Hot Outdoor Recreation Posts

How To: Catch Lake Trout

Lowrance Pro-Staff, Gerry Heels, explains how he caught this nice Lake Simcoe Lake Trout. Fishing in over 70 feet of water the strike came about 10 feet below the ice. Without the Lowrance HDS5 Gerry never would have know it was there.

How To: Windsurf

This tutorial is for everyone who is trying to learn how to windsurf. If you already know how to windsurf and just want to freshen up on the theory or if you have never tried it and want to give it a go, this is the series to check out.

News: How Santa Claus Does Parkour

Santa Claus has to visit a lot of houses in very little time. When the reindeers are on break (Rudolph really likes his "egg nog", Santa sometimes needs to do a little traveling on his own. In a city or crowded neighborhood parkour can actually be pretty useful and obviously pretty bad ass.

News: How to Win a Trip to Explore Antarctica (Sponsored)

Air New Zealand is looking for a spokesperson for the Antarctica: No Ordinary Place, No Ordinary Assignment project, a two-week adventure in Antarctica, where the chosen candidate will join National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards to document environmental issues and important research being conducted by research teams sponsored by Air New Zealand and Antarctica New Zealand.

How To: Make a Survival Light Source

This is just a simple survival light source. You can use a cheap outdoor solar yard light like the one in the video from walmart. There only about 3 to 5 bucks but you can use them not only as a light source but a way to recharge AA rechargeable batteries.

How To: Keep Mosquitoes & Other Annoying Bugs Away from Your Campfire or Backyard Fire Pit

I'll be honest—I've never been a huge fan of camping. It's not that I have anything against nature, I'm just partial to showering and sleeping in my own bed. In fact, the only part of camping I've ever really enjoyed is sitting around a campfire. Outdoor fires are perfect for socializing and cooking hot dogs, but they're also great at helping remove one of camping's biggest annoyances.

How To: Build a Campfire in the Backcountry

In this video, John E. Hiker walks you through the basics of building a campfire at a cold winter campsite in Olympic National Park. John shows you step by step how to gather the best wood and light a fire using a fire starter. Fire starters are considered to be one of the "ten essentials" for backcountry travelers, so you should carry it with you and plan to use it at your camp. Getting to camp cold and wet at the end of a long day is no time to be a survivalist and try to light a fire with ...

How To: Ford/Cross a River Safely in the Backcountry

In this video tutorial, former Outward Bound instructor and mountaineering guide John E. Hiker demonstrates a basic technique for safely fording (crossing) a river. Typically, more hikers are killed each year from drowning while fording rivers than by bear attacks, falls, avalanches, and all other wilderness hazards combined. The technique shown here is especially useful for those crossing a deep river with a heavy backpack.

How To: Go ice fishing in a frozen lake

Ice fishing can be a bit more challenging (and cold!) than regular fishing - but much more rewarding when you catch something! This video by expert fishers Dick and Sue Viera show you all the proper techniques and safety precautions for a successful ice fishing trip. Go ice fishing in a frozen lake.

How To: Add a mono leader to a braid fishing line

This great how-to shows clearly how to tie a length of braided line to a fluorocarbon leader. In the video, the demonstrator uses large rope so that the technique can be clearly seen. This trick has been gaining popularity in the freshwater fishing community lately in part because it helps to reduce twist and snarl, but absorbing some of the pull. Follow this super video yourself and see if the trick works for you. When you're out in your boat and you feel the tug of that big mouth bass, you'...

How To: Tie braided line to leader

A recent trend in freshwater fishing is adding a fluorocarbon leader to your braided fishing line. The benefits of this are mainly allowing for some more absorbtion of pull, resulting in less twist and potential tangling. This how-to will show you how to tie this knot yourself, so when you're in the middle of that beautiful pond, and you feel the bite, you'll be able to successfully land that big one with less stress on you or your gear.

How To: Make a braid to fluorocarbon knot connection

There's a popular new trick in the fishing community and that's tying a braided line to a fluorocarbon leader line. To do this, you'll need to know the proper knot, and this video will show you how to do it. With this method you will reduce some of the problems of twisting and tangling with using braid right up to your lure. Check it out. The braid helps absorb some of the pull on the line, so see if you can feel it when you go to land the big one!

News: Hawaiian Surfer Dudes Make Their Own DIY Waves

Anybody who surfs knows there's often plenty of downtime waiting for the perfect swell to come along. So what do you do while you're waiting around? Option 1: Nothing (boo). Option 2: Fabricate your own ready-made waves, via a makeshift current pool hooked up to the Waimea River, one of the longest rivers in the Hawaiian Islands. Kudos to Stephan Figueiredo, Dennis Tihara, Gabriel Pastori, Diego Silva and Felipe Cesarano for their up-and-go-get-'em. There has been some debate regarding possib...

How To: Make a survival belt out of paracord using the cobra knot

All you need is a single long piece (at least fifteen meters) of sturdy paracord, as well as a clasp for either end. You can also use this technique to make a rifle sling or something else for which you will need a long length of woven paracord. The knot itself is not difficult - just watch carefully and make sure you've given yourself enough time to finish this project. A great project to make for yourself, or the survivalist in your life.

News: Alpine Racer Swaps Surfboard for Skis

Chuck Patterson has spent much of his life riding majestic mountains in boots and bindings, ski poles in hand. In recent years, the extreme athelete decided the massive Hawaiian swells needed conquering as well. Below, Patterson ditches the traditional surfboard for his trusty skiis, and towsurfs into some of the biggest waves of the year at Jaws, Maui's legendary surf break. More at Jaws:

News: The Backflip Brothers (Tandem Isn't for Sissies Anymore)

Some may say riding tandem is reserved for girly girls, seniors and little kids, but anybody would be hard pressed to call brotherly X-Gamer duo Colton and Caleb Moore sissies. At first thought, executing a two-men-clutching-each-other-on-a-snowmobile-backflip might be construed as somewhat odd, but the risk of two dudes potentially falling to their death is two times more thrilling than just one.