Ed Mitchell Outdoors

The Reds are Gone Again

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Ed Mitchell

The Reds are Gone Again: After a long road trip I’m back in Florida, but that doesn’t mean I’m catching redfish. The wind has been howling. Day after day after day. I’ve lost a week and a half to small craft warnings. Stuck in port, damn. And when I did finally get out, there were no reds on the flat. Yeah, the reds are gone again.

This has happened to me before. A sustained period of high winds pushes the redfish off my local flat. And it pretty much does the same to the snook and the spotted seatrout. They all vamoose. Not good. So where are they all hiding? I figure they move to deep water, or head up the rivers, or find sheltered flats. And if the past is any indication, they will be slow returning. Woe is me.

Towing the Adios with the Rio Grande Wader Belt

Remember the Rio Grande Wader Belt I reviewed back a bit? Well I did get a chance to use it more. First off, I attached a sheath for my pliers. Now I have everything aboard – flies, leader material, pliers, and Boga grip. Okay, nice. Then I tried towing the kayak with the belt. Worked out great. I clipped one end of a rope to the bow of the Adios, and the other to a “D” ring on wader belt. That allowed me to wade-fish down a shoreline with the Adios following along like a faithful dog. Useful tactic. You can count of me doing that trick again. When I need more tackle, or my camera, or just want to get back on board – a tug on the rope is all that is required.

Wader belt with Sheath for Pliers

PS: On Thursday’s the local paper has a separate section devoted entirely to fishing. Well I picked up a copy at the gym and began reading the fishing reports. A tackle shop reported that redfish were plentiful and all over the place. What???? Really??? Then I read an article by a respected guide. He said there were so few reds around they were hardly worth fishing for, adding “the stock is badly depleted”. You know who I believe.

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Gear | Leave a comment

Photographs in the Fog

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Ed Mitchell

Photographs in the Fog: Haven’t picked up a fly rod in two weeks. That’s a long time for me; but at this point I’m still on the road and will be until next week. No, I’m not complaining, mind you. Its giving me a chance to look around at the world.

Photographs in the Fog — Haddam, Connecticut

Here in Haddam, Connecticut, yesterday morning held heavy fog. It draped the woods around the house in a muted veil. And out my window sat a soft and silent world. The tree’s leafless limbs, barren from winter, painted patterns across the sky, the intricacy of their lines filled with energy and emotion. It jogged my memory, bringing to mind Paul Caponigro’s photographs. I had seen an exhibit of his work in Hartford, many years ago. Working solely in black & white, Caponigro frequently utilized the fog to reveal his affinity for the natural world.

Photographs in the Fog —- Haddam, Connecticut

Feeling the urge to take images of my own, I put down my coffee, picked up the only camera I had – my cell phone – and walked outside. Dressed in t-shirt and boxer shorts, I wasn’t prepared to go far. Yet fortunately for me the nearby woods had much to offer. Quickly I took several photographs in the fog, each time pointing my cell phone upwards to capture the surrounding trees.

Photographs in the Fog — Haddam, Connecticut

Later I viewed the images on my laptop; I was pleased with them. They seemed to capture that moment in time, perfectly recording what I had felt and seen. Yes, cameras truly can be a mirror with a memory. Hope you’re pleased with these images too.

Posted in On the Road, Photography | 2 Comments

Craft Beers are King

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Ed Mitchell

Craft Beers are King Have you noticed? Beer lovers are grinning. Smiling, laughing, raising a pint? They couldn’t be happier. And who can blame them? Beer is enjoying a major renaissance. And craft-breweries are the driving force behind it – delivering bigger, bolder, more flavorful beer. Today craft beers are king.

Craft Beers are King

What prompted me to bring up this subject? I’ve been the road for last week or so. And in my travels I learned that Connecticut now has its own Craft Beer Trail. What? Really? I’m not kidding you; its astounding. Check out this Connecticut list, which is expanding as we speak.

Lucky me got a hop-pertunity to visit one in Haddam, Connecticut. A bit hidden off route 82, its called Steady Habit Brewing. Dude, I was impressed. Great beer selection and friendly people. Man, this is what craft beer is all about. And by the way they had a fine guitar player – a guy named Bruce Gregori.

Steady Habit Brewing

Half Growler Boom Citra- Laka DIPA

Recently The Street reported there are 5,005 craft beer breweries in America at the moment, and the number is skyrocketing daily. In fact The Street tells us if you wanted to hit everyone of them in a year you could need to do 14 a day! Yikes.

Florida has 150 craft beer makers; Colorado has 284; Washington has 305; and California has a whopping 518! Crazy. Hell, I bet there is one going up in your backyard or will be soon. Some sell nearly everywhere, others are regional breweries, and some are local or brewpubs. Its quite a mix. But they are all doing the pretty much the same thing – crafting super beer, taking it to the hop-timum. Granted the mega-breweries – Bud, Coors and Miller -still hold the lion’s share of the suds sales, but the shift toward artisan ales is well underway. Back in 2012 craft beers were 6.8 percent of the market. Today they are over 14 percent and account for over 22 billion in retail sales. Yes sir, when it comes to taste, and diversity, micro-breweries are killing the big boys. Enjoy.

Posted in Firewater, On the Road | 2 Comments

The Steel Will Druid 200 – Part Two

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Ed Mitchell

The Steel Will Druid 200 – Part Two,

Part Two Last time we covered the essentials, but I imagine there is still a 900 pound gorilla in the room. Wondering how a outdoor knife of this quality cost only $70? (Amazon.com) Good question. After all a decent pocket knife costs more. Okay here we go. The Steel Will Druid 200 is made in China. Scare you off? It shouldn’t. While my Druid arrived with a minor shortcoming, it rivals high-end field knives costing 5 times as much. What was the issue? The blade has a good sabre grind, however, the apex bevels are not equal on both sides. One is right on the money. The other is not. Consequently the knife is very sharp, but not as sharp as it should be. Yes, a little disappointing. Yet its something I can take care.

Steel Will Druid 200 – Part Two

Steel Will Druid 200

The Druid is made with 9Cr18MoV stainless. Frankly I have zero experience with this steel, but I looked it up and discovered it is similar to 440C. Which I am very familiar with.They have the same amount of carbon. The 440C has a bit more chromium, but the 9Cr18MoV has a more vanadium and cobalt. And both have a Rockwell of 58-59. Based on all that, I expect the Druid to perform much like 44oC. Which mean it is highly corrosion resistant, holds a decent edge and is not hard to sharpen. Fair enough.

The Druid’s tang protrudes from grip’s far end. (see below) This permits you to use the exposed tang as a light-duty hammer. Fix a fender on your car? Na..nothing like that. Maybe drive a tent stake. Not sure, you’ll have to decide what tasks best suit you. Be safe. The lanyard hole proved a bit too tight for paracord. Perhaps you’ll have better luck. Hence I fashioned a lanyard from a leather boot lace. Did the job. All in all I look forward to many years of use from this good looking, well-made, inexpensive field knife. Oh one more thing. I hear the Druid got its name from the Celtic pattern on the grip. Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Or should I say Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit!

Druid Exposed Tang

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The Steel Will Druid 200 – A first look

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Ed Mitchell

The Steel Will Druid 200 – A First Look

Part One – A couple of months ago, I caught a knife review on YouTube touting the Steel Will Druid 200. It mentioned a favorable design, good stainless blade, excellent leather sheath, and a very reasonable price of $70. Sure sounded like a great deal. But did I need another fixed-blade knife?

Steel Will Druid 200 -a first look

Naaa, not really. I own a Randall Model 5, which I purchased last century. (see it here) The blade has a complex geometry, with a mid-sabre grind, and a long swedge that runs the length of the steel. It is hand-forged from 1/4″ thick stainless, 5″long, full tang, with a drop point, modest bit of jimping and a finger choil. It The hilt and butt cap are German-silver. The grip is stag antler with finger grooves. And a fine leather sheath tops things off. Yes, that baby cost me a bundle back then. $250? Still I’m glad I bought it. Today the same knife would cost double and be back-ordered 5 years.

Yet, all that got me thinking. If I damaged or lost my Randall, there would be no getting another one. So didn’t it make sense to substitute something cheaper and easier to replace? You know – give the Randall a rest? Hell, sure it did! At least that’s was my lame excuse.

Steel Will Druid 200- a first look

Lo and behold, here is my Steel Will Druid 200. Overall the knife it is 11.5″ long, 13″ housed in the sheath. It has a .2″ thick, 6.1″ long stainless steel blade. Full tang? Yes. Drop-point? Yes. The leather sheath has a swivel belt mount, and is well constructed. (a sheath of this quality alone could bring $50 on the open market) The grip has a rubber-like feel. It is a good size (5.25″), a good shape, comfortable, and sports a lanyard hole. Steel Will claims the knife to be 9.3 ounces. Both my digital scales say otherwise, stating it to be 8.95 ounces. Home in the sheath, the Druid tips-in at 12.55 ounces. Okay that’s enough for now. We’ll examine more in the next post.