Useful misc boating, camping, fishing tips

TheBigGuy

TheBigGuy

Well-Known Member
What are some useful all round helpful tips you use to improve your fishing, camping, boating experience. What ever you feel is helpful feel free to post it up.

My kids busted up almost all my coolers and replacing a bunch gets expensive. Here's what I did instead. Busted off lost drain plugs. Cdn tire replacement plugs that you push down and expand like a boat drain plug. Broken hinges - bought a wide cheap white leather woman's belt on sale for a few bucks. Cut into Strips the size of the hinges. Drilled holes for screws and replaced all my cooler hinges. Added 3 sets of leather hinges on most coolers. Made 300 lb mono leashes mounted on the insides of coolers and lids to hold lid open and prevent over extension.

All around most useful thing for multiple uses. 300 lb mono with a crimper and appropriate size crimps.

Some of the things I've used 300lb mono for.

Cooler repair

Add a leash and scotty Downrigger clip onto fishing net for better solo landings.

Make leashes for long boom Downrigger clip extensions.

Making Halibut rigs.

6 foot Downrigger shock cord added to spectra Downrigger mainline before a snubber and rigger weight.


Any misc tips - feel free to add
 
Another tip: uses for womens hair ties.

Rod keepers, they hold a broken down rod together nicely.

I cut up the red fuzzy hair ties into two. Tie a piece onto split ring above the hook on a large bottom jigging lure. Add your favorite scent to the cloth, way improves catch ratio imo.
 
I recently bought foil covered bubble wrap insulation and made covers for my coolers after being sick of my ice turning to water after only a few days. Works like a charm.
 
Go to the dollar store and pick up a bag of tiny multi coloured elastics for woman's hair. They work great for keeping your pre tied gear tidy. Costs about 2 bucks for 1000 of them .
 
Speaking of the dollar store. Small size glow sticks. Add them to your spreader bar when fishing real deep for Halibut. I know some guys scoff at that, but I've had good luck doing that sometimes when the fishing was slow.
 
I use mcdonalds straws, cut into 3/4 inch pieces to keep my lure leaders from tiying into knots and keeps them neat when not in use
dollar store, I buy a kids necklace with all those beads to stuff inside the head of hootchies, red, clear, green, pink.
also dollar store marbles for the slingshot on the boat
 
Great thread! Great tips!

I use a square piece of foam to hook all my tackle too that I'm using on the boat that day. then I slide it in my side storage area for easy access. That way I only half to go to the bag if I change my up my plan for the day...

Use Pool Noodle to for tackle with leaders like apex and hootchies... Hook it to the noodle then wrap the leader around. Clean and keeps them from tangling...
 
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I use the pool noodle but will try the straws instead as i find the noodles take up to much space.
 
McD's, Timmies straws are awesome for leaders! No tangles. Use to do twist-ties or elastics. No more! So great.

If I can at least add something... 'Golf tee' beads on the mainline in front of the swivel, keeps weeds and jellyfish off better than if there were nothing there, also protects the knot, and in some cases the rod eyelet if you reel all the way up to the terminal swivel.
Speaking of your mainline connection. I implement a SS ball bearing coastlock swivel/snap. All my leaders are tied with a standard ball-bearing swivel, no tieing, just clip on and go! If using a flasher it clips in between perfectly! :)
 
One of the best things I have EVER bought for the boat is this canvas snap tool called a Top-Snapper. Now I don't even mind taking my canvas off in the cold or rain.

mxQDNmf9lIdILpx_L5TbOFA.jpg


It provides a nice grip on the snap itself, NOT the canvas and there is just enough leverage to help manipulate the snap without damaging the canvas. It's a thing of beauty.
 
Franko Manini said:
One of the best things I have EVER bought for the boat is this canvas snap tool called a Top-Snapper. Now I don't even mind taking my canvas off in the cold or rain.

mxQDNmf9lIdILpx_L5TbOFA.jpg


It provides a nice grip on the snap itself, NOT the canvas and there is just enough leverage to help manipulate the snap without damaging the canvas. It's a thing of beauty.
Click to expand...

Do you remember where you picked up that handy item from.
 
Franko Manini said:
One of the best things I have EVER bought for the boat is this canvas snap tool called a Top-Snapper. Now I don't even mind taking my canvas off in the cold or rain.

mxQDNmf9lIdILpx_L5TbOFA.jpg


It provides a nice grip on the snap itself, NOT the canvas and there is just enough leverage to help manipulate the snap without damaging the canvas. It's a thing of beauty.
Click to expand...
I ordered that beauty from amazon.com about 6 months ago. Best tool ever, not only makes snapping top/ windows in in the cold easy as pie but also lets u snap in windows from inside the boat. Great tool for canvas top owners. About 1/2 the price on .com vs .ca but I live right on the border. Also great for popping Stella caps off....
 
drill a hole in your cheap crap cooler...
spray expanding foam into it...fill it....i drilled a hole in each side.
after a hour you will have a big spaghetti noodle of foam coming out at full expansion.
cut off , fill hole/seal with small shot of silicon or?
and now you have a cooler that actually works and keeps things cold.
some new ones have foam in them now but older ones are just air inside.
 
I also use straws or ties for teaser rigs and other pre-tied but for hoochies I made something different.

I took a piece of about 12" long foam pipe insultation (pool noodles may work too) and glued it onto a piece of PVC pipe that it would normally fit over. Where the "seam" is on the foam I drilled screws in and thru so they just penetrate the opposite 'inside' of the pipe and stick up about a half inch above the foam. (kind of keeps them anchored) It's a great, easy way to wrap hoochies as I just tie mine with a loop at the front end of the leader. Haven't had a chance to try and find a screw with a small enough head that you could 'hook' a bead chain or swivel on that I use at the head of spoons, teaser head etc type rigs.

The nice thing is it's rigidity as I was just using foam before and found it getting crushed down and didn't really last. They stow easily in the bottom of my kit or a drawer.
 
Previous owner added water pipe insulation to hardtop bars to keep the curtains from slapping against the bars. Made for a great place to put the days leaders if I added a 1/2 leader card to side of the cabin. Now I can hang leaders from the insulation and clip it into the leader card. Keeps the leaders from knitting a sweater when I am running from spot to spot and keeps them straight with no kinks in the line.

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finaddict said:
Previous owner added water pipe insulation to hardtop bars to keep the curtains from slapping against the bars. Made for a great place to put the days leaders if I added a 1/2 leader card to side of the cabin. Now I can hang leaders from the insulation and clip it into the leader card. Keeps the leaders from knitting a sweater when I am running from spot to spot and keeps them straight with no kinks in the line.

View attachment 28983
View attachment 28984
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That's kind of a neat idea, doesn't really take up extra space that way.
 
I use lots of things to trick out my big 8 1/2 to 10 inch hoochies for halibut fishing. One thing that adds a lot of extra attraction is a Huge spin & glow lure at the top of the hoochy. I'm talking about the monster sizes that have 3-4 inch bodies and fins. Add a bead behind, and in front of the spin & glow. The front bead you peg a toothpick in, to make sure the spin & glow stays right in front of the hoochie.

It's not just the spinning fins that helps with improving the catch rate. The extra buoyancy makes the big lure look a lot more life like. Makes it seem more natural, like it's swimming rather than just hanging dead on the leader.

I've also drilled out wine corks and inserted them into my hoochie heads. That is not quite as effective as having the spinning blades going in front of the hoochie though, that makes for way more attraction.

One other thing they really seem to like at the front end of those big bottom fishing hoochies is a really large white bead. I'm talking about a bead like 3/4 to 1 inch across. Hard to find those sizes, but that seems to make a big difference. I've no idea why. I always have a bead at the front to peg with a toothpick, so the hoochy doesn't slide up the leader.

You might laugh at all my bottom fishing mods, but they work quite well for me. I know because any trip I've gone on Halibut fishing with my buddies I always out fish them 3-4 to 1.
 
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TheBigGuy said:
Do you remember where you picked up that handy item from.
Click to expand...

I got it from Trotac in Victoria, But I have also seen them at West Marine and other boating stores. It's kinda one of those thing syou don't know to look for if you don't already know about. Once I found out about them I saw them everywhere!
 
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