We’re working with TidalFish.com and giving away two of our Lateral Line Miles Technical Fishing t shirts if you post a fishing report on TidalFish.com’s Maryland Fishing Forum or Virginia fishing forum.  In addition you can win a pair of sweet Hobie polarized sunglasses worth some real loot to help give you the visual edge in your fishing adventures. Between our Miles fishing t-shirt and a pair of Hobie shades you’ll be one good looking angler on the water that fish can not resist. Check out the rules and how to enter on TidalFish.com’s  Maryland Fishing Forum here and the Virginia Fishing Forum here

Recently I was asked by and outdoor writer, who was doing an interview with me about Lateral Line and our Crisfield Fishing Shirt, if we thought that SPF ratings were important with clothing. When I was done talking with this outdoor writer I thought it would make sense to say a few things about SPF and UPF ratings on our blog because I think it can be confusing. Before I was in the technical clothing business I never really understood it myself. So here’s the low down.
(picture: Lateral Line’s Crisfield Fishing Shirt in action Bonefishing in the Bahamas. Click on picture for larger image)

The first thing to understand is the difference between SPF and UPF. SPF is a rating system for things like sunscreen and creams or liquids that are applied directly to your skin. The rating measures the amount of time it will take your skin to burn with direct exposure. Of course the rating is not an absolute because people’s skin types differ, but it does provide a good general guideline. UPF on the other hand is a rating that relates to how much ultraviolet light a material reflects and how much it lets through. The reality of it is that all clothing has some sort of UPF rating simply because any material acts as a filter.  Your every day light weight white t-shirt has a UPF rating of about 8 or 9.  A dark thick heavy cotton winter shirt on the other hand can have a UPF rating of 1000+ because it literally blocks all light.

The Lateral Line Crisfield fishing shirt has a minimum UPF rating of 30. One might ask why don’t you have an exact number; the answer is that different colors reflect different amounts of light. Our light green/tan Crisfield fishing shirt is going to reflect more light then our blue Crisfield fishing shirt. Either way you are going to get a minimum rating of 30 with our shirt. At the end of the day lab tests are great and everything, but we all know how testing goes.  We “lab” test our fishing apparel in the field while fishing and we’ve worn our Crisfield shirts in the middle of the summer in 90+ degree weather in places like on the flats in the Bahamas for days on end and had no problems with sun burn. That is our test, does it really work in the field. If not, we go back to the drawing board.

So next time you go to buy a fishing shirt or shirt to protect you from the sun we’d suggest you make sure you get a shirt with at least a 20+ UPF rating.  Buy our Crisfield shirt and rest assured you are protected. If you ever have any questions do not hesitate to drop us a line. Good Fishing!

I have been on the road the last few months and am way behind posting reports and pictures of all my trips so I figured I ought to get this report out the door asap or it seems I never get them done. (picture left: A part of the Colorado Delta from the air. Click on all photos for larger versions)

My first stop on this adventure was Yuma, Arizona where I rondevued with my friend Tom and Luther P. who is the executive director of the Sonoran Institute on a mission to baseline via aerial photos the lower Colorado River/Colorado Delta where the Sonoran Institute is working on several restoration projects . I know Luther and his wife Liz from the non-profit conservation world as well as part of the Jackson Hole summer crowd. About four weeks ago we were all in the Bahamas together chasing bonefish. Tom and I have been talking with Luther about the Sonoran’s restoration efforts in the delta. Luther saw our aerial photo work we have been doing for the Henry’s Fork Foundation based in Idaho over the last few years (If you grab a copy of the Henry’s Fork 2010 calendar all the photos are mine and Tom’s) and asked if we could do some similar work for the Delta. After learning more about the great work Sonoran we agreed. We spent a day in Yuma checking out some restoration projects the city is doing around the river, had the privilege of having dinner with an elder from the Cocopah Indian Tribe to learn about his and the tribes viewpoint of all the water rights issues, and then the next morning awoke early to meet Fred our pilot who would fly us over the Delta and into Mexicali, Mexico. We took off and followed the river down to Mexicali where we landed and dropped off Luther and picked up Francisco who is in charge of the restoration project for Sonoran. As we flew over the delta and followed it to the mouth where it flows into the Gulf of California the only word that came to mind was “vast”. In many ways it’s vastness reminded me of the Chesapeake. An amazing site. After a few hour flight we landed and took a tour of specific restoration sites. We also visited with community that owns a large area of land in the delta which just so happened to have one, if not the best, largemouth bass fishing lake I have ever seen. We only managed to fish for thirty minutes, but I hooked a bunch of largemouth and saw more 7,8,9lb fish I have ever seen in one place. I’m headed back there in the fall for a longer visit .

An interesting thing to note is that just a few months ago Mexicali was hit with a 7+ earthquake and we managed to see some of the damage. The community that we visited that has the bass lake is so terrified of the aftershocks and everything they completely abandoned their village in fear another earthquake would strike and their homes fall on them. The entire village moved about two miles away and now lives in large mobile military tents. When you talk to the people you can see in their face the fear is as real as it gets. This is the type of story that rarely show up in the news once the initial reports and buzz on the story fade, but was a striking reminder to me of the real life struggles that people face after such natural disasters.

After we wrapped up our tours we had dinner in downtown Mexicali, hit the sack at a nice hotel in town and departed via truck back to the US. The car line wait to get back into the US was only 45 min which from my experience coming back into California from Mexico is not too bad. We were told the line can be as many as four hours sometimes….one hot wait in 100+ degree temps.

Once we got back to our place in Yuma I switched bags and started getting things together for the next part of my adventure which would take me to Seattle, WA for two days to stage and then to Yakutat, AK to chase some steelhead for a week.

Going over with Francisco, the head of the restoration project, which areas he would like to make sure we get some good aerial photos

Our pilot for the day, Fred, on the left, me, and Luther the CEO of the Sonoran Institute on the right

A part of the Colorado Delta from the air (Gulf of California in the background)

Where the natural Colorado River Stops and the man man-made river begins

On the ground checking out one of the restoration sites. The ditch is where irrigation water comes into the restoration project area

The man-made Colorado River