Peak Vise Upgrades

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I wasn't a fan of exclusively using the C clamp for my Peak vise.  I then ordered the pedestal base.  When it arrived, I was extremely surprised at how much it weight.  This was a quality base, and once I put my vice on it, I tried my best to see how unstable it could be, and it passed every test with fly tying colors.  Now I don't have to worry if my C clamp will fit on certain surfaces, or if I will need some folded up cardboard to fill in the gaps. Needless to say, I was very happy with my purchase.

Soon after I purchased the pedestal base.  I ordered the riser, as you see pictured above.  It's the copper/gold colored piece on the base. 

The extra height that the rise gave my vise was a game changer!  When I sit at my desk or anywhere, I like to be high up, and the riser allows my vise to be right where I want it to be...up high!

My Peak vise was the first vise that I have purchased a few years ago, and I have been extremely happy with it.  It's construction is solid, and you can really feel the quality when using it.  It's held every hook that I've put in it's jaws from size 8/0 musky hooks to size 22 midge hooks.  Now with the upgrades that I have made this year, it feels like I have a brand new vise.

What vise do all of you use and do any of you out there have multiple?

Fly Tying Season

When I leave work during the week, I have about a 1.5 hours of day light, and that flat out sucks.

Enter Fly Tying Season.

I haven't had the chance to sit down at the vise to put in an extended amount of time in for quite a while.  I'll begin filling my own personal boxes and taking care of any orders that may come in.  One of my goals this fly tying season, is to come up with something new and different or a revised version of another pattern out there.

Now that Wisconsin has extended their trout season, I think I'll be able to find enough time to make it to Southwest Wisconsin, in the Driftless area for an outing.  I haven't made the drive that way in 2 years, since I totaled my car on the expressway, because, of some deer frolicking on the highway at 4 AM.

Clousers are a staple in any bass fly fishermans box.  These simple patterns do nothing but catch fish.  Here are some reds and blues.  My favorite are chartreuse over white, not pictured here.

..and as cabin fever sets in during mid winter, this is probably what I'll look like, as I start to lose my mind.

If anyone is interested in a decal, please shoot me an email at carfoutdoors@gmail.com or book face message, and I will gladly send you one.

DIY - Line Changer

Who doesn't love a good DIY!

A few months ago I was in need of a way to change the line on my 9/10 reel.  I could have bought an already made product, but I just couldn't bring myself to purchase something for this task that I knew I could probably put together myself.

To Home Depot I went!

With a spool of line, to make sure the hardware I choose fits the spool, I built my line changer in the store, and walked up to the register with it...and roughly $5.50 later, I walked out.

Other than the nuts, washers, and bolt, I used 2 metal pieces that I found in the building materials and roofing area.  Completely forgot the name or designed use for them, but I can tell you that they worked perfectly for this application.  I was even able to bend the top one easily with my two hands, so, that I can rest that part on the rod.

A few extra nuts, just in case I lose some.  They were cheap, so, why not!

I have a double bimini twist knot in my backing, so, it allows me to change my line with a loop to loop connection (the end of the fly line must have a loop knot of sorts, too.) and this eliminates my need for spare spools for my reel.  When removing line from reel, I simply use my fingers on the spool to turn it.  Takes a few minutes longer than an actual line changer, but it gets the job done.

Here are some videos I used on Youtube for the knots.

Double Bimini Twist Knot

Loop to Loop Connection