Paintball SafetyWritten by John Doe
The fact that Paintball is now 4th most popular Extreme Sport is not solely do to fact that it is one of most fun sports around it is also because of fact it is also safe to play. How can a sport where people go around shooting each other with paintballs going 280 fps (feet per second) be safe you ask?, well in this section I will explain how that is possible. The first and foremost reason that Paintball is safe is because there are rules and regulations in place to insure that players are safe during game-play. These rules are set by Paintball Insurance Companies that insure Recreational Fields. I will list a couple of many companies that insure fields and rules that most of these companies enforce. Two of most popular companies that provide insurance to fields are listed below along with their website links; American Paintball League National Paintball Association I will now explain in detail most important of these rules and regulations used at all insured fields; Goggles/Masks The 1st and most important rule is that all players must wear Paintball approved Goggles/Masks at all times during game-play and if they are on play field at all whether in play or not. The goal of these systems is to protect face and eyes of players from injury. The approved systems do a wonderful job of protecting player as I can attest to having been hit square a few times. I know that fields are very strict about this rule cause if they are not they will lose their insurance or be fined. I will add a few more recommended suggestions in regards to Goggles/Masks that are not a rule or regulation but are important none less. Each and every time before you play for day inspect your goggles to make sure they are in tip top shape and pay special attention to lenses for cracks. If you see any cracks in lenses DO NOT use those goggles they WILL NOT be safe until you get NEW lenses installed. If you have ever taken a direct hit in lenses it is recommended that you Do Not Use those goggles until New lenses are installed due to fact that they may have been weakened and not give proper protection. Barrel Plugs/Socks The 2nd most important rule is that all players must affix their Barrel plug or Sock on when not on field or when they have been eliminated and are walking off field. A barrel plug/sock is a piece of equipment that can come in many styles and types that all have goal of preventing a paintball from being shot from marker. The use of a barrel plug/sock is important because they prevent accidental injury due to close range shots while not on field. Below are some images of different barrel plugs available (the industry seems to be leaning towards Barrel Socks because they provide better protection than Plugs); Velocity of Paintballs The rule of safety is really just as important as Barrel Plugs but has a little more variety in actual implementation. Velocity of paintball is speed paintball is traveling in "feet per second" (FPS). There is not one set velocity throughout Paintball world but there is a range that all fields fall in as far as enforcement. The velocity range is about 275 fps to 290 fps depending on field. Each player must get their marker checked for velocity by a referee who tags marker if is is at or below fields speed rule. Each player is also subject to random test while in game-play at discretion of referees. I would recommend all players to check their velocity at least every other game they play because last thing you want to do is get removed from game or field do to shooting faster than fields legal limit. Getting your velocity checked is a quick and painless procedure so in my opinion there should be no reason to ever shoot what is called hot!
| | Swordfishing in South FloridaWritten by www.swordfishingcentral.com
Southeast Florida Swordfishing – “Purple Fever” Once you have your tackle ready to go, let us describe a typical drift out in South Florida’s Gulf Stream. We are basing this drift using 4 lines. Some of your center console fisherman may be able to fish 5 or even 6 rods, but we believe 4 rods is sufficient and will cover fathoms needed to catch that broadbill you have dreamed of. Swordfishing off southeast coast of Florida has really taken a turn for better. We are experiencing a fish size of 75-100lb on average. Although we are deemed to be breeding grounds and anglers routinely catch “Pups”, we have our share of three-hundred pound plus fish move through. November thru January is usually some of our best months, as water temperature is cooler. But with all good comes some bad. The seas are usually much rougher this time of year. In summer time, we don’t see as much action, but we still get our share. This is a year-round fishery and will be around for a long time as long as we don’t abuse it. We ask that you please report you fish! Please report your catches and releases. We know you are not required to report a release, but by reporting that we are routinely catching numbers, lessens chances of commercial fisherman entering our waters. We cannot stress enough how important it is to report our catch. We also want to practice safety especially while night fishing. We suggest that each angler on your boat carries a glowstick and whistle in his/her pocket. This way if they were to accidentally fall over, you would have a means of finding them. Another strong point is no sleeping! Cargo ships constantly are running through swordfish grounds and if you are sleeping and they are on autopilot, trouble could be approaching. We have had some close calls to where we actually had to pick up and move to avoid a collision course with some freighters. Bottom line, if you want to sleep stay home. Now lets fish! Locating The Swordfish Grounds :As you may know swordfishing takes place at night, as they are primarily nocturnal feeders. Leaving dock in late evening hours and coming back to dock after midnight is standard, depending on time of sunset. Calm seas have much to do with decision of when to go out. Swordfish can be caught when it is rough or calm, but we must think safety first. The combination of a gps and good fishfinder is essential when finding good solid structure to start your drift. Off South Florida coast, our sword grounds are generally between longitude 79-51W and 79-49W. This is roughly 15-18 miles off our coastline. A fishfinder that goes to at least 1500 feet is very beneficial; as you will see canyons and structures that hold bait, hence attract swordfish. *Tip – If you want to find fish, set your fish finder range to just 100ft and you will find bait such as Tinker Mackeral or Sardines. Where there is bait, there is Sword! Swordfish are known to roam these deep depths around ridges and valleys. With two combined units you are already ahead of game. Radar is also an important piece of equipment, but not absolutely necessary. Once you are satisfied with your location, you want to spend next 5-20 minutes figuring out your drift. The drift is a very important aspect. If you have heard that bite is strong along 79-50W line, you want to make sure you are drifting on this line. A top-notch sea anchor can work to keep you in this zone. Deploy your sea anchor off boats center cleat for best drift. But maybe, bite is fluctuating from west 48 lines to 51 lines. In this case you would want to drift over and over these grounds. Turn on your vhf or check out our reports to see where most action is for night you are going out. With proper drift you can stay in zone all night and have baits soaking for majority of night. Don’t be in a rush to put baits out. Take your time and factor wind and current and decide, “Am I going to push in shallow or out deep”. Which side of boats are lines going to be on? How much wait should I be using to get my baits to desired depth? How fast will my drift be? All these factors are worth considering before you turn off engines and decide where you are going to ride out a drift. Tackling Broadbills:Although a live bait seems ideal when setting out to catch any gamefish, don’t rule out your dead baits! Bobby Boyle of RJ Boyle Studios came out with a shirt that says, “Live Bait Sux”. Bobby definitely has a point when it comes to swordfish. As a beginner in swordfishing, we suggest sticking to just one live bait and rest dead baits such as squid. You ensure a much better hookset when using a dead-bait, and your strikes will definitely not suffer from not using live-bait! Your sole livebait can be fished just under boat around 85 feet down. It will blend in with other baits that have congregated around your boat. Lets discuss rigging your rods. We use mostly 50 wides, but have a few 80’s that are ready for that big wintertime swordfish. A 50w is plenty sufficient for swordfish. With invention of hollow-core braid, guys can load their 30’s with over 700 yards and be able to fish their light tackle rods for broadbills. When spooling reels we suggest marking last 400 feet of your line. Mark line using waxline half stitches. This will enable you to easily drop your baits to desired depth without having to count every time you setup. A counter can be used to count off desired feet. If you can leave a loop in waxline marker on your line, this would be ideal. Later on we will teach you how to tie balloon or jug to that loop in waxline. It is very important to make sure waxline does not slip! Your first knot that will be used on your mainline is popular bimini twist (about 5 ft). The knot acts as a shock absorber and is very beneficial to rig. Take your bimini twist right to ball bearing snap swivel and tie an offshore knot. Have this combination on all four of your rods. Lets discuss your rigs. We first start out by measuring 15 feet of 200lb – 400lb mono leader. On top end we crimp a loop using a nylon thimble so that we can attach it to our ball bearing snap swivel with ease. On other end, crimp a 8/0 – 11/0 hook. Make sure hook is very sharp, if not sharpen it. You should be able to press it against your finger nail and make a nice dent. On hook you want to place a bridle that is used to bridle your live bait. It is a loop that is about 6 inches in diameter made out of rigging floss. Attach that bridle to hook and you are set. Attach your live bait rig to your rods ball bearing swivel. At swivel top circle you want to also attach 1 electralume and a flasher at your discretion. This helps to make your bait visible to swords.
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