Eye For An Eye

a few years ago, while trying to find a substitute for E-Z Shape Sparkle Body, i read on an online forum that craft fabric paint is essentially the same thing, but at a huge discount.  so i went to the local Michael's and literally bought out their whole entire supply of Scribbles 3D Paint in the Crystal Gel Transparent Sparkle color.  i also bought a bunch of other colors, including one that is glow in the dark. 

so, after reading Casey Smartt's post on fabric paint eyes, i thought i would give it a go myself.  the eyes aren't perfect, but i think i'm slowing getting the technique down.  it's amazing how little paint you have to use to make sure you have the right sized eye. 

what's nice about fabric paint eyes is that they are slightly flexible and slightly rubbery in texture.  once they are dry, you can squeeze them 'a bit' and they return back to the original shape.  also, since they are flexible, it's easier to glue them onto thread heads, since they essentially conform to the shape of the head.

anyways, i have to say that staring at all these eyes gives me the heebie jeebies.  anyone else out there have trypophobia?  don't know what that is?  it's the fear of clustered holes.  google it, but it's not for the faint of heart.  i'm starting to get itchy and squirmy just thinking about it.

The Soundings of Silence (Part 2)

as we all know, Google has really made some terrific advances to its Google Maps and Google Earth products. what is amazing is that Google has allowed developers and others to build geocoded map layers that can overlay precisely on top of their products.

in my last post, i mentioned the downside to using the NOAA's paper charts or online chart viewer when prospecting for inshore fishing spots.  what i like to do is overlay the NOAA charts onto Google Maps or Google Earth. 

here is how to overlay the NOAA raster navigational chart (RNC) on top of Google Maps:

1.  go to the NOAA's interactive RNC catalog, and select the area you want to fish.

2.  on the right, you will be able to choose if you want to download the RNC file, buy a paper map, or view the chart online.  download the RNC file to your computer.

3.  go and download the beta version of Maptiler, which is a graphical application for online map publishing.  Maptiler allows you to take the downloaded RNC files and create an overlay for Google Maps.

4.  open Maptiler, and select 'Google Maps compatible'.  hit 'Continue'.




5.  click 'Add', then find and select the .KAP file you downloaded from the NOAA. 

6.  hit 'Continue'.

7.  At the screen that says 'Spatial reference system (SRS)', just skip by clicking 'Continue'.

8.  again, skip the screen that says 'Details about the tile pyramid' by clicking 'Continue'.

9.  choose the 'Result directory' on your computer.  this is where the necessary files will be created. 

10. hit 'Continue'.

11.  choose which viewers should be generated.  i click both 'Google Maps' and 'OpenLayers'. 

12.  hit 'Continue'.

13.  you can title the map file anything you want.

14.  since the development of this Maptiler application, the Google Maps API key is no longer 'optional'.  you need to get a Google Maps API v3 here.  once you get your API code, enter it in this screen.

15.  hit 'Continue'.



16.  on the last screen, 'Tile Rendering', hit 'Render' at the bottom right.

17.  once the application has finished, find your new created files, and double click on the googlemaps.html file.  this will open up your NOAA map on top of Google Maps!  from here you can search for all the optimal places you want to fish.  what i like to do is create a PDF of the new map, make some notes on top of it in Adobe Acrobat, and then upload it to my iPhone so i can access it on the water.  if you are worried about using your iPhone on the water, you can just print out the new map and now you have a printed NOAA chart for free!  for FRREEEEE!

my next goal is to somehow get the generated files and access them on my iPhone so i can have all the soundings on my mobile Google Maps.  essentially that would create a duplicate GPS device, again...for free!  for FRREEEEE!

also, if you want to keep track of all your waypoints and GPS tracks on Google Maps, you can convert your .GPX files to .KML files using the website GPS Visualizer.  once you have your .KML file, you can upload it to Google Maps or import it into Google Earth.




in part 3, i will go through the steps of creating an NOAA overlay using their electronic navigational charts (ENC) for Google Earth.  this process is a bit more complicated, but gives you greater flexibility as to the data you want to access.

The Soundings of Silence (Part 1)

ugh.  seems like the mild winter has everyone and their mother catching fish.  i haven't even made an attempt since returning home from Dallas.  there is a stocked river not 20 minutes from my home, yet i don't even think about going.  why?

1) i don't want to fish with 2 other anglers at each hole
2) with my first 6 month old son at home, it gets harder and harder to leave.

for those of you with kids, you'll understand...this time in his life is just so fun.  he is changing and developing every hour, and i just don't want to miss anything.

so that's the reason for my online silence.  but just because i'm not fishing, doesn't mean i'm not constantly thinking about it.  i'm dreaming of early May when i can paddle some of the northeast flats and sight fish for stripers.  but if you're anything like me, you study up before heading out.  here are some relevant, oldie but goodie articles.

Shallow Water Stripers (Nick Curcione)
Stripers on the Flats (Tom Richardson)

Seasonal Delights: An Underwater Guide to Dining on Long Island (John Papciak)

Connecticut's First Stripers (Frank Daignault)

Season Opener (Alan Caolo)

Northeast Flats Primer (Alan Caolo)
Fly Fishing Eastern Long Island and the Montauk Point Area (Amanda Switzer)
Shinnecock East: Disneyland for Fishermen (Michael Wright)
The Skinny on Long Island Flats Fishing (Angelo Peluso)

now that i've covered the 'how', i use maps to help me figure out the 'where'.  as you know, the one essential tool for fishing the salt is a GPS device.  i have a handheld Garmin for when i'm out on the yak, but use the Navionics app on my iPhone as well.  in my opinion, both screen sizes are way too small in general, but particularly when trying to cover lots of water in order to find the optimal spots.  so i try to pick out my spots before even getting to the water.

most of you know that the NOAA provides nautical maps with soundings (depths).  the NOAA offers maps in 5 ways:

1) paper charts for purchase (i'm too cheap for this option)
2) print-on-demand charts for purchase (i'm too cheap for this option, too)
3) online chart viewers (limited viewing area, too cumbersome to use)
4) downloadable raster (image-based) charts
5) downloadable electronic (vector-based) charts

in part 2 i will cover how i use the NOAA's raster charts and electronic charts in combination with Google Maps and Google Earth.