Lucky Rainbow Trout Fingernails

     I love fun designed fingernails and when I found this design on Pinterest I HAD to figure out how to do it. It has also become a lucky charm during a few of our fishing trips this summer. The girls that had the Rainbow Trout Fingernails were the only girls catching anything on those trips.

 



 

 

     I use Avon nail polish because it is the only nail polish my fingernails like. If I use a different brand, my fingernails peal and the polish chips off the next day. Also, I have the sweetest Avon lady ever and I can't bring myself to say "I have enough nail polish" when she tells me there 's a nail polish sale. The colors I use for Rainbow Trout are: (from left to right) Moonbeam, Inspired Iris, Midnight Green, French Tip White and the Black Nail Art (I like the little brush, when it is empty I'll refill it with the regular sized bottle of black. I also use the Sally Hanson No Chip Acrylic Top Coat because it helps protect my design while we're fishing, camping, riding or anything else in the outdoors. This design works better with short nails (which I usually have). It is VERY important to let each layer dry before adding the next color.

 

The Colors I Use

 First, brush the entire nail with the Moonbeam.

The Belly Color

 

 Next, brush a wide stripe of Inspired Iris down the middle of the fingernail. (The stripe is under my bright camera flash glare.)

The Part That Makes It A Rainbow Trout

 The third step is to brush Midnight Green on half of the fingernail.

The Top Of The Fish

 Here is where it starts to look like a fish. A big dot of white on the Green towards the front of the fingernail is the beginning of the eyeball.

"Don't get the net until you can see the whites of his eyes."

 Almost done! Add the small black dot to the white dot to finish the eyeball and add a few black dots to finish the design.

My Fish Can See!

 The final step is to brush on the protective coat. You HAVE to wait for all of those black dots to dry before doing this or the protective coat will smear your dots. You can see in the picture below my eyeball dots were still a little too wet when I put my top coat on.

Cute Little Good Rainbow Trout Finger Nails

Do you have an outdoor themed fingernail design you want to share? Email GirlsInTheOutdoors@yahoo.com and we'll share your design with everybody and we'll share some stickers and maybe some other items with you.

Guest Post: City Girl To Country Girl

     We asked Melanie Schade from Schadeycreek Outdoors to do a guest post for us and we are very happy she agreed to do it. Be sure to check out the Schadeycreek Outdoors website. Thank you Melanie!

 City Girl To Country Girl

http://www.schadeycreekoutdoors.com/

     Never in a million years did I ever expect to be so passionate about the outdoors as I am now.  I came from a family that didn't hunt and rarely fished, in fact, I can only remember going fishing once or twice. And then I met a true outdoorsman. He introduced me to his way of life. We went for drives in the mountains and he showed me the true beauty in nature, the benefits of hunting and conservation, and the joys of enjoying what you harvest.

Melanie's Biggest Trout To Date, caught on a Schadeycreek Lure (the Emerald Shiner)

     I have become an avid fisherwoman. I love fishing, on ice or open water, lakes or ponds, it doesn't matter as long as my hook is in the water. I still have to master river fishing, LOL, but that will come with time.  Since I've started fishing I've caught some small fish and some big fish and it never ceases to amaze me when I can land the monsters. I often practice CPR (catch, photograph and release). We only take what we can use. 

 

Turkey Season Two Years Ago

     I've been hunting with my husband for the last 3 years and I love it. At first I was leery, could I handle watching an animal die? Could I actually eat that animal? The first test was a late season cow elk hunt. I really enjoyed looking for the elk, I wasn't use to the loudness of the gun but it was fun none the less. The next fall we resumed the test, during the muzzle loader deer hunt.  We were on the evening hunt and came across a doe and buck. They stood and watched as my husband got his aim and fired. The deer went about 5 yards and fell over. I thought to myself...ok this isn't bad. Then came the cleaning of the deer. I couldn't watch the first cut but after a minute I became curious and started to watch. On the way back to camp I felt a high that I didn't understand but after a while I realized it was the thrill of the hunt. We stalked the deer, hunted it and would soon take the meat home for the freezer. I am currently working on getting my hunter safety license so I can hunt with my husband and help provide food for our family.

 

Turkey season two years ago

     My first experience eating wild game was a memorable event. My husband made pheasant noodle soup and deer steak. I was very curious, the closest I'd ever come to wild game was a buffalo steak from the grocery store. First bite  and my mouth exploded with flavor. I was hooked! I learned my husband cut and treated his own meat. Having been a hunter his whole life, he knew the best way to prepare what he brings home. Since that first bite of wild game, I have enjoyed many a meal with fresh meat. Everything from deer and elk to pheasant and grouse.

 

Melanie With One Of Their Grouse From Last Fall

      Each season means something different in the outdoor life. Spring brings the thaw when the fish are hungry and eager to bite. Summer is when the fishing starts picking up and camping provides a much needed release from work and everyday life. Fall can't come soon enough for hunters. Winter is ideal for small game, birds, and of course ice fishing.  No matter the season I love getting out and enjoying the outdoors.

http://www.schadeycreekoutdoors.com/

 

All Of Your Spinner Lure Questions Answered - Part Three

Make sure you read Part One and Part Two before you read Part Three.

 

     The final piece of the Spinner I'll explain now is the tails or skirts. The dressing of the hook area also increases the profile of lure when it is swimming through the water. The dressing can also add lift and resistance which will help in slower retrievals.

 



        Traditional dressing are animal hair, but advancements in synthetics have added more sparkle, colors and patterns to the tails and skirts. The traditional animal hair used is the same hairs used in fly tying: deer hair, squirrel tails and chicken feathers.

 

      A very interesting piece of information I found was that the most common color for a dressing whether it is fur, synthetics or feathers is red! I am not making this up to prove to my husband that I need more red spinners, I promise!!

     Soft plastics are another common dressing and while I was going through all of my spinners, I noticed tying flies onto the end of a spinner wire is becoming more popular.

 

So let's recap Spinners:

 

• Inline, Spinner Baits, Buzz Baits and Live Bait are the 4 main types of Spinners.
• The blade is the main attraction of a Spinner.
• Colorado blades run high in the water.
• Indiana, Indiana Fluted, Turtle Back and French blades run in mid range depths and re good for light river currents.
• Inline and Willow blades run in the deeper depths.
• The larger the blade, the more vibration the blade creates.
• The tails and skirts can be made out of synthetics, deer hair, squirrel tail or chicken feathers.
• RED is the best color to use in the dressing.....well, it's a very popular color for dressings.
• If I was a fish, there is no way I could pass up a Spinner.
• It is required to buy between 5 and 20 Spinners on each visit to any Bass Pro Shops.

 If you have any more questions about Spinners, contact us and we will make sure we answer all of your questions about Hilary's favorite type of lure.



All Of Your Spinner Lure Questions Answered - Part Two

     Make sure you read Part One before Part Two!

     It's time to talk about blades. The blades of a Spinner are the most important part of the lure. Without a blade, there is no spinning which means it isn't a Spinner! The blade is the main attractant because it creates flash and vibration and it also determines the depth the lure runs and the type of sound the lure makes. After going through ever single Spinner in my tackle and my husband's tackle, I found that there is one type of blade I don't own. It's sad and I will have to change that soon!

 

      The first type of blade is called the Colorado Blade. Colorado blades run the highest in the water and creates the most vibration. They typically have a smooth or a hammered finish.

Colorado Blades on Shadeycreek Lures

      The Indiana, Indiana Fluted, French and Turtle Back blades run at middle depths in the water and are used for slower to medium speed retrievals. These are really good for rivers with light currents and lakes.

     Indiana blades look similar to Colorado blades, but are more elongated.


Indiana Blades

      Indiana Fluted blades are Indiana blades with a fluted design and the base. I bought this lure and loved using it in the slow parts of the river before I knew it was designed exactly for those parts of the river.

Indiana Fluted on a Fish Creek Spinners lure

 French blades look like Indiana blades but have an embossed center. Most of my Mepps Spinners have these types of blades.

French Blades on Mepps

 

Sadly, the Turtle Back blade is the only type of Spinner blade I do not own.......for now. It is shaped like an Indiana blade only it has points at both ends and it has a crease down the center of the blade from point to point.

 

 

     Inline and Willow blades run the deepest in the water because they spin the tightest to the wire of the lure. These types of blades are great for deeper water presentations and for fast retrievals in fast moving water.

 



     These are Inline blades:

Inline Spinner Blades

      Willow Leaf Spinner blades look like leaves from a willow tree and are the most common blade type for Rooster Tail Spinners.

Willow Leaf Blades

       There are some custom type blades, also. I found these 2 different types of blades in my tackle but I haven't used these lures much and really can't remember how they perform.

     Some Spinners have 2 blades creating more flash and more vibration in the water. These are the 2 most common ways of presenting double blades, close together and spaced out.

Double Blades

     The bigger the size of the blade, the more water resistance there is which means there is more vibration. This may look like a picture of the same lure in 2 sizes, but it is actually a picture of 2 completely different lures. The bigger lure runs deeper and makes more noise than the small lure.

 

Blade Size Is Important

     Check back tomorrow for the 3rd and final part of our exciting Spinner series.

All Of Your Spinner Lure Questions Answered - Part One

     I promised months ago I would do more of the teaching posts and then I kind of got distracted, but I'm going to try to do better. I already went over the types of reels so  now we'll start with some lures. Since my favorite lures are Spinners, we will start with those!

My Spinner Collection

     If I was a fish, I would get caught every single time on a Spinner. Look at all of those pretty colors and shiny objects! They also make a lot of fun noises and if I was a fish I would also think they looked like dinner. Spinners have metal blades that are different sizes and shapes and are attached to a wire and "spin." When you are retrieving the lure through the water, the blade creates vibration that the fish can feel with their lateral-line and the flash of the blade can be seen in clear, stained or even murky water. Spinners can attract pretty much all types of fish so it is a good multipurpose lure to carry on any fishing trip.

     There are 4 basic Spinner designs and I have some of each! My favorite and the most common type is the Inline Spinner. An Inline Spinner has 1 or 2 blades that spin around a straight wire. When you walk down the Spinner aisle at your favorite sporting goods store, these are the ones you see the most of. They come in many sizes, dressings and colors and it is a good idea to have a variety of these lures. I also believe every time you go to Bass Pro Shops, you should buy 1 or 2.......or 15.

Some of my Shadeycreek, Rooster Tail and Mepps Inline Spinners

      Spinner Baits are a type of Spinner I am SUPER picky about because some of them frustrate me. One description I read for Spinner Baits is the perfect way to describe them. They look like an "open safety pin." On the upper wire is a spinner blade or two spinner blades and on the lower wire is a lead head molded onto it. In the picture below, the one at the top with the hook bonnet on it and the red one to the right of it are my Spinner Baits and the others are my husbands. The two that are my lures, have a closed circle that you attach your line to and the others are an open area. I have trouble making the open ones perform correctly for some strange reason.

Spinner Baits

     One of my favorite Spinner Bait designs is the Beatle Spin brand (or similar brands). The lower arm has a jig head attached to with a plastic body on the jig. These have their own designated Plano box in my tackle bag.

Some Of My Beatle Spin Type Spinner Baits

 

     Buzzbaits are similar to Inline Spinners and Spinner Baits, except they have a propeller type of blade that "buzzes" on the surface of the water. These lures are designed to be retrieved faster so that they stay on the surface of the water and make noise. Or they can be retrieved just under the surface when you want less noise & splash. My favorite is the picture below is the black body with the 2 red blades. This is one lure that is fun to use even if I'm not catching any fish. I didn't know my husband had the frog Buzzbait until I was looking through his stuff. I may have to try to steal the frog because I could see that one being another fun one!

Some Buzzbaits

     The last type of Spinner most people may not think of as a Spinner lure, but it definitely is. A Live Bait Spinner (also known as a Walleye Rig) has a spinner blade in front of a hook or hooks that you can put night crawlers, minnows or leaches on. These types of spinners are designed for trolling behind a boat. You can't see in the picture below, but there is usually a couple feet or so of fishing line between the blade and where it connects to the line of your fishing pole. There are even new rigs that have a specially bent hook to spin the worm, leach or other bait like a corkscrew thru the water.

Walleye Rig

      There are other types of spinners and variations of these 4 types, but I don't want to turn this into a blog only about Spinners. Check back in a few days and I'll explain the most important part of a Spinner....the blade!