Outfitted for life

OBN's writing prompt this week is actually something I addressed in my very first post.  I decided before just linking to my old post and calling this an easy one I would read the post.  Now that I read it I think I will do more then just link to it.

Outfitted For Life:   Outfitted for Life, the name came from Sarah (my wife), and it took only minutes of thinking about it for me to jump on board with that name. I love it for many reasons, the biggest of all the reasons is the fact that it leaves me lots of room to work with.  The room to do more then just fishing post is still very appealing to me.  I like sharing my hikes, and hope to get back to hunting.  Also want to try some new sports such as bouldering, long distance hiking, and maybe even buy a mountain bike someday. 
 

So the story that came to mind in that first post was one of my bother and I getting ready for a hunt.  I have not told as many stories as I want to but going back and looking at why I picked the title I think I will try to tell more old stories.  Here is that first story of why the title Outfitted for Life was a good choice.

This story was the first that came to mind when the title of the blog was made final. It takes me back to high school, it was the first hunting season I could drive. My parents okayed my brother and I to go hunting alone for what I think was the first time. We planned to hit a spot we hunted small game, and later on in our hunting adventures became a great waterfowl spot. Well we were packing up the guns and mom was giving us the be safe, look out for each other, and if your going to be late call speech. My mom looked us up and down, she cracked a half a smile and said well boys you look the part, and then wished us luck as we ran to the car guns, ammo and packs in hand. Between the two of us we were geared to the max for a small game hunt, I guess ever since then I've always tried to look the part if nothing else........ I try to go into every situation especially when it comes to the outdoors "looking the part". Looking the part now there is one of the first lessons if you want to be outfitted for life.   

I still often look the part, whether I mean too or not it just kind of happens now.  Looking back on this and a couple other old posts I have come to realize that my writing, and my stories are getting better.  In an strange way I am really starting to look the part of a blogger, and that is funny on many levels.  Well there you have it that is where Outfitted for Life came from and who knows where it will go.  

-Bruce 

A Christmas Go To...

 I have been called hard to shop for, and that goes double when you are limited to a budget.  That being said Sarah always does well when it comes to getting me something.  I drop a ton of hints, and sometimes I can be a 'pain in the butt' with all the hints.  With the move I got most of Sarah's big ticket items before leaving Atlanta.  When we hit the week and a half point Sarah looks at me and asks how much I spent on her gifts this year, and continues to tell me she had gotten nothing for me.  I said I did not need anything and that I would be happy with socks because mine are getting old.

A couple days later Sarah was snooping on my computer, and I found out after the fact that she was on my amazon account looking at my wish list.  She said she opened the wish list and saw what she thought was a good gift for me.

I like knives, and have a small collection that is growing.  Sarah got me a really nice knife that I have had my eye on for a while.  I decided today that I would write a post highlighting some of my favorite knives and maybe take a picture of as many of them as I can get in a shot so here goes.

First knife I am highlighting is my multi-tool.  I carry this tool everywhere I am allowed, and also take it fishing with me.  As knives go this has gotten me out of the most pinches weather its pinching barbs in regulated fishing area, or fixing my old bike on the side of the road this is knife has been there.  It is a Gerber 01471 suspension pliers, on it is almost everything I need.  Pliers, wire cutter, saw, two blades, can and bottle opener, and much more.  Sadly the one you see here is my second knife, I lost the first and this was a present from Sarah because she knows how important it can be.

This folding knife has been in my collection for a long time.  It is a Sig Sauer which is better known for their guns, but this tactical knife has been my favorite for years.  I bought this knife, but used some money from a gift card my uncle gave me so it too was a gift.  Most people see knives as weapons or get scared when I say I collect knives, but the truth is I see them as tools.  This knife has been used as a steak knife, spatula, stirring stick, branch cutter, screw driver and countless other things.  It was my survival knife for years, but now I carry it as a back up survival knife. 

The reason my Sig Sauer knife is now only a back up survival knife is because of this guy.  This is a Gerber LMF II survival knife (22-01400) and it is just that a knife built for survival.  Four of my groomsmen and I bought this knife before my wedding with a couple of symbolic reasons.  We were going to wear it under our tuxes but they are just too big and we thought it might make people mad to wear them on the outside.  At the time of the wedding we had a groomsman in Iraq, and two weeks before the wedding I found out my brother (best man) could not make it because he needed to report to Wisconsin for new coast guard post.  Anyway both of these guys got this same knife as a gift.  Then there was the three groomsmen who bought it as a symbol of the one who could not be there, and this knife is something we all have in common now.  It was build for military use, but makes a very useful survival tool.  The LMF II can be strapped to a leg, belt or molly system, and it has a built in sharpener in the sheath.  There are three holes in the handle so it can be lashed to a stick for self defense, it has a hammer on the end, and a glass punch.  This is my primary belt knife when I hike and yes it is heavy but if I was to be stranded somewhere it would be worth its weight in gold.

So Christmas morning this year, Sarah tosses me a gift.  As I was catching it I knew it was a knife, because a knife in a knife box is something that has a very distinct feel, sound, and shape to it. When the paper came off I saw the box and the letters CRKT, and judging by the size and weight I knew exactly what I was about to see.  It is a CRKT(Columbia River Knife and Tool) M16-14ZSF, which according to my lovely wife was at the top of my amazon wish list.  I have no real review for it as of yet, but it is very sharp out of the box as CRKT tends to be, and that it is well constructed.  It came with an extra pocket clip and the wrench to fit the screws.  

There are a couple reasons this knife was even on my amazon wish list.  First is the look, it just looks cool and as shallow as that seems sometimes a look will do it for me(in the world of knives).  Next is the brand I have read only good things about CRKT and I am starting to understand why.  

As far as looks go this knife has every thing working for it.  From the tan handle with the large holes, to the flat silver tanto blade.  The pocket clip can be put on any one of four different positions, and then there is the part that is both function and style, the flippers.  These two flippers make opening this knife so easy it is not funny, but very serious.  The same flippers that help in the opening of the knife also turn into a hand guard so that you do not slip off the handle if you need to apply force to a forward motion.  

 Lastly the knife have a great locking system, it has an inside lock that only operates when you move this red pin on the top of the knife.  With about a day worth of practice I was able to master the this locking system and even close the knife with one hand.

So once again my wife came through with a great gift, and I think she knows that if she can find nothing else for me at Christmas time she can always go to the "go to gift" and get me a nice knife.   Sorry this has been a lot of reading, and if you are a knife person this really has not been very informative but if you are not I hope my views, passion, and respect for knives and all they can do for us has shown through.  I will leave this post with one last thing, a picture of just part of my collection. These are the knives I wrangled up for the photo shoot, and when I am running short for post ideas in the future I will show off more of my collection. 

 

-Bruce

Being a fly fishing blogger is hard without a job

Sarah and I have been living in a new state now for more then a month and still I have no job.  This does not mean I have no work.  Last week we got twenty inches of snow.  Here is Sarah's post on it, and honestly I love the process of waking up to move snow and get yourself dug out.  It was a good storm and dumped a lot of snow fast.  Along with the snow we are still setting rooms up, hanging pictures, fixing lights that need replacing, and some nice projects on furniture.

Still the job issue is really starting to get to me, for a number of reasons, bills, gas, and food are the basic worries.  Honestly there is still another reason I wish I had some money in the bank account, and it is a little more selfish.  I have been filling out applications and working to get a job and that weighs on me after a while and I need to break away for a day.  My hike two weeks ago was nice but honestly in the back of my mind I am thinking about fly fishing.

It's the second day of the new year and I am without a fishing license for the state I am living in.  This would not be a big deal if I had a job because I would be working till dark and the weekends would be spent with the house and wife.  That being said it is killing me to not be able to clear my head on the water.  I know what you might be thinking 'Bruce you're in Connectucute and it is 3 degrees outside' well all you people who think that trout do not eat in the winter, your wrong they do.

Hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks I will land a job and that will mean a new license will be soon behind it.  Until then I am going to be trying to post some winter fly patterns.  Also some cool stuff about the new house such as the deer that were in the back yard, and some of the wild life in the area.  Lastly, OBN posts writing prompts and I am going to start to write off of those when I can.   One more little piece about the license comes from a blog I read.  The writer at This River Is Wild wrote a great post explaining part of the reason I want to get my license now go check it out and stop back later in the week to see where I am.


-Bruce