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| Williamson Flash Feather There was lots of talk this spring about how tough the yellowtail were to catch in the Santa Rosalía to Mulegé stretch because they were stuffing themselves with tiny anchovies (like one to three inches) and paying no attention to mackerel, caballitos, jigs, plugs, or anything else. I  experienced
it myself in late April. The 'tails
were eating bigger baits out at Isla Tortugas, but closer to home
they -- and everything else in the
water -- weren't interested in anything
but baby 'chovies. We even ran into acres of boiling sierra that were
so keyed on the micro bait they'd barely look at anything else. It took
four of us an hour to get a half dozen of them in the boat with
Krocodiles, Rebels, surface iron, and anything else we could think of.Anyway, the point is that a friend in Mulegé, John D., showed me some almost comically small 3-inch feathers from Williamson that looked very interesting. I haven't had a chance to try them, and apparently the fish have gone back to eating normal bait now, but I'm defintely going to keep a few on board. The blue-white ones John had would match those little 'chovies perfectly. Maybe not for the 'tails so much, but definitely for the sierra and for dorado, which occasionally get picky and won't bite regular trolling jigs. I have to wonder, though, about rigging them behind a little dodger or something--like you'd rig a hoochie for salmon trolling to give it a little action. Would that work for 'tails? They come pre-rigged with hooks that might work for sierra and 15-lb. dorado, but definitely not for tails, so you'd have to re-rig them. Here's the manufacturer link. Baja Fish Gear in Lomita carries them in the store and also sells them online. |
| Pre-fab Tongue Extension Haven't had a chance to try this either -- just stumbled across it on the web the other day. I was under the impression that all tongue extensions were more or less custom made, but this one just bolts on. As I say in the book, this basic design is the best I've seen. It doesn't have to be stored in your boat or tow vehicle, and -- assuming the materials are strong enough -- it doesn't require a pivoting spare to support the tongue weight. It can also be steered at least a little bit in reverse. Again, I'm talking about this basic design; I haven't seen this particular product in person, so I can't vouch for its construction. Xtend A Hitch Northwest.  |
Pre-fab Pivoting Spare Mount I'm
embarrassed to admit that I wasn't aware bolt-on pivoting spare mounts
were available either. But there it is -- a complete kit with
everything but the tire and wheel for a measly $229 from Pacific Trailers. Here's
the link to the product
page. |
| Nonskid Cleaner that Actually Works So on my last big research trip in September 2007, the plan was to fly into Loreto, pick up the boat and truck, head over to Asunción and Tortugas, and then return to Loreto and fly home. Hurricane Henriette intervened, though, and we ended up driving all the way back to Reno. The problem was that the cover for Christine was still in Loreto. So she spent the Reno winter outside and uncovered and accumulated some ugly brown leaf stains on her deck. In the past, I've tried three or four different nonskid cleaners, none of which worked very well. Davis FSR is excellent for certain stains but has no effect on others. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I tried Marykate Cleaning Detail Heavy Duty Non-skid Deck Cleaner. These were some seriously ugly stains that boat soap and one other nonskid cleaner (with PTEF, whatever that is) didn't even touch. But the horrid-looking, opaque, olive-green Marykate juice took them right off with a few seconds of scrubbing. Lord knows what the hell is in that stuff, but it sure works. No sales pitch here -- I have no connection with the company at all. Just happy to find something that works as advertised. I got mine at West Marine. |
Zero-Maintenance Hubs San Marcos-based Unique
Functional Products (UFP) came out recently with a new hub design
called "The Vault," which they say requires no
lubrication, maintenance, service, or inspection -- ever.
The hub uses a "hybrid oil," which is thick like grease when cool and
thins out like oil when hot. The bearings are completely sealed inside
a pressurized chamber. Doesn't this sound too good to be true? It does
to me, but UFP has reportedly tested the things to 100,000 miles, and
it's hard to argue with their remarkable 5-year, unlimited-mileage
warranty -- upgradeable to 10 years. Lots of trailer manufacturers,
including Pacific, apparently believe in them too. How cool would that
be to not even have to think about your bearings anymore? |