The Joy Of Fly Fishing

I am Jim Bolduc from Brentwood, New Hampshire and I find joy in fly fishing, what a sport! Oh the joy of placing your bait “in a stream” just right so the fish are intrigued. Being able to put on your wader’s and get in the water with the fish. Whether it is bone or trout fishing, what a thrill! You grab your fly rod which is your weapon and enter the water confident that you will catch dinner.

You will find the history of the fly rod is very interesting. The fly rod can be handmade or manufactured and made with many different types of materials. Some people have had their skills affected by the way their fly rod is made. How soft or stiff is it, how long is it, will it hold your reel? Some people spend hours and hours of their life studying the fly rod.

Now what do I mean by weapon? Well your fly rod has a myriad of different hooks that can be used. Many different types of bait can be used, whether it is a fly that simulates the real thing or a worm that is the real thing.

The key with this weapon of yours is to control the way you place the bait in the water so the fish are not spooked. Fish are very finicky to say the least. You have to actually sneak up on them if you are fishing in a stream. The stream can be your friend or foe. Is the stream deep with a strong current or mellow with a gentle flow of water?  Is the bottom of the stream rocky or flat and easy to navigate?

You must pay attention to the weather. You have to be aware if there is a hatch going on and what type of insects live in the water’s you are fishing. There are many different theories as to where a certain hatch is or when it will take place. What weather conditions are needed for a hatch to occur? The time of year is important, is it hot out, is it raining? You virtually have to be a specialist in weather on how the weather conditions affect a hatch.

You find yourself getting “hooked” on wanting to learn more by reading the latest magazine or books that tell how people have spent their entire lives studying the ways of fish that you can catch on a fly rod.

I hope you take a chance to have your life affected in the positive way that fly fishing has for me!

Who I Like To Shoot Skeet With

Skeet shooting with anyone is fun but it is special when you can bring along a good friend or family member. It is a bonus if they know how to skeet shoot! I am blessed to have some good friends and a family member who likes to skeet shoot.

My best friend Mike is a good example of the kind of skeet shooter you want to have go with you shooting. Mike knows how to handle a shotgun very well. Mike’s favorite shotgun bounces back and forth between his 20 gauge and his 12 gauge shotguns. I would be the last one to tell him which one to use on any given day. He shoots both shotguns well and hits the clay birds with either shotgun. I have to admit; I get kind of jealous sometimes because Mike is such a good shot. This makes me work even harder to improve my shooting capabilities.

Then there is my son! Wow! I have to say; Jimmy is a great shot. He took lessons when he was only 12 years old. The person who taught Jimmy to shoot said he was a natural shot. As with Mike; this fact also makes me work harder to improve my shooting!

It is a lot of fun to get the three of us out on the skeet range and see who can shoot well.  We have fun contests as to who is going to shoot better on any given day. It does not matter whether it is raining, snowing and or nice as can be; Mike and Jimmy just plain are good with a shotgun.

I have my days when I can shoot well. It seems to come in streaks. One day I am right on the clay birds and the next; oh well not so good! I took lessons from the same person as my son and the instructor told me to forget his suggestions and just shoot by instinct.

We usually take about half of the day when we go skeet shooting. We will normally shoot in the am and stop for lunch at noon. Sometimes we go right back and shoot some more clay’s or just call it a day.

There is never a bad day shooting skeet when you are shooting with your best friend and son. I would recommend to anyone to get their family and good friends involved in the sport of skeet shooting.

 

Skeet Shooting On Private Land

Skeet shooting what a sport! It is a sport I love to write about. There is no end to the subjects we can cover about skeet shooting. So let’s get on with this overview of where to skeet shoot.

I am going to focus on the subject of skeet shooting on “Private Land”. I live in Brentwood, New Hampshire which is part of what we call the Seacoast area of New Hampshire. We have a good road system in New Hampshire, Southern Maine and North Shore Massachusetts so getting there to skeet shoot is going to be easy.

In addition, to the formal clubs that have skeet shooting you can just go out to your nearest gravel pit which is a good example of how easy it is to find a place to shoot. The only thing I have to warn you is that you need to check with your local ordinances and be sure they allow for shooting in places like your local gravel pit. A quick call to the property owner, wherever you decide to shoot, is always a good idea. Permission now can save you a lot of problems later.

There are many things I like about skeet shooting on private property. Some of them include the simple fact that you don’t need a fancy gun, you have no pressure from other shooters who tend to be great shots if they belong to a club. You can just go out at your leisure and shoot.

Since there are no formal rules in this setting you need to make up some rules depending upon whom you are shooting with. Take into consideration whether they are experienced skeet shooters. You may want to ask the friends you invite to skeet shoot with you if they have attended some formal gun training class. You want to be sure that whoever shoots with you knows how to handle a shotgun. Many times if an accident occurs there is no second chance when dealing with a shotgun.

All you need to do in this setting is load up your clay bird thrower. It does not matter whether it is a hand thrower or a fancy one that is mechanical. You will have as much fun with either.

I find that I like using the hand thrower. You can ask the friend you brought with you to easily vary the speed, height and elevation of the throw. The clay reacts similar whether it is thrown from a hand held thrower or a mechanical thrower. You just have to decide which kind of thrower is for you.

Remember this is a sport just like any other in that you want to have fun! Whether you decide to make it into a competition with your friends is your choice. The bottom line is to have fun!

 

The Equipment You Will Need For Skeet Shooting

You only need basic equipment, which consists of a good shotgun, shooting vest, shotgun shells, clay birds, safety glasses, shooting gloves, shooting coat if it is cold out, a thrower for the birds and some basic math skills so you can count how many clay birds you shot.

Of course, modern equipment can help. There is a wide range of equipment available for Skeet Shooting. I find most of mine through speaking with other Skeet Shooters and getting their opinions on what they have found works best. It is amazing to me, but you can purchase whatever you need right over the internet without ever leaving the comfort of your home!

It is also good to have a simple supply box or bag; you will find the manufacturers refer to this piece of shooting equipment in many ways so for this article I will refer to it as a box. A good sturdy box is great for the storage of your equipment. You can get these boxes in all shapes and sizes, made with many different kinds of material. The material could be heavy duty nylon exterior, plastic, metal or canvas. As far as sizes of the supply box I would suggest that you do not go for the smaller boxes, it doesn’t cost much more to get a good sized one. You will be happy if you go with a larger box. It is so nice to have all of your equipment in one place, dry and organize. The one I like is from Allen Shooters and is called “All Range Canvas Bag”. It has a rugged canvas exterior for long life and many days of shooting. You can get it on the internet for around $15.00.

If it is cold out, as it tends to be in the northern part of the country in the wintertime, having a warm shooting coat will be invaluable. I like the Bob Allen Shooting Coat which is insulated and has Suede Panels. The last time I looked on the internet they were selling for around $95.00.

Now on those warmer days when you just need a vest I like the Browning Skeet Trap Sporting Vest. I found the prices for vests can vary greatly, but I found this particular Browning vest on EBay for around $53.00.

Now let’s discuss shooting glasses. If you have the kind of shooting glasses with the multi-colored removable lens’s this can help a skeet shooter a lot. The kind that I like is the Browning Claymaster Shooting Glasses. I have found them on the internet for around $35.00. You can see the clay bird a lot better with multi-colored lens shooting glasses. If it is sunny or cloudy you will find that having the multi colored lens does help you shoot so much better. The clay birds will be easier to see and your success rates will go up.

This is where having that “supply” box/case I mentioned above comes in handy. Your shooting glasses will be with you in your box anytime you are ready to go for a day of skeet shooting.

Why I Like Skeet Shooting

I am Jim Bolduc and I live in the great State of New Hampshire. I have been an avid skeet shooter for about 20 years. I have found that skeet shooting is the most relaxing sports of all the sports I am involved in.

I like Skeet Shooting because you don’t need to go to a range to enjoy it; you can often go to your local gravel pit and skeet shoot. This of course depends on whether your local ordinances allow this in the area in which you live.

Weather can be a factor, especially if you live in the northern part of the country like I do in New Hampshire, with all of the inclement weather in the wintertime. The weather can work in your favor or against you. As an example: on a cloudy day some people see the clay birds better than on other days when the sun is out. If you have snow on the ground, or if it is raining; all of these weather conditions affect how well you will see a clay bird. I find that if it is a warm day I will tend to be more relaxed and shoot better. If it is a cold day I find that I tend to be more uptight and rigid and do not shoot as well.

You know, once you get out on the skeet range and are set up, you find yourself feeling as though you are in another world. It is just you and the clay. Who is going to win the challenge? When the range master (or his designee for the day) pushes the button after you signal him you are ready, you wonder: “Am I going to be able to shoot it when it comes flying out of the clay thrower? Or will it keep flying?”

You are usually out in a natural setting when you are on the range. As most ranges because of the shooting are in rural settings you often get to see nature at its best. I had the experience not long ago while shooting where six Turkey’s walked right across the range. It was so fun to stop shooting and just watch them; they were not bothered by our skeet shooting in the least.

I hope you give Skeet Shooting a try it is a great sport!

Check out more from Jim Bolduc NH by visiting www.jimbolduc.net

“Property Management Is Not For Everyone”

My name is Jim Bolduc and I reside in Brentwood, New Hampshire. I have been involved in the real estate industry for over 30 years. I can tell you first hand that property management is definitely not for everyone! If you are an inflexible person you will not like property management. As a property manager you will find yourself in many unsettling situations. You will have to dig deep within yourself to work out some difficult situations.

I have seen many aspects of residential and commercial property management. You have your tenants that are easy to get along with and then of course you have at least 10% that are difficult. The tenants that follow the rules make the job so much easier. It is one thing to deal with people that you enjoy versus those that can make your job difficult.

It definitely is a people business. If you are a people person this business can be very rewarding. You find yourself becoming close friends with a lot of your tenants. There is nothing more rewarding then to call a tenant a good friend. They will share a lot of their personal information with you and be very open with you. You need to know if they are employed or not or whether they have enough money to make the first month’s rental payment and the security deposit.

Where you locate your office is important. In these days of “virtual” offices you can run businesses from anywhere. However; in the property management business you want to have your office near where you are managing property. Many tenants like to come to your office and drop off their rent. Sub-contractors you deal with like to have you nearby. Some property managers locate their offices in the buildings they are managing, especially for larger apartment or commercial properties.

Just think of the variety of issues that a property manager has to handle. Everything from a small plumbing problem to a large issue like a leaking boiler is the manager’s responsibility. You will get calls from tenants for every kind of maintenance issue you can think of to be sure. From fixing their burner on their electric stove to fixing a loose door handle.

Although property management can be very demanding and challenging, I have found it can be rewarding.