Outdoors with Don Q: Some “Q-Tips” for the summer

Now that we are in the heart of summer, here are some "Q-Tips," that, hopefully, should make your visits more enjoyable to the Great Outdoors:

Fishing license and regulations:
1. Always have the current fishing license in your possession, when fishing.
Geez, that goes without saying!

2. Carry the current fishing regulations in your boat, fishing vest and/or tackle box, and be sure to check them, BEFORE fishing new waters.

It could save you a lot of red-faced embarrassment and a lot of money in front of an unsmiling judge, if you’re caught doing a “No-No.”

Boats:
1. Don’t wait until you are parked on the boat ramp to slowly load or unload items in your boat. Be courteous of others who are waiting to launch or retrieve their boats. Why should they have to wait on you?

2. Don’t troll too close along the edge of a shoreline where shore fishermen are trying to fish. Be considerate and keep a reasonable distance from them.
If you don't, you will probably hear some very loud and nasty language.

3. When trolling and there are two of you in the boat, troll at two different depths with two different lures and keep varying the depths and lures until one of you gets some action. Then, you will know the right combination.

4. When fishing from a boat, canoe, kayak, float tube or inflatable raft, always wear a life vest. If there is a problem and you end up in the water, it could be a long swim back to shore.

Camping:
1. Be considerate of other nearby campers and end all the loud noise, talking, laughter and music by no later than 10 p.m. They are trying to sleep.

2. If you leave food items strewn around your campsite, don’t be surprised if you have a midnight visitor, who is big, hungry and growls.

3. If you must have a campfire, do so in a designated area, keep it small and be sure there is a large cleared area all around your entire fire pit.
It is better to be safe than sorry.

4. When you extinguish your campfire, do not throw dirt on it, it will just smolder under the dirt. Pour water on the coals, stir them and pour more water on them, stir, pour, stir, pour until the fire is completely dead.

5. Keep a small bottle of water and a flashlight beside your sleeping bag. You never know when you might need to use either one or both during the wee hours of the night.

6. Cell phones (especially mine), as a general rule, do not work well in the mountains, so don’t be disappointed when you have no bars on your phone.

7. When sleeping on the ground, use a sheet of plastic under your sleeping bag pad or mattress to keep the chill of the ground out of your bag.

8. The greatest smell in the morning in the outdoor world is that of brewing coffee or frying bacon or both. Heck, if you don’t believe me, try it.

Digital camera photography:
1. Take lots of photos (the more the better!), and then later after editing them on your computer, you can re-live your outdoor experience (over and over) in the comfort of your front room or den and in the company of others.

2. When taking photos, do so in the early mornings or late afternoons to take advantage of the slanting sunlight, which is not as harsh as at mid-day.

3. Frame your shot. Don’t cut off someone’s head or feet and be aware of what is in the background. Use some common sense and creativity.

4. Take the same shot several times and from several different angles. Then, pick and choose the best photo. Unwanted digital photos are easy to delete.

5. If you have a photo taken of your catch, hold the fish horizontal to the ground and as far away from your body as possible. That makes your wimpy fish look like a real giant so as to impressive your obnoxious brother-in-law.

6. When taking a photo of your fish, clean all the dirt and blood off it before the shot. If not, that catch is going to look yucky to everyone else.

7. When taking a photo of someone posing with a fish, don't do as one person did: They took a photo of some guy, who was unshaven, barefoot, shirtless, a big bare gut hanging over his belt, with a cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth, and holding a bloody fish. Yuk!

Fishing:
1. When bait fishing with worms and you’re not getting any action, try a bobber or inflate your worms to float them just off the bottom.

2. When bait fishing with worms on the bottom and you’re not getting any action, try a small amount of Power Bait together with your worm.

3. When bait fishing with different types of bait and you’re not getting any action, try some fish scents or jellies. It just might make the difference!

4. If you are bottom fishing for catfish and you’re not getting any action, try things like chicken livers, small shrimp or party-sized marshmallows.

5. If you are spincasting with lures, remember that old bit of advice: “Bright colors on bright days. Dark colors on dark days.”

6. Carry two of every color of every lure in your tackle box. If you get into some hot action with a particular lure and lose it to a snag or big fish, you will still have a back-up and can keep catching fish.

7. When you’re spincasting and not getting any action, vary the speed of your retrieval and add in some jerking motions to that retrieval.

8. Change the monofilament line on your reel at least 3 times a year. Line is cheap, so don’t take a chance on losing that once-in-a-lifetime trophy due to worn or frayed or not enough line on your reel. 


9. Carry a spare spool of monofilament line with you in the event you should lose a large amount of line to a snag or a huge fish that broke off.

10. You would also be wise to carry a spare rod and reel in the event something unexpected happens, so you won’t have to stop fishing.

11. Only, and I repeat only, if you have a Second Rod Stamp, should you fish with two poles at your favorite pond, lake or reservoir.

Finally:
Be a true outdoor person at all times, one who obeys the rules and regulations and who leaves nothing behind except footprints.
And, “Do the right thing, even when no one is watching.”

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you what is my favorite, all-time spincasting lure for trout.
If he grins and says, "It is an old, red/white striped No. 2 TOR-P-DO lure," he is one of my fishing partners.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com