I’ve Got a Few New Items for Canada, Too
As you may have already read, Hanna is stocked up with new gear for our forthcoming trip to Ballard’s Black Island on Lake of the Woods. Well, I couldn’t let her be all fancy and new while I dragged my raggedy old gear up north. Accordingly, I too have obtained some new items for the trip. I’m excited to test them out as we (hopefully) wear out the smallies, enjoy a shore lunch or sit around an evening campfire. Here are a few I plan to put to the test:
Jack Wolfskin Lakeside Roll-Up Shirt
Because I want to save ample space in my luggage for lures and terminal tackle, I’m going fairly light on clothing – enough underwear and shirts to not stink out my cabin-mates, but not enough for frequent wardrobe changes. I’m also told that the black flies and skeeters can be rough up there, so I want to be semi-fashionable, while also keeping those critters at bay. This new shirt accomplishes both of those goals. It’s more streamlined than most traditional button-up fishing shirts, so I won’t feel like a total goober on the plane. It’s quite soft the touch, and provides UV protection, but it also claims to be mosquito-proof, which is all it took to make it a must-have in my bag.
After essentially wearing one pair of glasses for all conditions over the period of about a decade, in recent years I’ve expanded my eyewear collection to include situationally-specific frames and lenses. I always bring two pairs of shades on vacation, in case one gets lost or broken, but with the forecast showing lots of bright sun during the lengthy northern days, I wanted to make sure that these full-coverage models with gray lenses made the cut. Costa is of course a leader in this space, and I have several pairs of their product, with no complaints, only accolades.
Bagley Balsa Sunny B Crankbait
Packing lures for this trip is a tough one for several reasons – we haven’t been there, we have limited luggage space, and we’ll be chasing multiple species (including smallmouths, walleye, muskies and pike). I’ll be happy to catch any or all of them, but smallmouths are highest on my list. So who better to go to for a crankbait recommendation than the Smallmouth King of Lake of the Woods himself, Jeff Gustafson? Gussy told me about these new shallow- and mid-range divers during an interview for BASS Times a few months ago and I quickly acquired a few in the recommended crawdad colors. I can’t wait to pull up on the first rocky island tip, fire it out and feel that cranking rod load up.
