When I was wondering what to do this year, I was looking for a different approach. I've fished bamboo only and graphite only. Why not go ultralight for a change?
So my next trip I'll be bringing along my aged (most of them more than 25 years old) but so delightful ultralight rods like the Tippet and Ultrafine.
These rods from Orvis are simply magic. Although full flexing, they are no whimpy rods. They will cast a double bead head nymph rig without any problem. But boy, these rods are a lot fun to fish. It's often mistaken that light rods can't handle big fish. It's pretty amazing how fast one can play a fish ready to be landed.
So I am looking for a new camera. I have been lately focusing on the Sony NEX-5N, then all the sudden I was wondering what's wrong with a compact camera? I mean they are a lot easier to carry around, especially when you're fishing.
The possibilities won't be as extended as a camera with changeable lenses and the smaller lens won't capture low light conditions as well, but hey, there's a lot to like a compact camera. Get one and you're done! No need to get additional lenses.
Well, the compact camera's sure have evolved the past years. In bright conditions they take DSLR quality pictures. Take a look at the Sony HX9V with a 16.2 megapixel(!) with a 24-384 mm (16x) zoom lens.
I was really amazed that these little buggers are now able to capture video in Full 1080p HD in 50fps! The HX9V is now succeeded by the Sony HX10V, HX20V and HX30V with a 18.2 megapixel sensor.
Correction:
I thought (as read in several reviews) that the HX9V is only is able to capture FullHD movies in 50i but this little bugger will capture FullHD in 50p!You will need an extreme fast SD memory card to ensure the 28mb/s data stream will be saved correctly.
Here's an amazing footage of what the HX9V is capable of. It's a point-and-shoot camera for gawds sake! Hmm... now what?
AVCHD is a format for movie video's that's becoming more popular with videocams and digital camera's. AVCHD isn't recognized by Apple's iMovie 9 and older (iMovie 11 does) or Final Cut Pro 7 and older (successor Final Cut X does). But here's a solution to cope with this problem.
Tiemco doesn't only make hooks and tying tools, they also make some very nice light rods. Yesterday I took a look at the J-Stream 8.8ft #4. This 4 piece rod has a delightful medium action that cast a very delicate line yet has enough power to deliver the fly at 40 feet.
There are several models from this series, ranging from a 8ft #2 to the 8.8ft #4 I casted yesterday afternoon. I really like the cosmetics of this rod: nice small cigar grip that matches the light weight fishing and finished with a full cork reel seat with ring and cup.
Let's talk about proportions on rods:
Almost all productions rods, especially the more affordable brands, on the market have horrible proportions. Just have a look at their light line weight (#2-4) rods. They all have HUGE grips with HUGE reel seats. The same grip & reel seats they use on their #5-6 rods. It looks like Paris Hilton: a lady with shoe size 10...
Here's a nice video on the J-Stream. It looks like the gentleman in this video is the rod designer responsible for the J-Stream rod series. I really enjoyed the effort how the gentleman tries to catch the tiny trout hiding in the undercut bank.
Tiemco is serious about fly rods as we see they asked the famous rod builder Mario Wojnicki to build a series of fiberglass rods for Tiemco. Wojnicki is a master in fiberglass and bamboo rods. His rods are considered gems in both workmanship and performance.
At almost $1300 a piece the Tiemco-Wojnicki rods are serious money. Glass rods from Wojnicki himself starts around $1000 and might be considered even slightly more 'affordable'!
Here's also a nice video about the Wojnicki rod made for Tiemco:
London has an Apple Store. Paris has one and so does Munich. We want one too!
The historic Hirsch building in Amsterdam is now the Apple store. This building was originally built by the Hirsch family for their now defunct department store. The building has had many uses like offices and even a cinema.
Apple is using the corner part of the building for their Apple Store which is located at the most busy area of Amsterdam. Surely it will get the huge traffic Apple Stores get all over the world. We arrived there pretty early and it was already a busy place.
Apple redesigned the interior to their famous Apple Store style. Yes, the famous glass stair is here too! It's nice to see how people are allowed to test a device, be an iMac or an iPad, at their own leisure. If you want to ask a question there are dozens and dozens of Store employees available. The Amsterdam Store has the longest Genius Bar of all Apple Stores so far.
Even kids have their own tables (check out the lower height of the table) so they can have a go with their own device. The spacious interior has a very luxurious yet very friendly atmosphere. I've only seen people smile and enjoy their visit.
The Apple Stores generates some of the highest revenue per square meter of all retail stores in the USA. I'm sure it's no different here. Apple Store gives the potential buyer the utmost pleasurable buyer experience one can get. I doubt any other flag ship store from Nokia or Microsoft gets the similar responses or experience.
When I was wondering what to do this year, I was looking for a different approach. I've fished bamboo only and graphite only. Why not go ultralight for a change?
