Good Deals on some Fly Rods and Reels

I stopped up at my local fly shop  - JTs FLy Shop - Sunday and checked out some of their clearance items and they have a pretty good list of rods (Hardy & Grey, TFO), a few reels (Redington & TFO) and some fly lines at pretty good prices.  You can check out the rods and reels on clearance on their website at:  http://jtsflyshop.com/2011clearancesale.html

They don't have a list of the fly lines posted yet but if I remember correctly they had plenty of AirFlo and some Scientific Angler lines both fresh and saltwater lines available.  You'll have to contact the shop for specifics.

If you are looking to get started at a reasonable price or looking to add something to your arsenal then check them out and give them a call at the shop 860-684-1575 or via email at info@jtsflyshop.com.  Great folks to work with.  Make sure you tell them you heard about it from Passinthru Outdoors.

Giveaway deadline extended

I am swamped with work and won't be able to get around to the giveaway until this weekend so I am extending the deadline for entries until Midnight Saturday March 3rd.  Winners will be announced Sunday.

See the original post at http://passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/02/pto-celebrates-two-years-of-blogging.html

You can check out some of the hand made items up for grabs here:  http://passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/02/sharing-passion-giveaway-reminder.html

Get your entries in and make sure to leave comments on the original post.

Warmer Then Normal Winter Equals Bigger Fish

There are advantages to the warmer winter that we have been experiencing here in Connecticut according to CT DEEP.  The warmer temps and no snow means that the waters are warmer then normal and the fish in the hatchery are more active through the winter giving DEEP Staff opportunity to feed more often making for larger fish to stock this spring.  It also means the streams are getting stocked earlier then normal with over 12,000 fish stocked already.  Normally we don't see a stocking of the Trout Management Areas (TMA) until early March.  All this is good news for those of use looking to take advantage of the weather and get some fishing in.  Most of the lakes and streams here in CT that have trout are closed to fishing from the end of February until opening day, which is the third Saturday in April.  We are fortunate enough to have many trout fishing waters open year round and with the lack of winter there is good fishing to be had by all.  I feel bad for the hard water ice fisherman, but I am excited to get out on the open water and maybe hook into one of these extra fat stockies.

Here is a video clip from Channel 3 WFSB from their report on the recent trout stocking.




Reminder:  There is still time to get in on the PTO Sharing the Passion giveaway.  Check it out here:  http://passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/02/pto-celebrates-two-years-of-blogging.html

Backyard Bird Count Results

Well my family and I participated in the 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count this past weekend where we observed and counted birds in our yard and at local parks.  We did out best to identify every bird we observed and recorded them and submitted our numbers through the GBBC website.

Our friend Whitey - Dark-eyed Junco Feb 2012

 As of 4pm February 22 the GBBC list the results of the submitted counts as follows:

Statistics from 2012
Total Checklists Submitted: 85,191
Total Species Observed: 604
Total Individual Birds Counted: 12,088,058



There are many different counting methods depending on where and how you are counting.  For example when counting at a feeder you only report the largest number of a species seen at the same time, not the total number seen during that period.  Now if you are out on a hike, then you can count the total number seen on that hike.  These methods are meant to reduce the number of duplicate birds counted.   Pretty staggering numbers for sure.

Downy Woodpecker Feb 2012

We observed the following species in our backyard at our feeders:
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco
Carolina Wren
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black Capped Chicakdee
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated sparrow

There were a total 23 species recorded representing a total of 214 birds counted in my town alone.  There were 148 specifies recorded representing a total of 103,899 birds counted in the state of Connecticut as of 4pm February 22.

A Pair of Tufted Titmice obviously in a disagreement - Feb 2012

I try to sit and enjoy the birds in my yard on a regular basis but by participating in this counting event forced us to do it for multiple days in a row and we learned plenty, had plenty of laughs and shared the beauty that mother nature provides with each other. Definitely  a success.

Counting and observing birds doesn't stop with the Great Backyard Bird Count.  There are numerous opportunities to count birds and report your sightings year round by participating in Project Feederwatch,  Nestwatch or eBird.  So get involved by getting out and enjoy the beauty of mother nature and help scientists by counting and reporting birds today.

Sharing the Passion Giveaway Reminder

There is still plenty of time to get in on PTO's blogging anniversary giveaway. 

First of the 2012 draw to be bottled - looks tasty

The sap has been running and we have been busy boiling and bottling some CT Pure Maple Syrup - 17 gallons of it so far.  It has been running at just over 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup and the evaporator does about 30 gallons of sap an hour.  1100 gallons of sap collected to date and that equals about 37 hours of boiling time.  Then it has to be finished on the stove, filtered and then bottled.  Truly a labor of love.  Tasty stuff that you can enjoy by participating in the giveaway contest.

My buddy Ray has provided me with some great items for the giveaway as well to include handmade grunt call, slate turkey call with striker, a pen and even a cutting board.  Depending on the level of participation in the contest I will giveaway all four items away or keep one or two for a future contest and let the winners chose their item.


I've been busy at the tying bench knocking off all the rust so I can ensure the winner of the flies gets some quality fish catching creations.  Ok, I can't guarantee they will catch fish, but I can promise I have caught fish on the flies I will tie and I am NOT  that good of a fly fisherman yet.  So if they worked for me, they should work for you.

Remember the rules:  Click here for original post: 

• First, you must have a blog or be willing to write a guest blog for Passinthru Outdoors.  Your blog post should include "Sharing the Passion" in the title and must be about a time you shared your outdoor passion with someone new or when someone shared their outdoor passion with you and should be posted to your blog.
• You must mention and link to Passinthru Outdoors in your blog post.
• You must comment on my original post in the comment section.  Include a link to your Sharing the Passion blog post and also let me know what items you are interested in.
• If you don't have a blog and want to email me your submission please feel free to do so and I will post it on my blog. 
• You will get an extra entry or two if you tweet and/or post on your facebook about PTO and this giveaway.  Make sure you leave a comment here with a link to your facebook page and tweet.
  
• Entries must be submitted by Midnight on February 29th. Winners will be selected by random drawing.