Distinguished Ruffian

Catching Big on Catch My Drift

Rogan 1My cousin and I wanted to take a fishing trip last weekend. While sorting through all the companies that offer this service we chose Fishing Headquarters based out of Ft Lauderdale Florida. They specialize in sport fishing and drift fishing. We decided to take their drift-fishing trip, as we had never tried this method before. We arrived for our 8 am trip and were greeted by a great crew. The captain seemed quite knowledgeable and helpful. We boarded the boat with about 50 other passengers. On board were a mixture of people from tourists, locals, families, and serious fisherman who came with multiple rods and all sorts of their own “secret weapons.” With so many aboard on board we wondered if we would be able to catch any thing, but we left the dock and headed out to the first drift point.

As we went out the crew went over the proper use of the rods and reels along with some other safety points. As we got to the drift point all the passengers lowered their lines to a depth just off the sea bottom. As we waited for our lines to pull the calls for “fish on” could be heard across the boat with passengers pulling up fish after fish, this excitement continued for the duration of the trip. The crew knew everything about the fish we were catching and the area, making the trip even better.rogan 3

As we continued the trip we stopped at several more drift points and caught a plethora of beautiful, delicious fish all while discovering how fun and different drift-fishing could be. The catch ranged from hogfish, mangrove snappers, and strawberry grouper to less edible and more beautiful Queen triggerfish.

rogan2The trip was enjoyed by all aboard whether you were southern boys having a few beers and trying to win the pool for biggest catch or the family on vacation enjoying fishing for the first time.

 

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints

Cost: $40 per person for 4hr drift fishing trip

Company: http://www.fishheadquarters.com/

“The Catch My Drift is an incredible drift fishing boat. 85’ in length, she is the largest, fastest and the only Air-Conditioned party fishing boat in Fort Lauderdale. They have spared no expense with 3 Color Fish Finders, Radio, GPS Satellite Navigation and Chart Plotting, T.V., DVD, Full Galley, Upper and Lower deck access, and every other amenity you can think of.”

“Irish Setter” by Red Wing Shoes

IMG_0257Ask any blue collar person that has to wear standard personal protective equipment ( safety glasses, ear plugs, steel toe boots ) and they will tell you that a good pair of boots is a necessity that is seldom found. Sure you can run to Wal-Mart and scoop yourself up a pair for $49.99 or even get really “fancy” and get yourself the timberland pro series, but let me tell you my friends, you’d be doing yourself a great injustice. Don’t waste your hard earned dollars, or compromise your comfort, on a product that won’t last more than six months (depending on how much abuse your boots).

With that being said, I recently purchased a pair of redwing boots from their “Irish setter” line and let me tell you, it was worth every single penny of the $149.99 plus tax. When you first slip on these boots they are warm, soft, inviting, and makes you say “ooohh!”. But in all seriousness, the folks over at redwing knew what they were doing. The boot offers excellent ankle support coming in both 6″ or 8″ heights and have a very short ( I’d say about two days ) break in period. This to me is extremely important because I believe we can all relate to having the “Frankenstein”walk for weeks in an effort to get accustomed to your new footwear.

Now let’s talk about my in store buying experience. Typically when you go to a shoe store, you’re faced with one of two annoying situations, 1. You get some lazy ass late teen early twenty-something kid whose attention you can barely wrangle long enough to get your size shoe, or 2. You’re faced with overly attentive, tries to sell you everything in the store person. Thank The Lord that was not the case when I went to the local redwing store. I was greeted, made aware of what deals they had going, and left to my own devices. The salesman asked what industry I was in and suggested a non slip sole being as I work in an oily ass machine shop ( my words not his ). Once I made a decision on what boot I wanted, the salesman asked me to step on to a machine that measures your foot and finds where you put the most pressure when you walk (kind of like those Dr. Scholls machines you see at Walmart but better). The minute I tried on what would soon be my new boot, I fell in love, but that love was soon one upped by the insoles that were suggested by the sales rep. His exact words were “try one boot without it and one boot with it”.  It was a night and day difference on an already ridiculously comfy boot. I had to refrain myself from screaming “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!”…but in the end the $209.00 and change I spent for the boots and insoles was well worth it, and did I mention you get free laces for the life of the boot in store as well as free mink oiling AND lifetime guarantee on the insole? Trust me ladies and gents, you cannot go wrong with Redwing.

So if you’re in the market for a new boot, head on over to www.redwingshoes.com, you can order online or use the site to find a store near you, my local store is located at 2333 South Federal Highway Fort Pierce, Florida 34982, Travis Lampman was my salesman. Cheers!

 

Boot rating: 4.9 pints

In store experience: 4.9 pints

Website: www.Redwingshoes.com

Hotter Than Helles Lager

IMG_0148Cigar City Brewing’s “hotter Than Helles Lager” is part of their year round beer selection. I had been interested in trying it for a while now and decided to pick some up last week. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of it since lagers tend to be rather uneventful and quite honestly, boring. What I found was a beer that was neither of these things.

While the word “hell” is a German adjective meaning “light”, “blonde”, “pale”, etc., the word “helles” is a noun meaning “bright” or “a light one”. Given the color of the beer this is a very apt name for it. The color is very light, I would describe it as pale blonde. There is a lighter than normal carbonation to this beer which makes it even easier to drink leaving almost no head after pouring. The lower carbonation does inhibit foam though so expect no real lacing on the glass.

Cigar City Brewing describes the smell as grain, hay and honey, however, in addition, I also notice elements of fresh cut grass and a fair amount of sour lemon.

The flavor is fresh and light. The lower carbonation comes into play again creating a very light mouthfeel to the beer. Quoting Cigar City again they describe the taste as having a malty backbone with hay and honey. I did find that there is a good amount of bready malt flavors but they were offset by a decent amount of hops giving it quite a bit of bitter citrus flavor with a clean enjoyable finish.

With all the boring lagers out there it was nice to have one that at least had some complexity to it. I’m not saying this is going to replace any full-bodied beers you enjoy drinking but for a lager it’s a good. If you’re looking for something to drink on a hot day or something light and refreshing while mowing the lawn (cheers for that Ryan) this is your beer.

 

Brewer: Cigar City Brewing

ABV: 5%

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 pints.