2015 F-150 XLT
I recently purchased a 2015 F-150 XLT. These F-150’s have come a long way from the previous models. I have always loved Ford trucks but I was never a big fan of the Ford F-150’s till the new 2015’s came out. I have always liked the 250’s and 350’s. This truck is a really comfortable ride. I have had trucks in the past so I can compare it with them. It doesn’t feel like a truck when you drive it. The new Fords have an all aluminum body. The frame is steel but the body is aluminum. That shaves hundreds of pounds off the truck and you feel it in the ride. It definitely doesn’t have that heavy feel trucks have.
I have had the truck for about 6 months now. I average low to mid 20 MPG. Around town I get around 30 MPG. I haven’t towed anything heavy with it yet. It will tow 8,300 pounds and carry 2,200 lbs in the bed. That is impressive! This truck has a 2.7L, twin turbo 6 cylinder engine in it. It produces 325 HP with 375 ft lbs of torque at 3000 rpm. That is low rpms to get that amount of torque. Kinda like a diesel. It is very impressive with power.
The truck has a fun sport mode that you can use. It is on the gear shifter on the column. When you push it the truck drops down a gear or two and keeps the rpms high. Also when you brake, it down shifts faster then normal. It is impressive in sport mode. It goes from a truck to a sports car.
This truck has many options and it is middle of the road with the options. The Lariat model has some crazy features such as massaging seats and lane assist. If you drift out of your road lane it will gently nudge you back over in the lane. Crazy! There are a lot of other options I can’t think of but don’t care about because I can’t afford them, but the trucks can get really impressive. But who needs all that!? Lol. It is like anything. You get what you pay for… I am very happy with all the options I have.
One of my favorite is the back up camera on it. It has a very clear screen and makes backing up to my boat a breeze. Once I get my flats boat it will help me a ton to back up to it. No more having someone stand behind me directing me back to hook the boat up and take it out. If you are looking at a new truck to pull a boat with or use as a work truck check out these new Fords. They are good on gas, powerful and comfortable. There is a reason they have been the number 1 selling truck in America for 39 years. This truck I bought is worth every penny. Thanks for reading. Time for me to get back out and do some fishing again!
How to setup your new fly rod
I just purchased a fly rod and reel. I am brand new to fly fishing and I did some research on what to get because fly fishing and types of rods are totally different then regular fishing rods. Fly fishing rods and reels use a number system from 0 to 14 weight. 0 being used for small fish to 14 being used for off shore fishing. If you are doing something other then those two types of fishing your rod will land somewhere in between. I have done a lot of research on the rod weights and the different kinds of line and what is used before I bought it so I am going to tell you how to find the right fly rod and reel and how to rig the reel with the four different types of line used for the reel.
Lets get started with the weights of the rod and reel. Weight has nothing to do with how heavy the rod is. It is how strong the rod is. To make it simple the normal size for inland trout or stream fishing, a 5 or 6 weight rod and reel is sufficient. For inshore saltwater fishing a 7 to a 9 weight should be used and anything off shore or fishing large tarpon a 10 weight or bigger should be used. For the most part you keep all your numbers the same. If you get a 7 weight fly rod you need to get a 7 weight reel and line. I have a 7 weight setup (St Croix Avid Inshore Fly Rod) for inshore saltwater fishing here in Florida.
Finding the rod and reel is the easy part. I was confused at first when I went to get the line for my setup. A normal spinning reel has the braided line and leader. Easy enough. A fly reel has backing, fly line, tapered leader and tippet. The backing and fly line was easy to figure out but what the heck was the difference in a tapered leader and tippet? I am here to explain the difference so you aren’t as confused as I was when I set up my fly rod.
Backing – backing is a dacron line which is a type of braided line used for fly reels. This line attaches from your reel to your fly line. This is the first line that goes onto your reel. This is used incase your fly line runs out while fighting a fish you have extra line. Your fly line is only about 100′ long so it is good to have extra line just incase. You should see how much your reel can handle but it should be about another 100 to 200 yards of extra backing line. Depending on what size fish you are fishing for.
Fly line – the fly line goes on after you put the backing on the reel. This is your main line. If you are a beginner you should get floating line. There are many kinds of line to get and I will go into that at another time. It is good to get floating line to start with. Also there are different types of weighted lines, get the weight forward line if your new at this and that will make it easy on you also. It will give you the best casting action and get you use to casting a fly rod. It is the easiest to learn from.
Tapered leader – this is the next line that attaches to the fly line. This line should be about the lengh of your rod. This is exactly what it sounds like. It is tapered. It starts out thick and thins out as it gets closer to the tippet.
Tippet – the tippet attaches to the tapered leader. This is really thin line that is strong. This line should be about 3′ to 4′ long. This is the line that you attach your flies.
I suggest once you get it setup to practice without hooks in your back yard or wherever there is a sufficient enough room to practice casting. Stay away from concrete because it will scratch up your line. I also recommend that you use some type of eye protection because that line came really close to my face the first couple of times I cast it to get the hang of it. It takes a little while getting use to casting with the fly rod. It is totally different then the traditional fishing rod. I am just now comfortable enough to put a hook on it and try fishing with it. I am not going to get into casting with it or fishing with it yet because I am still learning. I will cover that at a later time.
Wether you use a fly rod or a regular rod go out and have fun fishing. It can be a calming experience. Thanks for reading.
Camping on the Intra Coastal in Florida
Camping on the east coast of the intra coastal in Central Florida is a lot of fun. You can camp for free at different islands on the intra coastal. It is easy to get to them whether you have a boat or a kayak. There are plenty of rental places for both. There are places called spoil islands and some you have to pay a fee at. I believe it is $15 per night. The camp sites are kept up by the state. There are numbers on the islands and you find the number of the island you want and pay the state. It is a great time. I have pictures on here of when I went out the other day (11-16 to 11-17). This island isn’t an island you have to pay for. It is first come, first serve. During the week there are hardly anyone ever on the islands camping.
You camp right on the water. It is breezy over on the coast in the winter time. I camped here in November and the daytime temperature was mid 80s and at night it was low 70s. Winds were about 15 MPH which are pretty fast. It is hard to fish in that wind and also a bumpy boat ride because of the waves.
This is the 2nd time I have camped on the intra coastal and I hope to camp many more times. If you live in Florida or visit and have a boat or a kayak I would say give it a try. Make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen. You can always have too much water but if you run out you are in trouble. Now I leave you with a nice intra coastal sunrise….
New Fishing Rod
I got a new fishing rod! It is a St Croix Avid Inshore Rod. They have had this model for many years but they just came out (about 2 weeks ago) with a new version of it. This rod is extremely sensitive to anything that touches the bait on the end of the hook. Paired with a braided (Fishing line talked about here) Power Pro fishing line, this rod is awesome!
It is a really pretty color and it has titanium guides on it. I only (as of right now) fish in saltwater so the corrosion proof titanium guides are a must. They also help to keep the weight down on the rod because titanium is super light.
This rod is a 7′ medium light rod with a fast action. It is a fairly skinny rod but is really strong and light because of the carbon they use in the rod.
This rod is definitely not an inexpensive rod but with the warranty they have on it (15 years) and what I have heard, never had to use it yet but St Croix has a customer service that is far more superior than a lot of other rod companies. They definitely stand behind their products. This is my dream fishing rod and it was well worth the money. It will hopefully be the last fishing rod I buy. Lol.
This rod I would say is for an experienced fisherman. If you have been fishing for a few years and are tired of buying cheap rod and reel combos once a year or once every year check out St Croix Rods. They have very good beginner rods (salt and freshwater) that start around $100. Those rods are very sensitive and strong and you will get many years out of them. (Check out my other St Croix Rod here ) If you fish a lot and have a little extra money to spend on a rod that will last, check out St Croix Rods. You won’t be disappointed! Until next time…. keep your rods bent!
A day on the Intra Coastal
I went out on the intra coastal and caught some fish. It ended up being a beautiful day. A little hot (87°) but beautiful. Read the rest of this entry
Snook Fishing License
Here in Florida you have to have a Snook stamp in addition to your saltwater fishing license. It is a $10 charge for a year for a Snook stamp. A year is from the date you purchased it till that date the following year. It isn’t for the time of the open season. You can catch snook without a stamp but you can’t keep them. A Florida saltwater fishing license is around $17.
Snook have to be between 28″-32″. Read the rest of this entry
CartersFLcharters 