If all men measured up to the standards of true sportsmanship, there would be no need for game, fish, and forestry laws. Neither would there be so much need for the laws that regulate human affairs in general. But, in the fishing game, it is the true sportsman, with a love for the great outdoors, a wholesome respect for the welfare of others, and consideration for living and growing things,...

Learning how to Fish You have decided that you want to learn to fish. There are several ways of learning, the hardest being trial and error. It would be best to find an instructor for one-on-one lessons. 1. Buy seasickness medication Nothing is worse than ruining your fishing because of seasickness. Most seasickness medication e.g. Bonine would be fine. Even seasoned fishermen are...

Make Your Own Fishing Decor from Fishing Gear

Elly Kendall

Decorating with old, used fishing gear is fun, creative and inexpensive. It's pretty easy to find unique fishing gear to use as decorating items for your log cabin or home. Here are a few fun ideas for your fishing decor projects.
First you will need fishing gear. My husband is not the fisherman in our family, I am. So it's easy for me to save old fishing lures that the hooks have dulled and gives me a great excuse to buy more too! Bobbers have a tendency to stop floating after a few whacks on the rocks along the shoreline, rendering them useless to the fisherman but a great find for the decorator. If you confiscate gear from hubby's tackle box remember you now know what to get him for the next holiday or special occasion!
Yard sales and estate sales are great for purchasing inexpensive, used fishing equipment for your decorating projects. Yard sales are less risky than hubby's tackle box too. Keep an eye out for used fishing nets, poles, lures, bobbers, metal stringers and other gear.
The last thing you want is your fishing decor to smell fishy. Be sure to clean everything very carefully and thoroughly. I use alcohol for lures, bobbers and such. Good detergent and bleach for nets. Vinegar and lemon juice work well too.
What type of decorating can you do with your accumulated treasures? This is where the fun really begins, let your imagination shine. Here are just a few ideas to get you started. Minnow buckets make good catch all containers for bedrooms, kid’s rooms and bathrooms for items like crayons, hair do-dads, brushes and combs etc. If you are really crafty they can be turned into lamps. Buy lamp fixtures at the hardware store or inexpensive narrow based lamps that fit into the top opening of the minnow bucket.
Make your own fishing swag from long pliable twigs, boat line or saining nets. Make sure you either remove the hooks from lures and replace with twisted wire shaped like hooks or snip the points off with heavy wire cutters. I have put chunks of cork on the ends of each point, these look like baited hooks! From the twigs I randomly tie bobbers and lures with mono filament (fishing line). I like to use cafe curtains with curtain clips on these swags because they hang below the bobbers and lures. Curtains with the long tabs work great as well.
Old fishing poles from yard sales are very cheap and make great curtain rods. I especially like the cane poles because they are easy to cut to size.
Another idea is to hot glue bobbers and lures all over an old lamp base. I think the more the better on this project, totally covering the base. Of course the lamp size and your taste make a difference. If it's a very large lamp or you just don't have enough lures and bobbers you can hot glue solid bands, about 2 inches wide, of hemp rope or twine to fill in larger areas.
A mobile like you see in babies rooms are fun and add an interesting art form to your fishing decor. I prefer to hang the fishing gear at different levels instead of all one length. Again I use twigs or sticks for this project's "cross" to hang the lures, bobbers etc. from and fishing line to tie it all together.
Old wooden picture frames with the glass removed make inexpensive picture boxes. Line a piece of thin cardboard with brown, tan or dark green felt. You can also use fishing print fabric. Put this covered cardboard in the frame like you would a picture and hot glue your treasures on the felt. A good trick is to use sets of three. Three lures, one under the other in a corner, three bobbers side by side for a top row, three hand reels in a row at the bottom for weight and one old metal stringer above the reels.
Things I haven't tried yet but are on my list to create include fishing lures with the hooks removed as cabinet handles, bobbers or lures for light pulls, fishing net swag around the bathroom mirror and drift wood with fishing gear as a conversation piece.
Creating your own fishing decor is fun, inexpensive and most of all you have unique decorating items for your home or cabin. Start collecting old fishing gear and let your imagination go.
About the author: Elly writes for Log Cabin Fever Gifts & Decor We have more Cabin Decorating and Gift articles and products.

At first glance, and well maybe even at second glance fly tying hook sizes can be confusing. They have not only the size number attached to them but then they have all those x numbers following them. So they come out reading size 12, 1x short, 1x fine. Or size 8, 2x long 2x heavy. To the beginner it is hard to discern what hook should be used for what style fly. Or further how to obtain a decent hook inventory without buying fifty different hook styles. I tied flies commercially for years, and worked into a basic hook inventory that consisted of dry fly hooks, nymph hooks, scud hooks, streamer...

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Anyone, male or female, young or old, that loves to fish would appreciate a gift idea that honors their passion. Gifts that are useful during a fishing trip are always welcome, but there are also many other selection for those who love to fish. Rods and reels are ever popular gifts for the hobby fisher. These can be inexpensive, light-weight or heavy-duty, even deep sea, more expensive gifts. Lake fishing requires a lighter weight rod and reel and is therefore a less expensive selection. However, top quality rods and reels, even light weight, can cost as much as you want to spend. Every...