Avoiding the Crowd

I wanted to take a break from my bluegill fishing from last week so I worked in a quick outing on the Sipsey. A good number of fishermen were on the water, which made me think that access 7 would be less crowded. This was the week before Labor Day Weekend, on a Friday and not a good time to fish the Sipsey. I knew they were going to stock the place on the following Thursday right before the holiday weekend. So I was going to try to beat the crowd. Most all fisherman know when they stock this place.  

Just above access 7 close to the dam, there is one guy out of camera range, close to where they release the trout. I was surprised to find no one near the steps at 7.  

One to hand right after I got in place. All the trout that are stocked in the Sipsey are extremely healthy.

Keep an eye on the indicator--after filming and landing this trout I got my trout fix for the morning. I enjoyed the fight as much as this trout did!!

Another Productive Day on the Sip!!

Believe me when I tell you guys that today’s visit to the Sipsey was special not only for the trout caught, but to meet these two young fly fishermen. They were headed down the tailrace to fish the really deep sections. I hope they had success, it pleases me to see the youngsters with a fly rod in hand.

My first cast and my first trout that was to be one of many that I would touch on a cloudy overcast day. The two-hour trip consisted of casting nymphs early and closing out the trip with the Gnat. Sorry guys for the bad image; I'm a work in progress when it comes to camera work.

One of the things I love about this place besides landing the trout is all the handy rock stools. They are positioned up and down the gouge for; let’s say the “seasoned fly fisherman.”

Overcast skies, a slight breeze out of the west and a huge rain front in the forecast for Thursday morning told me to wet a fly on the Sipsey today.  

Previewing The Contour Roam 2 Video Camera

No fishing here for the past couple of weeks due to heavy rains just about every day. Rivers are out of their banks and the lakes are 2 to 3 feet above full pool. Reading, watching Contour Roam 2 videos and thinking about fishing has consumed most of my time during this monsoon period. I decided to purchase the camera yesterday. I’m looking forward to putting it to good use in the coming weeks. I won’t go into the buying and returning the GoPro I thought I wanted to use. I'll just say the Contour is leaps and bounds ahead of the GoPro when being used as a helmet camera, because of its low profile. I can actually use the Contour attached to one of my caps, without movement. LET THE RAIN STOP!!


Side Note: This is my second Roam 2 Contour I’ve purchased. I decided in 2015 I wanted to film some of my fishing trips so the Contour was my choice of cameras then as it is now. My nephew is enjoying using my first camera.

The Mechanics’ of the Contour Roam2 Video Camera

Adding the Contour Video Camera to my fishing arsenal has actually helped me to concentrate more on getting that fish to take my offering.  Knowing I would like to get that unique footage of the fish nailing the fly and the intense fight the fish puts forth in its effort to break free is what I am striving for. The fish doesn’t have to be the biggest fish in the water column, but one that gives me and the viewer some fly fishing excitement.

With all that said let’s take a better look at the Contour Roam 2:

 

·                               Locking Instant On-Record Switch No power button, no problem. Simply slide the Instant On-Record switch into its locking position to ensure you shoot exactly when you're ready.

·                                 Vibrant color options We understand that style matters and color can make or break a look. Match your kit, or bring in a little contrast by adding a ContourROAM2 in one of four colors: Contour green, red, blue or traditional black.

·                                 60fps As requested by our users, we've bumped up the frames per second to 60, meaning you can now get that smooth video quality you've come to expect from Contour cameras.

·                                 Waterproof without a case Good things come in small packages. The ContourROAM2 sheds bulk by working underwater without an extra case.

 For more information about the camera check out this link that will give you even more info---don’t let this camera overwhelmed you it is very simple to operate.

 If you purchase the camera, you will need to purchase the 6 in 1 pack which comes with 6 different accessories to mount your camera in different ways—the one you really need is the strap helmet mount. I discovered that the straps that are used to whole the mount in place on your helmet is worthless. The real gem in this package is the stick on mount that you will use to attach to your helmet to whole the camera firmly while you are filming. It comes with a tilt and screw down clamp to really keep the camera stable when filming. I tried the headbands, the straps and both simply do not work well.

 The other item you will need is the actual helmet, which can be purchased at Academy Sports in the bike department. The Bell helmet is the one I choose, you may want another brand, but trust me the helmet is essential in filming hands free.

 I went through numerous filming clips before I finally got a few I was willing to show anyone. The main thing one needs to get use to is your head movement. The slower you can move your head when filming the better video you will produce. After landing the fish make sure you get it in front of the camera, I had that problem on my last filming trip with some of the trout I landed. Positioning your head at the correct angle will get the fish in view for your viewers to see.  For me this became a trail and error thing. I am still working on this part of the filming process.

I did tinker with some of the settings of the Contour, but found out that the standard default settings work best for me. In other words I found you can get a much clearer picture with the default settings.

 You will need to download the Story Teller software which will enable you to change the settings in the camera, and to view your video footage. This software is very simple to use.

 The best editing software I have found is Windows Movie Maker which is actually on your computer if you are using Windows 8 and beyond. I learn how to use the software by watching some excellent tutorials on Youtube. It is very simple to use.

This is what the complete package looks like, in the form of the Bell Helmet, Contour camera and the stick on mount attachment. The great thing I like about the mount is the angle adjustment one can use tilting the camera in the up or down position. I tried the headband strap which I ordered from Amazon, but sent it back, because it simply didn’t whole the camera steady. I tried the strap around a cap and hat but neither worked. The best thing I found to actually whole the camera in place and get quality video is the helmet----140.00 bucks total.

 

I’ve had a number of you to ask me for more details as far as filming and the accessories that go along with the camera; so with this post I hope I have helped some of you get started filming some of your fishing trips.

First Video Using the Contour Roam 2 Camera

It has been a month since I mentioned my Contour video camera. Just to get you up to speed on what I’ve been doing with camera is learning the mechanics of the filming and working with the editing software. I will go into detail more on the camera and the software later in an upcoming post. but today I wanted to let you guys see some footage that looks presentable. Some of my earlier attempts at filming didn’t work out so well.

I wish I had this nice bluegill on film, she put up a strong fight on the 3 weight. All the rest of the bluegill were small but fun on the light combo. The morning was slow due to lots of fresh water and numerous cold fronts, which is typical this time of the year. No counters on this outing.

This lake supports a great population of Mallard Ducks and most all raise their young in these duck houses. The Game and Fish had to add covers below the houses to keep the raccoons from robbing the nest.

The Contour Roam2 Camera Added to my Fly Fishing

As stated in my last post I like to find and watch good fly fishing videos on the net. I recently found some great fresh water videos dealing with warm water and cold water fly fishing filmed by Carter Nelson who lives in South Carolina. He has mastered the art of filming his fishing trips using a headmount camera. After getting some filming pointers from Carter last week, I decided I would do some research on video cameras and found one I was really impressed with on Amazon.

 The Contour Roam2 on Amazon was reduced half price at 98.90 with free shipping. The main thing that impressed me about this camera was the compact size and lightness. It attaches to your cap or hat and wherever you point your head it films. Carter said the only draw back to using a headmount camera is remembering to move your head slow as you work an area.

I have thought about filming some of my trips for years, but assumed it was just too much trouble. Using this camera is a breeze, meaning some of my first trips this season will probably have some video to share with you guys.