For 2017 MTI Adventurewear an American personal flotation device manufacturer released the new Neptune Auto Inflatable Life Jacket. With comfort and safety in mind the lightweight Neptune auto inflatable PFD is able to be worn in comfort all day long. Being a flat water PFD the use in kayak fishing, hunting, and touring is to be its main use but can also be used in power boating as well. The PFD is a one size fits all with 29 lbs of buoyancy!

Use:

After purchasing your new MTI Neptune PFD be sure to follow the instructions on the attached card thoroughly. You will need to arm the inflator device prior to use. If you fail to arm the device the PFD will not be buoyant in an emergency. Although there is a oral tube for manual inflation it will not be useful in the event you are unconscious.There are three ways to inflate the PFD. One is as is mentioned the manual oral tube. The second is the manual jerk tab which will activate a pin that will pierce the CO2 canister. The third is the automatic bobbin which when immersed with water will dissolve the chemical in the bobbin after a few seconds and release the pierce pin opening the CO2 cylinder.

Arming the PFD:

It’s necessary to arm the device prior to your experience on the water and disarm it when not in use. To arm the inflator device find the CO2 canister in the left side under the tab tat says “Cylinder for Arming”. You will find it wrapped in a plastic bag with instructions. Arming the PFD is pretty simple. Push in the CO2 canister while holding the lever arm to retract the bayonets. Turn 1/8 clockwise turn and the indicator will turn green. If it stays red then you will need to purchase a rearming kit. The Kit is model #V86000-84204Z which includes CO2 Canister and new bobbin.

When the PFD is not in use you should disarm the CO2 canister. This is important since you don’t want the PFD inflating during normal maintenance while cleaning or an accidental pull on the jerk tag while storing. When you clean your Neptune be sure to remove the cap and bobbin. Water will degrade the bobbin and make it fire therefore a rearming kit will be necessary.

The cost is US $159.95 msrp

For more info visit the MTI Adventurewear Website

Live. Love. Life [Jackets].

Fishing Journal 2017 04-21:

Well if your from Delaware or PA or NJ, and you haven’t heard the big Bluefish are thick at Cape Henlopen South Side then you must live under a rock! The daily posting has been crazy on Facebook. Planning the Delaware Paddlesports Crew and a few others decided to hit the bay on Friday April 21st Bluefishing Cape Henlopen. This would be my first time launching in the park and out on this body of water atop my Big Rig.

A good evening:

It was a cool calm evening meeting up with the DPS crew. We all launched around 5:00 PM from the beach by the pier. Some guys were still on the water from earlier. As the DPS guys were all grouped up and taking photos with their cell phones I broke out my DLSR. And took a few pictures of them posing on their Hobies. We fished for a while trolling. No fish for about an hour and a half. Then suddenly the clicker on my Abu Garcia Screaming Fish On! The SP Minnow was on! An excellent fight producing a bluefish just over 28″ in length. Bernie the River Stick guy landed 2 nice ones on a top water hard bait. Joe Hosler had a real nice one in the 42″ range on an SP minnow also. Kevin caught a 16.75″ founder on a large rattle trap. Although the fishing was slow it was a very nice night out.

I’m looking forward to Bluefishing Cape Henlopen and also fishing with the DPS crew again in the near future!

Living right on the Indian River bay has some advantages. After work I can now get out on the water for a little while. I took advantage of this on a Friday April 5th 2017. This day was special because I was able to catch one of southern Delawares Phenomenal Sunsets.

It was a chilly breezy evening and wanting to get out and see if I could find some stripes (Striped Bass). Dropping in out of Pot-Nets Seaside Long Neck put me closer to the Indian River Bay Inlet. I figured this would be a good area to find Striped Bass due to its proximity to the ocean. The wind was out of the south east and man was it blowing. Had to be 15 – 20 producing over 2 foot white capping waves. I headed out using the Torqeedo and went across to Burton Island where I was hoping to be shielded a bit. Well that didn’t work. So I made a few casts to the shallow water and where it dropped off. Casting a jig with a paddle take soft bait. My fish finder was clear of fish marks.

Another point was to get out on the yak while also scoping out and mark areas that id think flounder will hold in the spring time. I located a few good drop offs from sandbars and marked them in the Lowarnce Elite 5TI. Soon it will be time to jig these areas and hope for decent sized flounder! In the spring time the big flounder typically come into the back bays to spawn in the shallow grassy waters.

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By now it was getting dark and due to the overcast I didn’t think there would be a visible sunset. To my surprise in the distance on the very edge of the horizon there was an abundant orange glow. A few minutes later the sky lit up bright yellow and red. Reflecting off the water the hues filled the bay and the surrounding landscape. This was one of the best sunsets I have ever seen from my kayak seat!