Underwater video if Mahi down in the Keys with Pentax Optio W30

Underwater video if Mahi down in the Keys with Pentax Optio W30.
You might want to look into the Pentax W80 as it shoots in HD and waterproof.

Saltyshores Christmast Update

by Sam Root of Saltyshores.com

I am moving data from the old lap top the new laptop. I old laptop was just slow and overloaded these days. Since I’m moving more toward the video side of the media I needed a laptop that can handle video editing. I got a good deal on an HP with 8 gigs of ram and 1 TB of storage. This will allow me to work much better on the road and deliver media much fast to Saltyshores as well as at least give you guys some teaser video clips.

Speaking of video Clips, if you noticed at the top I have added a couple tabs. One is the email list tab that I’ve been talking about for the past month but the other is a “LIVE” video tab. Yes live! This will hopefully work it self out to be some cool live videos of on location stuff. It could be something as simple as a boat show cam, or something really cool like having it with when I’m in Boca Grand pass Tarpon fishing or on tailing red fish with fly.. who knows. I’m just working out the logistics and the feasibility of it all. I gotta say, so far it looks pretty darn do able. I will be posting date and time of each broadcast once it’s all figured out. I will have a test run here in about week so keep and eye out for the Saltyshores live fishing cam. Woo hoo!

One thing you might noticed as well is the new Saltyshores will now have a “similar post” feature. If you are reading something that’s not on the home page it shows other post that has similar tags and titles. For example if you are reading something about fly fishing, there will be little text links at the bottom suggesting other post you might be interested it. Cool eh?

Baby Tarpon on Fly in Chockoloskee Video

Baby Tarpon on Fly quick clips.
Nothing fancy...just a 2min Video Clip from David and I trip to Chockoloskee yesterday.

This video was shot with the GoproHD 1080 camera

Scott S4s Fly Rod Review by Capt Colby Hane

Scott S4s Fly Rod Review by Capt Colby Hane

Scott S4s Fly rod

Every now and then I come across a fly rod that just makes me smile. One that has some soul that you know will rub off on you…A rod that will just flat out do what you want when you want it to. I have had the pleasure over the years to cast and own a few of these jewels and I finally stumbled onto the one I have been searching for, the Scott S4S.

The rod shares some of the same characteristics as other top shelf salt sticks with the high end components and fast action designs. But I am more concerned on how the rod performs in the elements of fishing rather than its components. The model I’ve been throwing is the 9ft 2piece 9wt. I like the 2 piece configuration due to the lack of ferrules and added sensitivity, plus something mental tells me it might be more durable on large fish. The nine weight is what I consider to be a great windy redfish/snook rod or a typical Keys bonefish stick.

The rod is extremely light in the hand but very heavy in power. It has the ability to throw heavy flies in a stiff wind without suffering from power loss and deliver a fly with laser accuracy. The action is fast and responsive but it’s sensitive enough to feel the line load from short range or into the backing without the need to overline. The finish is low glare and stealthy….exactly what I want in a rod for spooky flats species. The 10wt joined with a matte black reel would make a deadly stealth Permit setup! It comes in sizes 6 through 12 weights and is one of the few high end models still available in a 2pc or 4pc. The series won the “Dealers Choice Award” at the 2009 fly fishing Retailer show and I can definitely see why it prevailed. I know there are a lot of quality rods available these days, but I find my self reaching for the Scott every time I’m on the water. I am looking forward to testing the bigger sticks this Tarpon season!

Capt. Colby Hane

Gopro HD 1080p video of Hells Bay Skate

Dec 18th 2009:

Today I Shot some video of the Hells Bay Skate today with the Gopro HD 1080p helmet camera I just last week. I gotta say I'm quite impressed. This was of course totally hand held. I rendered it in Sony Vegas to add some contrast. I have to say it rivals many normal point and shoot camera in quality.

The body was very sturdy and it came with a waterproof case. I dunked it in saltwater a couple times while testing it. I will be shooting more with it here very soon.

As you can see from the footage it was overcast raining and drizzly...consider there wasn't much light out there I thought the little $299 camera did great!

Hells Bay Skate Walk through using my Toy Gopro HD 1080p from Sam Root on Vimeo.

Scott S4S Fly Rod and Hellsbay Skate

Scott s4s fly rod, Capt. Colby Haine, Hellsbay Skate

December 18th, 2009

Scott s4s fly rod

I got up this morning at 4:50am …why? I couldn’t tell you as I type this.  The only sound is my keyboard clicking away and the whirl of the fan in my computer. I got my cup of instant coffee in front of me on my cluttered up desk littered with business cards, demo reels, video tapes that needs to be digitized and a pile of unopened mail. Not to mention all the coffee stain rings on top of scraps of papers, old outdated magazines with numbers and notes written down of I don’t know what anymore. As I type this I noticed I had my coffee cup sitting on top of an check I got from one of the magazines yesterday along with a Christmas card. I just moved it so I wouldn’t spill coffee on it and have to ask for a new one. 

 

I’m wearing an old micro fiber shirts with no logo on it. I have not shaved in a week so feeling and looking kind of rough. Horrible sitting position as I’m slid down and leaning back in my almost new, imitation leather office chair I got from Costco or Office depot a couple months ago. The old muscle aches a bit so I’m contemplating downing an Aleve and chasing it down with some good old instant coffee. When I was younger I could not understand all the Aspirin commercials I see on TV.  As a kid, you just don’t feel these little annoying aches and pain that pretty much accompany you most mornings.

hells bay skate

In about 3 hours from now I’m meeting Colby and Tyler from Castaway Customs to do a little fishing.  We get to play with some new toys this morning. Colby has the new Scott s4s fly rod which is Scott fly rod’s flagship salt water rod. Tyler is towing behind him the new Hells bay Skate.

The weather is not the greatest but that means it’s a good day to test things. Testing products in ideal conditions always yield the best results. What most people want to know is when it’s not so idea how does the product handle. Well within reason anyways. I mean you wouldn’t want to test a skiff offshore or fight a marlin with a  spinning rod if you know what I mean.

I’m off to make me another cup of delicious cup of Nescafe instant coffee. In a perfect world and if all goes well I should have some nice pics and hopefully a tailing redfish next to these guys.

Jig heads, mission fishin jig heads, Basspro jig heads, Review

Jig heads, Mission Fishin Jig heads, Basspro Jig heads, Flats Jig heads

December 17th, 2007 | Author: sam | Edit

Flats Jig
I noticed when ever there are questions asking about favorite lures the simple jig always make it near the top of pile. Since the jig is also my personal favorite(all around)  lure (especially for reds) I would like to do a jig head review this week.

There are so many different types of jig heads out there these days. There are trolling jigs, deep offshore butterfly jigs, pyramid jigs, and on and on. You can write a book about just the type of jigs and their uses. I am going to limit this review to jigs I’ve personally use on the flats of Tampa bay.

I’ve tried my share of jig heads in the pass 12 months. From all the varieties of freshwater ones, the ones you can only get off the net, off course all the ones available at Wal-Mart, local tackle shops, Basspro, and Sports Authority. It would take too long to go through them all so I’m just going to narrow it down to the 2 I’ve narrow my choices down to and why.

I mainly use 1/8th oz or 1/16oz as I usually fish for the most part in waters less than 3’. At times I would use 1/4th oz for waters 4’-10’ of water.

My jig head of choice is the Basspro “standup” or “shad head” jig head. They come in a variety of colors and weight from 1/8th to 1/2 oz. The hooks are strong Mustad Ultra Point and at $3.19 for 8 per pack it’s a bargain for such good quality jig heads. Most similar molded jig head available you will get 3 for the same price.

The shape of the head of these jig heads are great for inshore flats fishing. If you look at the curvature of head it makes the jig head semi weedless. They have a smooth upward curve to them which passes over grass quite effectively. The other design simply catches more grass and weeds. You can find similar design being used by DOA, Bass Assassin, Exude Mr. Twister, and a few others. The barb that holds the lure is also nice on this jig head. It has 3 of them which makes holding on to plastics really nice. And if you use gulp products they can get slippery and hard to stay on the jig head at times.

The only quality lacking in this jig head is the attached eyes. They come off fairly easy and sometimes out of the package the hooks are covered some with over dipped paint. That being said, I don’t think that matters much to the fish as I’ve caught plenty of fish with jig heads with no eyes and the paint almost gone.
I also use Mission Fishin jig heads. I especially like their 1/16oz ones. If I need to use 1/8 I will opt for the Basspro. Made in Florida, and found only in local tackle shops, the Mission Fishin is a high quality product. The hooks are very sharp and strong. The barb holds the plastics really well. The paint quality is excellent and last a lot longer than the BP jig heads. 2nd to none, there are lots of varieties of colors available. They are a bit pricey at $3-3.50 for 3 in a pack. I continue to buy them however as the quality is unquestionable.

To conclude the jig is one of best versatile lure ever invented. If I had to depend on one lure to survive on desert island, it would have to be a jig. You can use any jig head out there and they will all catch fish. My choices for the flats are the BP standup jig heads and the Mission Fishin as they will give you a slight advantage in design, quality and an overall value.

Bass Pro Standup
Action: 8
Hook quality: 8
Bait Barb: 9
Aesthetics (longevity of paint and looks / variety in colors and sizes):6
Value:9

Mission Fishin
Action: 7
Hook quality: 9
Bait Barb:8
Aesthetics (longevity of paint and looks / variety in colors and sizes):9-10
Value:7
Disclaimer: I am not a guide trying to book charters. I do not get kick back, paid or is sponsored by any of the goods products or services I’ve written about. I do not claim the products above are the end all and be all of anything. If I like a product, they are just products I’ve field tested (and spent lots of $ trying similar products, and willing to try more) and has proven to myself that they work and work well for my personal type of fishing(Tampa Bay). It is an unbiased  review please take it on it’s surface there is no hidden agenda no cloak and dagger no black helicopters.  =)

Loop Push Pole, Fishing for Reds with Richard and Marsh works jig heads photos

Loop Push Pole, Fishing for Reds with Richard and Marsh works jig heads photos

Yesterday I got out with Ricard and his father down south in the Bradenton Fl. area. It was much winder than we had expected but I had my rain gear ready. That’s one good thing about living  out of your car at times, you have all your junk there from the last trip. It’s almost Christmas and it will be in the 80’s that day so the jacket was not staying on that long. Instead of 5mph as expected it was more like 15mph from the north blowing all the water out of the bay.

Since there was no water the strategy was to work pot holes and edges of the flats. Richard polled us around while we worked DOA Gold Rush jerk baits and paddle tails. ( Yes the good old Gold Rush makes it return this winter. )I was almost immediately rewarded with a trout. This was a not surprise this time of year. Cooler water seems to bring the trout shallower where we normally fish for red fish.  Several trout later we were ready to catch a red fish but the water was still too low. We were hoping to have a nice incoming tide and to see the red fish tail on the shallow bar. I brought along my fly rod just in case we see some.

I tried some topwater but they had no interest so I went back to the jerk bait. A couple more trout and I finally got a nice thump and pulled in a nice redfish. Richard’s dad followed suit a bit later but none the less we all got our redfish.  We stayed around the bar polling waiting for those tails to pop up but they never did. I took the idle time to shoot some more product photos for Marsh-works lures.

I also tested out the Loop Push pole by Carbon Marine. I’ve seen them at shows, I’ve picked them up but really didn’t pay much attention to them as I already had a couple of Stiffy Hybrid which I was totally happy with.  I’ve owned cheap fiberglass poles, Moonlighters carbon and Biscayne pushpoles and I’ve always liked the Stiffy best. Besides, the Loop push pole was multi piece pole. Multi piece is great as you can ship them easily making the cost to consumer cheaper and easy for dealers to carry. (Usually if you buy a Stiffy, since its so long the shipping cost alone is $100. )In most cases though multi piece means less stiff and usually heavier. I was assuming this was the case with Loop.

I was on the poling platfrom giving it a good test in 15mph winds upwind downwind and spinning the boat for about 30minutes. It was also a 24′ push pole so I’m expecting more flex than my Stiffy. I was very impressed on how light and stiff the Loop/Carbon Marine push pole was. I mean there are Stiffy push poles that runs $1500.00 that are lighter but for about $600 for a 24′ push pole it was awesome deal. It’s actually cheaper than the retail on my 22′ Stiffy Hybrid and lighter. The texture is not quite as defined as the Stiffy but it’s also not as smooth as the Biscayne and Moonlighter. I liked the texture feel but I’m sure this just comes down to personal preferences.

Since I’m doing more and more fly fishing and push poling lately I might have to upgrade my push pole. In a perfect world, my 1st choice would be the Stiffy Extreme at almost $1500.00 after shipping etc.  I will have to do one more test on the Loop Push pole, but so far I’m pretty impressed. Especially when I can get a 24′ real carbon no shipping cost push pole for about $600.00.

Photos were shot with Nikon D300s and Nikon 17-55mm 2.8

Posted in Fishing Reports, Fishing Reviews, Inshore, Photography, Reviews | Tags: carbone marine, loop push poles, stiffy hybrid

Finally got on some tailing redfish action with Jim Lemke and Brian

Finally got on some tailing redfish action with Jim Lemke and Brian

December 15th, 2009 | 

 

Today I didn’t do anthing crazy like waking up at 2am ala yesterday. I did however got up before the alarm went off as I was so tired yesterday from that long day, I went to bed a bit early. I met up with my friend Jim Lemke at the ramp to do some tailing redfish photos and hope to catch them on fly. We picked up another friend Brian a few minutes later and we on our way to the fishing grounds.
Once the tide got low enough tails started to pop up all over the place.  Jim poled us  around the area and I started clicking away trying to get the perfect shot. The water was slick and they were beautiful tails popping up. Only one prolem…. it was so still they were crazy spooky.  Every small movement moved the fish further and further as they could feel the pressure from the boat. I shot away and got some good photos before finally stopped tailing about 1.5 hours. Of course by the time I wanted to fish instead of taking photos they were all but gone.. go figure.. can’t fish and take good photos.. always a dilemma!
Brian did got out and waded to a few fish on his own. He was rewarded with a nice 29″ redfish so all was not lost.

Falconry with Ron

Dec. 12th 2009

By Sam Root of Saltyshores.com

Today I decided to tag along on a Falconry hunt with my friend’s bother Ron. Ron is a master falconer and has been for over 10  years. It’s a pretty cool sport.

The basic premises is take a bird of prey condition to hunt with you.

We got out on a open field put let the bird sit on a perch. They then used sticks or dogs to Russel the bushes and scare out prey. Prey like rabbits, rats, and other small birds like quails and believe or not ducks.

Today we hunted the red tail hawk, the Harris hawk and the coolest of them all the peregrine falcon. The peregrine goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaay up then does a crazy free fall at almost 200 miles an hour. Attacking their prey but grabbing them by the neck. This method does one of two things. One it strangles the prey and two breaks it’s vertebrae.

I filmed most of the time as photos would’ve been pretty tough considering all the brushes in the way. I got the birds attacking rabbits, quail, rats and ducks. Not all is great footage as these guys are fast! I the kill video on many of them as well. The most exciting part of the day came when we ran into a 5.5 to 6′ rattle snake! He was coiled up and rattling for well over 20  minutes. I got some great video as well as stills.

I made a quick short clip to share with you guys. This video here is the done on the D300s but I got better action stuff on the tape.

Dec 11th 2009 Journal Updates

Dec 11th 2009

Spent most of the day working on the New Saltyshores lay out. I created Users for all the current SS contributors. I also sent them emails explaining how to use the new format and how flexible the system was.

I spent a good chunk of the day also copying over some post from the legacy SS to the new SS. I will try to copy over all the cool stuff like reviews and articles that are I think has value. This is going to take some time so you might see some old post mixed in with the new post on the new SS. All the data will still remain on the old SS I will have links to it on the main page.

While browsing some video sites I came across this cool video. It was shot in Northern Mongolia home of  the largest trout in the world. Very cool. (it's embedded on the new SS just press play).

http://saltyshores.com/wordpress/2009/12/11/destinations/the-river-that-time-forgot/


Trying to work with the stealth black them for Tibor reel shot, I waited til the sun went down and shot this photo with a black cloth background. I'm trying to give it coming out of the shadow effect.

New Saltyshores

Been working all day on the  New Saltyshores using word press.
Just copying the data over now.

http://www.saltyshores.com/wordpress/

Saltyshores UPdate for Dec 10th 2009

Dec 10th 2009

Nothing very exciting today. It was raining and overcast for the most of the day with a southern winds. To my experience southern winds around in Tampa bay I haven't had much luck when I'm using artificial lures. The fishing around here so far has been hot and cold. The most successful fishing has been the inshore gag grouper bite. I know guys that are catching keeper groupers in less than 15' of water! I also know friends that is trolling long lipped plugs and pulling up 30" gags in the shipping channels.

Today I have been moving content over to the new Saltyshores. It will be using wordpress and database driving. It will be better for search engines as well as have a search feature so you can do a search for all kinds  of stuff on Saltyshores.com.

Videos which I am currently working on doing more of, can be embedded within Saltyshores. This means you don't have to leave the website anymore to see the videos, just press play.

The Email thing is rolling along. I'm working on a templates and gathering newsletter sponsors. So keep an eye out for a link in the next few days to add yourself to the mailing is so you get free fishing stuff! Just working on the getting bugs out and getting use to the program.

Not as exciting as a fishing report but I edited more Product shots for Marsh Works.

How to tie a Sebile Knot by Capt. Jay Withers

How to tie a Sebile Knot by Jay Withers a Saltyshores How to Series.

Sarasota fishing with Jason Stock

12.7.2009

By Sam Root of Saltyshores.com

Today I fished with my friend Jason Stock down in Anna Maria area. The conditions with the exception of lack of sunlight was great. Very low winds and plenty of mullet. It wasn't very hard to fish this near area. I mean it was in the 60's(not in the 40s') when I was driving down to meet with him. Lots of life but the fishing wasn't on fire.

We got into a couple of rat reds, a few trout and some blue fish before we headed back in about 1pm. We did get a nice red on the Sebile stick shad but the hook got bent. Jason was not a happy camper considering it was our only really nice fish we hooked all day.

Photo: note.. again... cloudy overcast skies, I used the built in flash to make the image popped more.

Red Zone Micro Fiber fishing shirts

Red Zone Shirts photo shoot

By Sam Root of Saltyshores.com

Dec 6th 2009
Eventhough it was 45 degrees this morning, I went down to fish with a friend of mind down in the Placida area. We were fishing out of Kayaks which wasn’t going to be too warm. What made it worst was the fish were not where he left them. With this cold temperature they have moved on. We got a 19″ gag grouper, a flounder and a lizard fish before we called it day after about 2.5 hours of torture. We went and grab some lunch instead.
The rest of the day was spent shooting some lifestyle photos fo Red Zone shirts.
Captain Jay Withers has come out with a line of microfiber shirts and implemented dye sublimation designs on them.
They look pretty good. The designs even though it’s the already done redfish tail, looks to be different and eye catching.
You can shoot him and email for more info: captjay@embarqmail.com

Verizon MI-FI with Ipodtouch equals better than Iphone with AT&T

Verizon this year came out with a portable wi-fi hot spot called the MI-FI 2200.

It's a box about 2/3rd the size of a ipod touch(thinner, and shorter).
This little unit allows  you to connect up to 5 wi-fi devices to it. Yes, that means you can use  your laptop, your ipod touch, or even your iphone in wi-fi mode. Heck bring it to a meeting and have everyone's laptop/devices hooked up to it.

I have been using this unit for about 2 months now and is very impressed.  The charge last up to 4 hours. I can carry it with me on the boat, use in the car, airports, hotels where all the free wi-fi usually sucks anyways.

I have been using my ipod touch to use all the iphone apps ...then connect to the internet with the MI-FI. I mean I even had AT&T people with iphone (in wi-fi mode) test the MI-FI speed and all of them tells me it's much faster than their AT&T 3G connection. Quite embarrassing for AT&T .. but I had to know..

It works flawlessly and I've been from Louisiana to Key West with it. My drive from Tampa to the Keys which takes about 7 hours I've only lost the connection 2-3 times through out the drive.

The service is like any other phone service, you will have a contract of some sort. If you need wi-fi access though, this is the best most versatile way to go. I really can not find any draw back besides the fact that you can become even MORE of PDA addicted because you now have wi-fi almost anywhere.!

Studio Model Shoot Anne

By Sam Root of Saltyshores.com


Photos shot in Ybor city Studio using the Nikon D3 with model Anne from Sarasota Florida.

White background with 2 strobes and main flash and one background flash.

Fishing The Eastcoast with Nate Lemmon for Reds on fly and trout

12.1.2009

By Sam Root of Saltyshores.com




Today I woke up at 3am to make the drive over to Edgewater Florida. I was fishing this morning with Captain Lemmon. Our mission today was to get a slob trout. I was at his door by 545am wide awake believe it or not.

We picked up Tony at the ramp and we were on our way. The first stop was to get some finger mullets to use for bait. Since the monster trout are the most cautious skinny water fish that I know of I had no problem using bait. Meanwhiles 3 hours later.. they refused to eat. I see them but they are just way too spooky and not aggressive this morning.

We decided to throw the white flags on the slob trout and went after redfish. We sight casted 2 redfish on fly and Tony got one on the spin.