Cell phones are like credit cards, loyalty lasts as long as the bonus reward, by then some canny competitor has a cheaper plan and a new gadget that goes with it.

While all eyes are on the Trout Underground to come up with next year’s “must have” angling gadget, we’re quietly going to lay some smack down, I didn’t get any free beer or sore feet, I just found the glaring weakness in your wardrobe…

Sonar for your cell phone.

SK, South Korea’s largest telecom provider began selling a waterproof transmitter when attached to a  fishing line, will send signals of fish density back to your cellular earpiece.

Now you can march confidently up to streamside, throw one cast and  begin the “Hunt for Red October”. The article fails to mention whether the device is wireless, otherwise you’ll throw one cast and spend the next two hours untangling the transmitter from the fly line, it’s certain I will..

One Hundred bucks, software to display where the fish are on the cell phone is five bucks additional. Brownliner’s are out of luck as the sonar is absorbed by sunken tires, lawnmower engines, and toilet paper, we’ll have to stick to the low tech method of throwing rocks.

del.icio.us Tags: cell phone fish finder, sonar display, fishing electronics

A well dressed bass boat has more electronic countermeasures than a WWII destroyer, now bank anglers get some love…

While the supercharged, wake tossing, bass boats wail off into the distance (with coolers full of beer and all the hot babes) The Lawn Chair Navy can get busy catching fish with their Fish Cam.

That groan was warranted, as a Korean company has introduced underwater live action camera depicting the worm’s eye view.

At $385 you had better not snag anything, as you’re about to go swimming.

Anglers with small hand-held TVs can see fish move up to the bait — and move their line towards them.

Likely we’ll see a significant jump in fishing license sales, as all of the joystick trained wunderkinder will be flocking back to fishing by the hundreds. The question remains whether you set the hook via the VCR remote or whether you still have to grip the rod..

Now all you have to do is jar a sixpack (or hotty) loose from the bass boat with one well placed rock, and walk your bait over for salvage rights.

Technorati Tags: Fish Cam, beer and hotties, bass boat, damn them

Fishermen and Vegas always want the odds favoring the house, I throw far too many stones to lust after a glass boat, so lets get some useful stuff this time.

Start with the Immobilizer, a 900,000 volt stun gun ($70)masquerading as a cell phone. This will fix a variety of ills – the crazed derelict emerging from the bushes intent on interrupting your fishing, the paint-baller that fails to acknowledge your white flag, and the teen that never gets off the phone.

It may even be capable of cleaning and frying your catch, ensuring you’re always under limit.

My favorite is the Cell Phone Voice Changer ($40) this beauty guarantees a day off of work so you can extend your weekend when the fish are willing. Twist a couple of knobs and you’ll  sound close to death, your boss may even send flowers.

Also available is a voice changer for land lines. For those that have exhausted all known illnesses via cell, this will get your building evacuated in no time. We don’t advocate this, but are smart enough not to use our office extension to originate the call.

Technorati Tags: voice changer, stun gun, how to get a day off work

It seems like every component of fishing has a 5 year span where the technology changes every time you blink. My old neoprene waders have served me really well, but I missed the entire “breathable Goretex” revolution.

I was hoping to avoid another sweaty Brownliner odyssey, and had ordered a set of boot foot Hodgeman WadeWell II hip waders. Hip waders have never had much of a place other than surfcasting and motivational posters, as their usefulness is limited. I wade like a drunken sailor, and hip waders is an easier way to get water somewhere where it ought not to be.

The “Little Stinking” is an exception, September flows are miniscule and about 24″ of water is all that I’ve encountered, other than stifling triple digit heat.

Boot foot waders with the traditional lugged soles give me some purchase getting in and out of the creek. Felt soles are fine, but always prove treacherous climbing or descending dirt banks.

Goretex uppers removes half of the expected weight, and the flexibility of a thin fabric versus rubber walled sheath, gives the feel of wearing overalls, rather than clumsy armor.

More importantly, this gives me a single fast drying object that I can clip onto a clothesline briefly, or set in the garage to dry. My proximity to the local creek means nightly usage, fast dry mean less exposure to sunlight, the nemesis of all rubber. The traditional neoprene and boot ensemble require a great deal more drying time, only because both inside (sweat)  and outer layers must be dried.

So far I am most pleased, we’ll see whether October usage is as pleasant, but for hot summer use, these cheap waders are just the ticket.

Update: After six months of heavy usage, they’re about the most comfortable wading boot I’ve used, update posted here.

Technorati Tags: Hodgeman Wadewell II, hip waders, summer weight waders, Goretex boot foot

The downside of working in fly shops is that instead of getting a paycheck, you get first dibs in the “going out of business” sale.

Downside because 30 years later I still have unopened fly lines in pristine condition, yet have run out of my favorite. An English company, Masterline, made a pebble finished dry fly line called a “Chancellor Chalkstream.” These were uncommon for their day, as both Scientific Anglers and Cortland offered only smooth finishes.

Hal Jannsen marketed these lines under his label in the early 90’s – they were dyed oddball colors, like purple or brown.

I see Masterline is still in business, but it doesn’t appear as if they make anything other than an introductory fly line. I seem to remember someone making a “beaded surface” or pebble finish line, but now that I am interested, I can’t remember who it was..anyone care to share some information?

The prevailing theory is that as the line exited the guides it skipped from sphere to sphere, rather than constant contact and constant friction – as such, they would shoot quite a bit further than a conventional line.

Late Breaking News: I found the last of the Chancellor lines, available at $135.00 each. That’s a dab rich for my blood, are there any made by contemporary companies?