after reeling the fish in. After all, you don’t want to lose that next big one.]]>

Bass fishing in the USA is a great combination of sports, adventure and recreation. Bass fishing ,means pursuing black bass, a type of fish. Bass fishing has caught the fancy of Americans. You will find morning shows on TV about bass fishing. You will find thousands of websites exclusively on bass fishing. Bass fish is not about catching and eating. It is about catching and releasing.

Bass fishing is a great sports which doesn’t need the skills possessed by a football athlete or the resilience of an acrobat. You need to be obsessed with the ‘catch’. Hours of practicing can elevate you to the level of being called a pro. Bass fishing is about catching various species of bass - large mouth bass, small mouth bass, Kentucky bass, spotted boss, etc.
Experts opine that the beginners should start bass fishing in smaller ponds. They should avoid large lakes for this purpose. Once you have gained enough confidence, then only move to deeper areas in lakes. Bass fish loves to play hide and seek. Their natural habitat is behind rocks or plants or any such structures in the water body. Look for bass in such places. It is not necessary that the fish will be around large structures only. In fact, you have an equal probability of finding fish near a smaller structure.

Bass fish have a great vision - they can easily see in the night as well. Their see and feel organs work simultaneously. Bass fish are also supposed to have taste buds outside their mouths and inside too. This can help them avoid any unwanted situation. These characteristics make bass fishing such an exciting sports activity and a great pastime for people in leisure time.

One needs a set of equipment for bass fishing. This includes a pole, reel, hook and baits. Baits are available in many varieties chiefly, jigs, crank bait, spinner bait and plastic worms. It is recommended to beginners to start with crank baits and then advance themselves through spinner baits to plastic worms. Plastic worms need the most skills and practice. While Crank baits are suitable for beginners, it is the spinner baits which are popular among experienced anglers and seasoned fishermen.

There are many tournaments of bass fishing. Premier among these are American Bass Anglers Fishing Tournament, Superbass tournament, etc. Enthusiasts from all over the country take part in the tournaments. Bass fishing brings so much excitement today that it has become the most valuable freshwater sports industry.
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Black Bear Chase

Peddling as fast as my aching legs could move, I came to an abrupt stop. My shocked eyes followed the big black bear as it veered off the old brush road into the dark forest, just a few feet in front of me.

Camping With My Friends

It was early summer. A couple of friends of mine and myself had just finished a week end camping and fishing trip at one of our favorite lakes in the area, where we lived.

As I can remember it was a very long bike ride, even for three 14 year old boys.

Bear Country

The road we took to get there and back hadn’t seen any traffic for a few years. It was a good bet we would run into something back there.

Sure enough I did, my buddies missed out on all the excitement, they had trailed behind and missed out.

Spring Bear Hunt

Since that time I’ve seen many a black bear in the Ontario Northland of Canada.

With the cancellation of the annual spring black bear hunt, I expect to see many more of these magnificent animals.

Black Bear Population

For the tourists, this is good and bad news, for the Northern Ontario resident, just bad. Ontario has a growing black bear population that is one of the largest in the world.

Bears In Politics

The spring black bear hunt was cancelled in 1999 in a pre-election move. The thought was that the government’s decision would reduce the number of orphaned cubs.

The number of orphaned cubs in shelters rose.

Happy Tourists

Residents now have to put up with nuisance bears. Too many for their liking. The tourists have good news because they will get a better chance at seeing one.

Bad, because campers will need to keep a keen eye for nuisance bears. Now nuisance bear complaints are the norm.

Bear Control

Some municipalities have now hired bear-control officers, but many municipalities cannot afford this.

Without trained staff, municipalities must rely on law enforcement officers, with no background in bear management, to respond to nuisance bear complaints.

One day the Ontario government will come to their senses and bring back the spring Black Bear hunt again.

The Bear Facts

The black bear is also seen in other colour phases, chocolate and cinnamon brown are also common.

Black bears can reach weights of up to 700 lbs.

Black bears roam a very large area even as much as 500 square miles.

Black bears have been know to run as fast as a horse.

A bear can bite through a tree as big around as a person’s arm.

Litter size may range from one to five cubs, but two is average.

Male black bears regularly kill and eat bear cubs in the spring; biologists say as many as 50% of bear cubs lose their lives this way each year.

Life span in the wild is 20 to 25 years. Mother black bears have not been known to attack in defence of its cubs.

A large number of fatal bear attacks in Ontario have occurred in areas not open to hunting.

As a tourist, I enjoy the site of seeing one of nature’s rare sights. As a resident, black bears are seen, heard and feared all too often.

The black bears future depends on how well Ontario Northland residents understand manage and tolerate them.]]>

It was one of those fishing trips. You know, everyone catches fish but you, you loose six or eight of your most expensive streamers, it rains buckets, and you sink the boat. That’s right; I got skunked at Steamboat Lake over Memorial weekend.

I was determined to show those meat huckers (worms and power bait) that a well chosen and strategically placed fly was as effective as anything a conventional fisherman could load on a hook and hang under a bobber. Well, no such luck, I got stomped.

The fish were rising like mad on a midge hatch, and I threw everything in the box at them. I could swear I saw a hefty rainbow nudge my fly to the side to eat the natural laying only centimeters from my damn near perfect replica. As we watched the group of 12 year olds add another 18” fish to their stringer (full loaded, I might add) I decided it must be a lake thing. I don’t fish lakes often.

I usually have good luck with a streamer in faster moving water, so I head for one on the several tributaries hoping to get the boat up far enough to make a make a few good casts. No such luck, here comes the wind. Determined and frustrated, I proceed to lose several of my best streamers in the dense shrubbery surrounding the mouth of the creek (can’t retrieve them since the current is too strong to get the boat any further up the creek).

On the way back to camp we are passed by a couple of boats with stringers of fish crashing off the bows of their boats (hmmm, are they just rubbing it my face, or are they tenderizing the meat?)Questioning my decision to become a fly fisherman, I head over to the dock to pick up my 5 year-old son and a fresh styro of night crawlers. I’ll let my son fish the meat before I crumble and load one up on the spinner myself. Surprising, no luck with the meat either, and hear comes the rain. I throw my arms up and ponder my karma activity of the past year.

We charge for shore as the lake turns to white caps. The rain and lightning moves in fast. Did I mention that we got the boat for free and have no clue what to do in the rain? We pull the boat up close to shore near our camp, outside of the no-wake zone. We leave all of our gear and head for the soggy camp.

Well, apparently it’s best to leave your boat in protected cove in the no wake zone. From what we could tell, our boat was hammered with 300 to 400 gallons of water from the waves and boat wakes from boaters rushing back to the dock. Yes, it sank in 18 inches of water. I didn’t realize a boat could sink in 18” of water! All of our gear is floating around the shore. The gas tank and gear which included an Orvis waste pack with hmmmm, some 500 plus flies. Every box any fly had to be opened and dried on the dashboards of our trucks.

We bail the boat, load the truck and haul our soggy gear and crippled egos back home.

Next Memorial Day, it’s back to the river!!!
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For most buyers, general purpose craft which serve as fish, ski and picnic boats are ideal; for others needing something specialized, a wide selection is offered in most markets.

How big a boat will I need?

Size is a function of who will be on board and where it will be used. Options range from 12-ft. dinghies to power and sail yachts. If it is a question of two to four-feet in size, buy more if your budget allows. This will keep you in the boat longer.

What about power needs?

What will it cost?

Most newcomers are surprised that, with financing, boats can be paid for in monthly installments and often cost less than they think. Pre-owned boats often cost one-half of similar new models.

What is the best time of year to buy?

The best time of year to buy is when you are ready. Boat shows provide great opportunities to find “show specials.” However, specials only work if you have done some homework and identified the right type of boat for your needs. There are good deals on boats throughout the year.

To get lots more information on boating, including a free CD-ROM entitled “Discover Boating”, visit www.discoverboating.ca.

- News Canada]]>

1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.

2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy - consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.

3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.

4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won’t grow if you don’t build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body’s levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.

5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.

6. Don’t overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don’t want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.

7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don’t forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.

You can find out more about building muscle by visiting the site listed below.]]>

Mosquito repellents containing DEET are available in different levels of concentration. On the whole the higher levels give a more effective and longer lasting protection. For most types of exposure a 10 to 35 percent concentration of DEET will provide enough protection. Repellents can be applied to clothing, tents and sleeping bags as well as directly to exposed skin. Natural or herbal repellents are also available for purchase. Most natural repellants are derived from plant material such as Citronella, Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Verbena. These products generally need to be applied more often than those containing DEET. One thing to consider when choosing a natural product is that many people are allergic to plant materials. A relatively new type of repellent is a mosquito band which looks like a watch band and is treated with a product to help repel the mosquitoes.

Use of a bug repellent will make your fishing time much more enjoyable. After all, you want to be casting flies not swatting mosquitoes.]]>

When fly fishing, many anglers prefer to catch and release their fly fishing prizes. Still, what should you do when you’re the prize?

That’s Gotta Hurt

If you become a fly fishing fanatic, you will inevitably hook yourself one day. Of course, this has never happened to me, but my “friends” have done it repeatedly. Being a thoughtful and observant person, I’ve seen how they go about unhooking themselves from a fly. Again, this is never happened to me. Ever. No, I won’t take a lie detector test.

The Barb

The best hook removal method depends on the location of the hook barb. The barb is the part of the hook that keeps the hook from simply sliding back out of the fish or, in this case, you. The essential question is which direction will result in the least damage from the barb.

A “friend” of mine once managed to hook himself through the flap of skin between the thumb and forefinger. The hook penetrated from the top of this hand through to the palm. The barb had gone all the way through the skin. In such a situation, the best method is simply to cut the line at the base of the hook and push it the rest of the way through the skin. This technique will result in a minimum of damage.

Another “friend” of mine once slipped on a rock and hooked himself something fierce in the meat section of the palm about an inch below the pinkie. There wasn’t anyway to push the hook through, so it had to be pulled back out the way it went in. The problem, of course, is the barb could have caused a lot of damage on the way back out. So, what’s the solution?

There are two solutions [excluding the hospital] to avoiding barb damage. The first requires two people. The hooked individual should press the hook slowly toward the curve of the hook. Put another way, you want to compress this curve of the hook. This sounds brutal, but actually should cause the barb to retract from the meat of your hand. The second person then applies pressure to both sides of the entry point to pull it open. The hooked individual should then GENTLY slide the hook out trying to follow the curve of the entry path. Sounds painful, but it works.

If you’re alone, follow the same instructions but you’ll have to do without the pressure. Just go slow and easy. If the hook doesn’t slide, don’t force it. Just head off to the local emergency room.

Catch and release is a good way to fish. Even if you catch yourself.
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When it comes to fly fishing, tying a knot is not the most glamorous of subjects. Without a knot, however, you’ll not be snatching the Muskie of your dreams.

Fly Fishing Knots

First thing first, we need to get the lingo down since we won’t be using illustrations in this article. Three basic terms will cover practically any aspect of the knot tying process. “Tag end” refers to the last ten inches of so of line you are holding in your hand, to wit, the pointy part you will be pushing through and wrapping around things. “Standing end” refers to the rest of the line. Yes, very complicated and difficult to understand. “Wrap” refers to the action wherein you move the tag end of the line one full revolution around the standing end. The wrap can also be called a turn, but you have the general idea.

As with practically anything in fly fishing, there are an infinite number of variations to knots. Mysterious variations include the Steroidius Double Flip [good for catching professional athlete fish], the Marigold Hammer [good for catching the neighbor’s plants while practicing in your back yard] and the Wifeous Annoyous [a complex knot that gets you in trouble with the wife since you’re supposed to be painting the garage], but you probably start with the “Aarrgg, Dammit…” knot common to beginners.

Fisherman’s Knot

Other than tying your shoes, the easiest knot to learn is the fisherman’s knot. Get your hook in one hand and tag end in the other. And a one and a two…

1. As you proceed, keep everything slack. We will be passing the tag end through loops we create. DO NOT tighten anything until told to!

2. Pull the tag end through the eye of the hook.

3. Bend the tag end back to the standing end and wrap four or five times. Make sure you do not tighten the wrap. [You should now have a closed loop through the hook.]

4. Take your tag end and push it through the loop formed by the wrap. Do not push it through the hook eye, just the bigger loop of line.

5. You will have just created another loop and should pass the tag end through again.

6. Slowly pull on the hook and stag end until the knot is tight. Watch those fingers.

Congratulations! If you’ve tied the perfect knot, it is time to hit local fishing spot. If you’ve made a mess of it, try again. Either way, you get to avoid painting the garage.
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