The Ducks and Bucks 4 Season Hunting and Fishing Cartblind.

“How many _____ does it take to change a lightbulb?” Here’s a better question “How many different products do I have to buy to hunt and ice-fish?” Well, here’s one that does it all…

Ducks&Bucks Cartblind is a Michigan-made product that’s great for anyone looking for the most versatile hunting blind, fishing shanty in the industry. This design won the most prestigious award in the hunting industry in 2011 and they have been working hard to bring this product to the market ever since.

Here is the Ducks and Bucks Cart Blind being used on state land to hunt in the manage units here in Michigan

You can hunt ducks, goose, deer, prey, wolf, or just about anything. This blind carries 350lbs on the land and FLOATS 200lbs on the water. It is perfect for those of us who don’t mind getting a little wet to reach those hunting areas where we can really have fun. Duck hunters, carry all your decoys into the field and get to whatever area you need with ease. Deer hunters, setup wherever you need, get the right shooting lane, adjust with ease and haul your deer out of the woods when you are done. Fishermen, this makes ice fishing a breeze. Cart right from your vehicle to where ever you need to get. Bring your auger, fishing poles, bait, lures, etc.

This product has a 1-year warranty on all parts, except for the wheels which have a LIFE-TIME GUARENTEE.  Because they are rubber and not plastic, you don’t have to worry about temperature or terrain damage.

Ice Fishing in the Duck and Bucks Cart Blind on Lake St. Clair.

So, if you’re sick of investing in hunting/fishing supply that comes out for a couple months a year before going back into storage, make this one investment for sporting year round.

Take a look at this website for more information. www.ducksbucks.com
Call/text or email. 586-260-4727 sales@ducksbucks.com

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I know right off the bat some of you are either saying, “hey, I’ve been using a fly reel for ice fishing for years. This isn’t new. ”  Or you’re saying, “my spinning reel works fine, I don’t need no stink’n badges, I mean fly reel”…(spaghetti western joke)..

Here’s the straight scoop on many fishermen are using fly reel style ice reels. This type of reel allows the line to come straight off of the spool with out any spinning motion. ALL spinning reels twist your fishing line. They twist it coming off the spool when you drop your jig, they twist it when reeling line in and they really twist the heck out off it if a fish pulls drag out or you reel against the drag. All this spinning energy is stored up in your line and wants to uncoil. It will either uncoil when you open up your bail and cause a snarl of line, or a loop. Or it will uncoil itself down where you can’t see it at your jig and cause the jig to spin. Most fish won’t hit a spinning jig. Now it is true, that if you keep the jig dancing, swimming or jiggling, it will resist spinning. But many times we need to at least pause that motion in order to get bit. And shortly after we stop, that twisted, spring like energy is going to try to unwind.

Fly reels or other level wind reels don’t twist the line. So, you don’t get line twist from reeling in or letting line out. The only line twist you get will come from any spinning that your lure does when raising, lowering or jigging it. So no line twist equals no jig spin, which equals more bites. It’s really that simple.

Ok, so no spin means better performance. What about efficiency? What do I mean by that?  Ice fishing is vertical fishing. We let lures down and we bring lures up. We are not casting horizontally.  You have to worry about getting a bite when the line is going “out” on a cast. You only get bit once your reel is “locked up” and you are retrieving, right? No problem here, because your reel is engaged and your ready to set the hook. That is unless the fish hits right as your bait splashes down…But when you’re ice fishing their is no real travel time in the air. Your bait is in the strike zone as soon as it passes the bottom edge of the ice, especially when fishing panfish or other relatively shallow applications. You have to be ready to set the hook all the time, and I mean ALL the time.  You can’t set the hook with your bale open on a spinning reel. However, you can set the hook 100% of the time with a fly reel, by palming or pencil gripping the fly reel in your hand and using your hand to clamp down on the spool lip. You can even set the hook against your drag as long as you don’t set the hook to hard. But the point is, you don’t have to lock up the spool or close the bale  1st. You’re always, locked, cocked and ready to rock, 100% of the time.

I know some of you are saying ok that’s great, but how do you let line out? Well, in most of these reel designs you simply pull line out against the drag with your other hand. This means that you have to keep the drag set relatively light, at least light enough not to break the line. But you’re drag should be set that way anyway, right? I already hear the rumblings too, saying “man that sounds like it will be really slow getting the jig down” or “that’s a lot of work”. Here’s the truth here too. You will find that in most cases, unless you are using a jigging spoon or relatively heavy bait, you will be able pull line from your reel and keep your jig moving on free fall almost 100% of the time. What you will also find is that you will really want to stop and pause between line pulls anyway on your way down, because you will catch many super aggressive suspended fish on your way down. When dropping your bait with spinning tackle, your bait might have blown right by those fish! I guess this is where I should talk about a new hybrid type of  “free spooling” fly reel.  But 1st, let’s take a look back at ice reel designs, from where they started, right up to the latest designs.

If we go back 30, 40 or even more yrs you’ll find reels like the all metal Canadian made Swish reel. It had a stamped metal frame a rod stand and a very simple fiberglass rod that it was clamped to. You’ll also find the incredibly simple and inexpensive Michigan made plastic Schooley Reel.  It’s simple design attaches using a small wood screw. This reel is still very popular today and still be purchased with several different  length fiberglass rods. The Swish reel and rod combo is also still available.

In the 70’s through mid 80’s a myriad of retailers starting private labeling tiny plastic and aluminum fly reels with an anti-reverse switch that locked the spool. These reels were primarily a spin off from the southern crappie and bream fishing markets. These reels had lousy drags and tiny arbors that caused the line to hold lots of tiny curly-q’s. They were really simply intended to hold line and nothing more. Don’t get me wrong, it was possible to fight and land a big on them.  But it took luck and great deal of skill. This  was also the time that many of us started experimenting with full size fly reels. But unless you spent $150 or more, they were large, heavy and had too small of arbor diameter to be practical. They also had small handles and were usually aluminum,  which is cold on the hands.

In the last 5 yrs the ice fishing market has experienced a real revolution which I believe started with another little Michigan company  in Adrian, MI. These entrepreneurs took notice of how the Schooley Reel had held its market share and even expanded into to top level tournament ice fishermen. They decided to manufacture a high quality machined aluminum version of the Schooley , complete with needle bearings and metal center pin shaft. The company that started this was Ice Tech Fishing Systems. They later came out with a model which positioned his large center pin reel below the rod on an extended foot, like a spinning reel. He called this reel The Razor. He still makes these high quality fishing instruments today, which are used by top level tournament anglers and ice tackle aficionados across the ice belt.

About the same time frame as the introduction of the Razor, the market saw an influx of relatively low cost mid-sized fly reels with unidirectional bearings.  Unidirectional means that they spin freely in one direction, but can be used to engage a drag mechanism when rotated in the other direction. For a fly reel, that’s a beautiful thing. You can reel line or fish in, without fighting the drag, yet automatically engage a fully adjustable drag as line is taken out. Ice Hopper, Frabil, HT and every other savy ice tackle company have either an aluminum or graphite frame version fly reel, if not both that incorporate these bearings.

Most fishermen using these style reels prefer to palm them in their hand and hold the rod almost like a pencil, hence the term Pencil Grip. A similar grip is also used on spinning reels. Which brings up my next group of reels, refrerred to as Extended Neck/Stem or Extended Reel Foot fly reels.

As the name suggests, these fly style reels are suspended 1-2″ below the reel seat,  just like a spinning reel. This is one of those personal preference things. So much so in fact, that Frabil’s version even comes with an interchangeable long and standard foot. Personally, I prefer the low profile or traditional version, as I like to wrap my fingers around the reel and touch the spool with my fingers or palm.  I find this grip  really awkward with a longer stem …but to each his own on this.

Last year also saw some new reels enter the ice fishing market, although their designs aren’t as  new to the European or Asian markets. These are the push button free spooling variants with geared retrieve rates. 13 Fishing and Eagle Claw marketed these style reels last winter at the opposite ends of the price spectrum. Key features of these reels include extended Neck, free spool button, geared retrieve drives and star type drag system. Where I think these reels shine is when using larger predator size ice jigs and lures, in deeper water. Then you can coarse adjust your free spool tension and just let the bait drop.  What I don’t like about this style reel is awkward balance, weight and inability to palm the reel because the reel handle is on the opposite side of the spool. You have to hold one to see what I mean. But for a lot of hard water anglers, this style reel is huge step up.

I should also mention, that in this incredibly competitive fishing market popular designs don’t go unnoticed.  Ice Tech’s Razor was no exception as it saw direct competition from the off shore manufactured Black Betty.

The last significant fly reel to hit the market came last winter when the Tight Line Extreme Reel was launched under the Ice Hopper brand.  This little graphite frame fly reel, which follows the successful Tight Line Reel,  has a unidirectional bearing, gear driven quick line retrieve rate, pulls line in from the top of the spool (unlike traditional fly reels).  And because of it’s design it also allows the reel to be palmed, pencil gripped or fished with a spinning rod grip from above.

This winter both Beam Outdoors and HT Enterprises are offering aluminum frame reels that are very similar to the Tight Line Extreme Reels launched last year. 13 Fishing also continues to advance the market with it’s Tear Drop reel, long stem spinning reel and their plastic version of the Black Betty the Code Blue.

If you haven’t tried one of these style ice reels yet, you have lots of options and price points now. There truly is something for everyone. It’s time to join the hard water fly reel revolution.

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The all new Tight Line Extreme reel.

From the makers of the Sonic Ice Hopper, comes the Tight Line Extreme Reel! This is the next logical step in the evolution of ice fishing reels. It addresses all of the issues that ice fishermen experience when ice fishing. The Tight Line Extreme Reel is an ultra-light weight, durable, geared “fly reel”, with a uni-directional or one-way ball bearing drive, that won’t twist your line or break the piggy bank!

Check out these performance driven features:

• Fast Line retrieval: 12″ per handle turn
• Ultra light weight: 3.7 oz.
• Warm to the touch: Graphite frame
• Easy to grip: dual, soft touch handle-knobs
• Durable: ball bearing drive with center pin supported on both sides
• True No-Twist/Straight Line performance: Line comes off the top of spool
• Versatile Rod Grip: Able to Pencil Grip or top grip
• Drag: Fully adjustable with unidirectional bearing (drag engages only going out)
• Reel Orientation: Right and Left hand capable.

Fully function drag!

The Tight Line Extreme Reel is a slightly smaller frame than most of the conventional 3/4 weight fly reels that are currently on the market. Yet, it retrieves line faster than most micro sized spinning reels and won’t twist the line. Furthermore, it’s unique gear box design supports the center shaft and allows the line to come off the top of the reel vs. off the bottom like a traditional fly reel. This gives the Tight Line Extreme true Straight Line performance right through your 1st guide for increase sensitivity right down the axis of your rod and guides. Add the fact that you get Zero Twist and this reel will actually help you get bit more often and detect more strikes!

The Tight Line Extreme is available for this season in very limited quantities, so don’t wait for your buddy to try one first or you just might miss out!

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New from Ice Hopper the Tight Liner Reel

Winter is fastly approaching and that mean new ice fishing products hitting the market. This year I am going to be doing some short video highlight some of the products I am liking for this up coming season this winter. Below is the 1st in the Product Showcase series of video’s I am going to be doing this winter so check back offten has I get the product in my hands and I get to talk about them.

This reel can be bought online or in Sportsmen’s Direct Retail Store

1st up is the Tight Liner Reel from Ice Hopper!

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 If you’re into crappie, bluegill or perch fishing you’re going to love St. Croix’s latest and greatest, the perfectly named Panfish Series. This new series features two awesome platforms from which to choose. First we have the spinning rods that go up to 7′ in ultra-light and light powers with crisp actions designed to protect your ultra light lines from bull gills and mega crappies!. If you like dropping jigs into brush piles and dabbleing around dock pillions – and who doesn’t? – the 8′ to 11′ models with moderate-fast actions have raised the performance bar when it comes to long, light power spinning rods. The Panfish Series is changing the way fishermen view fishing these pint size bruisers of the fish world.

The blanks are made from Premium quality SCII graphite combined with high-modulus/high-strain SCVI graphite for optimal weight, sensitivity and balance.They are designed to provide you superior performance while targeting our tasty friends the crappie, perch and bluegill.

The rod is clad with Pac Bay Minima guides which is a weight saving of 20-30% when compared to ceramic guides, and they also give you greater sensitivity.Topping off the component list on these rods is a Pac Bay Minima reel seat with a custom insert which they say gives you even more sensitivity and comfort. Then these sweet stixs are finished with premium-grade cork handle for all day comfort!

This series of rods are going to be a game changer in the panfish world for sure. It is a series that only a diehard panhead would think of!

Quality

Doesn’t St.Croix mean high quality in french? Well it might not really mean that but these rods are sure to make a great case for that definition to be add to the Webster.

Reliability

These skillful crafted rods give you the power to muscle fish from their haunts while protecting the ultra-light stealth lines that we panheads use in the clear waters of the north.The rods are durable, sensitive and are fantastically well designed rods, that will last well past the 5 year warranty St. Croix is offering.

Price/Value

The series starts at $100 for it’s 5 foot ultra-light and goes up to $180 for it brush pile master stick ,the 11 foot light rod.These rods are at the top of the price curve for many panheads, but few rods series have tried to answer the demands of the pan-fisherman. St. Croix is daring to do that with this series. Which sets it apart from the rest of the field at the top.

Referability

If your a serious panhead like me this is a rod series you need to look into. This will change how you look at rods for the tasty fish we all like to target.

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This winter I have been fortunate enough to be covered in the Frabill Icesuit. This extremely warm 2 piece Jacket and Bib outerwear system is engineered for the hardcore ice angler.Made from a rugged waterproof, windproof ;breathable oxford nylon shell it has treated me very well during this roller coaster of a ice season. I have worn this suit in some mighty extreme weather, such 40mph winds and hard down pours. Thanks to the 100% Sealed seams and 180g thermal insulation and the Super-tall collar, I have been warm and comfortable all day.All while wearing my street cloths underneath.I found movement to fairly easy in this suit even with all the insulation. Frabill did a excellent job with the design of the articulated elbows, knees, and seat area, it really did give me a superior fit and motion range.

Thanks to the gazillions of functional pockets, like the Cell phone pocket which is nice for my smartphone that I run my Navionics app on. I was able to haul all my Tungsten Jigs and Ice Plastics in my pockets, which meant easier hole hoping.Just make sure you remember where you put everything I lost a few packs of plastics in some of the deeper pockets. Then again I allows lose a few in the bottom of my shanty also every year. Lol

I could write about every feature for you but that would make for way to long of a blog.So below is a list all features the Jacket and Bibs have.This suit gets a 5 out of 5 start with.It is like wearing your shanty and your heater at the same time!

ICESUIT JACKET:

• Rugged waterproof, windproof, breathable oxford nylon shell, 100% seam-sealed
• 180g thermal insulation body, 120g sleeves
• Fully adjustable insulated hood with reinforced brim/sun visor
• Frabill custom tackle box pocket with flip down Sherpa hook pad
• Parka length with internal cord lock adjusters
• Fully articulated elbows reinforced with ultra rugged 500 denier nylon
• Dual external storm flaps with rain gutter protect oversized main zipper
• 360 degree reflective piping for nighttime safety
• Arctic fleece-lined hand warmer pockets
• Oversized cargo pockets with dual drain holes
• Adjustable neoprene sleeve cuffs
• Internal pockets for sunglasses and electronics
• Warm brushed tricot-lining
• Super-tall collar protects neck from harsh winds
• Additional lined hand warmer pockets behind cargo pockets
• Cell phone pocket

ICESUIT BIB:

• Rugged waterproof, windproof, breathable oxford nylon shell, 100% seam sealed
• 120g thermal insulation
• Bunker gear style, elastic, fully adjustable shoulder straps
• Full length ankle to hip leg zippers with dual sliders
• User controlled temperature regulation with top of leg zipper vents
• Dual external storm flaps with rain gutters protect all main zippers
• Wear area (knees and pant cuffs) reinforced with ultra rugged 500 denier nylon
• Fully articulated knees and seat area with durable internal padding
• 12″ tall waterproof inner lining and oversized hook & loop closure at pant cuffs
• Arctic fleece-lined hand warmer pockets
• Oversized cargo pockets with dual drain holes
•  Cell phone pocket

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Back Warmer

Blazewear products incorporate the very latest in carbon based heating technology and Lithium batteries to change the focus of winter clothing from heat retention to heat emission. Their clothing is recognized around the world as being far superior to similar products. These are the clothes for the 21st century.They sent me two items one,was the back warmer, the other was the heated insoles.

When I seen the back warmer I knew I had to try it out for myself. Almost 4 years ago I broke my back, so I deal with a lot of back pain in cold weather while ice fishing. So I was excited to try this item out.As far as I know it is the 1st of it’s kind on the market.It delivers a constant heat through heating elements on both sides of the lower back .They can be controlled independently or at different temperatures when used with Lithium Polymer battery packs.I got the battery packs to last a whole 24 hours on the low setting. It’s lightweight design fits under your clothes so that it can be worn all day. I found that I was able to layer a little bit lighter, which means better comfort while fishing.

Heated Insoles

The heated insole are pretty neat also.There is a few brands on the market today. These are fully customizable to fit into your shoe or boot. The insoles fit shoe sizes 3 -12.The warmth is concentrated on the toes where it does the most good. It comes supplied with battery boxes and garters to attach to the bottom of the leg. They also work with the Lithium Polymer battery packs that they offer.Both of these units can be ran on AA batteries using the battery boxes that come with the products

Lithium Polymer batteries

The back warmer gets a 5 out 5 starts with me. I loved the warmth it gives my back. The insoles get a 4 out of 5. Due to the gaiters that hold the battery packs.

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So the idea of a product that holds a reel to an ice rod without damaging the cork is something just about every ice fishermen wants. There have been many products that have come out in years past that claimed this. Most in the short run that was true but in the long run something was left behind. These products also didn’t lend themselves to being able to easily take a reel off a rod and move it to another one or for maintenance

The Cold Snap Reel Wrap on the other hand really doesn’t mess up your cork. These super strong bands hold your reel securely to the rods handle. So tightly it leaves an imprint of the reels foot into the cork. If you want to change the reel, you just simple have to roll the bands off the reels foot and the reel comes off in less than 3 seconds.

On a panfish rod it is best to use two to 4 of the bands to hold the reel on to the rod. But while testing this product on my walleye and pike rods I found that you had to place a third on the back part of the reel foot to keep the reel from leaving the cork with a very extreme amount of pressure. When I say extreme I am talking near breakage of the rod extreme. But in the real world if you have your drag set right you should never really reach this point.

Overall I thought this was a great product. Each Reel Wrap kit has enough in it to do 4 setups. Make sure you save the blue cone that these come in. That cone makes getting the bands on to the rods very easy.

If you would like to purchase the Cold Snap Reel Wrap visit my friends over at Sportsmen’s Direct. They currently have them in stock and ready to ship out.

Quality

I was unable to break one of these bands in the time I test them and I tried several times. There is nothing else to my knowledge on the market like it so didn’t have anything else to compare it to , but it seemed top notch and work has stated.

Reliability

I would feel very comfortable using these on pretty much all my ice rod setups. I can’t find a way they can fail you unless the bands break which I was unable to make happen in any real world scenario that a fishermen would run into.

Value & Price

The price is very reasonable, spend this much money on electrical tape to hold my reels on and only get 4 or 5 reels out each roll of what I use. So it matches up nicely with products I use and is cheaper some of the products that “don’t mess up your cork handle”

Referability

I think this item should be on every ice fisherman list this year of new gear to get.

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The 1^st thing I had to wrap my head around is how this line isn’t a braid it is a whole new breed of fishing line. I didn’t really get that until I got to touch, tie knots and fill a reel with this line. Right out of the package this lines slickness was very noticeable .That slickness also made me think about knot holding ability of this line. In the unique package that this line is in Berkley has a few suggestions on what knots to use. Per there suggestion they said to use an Albright knot to attach it to other lines and a knot dub the “Nano Knot” which is a Double Palomar Knot.

I tried to tie the Albright knot and was not able to get it to work for me, but I have always had a hard time with this knot and is why I never use it. So I went to my trusty double uni knot. The 1^st couple versions of this knot I tried failed. Then I tired double-ling up the Nano and also wrapped the Nano twice has much has I would do with other lines. This held great and there was no slippage. Next I went to tying it to a jig I went with that Berkley suggested and it held perfectly. But while out fishing with it I got lazy and tied a reg Palomar knot and it held great with the 6lb Nano but it did slip with the higher lb test that I also have in this line.

Now came time to go fish this line. I filled up a couple of my panfish rods with the 6lb.The crappies where due in and I felt that fishing timber would be a great test for this line. Right off the back I over shot a cast and threw the jig deep into some brush, Steve Pennaz also had this happen to him you can read about that here. I was able to get the jig back but only after straighten the hook out. This is something that would repeat many times over the next weeks fishing this line.

The lines abrasion resentence was very impressive. I dragged this line over branches, rusty metal break walls, rocks you name it. I never once notice any big knicks or had the line fail on me from wear on the line. I was also able to do something I was never able to do while panfishing efficiently. That was to throw weightless panfish plastics accurately like I can do with bass plastics The line came off the reel so smoothly and effortlessly it made a presentation like this possible.

After seeing the extra distance I was getting in my cast I had to figure out the numbers on just how much more distance I was getting out of this line. So I set out to do a side by side casting test. I used a Shimano 1000 AX filled up with 6lb NanoFil and another of the same reel but that one was filled with Power Pro in 5lb test. According to each companies packaging that I have they both have approximately the same avg diameter .005 inches.

Both reels where placed on the same exact rod a 6’6” 2pc St. Croix Premier rod. At the end of the line I use a 1/32 oz lead jighead with nothing on it. Now since I have fished with these rods I know they may be a few hang ups from the line digging into each other. So I can gave each reel three hard cast to get rid of all those hang ups from the line digging in. I then measured 5 cast in a row with each line. The results I got where just shocking. The results can be seen in the chart below. One thing I did notice is just how the line felt and sounded coming of the spool the Nano just sounded and felt like it came off the spool better.

What Berkley set out to do here was to make a line that casted like a dream and zero stretch or memory for spinning gear and they did just that and this line was able to live up to its hype. The only negative I found with the line that could make or break it for a lot of people was the price point 19.99 for 150 yards. But you still have to keep in mind you will not have to change this line out has often as mono and it is a lot like the braids that are on the market in that sense. But with that said this isn’t a braid at all. Think of it has a mono line made out of dyneema  that really is the best way I describe it to you.

I think I just found a new line that will be making its way on more than a few of my setups in the coming months.It truly might just be the next generation in fishing line!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-FT7t7teMw&feature=player_embedded

Quality

I always find it hard to take the marketing at face value with many of the lines that have come out over the last few years, but this is one I am comfortable in saying was everything it was said to be. The line I got from Berkley has zero negatives that I could see other than having to adjust your knots a little. Berkley lines have been used on my reels for a long time due to the consistent quality I have experienced with them and this line was no different.

Reliability

This line held up great during my on the water test. There was no splitting or peeling which is something I have had happen to me many times while fishing other dyneema fishing lines. It took everything I could give it fishing the timber and kept coming back for me.

Value & Price

This is only area that I think this line might be hurting to the avg fishermen and that its price point. But at the same time the price of braids and superlines has gone up over the last 4 years so it could very well be right in line with the value of the materials and the processing it takes to make this line. Until similar line hit the market like NanoFil it’s hard to judge it right now.

Referability

I would highly recommend this line to my fellow fishermen. Though this product does have some sticker shock to it, it made out of dyneema which is a martial that has a history of lasting multiple season for fishermen.

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