Willard Bay Fishing Report – April 2

April 2, 2014 - posted by Chris Jacobson

WILLARD: Fish at Willard has been spotty at best lately. A few weeks ago, we had a warm spell where there were reports of some walleye becoming active but that ended when the weather turned off cold again. Walleye and Wiper are warm water fish, and generally are more active when the water gets warmer. The current water temp that the Willard Bay state parks website gives is 43 degrees but reports from anglers have it somewhere between 37-39 degrees.Catfish activity has been picking up and anglers are catching some nice ones using worms or carp meat right on the bottom.

Looking at the weather report, it should be getting a little warmer and in a week or two the Walleye and Wiper should be getting more active. As their activity increases, green or white grub jigs with the curly tails will be the ticket. If rapallas are more your speed, white or silver with black shad are going to be what you need. Trolling with a bottom bouncer and a worm harness also works well when the fish become more active.

A few other local spots that are hot right now are Hyrum and East Canyon Reservoir. Both of these reservoirs are great right now for Rainbow Trout. Marabou Jigs or Rainbow powerbait seem to be the best right now. As always with trout, gold and silver lures like a Jake are never a bad option. As the ice starts to come off of these higher reservoirs, look for the fishing to become really good!

New in the store:

It’s the reel everyone loved – and now it’s back.

A legendary reel reintroduced with new features, the Mitchell 300 and 308 Spinning Reels are $44.99 in the Smith & Edwards Fishing Department.

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The Gear You Need for a Weekend Getaway

March 15, 2014 - posted by Mike Vause

The spring is the perfect time to plan your hiking and camping, and you couldn’t ask for a better location than Utah. Take a week to enjoy the natural surroundings in comfort. Or, take off on a Friday afternoon and get away for a weekend with the family on your favorite hiking trails.

Utah Hiking and Camping Spots

Utah is rich with outdoor hiking opportunities.

I love the Uinta mountains.

The Desert Canyons of San Rafael Swell are also a good hike.

Even our own humble Ben Lomond peak.

Peak of Ben Lomond - Mike Vause, Smith and Edwards

My nephew on the peak of Ben Lomond. Over his right shoulder you can see Willard Bay.

Climb a peak! It will change how you look at things.

We have beautiful peaks in Utah. I like the view from Lewis Peak on the other side of the divide.

Utah’s tallest is Kings Peak – that’s an amazing summit right there.

For camping, I like the Logan Canyon area. There are still some fun spots at North Fork.

I love being in the Uinta mountains – there are many fun places up there you can hike to.

Now is the time to prepare a great backpack trip or day hike. Be ready now so you can grab your gear and go when the weather is right.

Capitol Reef, Utah - Mike Vause, Smith and Edwards

Capitol Reef National Park

Utah Hiking Gear & Camping Picks

Kelty day packs lasted my kids from 2nd grade through to my 20-year-old on his mission in the islands of the Pacific.

When you’re looking for hiking packs, you can’t go wrong with one from Mountainsmith, Kelty, or Jansport.

Hiking packs by Jansport, Mountainsmith, and Kelty at Smith and Edwards

These hiking packs will hold all your gear comfortably – and you won’t lose sight of your family in these bright colors, either.

Rather than trying to haul in your own water, you’ll want a water purification system: either a pump or a gravity system.

Some good purifying pump systems are the Katadyn Hiker, and the MSR Miniworks Ex Microfilter.

Water Purification pumps are great – but gravity-style purification rocks.

I love the Katadyne Base Camp system, where you draw a huge bag through the water, hang it up in camp, and then release water from it as you need it. And because of the gravity, you don’t need to pump it. The Katadyne Base Camp uses the same filters as other Katadyne systems.

A lot of these purification systems have adapters that go right on your Nalgene® bottle, reducing spillage.

Waterproof boots are a must! Danner and Merrell are good waterproof brands, and Merino wool or polypropylene blend socks complete the package.

Here are a couple good shoes: Danner 453 GTX in brown, and Merrell Moab Gore-Tex Mid with Vibram soles.

Merrell and Danner hiking boots and Merino wool socks at Smith & Edwards

Merrell or Danner hiking boots and Merino wool socks will keep your feet dry on a Utah hike.

Don’t forget your hat and sunscreen!

Staying overnight? Think about a Slumberjack sleeping bag. There are a lot of options out there, I like Slumberjack and Kelty.

Kelty and Slumberjack sleeping bags

Always take a pad; good rest is important. These inflatable pads are by ThermaRest, and we have several online you can check out.

I have a Kelty tent with 15 years of use, and we sell other great brands as well.

Kelty and Mountainsmith Tents at Smith and Edwards

The Kelty Grand Mesa and Mountainsmith Morrison 2-Person 3-Season tents are great for camping in Utah.

Shop available tents online, and see the full lineup in our stores.

Hike with Your Kids

Get your kids out; give them a love of the outdoors when they are young, and they will carry your heavy stuff when you are older. Trust me, it works.

You’ll get something started that they won’t be able to put down.

What are your favorite hiking and camping spots? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Rejuvenate your Home with new Paint Palettes!

December 14, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

Lots of hardware and home improvement stores have paint departments with all those wonderful rainbows of paint chips.

If you’re building your own home, starting to personalize your new house, or finally getting around to touching up after the kids have flown the nest – you know how important those color swatches are, and how much time you can spend with them!

Picking Paint Palettes

One of my favorite things to do when I’m trying to pick paint colors – it’s a long-term decision! – is go to Pinterest and search for paint color palettes and inspiration. I love the colors people have already put together – much better than trying to hope the colors I choose will play nicely together!

And you know what? The paint counter at Smith & Edwards has several color palettes already created in gorgeous combinations with paint chips right in the palette! You’ve got to come in and see them! Take home a sample and tack it to the wall so you can visualize how your living room would look in a brand new coat of paint.

Valspar color trio palettes at Smith & Edwards

Smith & Edwards’ new Valspar color trio palettes

Clark+Kensington paint chips, top, and room color paint palettes

Perfect “mood” palettes from Clark and Kensington

This one’s my favorite – I’m picking colors for our living room and dining room, and this is what I’m settled on: a vanilla-cream on the walls, and white trim. Look at the great options I can use for accents!

Plus I can take this palette when I’m shopping for bookshelves, choosing photos to hang on the walls, and picking out our new couch to make sure everything complements the room.

Smith & Edwards Paint Department gets a Makeover!

These new color palettes are just a tiny part of the big changes in our paint department! That’s right, after years of helping thousands of Utah homeowners improve their home’s appearance – we’ve gotten a makeover, too!

Check out the amazing new lighting – much easier to see true colors and match paints:
(old and new paint counter)

Before…

After…

It’s so bright and clean… we love it! How about you?

The reason for our remodel? We’ve brought in a new line of paint, Valspar, which is a premium paint. It’s got amazing pigments that give you brighter, more vibrant color!

Valspar comes in 2 grades. Aspire is a mid grade paint that’s similar to Clark+Kensington and is pretty durable. Optimus is the high-end Valspar paint and primer, and it’s incredibly durable. You can clean lipstick off flat Optimus without leaving a trace! – and it has great coverage.

Randy, our Paint department manager, will be happy to help you pick the perfect grade of paint!

And because they’re part of the same family, we can exactly color-match Valspar to Clark+Kensington and Ace Royal paints you’ve already got at home.

Clark + Kensington was recently rated #1 among leading paint brands by Consumer Reports. So you know you’re going to get the best paint for your project here at Smith & Edwards!

Sample Paint Pints

Here’s something more you can do than just tack that color palette up on your wall. Just tell us what colors you’d like to test drive, and we’ll mix them up for you and set you up with sample pints of Valspar or Clark+Kensington paint for just $4.99.

That way you can really get a feel for how the colors will affect the mood of the room, how they’ll enhance your furniture and cozy or freshen the feel of the space. You could get a sheet of chipboard and mock up what the room would look like – that way you get a much better idea than just 3″ paint chip swatches.

And while we’re probably the only ones who are excited about this, we’ve also got new displays and signage to match our new modern look! It’s like getting new sconces for us – aren’t they amazing?

(we think so!)

And since a lot of gluing seems to happen whenever there’s remodeling, we collected all our glues and plopped them right next to the paint so they’re easy to find. From E6000 to wood glues and of course Gorilla Glue, you’ll find the glue your projects need.

Come on in & visit!

And just wait… there is something exciting that Randy and the paint department can do with Valspar paints that they’ve never been able to do before! Come in and ask them about it, or wait to see the in-store demo we’ve got coming up in 2014. (Hint: it’s something to do with chalk!)

So come on in to Smith & Edwards and check out our huge range of paints and colors for home inspiration. The Paint department is just past the main entrance around aisles 19-23. Randy and Brenda can’t wait to help you find and match the perfect hues for your living room, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen!

Smith and Edwards Paint Dept will get you the results you want!

Come on in and let’s pick out your colors!

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Dutch Oven Cooking with Colleen Sloan

November 30, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

We were so lucky to have Colleen Sloan, the first lady of Dutch oven cooking, give us some excellent tips on Dutch oven (D.O.) cooking. And you’re lucky, too – keep scrolling to see her creations & get 2 complete Dutch oven recipes!

I got to catch up with Colleen as she was cooking up samples outside Smith & Edwards. You wouldn’t believe the number of ovens she had going with all different meals and treats inside.

Colleen had a pie going, pizzas, orange rolls, chicken noodle soup, taco bread, chili, garlic cheese rolls, apple crumble, and even more meals – there were Dutch ovens everywhere.

See Colleen Cook!

If there was a way to capture the heavenly smell of Colleen’s Dutch oven cooking, you wouldn’t need to see what she was doing. But these pictures tell the story of some of her dishes, and just think, every dish smelled – and tasted – just as scrumptious as you’d imagine looking at them.

Remember, Collen prewarms her D.O.s and sprays the inside with a coat of vegetable oil before each dish.

Chili

: Nothing better on a campfire than some chili steaming away. For this pot, we just opened some canned chili and added cheese (lots!) – but a Dutch oven will give your from-scratch chili an amazing flavor, too!

: Serving up the cheesey chili – mm mm mmmm!

Taco Bread

This is a happy recipe Colleen discovered – Taco cheese biscuits, or taco bread! In a warm D.O., the dough rose and baked for about 35 minutes, then it was ready. You can make this same meal with your own favorite spices – and lots of cheese :)

: Audrey’s cutting up some frozen bread dough into morsels. You can keep your dough whole, or in medium chunks for rolls: cutting it this small made it easier to break into samples when it’s done, and also faster to cook.

: Where’s the beef? Colleen’s adding some precooked ground beef cooked in taco seasonings.

: Audrey: How much cheese do I put in?
Colleen: Just put in the whole bag!

Last peek before the lid goes on: some green onions on top. Yum!

: It’s half gone already! Look at that… and it breaks apart into perfect morsels because the bread was cut in pieces. Yumm!

Candied Yams

You’ll have to imagine how these turned out – I could have watched Colleen cook all day, but I had to go back inside before I saw how these candied yams turned out. I’m sure they were delicious… and so easy to make!

: To start, Colleen sprayed vegetable oil in the Dutch oven. Then she’s got some prebaked yams wrapped in foil, just like you can bring on your camping trip, and Skip’s going to peel and slice them.

: Yams are very good for you! So go ahead and add in a couple handfuls of brown sugar…

: …plus a sliced stick of butter for a delicious pot of vegetables!

Then pop the lid on, and let it go til you smell that delicious candied yam smell. Mm mm mmmm!

Pizza

This was another one I couldn’t snap the final product – it was out of the Dutch oven and scarfed down before I could take the picture! But here’s how Skip made his Dutch oven pizzas:

: Skip’s kneading some Rhodes dough into pizza shapes

: Skip can fit 2 pizzas in this 10″ Dutch oven – he could also cook them on a flat lid

: Let’s see… Skip’s got pizza sauce, ground meat, pineapple (yum!) going… good so far, but we’re missing something…

: That’s better! Can’t forget the cheese. Lid on, cook away, and devour!

Apple Crumble

: First thing you need for a Dutch oven apple crumble is some apple pie filling

: Add a bag of cake mix over the filling

: Give it a nice stir – keep the cake mix on top

: Think it needs some cinnamon! It smells so good already (remember, the D.O. is prewarmed)

: Add a can of pop – you can use any you like, Colleen went with Sierra Mist

: It’s bubbling now with the pop in there! Time to put the lid on and let it go.

: Smells ready! We peeked, and it’s done. So we’ve tilted the lid to help it cool down.

: Mmm! It’s ready – smells like cinnamon, rich apples, and good cooking.

: It’s time to serve up! Colleen does the honors

: Kelly gives this apple cobbler her seal of approval! Yum!

Beginning Dutch Oven Cooking Tips

The Dutch Oven Cooking Basics

If you’re cooking for just you or 1-2 more people, a 10-inch Dutch oven is a great size to start with. Get yourself a Dutch oven, a hot mitt and a lid lifter if you like, and a cookbook – Colleen’s Log Cabin Dutch Oven cookbook is a great place for beginners to start! Just start trying it out – you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Where do you Start?

Do you have a recipe you use at home? Just put it in a Dutch oven, put your Dutch oven in your electric oven set to 300°, and let it go.

You don’t need to go hotter than that, because the cast iron gathers and retains heat, so it’ll get even hotter than 300.

If your Dutch oven is a camp oven – that is, if it has legs – simply set your Dutch oven on a cookie sheet to avoid hassling with the racks. A cookie sheet makes it easier to slide the Dutch oven out, too.

Keep the Lid on It

Try not to peek, so all the flavors and nutrients stay inside the Dutch oven. Instead, when it smells like what it tastes like, your nose will let you know when it’s done!

The Dutch oven is the original slow cooker and pressure cooker – in fact, with the lid on, you can get between 1-3 pounds of pressure inside, which helps your food cook thoroughly for a rich flavor, without a long time waiting. So remember, don’t lift the lid because it’ll release all that pressure.

The best way to get started Dutch oven cooking is to try out your own recipes you already know. Then once you’ve got a feel for it, give one of Colleen’s great recipes a try!

Dutch Oven Recipes

I asked Colleen if I could share some recipes from her wonderful Log Cabin Dutch Oven Cookbook, and… she said YES!

So here are 2 very simple recipes that you can try tonight with just a Dutch oven in your oven at home. And as I learned today, you can add your own spices, sauces, and especially cheese to just about any Dutch oven recipe to make it even tastier! (We debated the finer points of cheese on apple pie – a cheese-stuffed crust was the way to go, we decided)!

Dutch Oven Bread

You’ll need:

3 cups flour
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
Water (enough to make a dough)

Mix dry ingredients with 3 Tbsp water to start. Add more if necessary. Work as little as possible and bake in a greased Dutch Oven for 20 to 25 min. It can be baked as one large loaf, or several small loaves.

You’ll find dozens of hand-written notes in the Log Cabin Dutch Oven Cookbook from Colleen. She’s written “Um-Um-Good” next to this one! This is such a simple recipe, I can’t wait to try it. And here are some variations she recommends to mix it up:

Use milk instead of water
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tbsp. Oil
1 tsp. Cinnamon or Nutmeg
Raisins, currants, drained blueberries, cheeses, garlic, onions, and more. All to make your bread taste swell.

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

You’ll need:

1 large Pot Roast
1 tsp. Salt
1 medium Onion (sliced)
1/2 tsp. Pepper
8 to 10 Potatoes (peeled)
1 cup Water
10 to 12 Carrots (peeled & cut in half)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil (or bacon grease)

Put cooking oil in bottom of Dutch Oven and place the roast inside. Place onions on top. Add remaining ingredients and cover. Cook for about 90 minutes. Be sure to maintain the temperature. This one-dish meal is excellent for outdoors. Briquettes can be added 15 minutes before serving.

Recipes reprinted from Log Cabin Dutch Oven Cookbook by Colleen Sloan, with permission – thanks, Colleen!

More Dutch Oven Cooking Tips from Colleen

Colleen uses vegetable oil – Dutch ovens love it, and it’s easy to spray through a spray bottle. Just fill a spray bottle and pack it with your Dutch ovens for easy.

The other spray bottle Colleen keeps with her when cooking is a 4:1 mixture of 4 parts water, 1 part apple cider vinegar. She uses this to disinfect pots, Dutch ovens, and her hands while cooking. That’s a tip you can use camping, too!

Spraying Skip’s hands with vinegar to clean them after peeling yams

Preheat your Dutch oven, so it’s got a head start and can cook your food faster. Especially if you’re out in cold weather! Don’t get it piping hot, just warm, and then oil it up and cook away.

Don’t forget you can cook on a lid! Pizza and fillets are great to cook on a lid, not to mention eggs and toast.

You have some choice in the shape of lids: some lids are fairly flat, and others are quite rounded, giving you better control of liquids and eggs.

Here’s an example of a rounded Dutch oven lid – this one is by Camp Chef.

Speaking of lids… while you’re preheating your Dutch oven, or D.O., make sure your lid’s preheating, too. And when you take the lid off, put it on a burner to help it stay warm!

Keeping a Dutch oven lid warm on the Camp Chef stove (right burner)

Cleaning Dutch Ovens

Cleaning a Dutch oven pan isn’t as hard as you think. Sure you can’t just stick it in the dishwasher (rust), but it’s not tough.

Colleen cleans a bit as she goes – as soon as an oven’s empty, she sprays it with her vinegar water bottle so the food doesn’t harden on the pan.

Then when you’re washing your dishes, put your Dutch oven in the sink with hot water, swish it around with a rag. Dump it out, rinse it again, then put it on the stove and warm it up to dry. You could also put it back in your stove’s oven if the oven’s still warm. This’ll make sure all the moisture disappears.

Then, when you get your Dutch oven out to cook next time, just oil it up, heat it up, and you’re ready to go.

About Colleen

A caterer by trade, Colleen Sloan had always been around Dutch oven cooking – her great-great grandparents came across the plains cooking in Dutch ovens all the way, so her great grandparents, grandparents, and parents have all helped refine her family’s recipes. Colleen compiled her grandmother’s recipes in the Log Cabin Cookbook.

And that’s not her only book… she’s written a total of 6 Dutch oven cookbooks, and you can find them all at Smith & Edwards – we even have her first book available online here.

Colleen Sloan and Vickie Maughn, our Housewares manager

Raised on a Utah farm by pioneer stock, and involved for 45 years in Scouting, Colleen loves sharing her knowledge and passion for Dutch oven cooking. Colleen loves just about everything out of a Dutch oven, but 2 of her favorites are bacon cheese biscuits, and fried chicken in a Dutch oven. And she’s sure you’re going to acquires some favorite Dutch oven dishes, too!

Nervous to try Dutch oven cooking? Colleen’s sure there’s no bad recipe. Just put together the food you have and your favorite seasoning, and it’ll turn out! Colleen says, “When it comes to seasoning, let your imagination do the walking through your Dutch oven recipes. Try some different things and see!”

Get your Dutch Oven Gear online at Smith & Edwards:


Dutch Ovens	Colleen’s Dutch Oven Cookbook

Thanks Colleen, Skip, and Audrey!

Colleen’s been coming out to Smith & Edwards for over 20 years to give us demos, samples, and great advice on Dutch oven cooking. We sure appreciate it.

We owe a big thank-you to Colleen and her crew! They braved the cold the morning of Black Friday 2013 to cook and serve up samples during the day – and they even served up hot chocolate and coffee for folks waiting in line before we opened the doors. It was sure appreciated by folks standing in 32-degree weather!

Who doesn’t love the coffee and hot chocolate camp stove setup that they have?

Steaming-hot hot chocolate and coffee make even a brisk morning warm.

Colleen, left, with her assistants Skip and Audrey – Dutch Oven caterers!

Many thanks to Colleen and her friends Skip and Audrey of S & A Catering in Sandy, Utah. Skip & Audrey’s number is 801-973-8371.

Want to know more about Dutch oven cooking? Visit IDOS, the International Dutch Oven Society. Not only are they worldwide – IDOS members will also be sharing samples and recipes the first weekend of May at the Weber County Fairgrounds, so mark that on your calendar if you’re a Dutch oven fan or just looking to get started!

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3 Tips for a Victory at Smith and Edwards’ Toy Sale

October 24, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

Smith and Edwards’ Toy Sale is a great event for getting gifts for Christmas! You’ll be sure your kids and grandkids will have a fun-filled Christmas morning with toys from our Toy Sale.

About the Toy Sale

The Smith and Edwards Toy Sale happens every fall. Like us on Facebook to see all our events and when they are scheduled. Promotional toys are at a fixed low price leading up to December!

We’ll publish our list of Toys available on our Current Specials page!

What kind of toys can you get? Top brands like Disney, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels, Littlest Pet Shop, and much, much more.

3 Tips for VICTORY at the Smith and Edwards Toy Sale

What do we mean by “victory”? Well, the top toys sell out fast, and you want to be sure and get the toys your kids will love. There’s nothing more satisfying than getting the toys your children want at a great price! You’ll walk out the doors with amazing toys and a huge smile on your face because you did so well at the Toy Sale.

Vickie, our Toys & Housewares buyer, offered some advice she’d give for first-timers hoping to have a great time at a Toy Sale. Hardware buyer Blaine offered tips, too – together they’ve watched thousands of excited, savvy shoppers run down the aisles of our Toy Sales, and they know how to make it a great experience.

1. Prepare – and be early! Watch for our toy lists so you can go straight to the toys you’re shopping for.

While we have thousands of toys at each Toy Sale, the most popular ones disappear fast, so if you want a specific toy from the toy list, plan ahead so you can head straight for it Monday morning without distractions.

Our doors open at 9am, but we’ve seen people lined up much, much earlier than that. Plan to be here early. You can even bring a chair and meet some new friends in line before the Toy Sale starts!

Our lucky winner and her friends, first in line at Smith and Edwards' Toy Sale!

Nitasha got to skip to the front of the line October 14 at our second Toy Sale in 2013. Congrats!

2. Shop Ahead! It feels amazing to get your Christmas shopping done early! Sure, you might be getting great deals on toys for the holidays. But these aren’t Christmas-only toys – I bet you can get great deals on toys they’ll love the whole year, for birthdays and more.

This is a great way to get name-brand toys for every boy and girl on your list – especially if your children have lots of cousins and friends. You’ll be prepared for Christmas and beyond with a little help from us at Smith & Edwards :)

And by the way – if it looks like we’re out of a certain toy, feel free to ask us for help. Oftentimes shoppers will take toys to the register, but they’ll only keep some of them. We’ll be running more toys back to the Toy Sale tables all morning to help you get the toys you want!

3. Come with your friends! Arrange for someone to watch the kids while you bring your friends to go Toy Sale shopping with you. Leave the kids at home, because you don’t want to worry about a stroller or collecting the kids when you check out (or them seeing their presents!). So having a girls-day-out-shopping will make the sale a big adventure. Not only is there safety in numbers – it’s a lot more fun, too!

You can combine your friends’ shopping lists with yours, or you can divide and conquer – you’ll have a ton of fun together, and you’ll all have a great experience to talk about afterward.

So get ready for lots of fun! Plan on coming and enjoying a morning of scoring great toys your kids will love. It’s really spectacular – you’ve gotta be here!

And while you might have heard scary rumors… our Toy Sales are typically pretty tame. Promise! It can get crowded, but everyone’s here to have a good time and get great toys for our kids, so you don’t need to bring knee pads or elbow pads. Just plan on a nice morning of great deals and great savings!

Got questions? Give us a call at 801-731-1120, we’ll be happy to help you get everything you need for a great Christmas.

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Take a look at the Handy Bucket Builder in our Paint Department

October 17, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

This little lid is the coolest thing to hit our Paint Department since we can remember!

Handy Bucket Builder shelf and display at Smith and Edwards

(Click to view larger!)

We use these bucket lids ourselves in the store

Randy, our Paint department manager, thinks you’ll love this product – and he’d know, he’s used it himself to build a whole nursery!

Yep, our outdoor garden center this spring and summer was built with Handy Bucket Builder lids, our Smith & Edwards Ace buckets, and 2 x 12 plywood placed flat on the lids, letting us set out our plants and flowers in tiers outside.

We used to build our garden center using lumber and cinderblocks. The cinder blocks were heavy – and they’d take up a ton of space, pallets and pallets, when it was time to take the garden center down for fall.

Pansies on Handy Bucket Builder at Smith and Edwards

Metal 2x4s work just as well as wood ones!

These lids stack up on top of each other in a column, and they’re lightweight – we hardly have to clear out any room to store them!

Come see these bucket lids in action

The Handy Bucket Builder Lid snaps on either the top or the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket. The buckets can be used upside down or not, so it’s ok if your bucket has trash, paint, wood, gravel, or sawdust in it. In fact, adding weight to the buckets will help them stay in place.

We built this sturdy shelf with just scrap wood and the Handy Bucket Builder lids and 5-gallon buckets.

We built this sturdy shelf with just scrap wood, stacked on Handy Bucket Builder lids and 5-gallon buckets. Come see for yourself!

We’ve got a display here at Smith & Edwards between aisles 9 and 10 so you can come see the Handy Bucket Builder lids in action. To make the display you see, we stacked one pair of buckets on top of another pair of buckets, with the lids inbetween. Then, we placed two 2 by 4s in the handy bucket builder lids. Lastly, we topped with a sheet of plywood. Simple as that, we’ve got a steady shelf that can hold a lot of weight – and it hardly took any time at all! You can make a more secure fit with screws and a drill – we didn’t have to, it was steady enough as-is.

You can also use 2×3’s, which will do the same job with less weight to carry.

Uses for the Handy Bucket Builder Lids

This is great for camping, taking to kids’ soccer or lacrosse games, and for bringing on trips with your RV or trailer. Storage is simple – simply stack up your buckets, stack the lids on top, and stand your lumber next to them.

Handy Bucket Builder lids are also a great way for you to store your Emergency Preparedness supplies as well as Food Storage. Keep your canned or emergency food on shelves you can build quickly with lids, buckets, and lumber. Anywhere you need shelving that might have to get taken down or moved around – the Handy Bucket Builder lids are gonna do the job.

And they’re infinitely reusable, too.

You can build your setup to be as temporary or long-standing as you like.

The lids are made from a flexible and shatterproof type of plastic that’ll hold up through countless uses. You can even drill through the lid at indicated points for the best security.

Come in and get your lids today!

Come on in and get your lids at Smith and Edwards, they’re located between aisles 9 and 10 on our main aisle of the store. And, you can also order yours online!

Handy Bucket Builder Lid: $10.99 order yours online
Smith & Edwards Ace 5 Gallon Buckets: $3.50

Check out a Handy Bucket Builder lids demo:

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Duck Hunting Season is here – We’ve got what you need

October 5, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

First day of duck season and we’ve got what you need here at Smith & Edwards!

Come on in and you’ll find camouflage shirts, pants, hats, gloves, warm boots, and much more. All types of hunter orange gear that you can use the rest of the season, too. We stock a huge variety of camouflage patterns and accessories – the ducks will never see you coming in your duck hunting camo. And we’ve got Under Armour and hoodies as well as good socks to keep you warm on those cold mornings.

We know hunting gear because we hunt, too. Craig, our camo buyer, and Scott, one of our Hunting buyers, gave us all the details on what gear you’ll need for a great waterfowl trip.

Craig and Scott know all about duck hunting - just look at the proof! Get their gear and advice at Smith and Edwards.

If you take their advice, maybe you’ll have as great a day duck hunting as Craig and Scott did!

It can be tough to keep track of all the gear you need for a simple morning of duck hunting, so take a look at what we’ve got for all your waterfowling needs.

Smith & Edwards’ Duck Hunting Picks

If you haven’t been to Smith & Edwards for hunting gear before, come on in the front doors and head to the north wall, on your left. You’ll be able to find the waterfowl hunting gear you need fast.

Waders

We’ve got the waders you need for a dry socks after a long, successful morning of duck hunting. You’ll keep your feed warm and dry with insulated boots. Even if you’re in the marsh rather than in a blind, a good pair of camouflage waders can be a solid investment – and the difference between a good hunt and a real success.

You’ll find several types of camo waders, including blades camo, at Smith & Edwards. We also carry regular fishing waders in solid colors for fishing.

Blades waterfowl camo by Browning

Waterfowl Camo

You’ll find great waterfowl camo at Smith & Edwards – camouflage that has natural grassy shapes and a lot of earth tones and shading, compared to blocky, solid camo. This will help you blend right in with the blind and the swamp. We’ve got lots of camo patterns so you can see what works for you.

Blades, Max 5, and Sitka are our best-selling waterfowl camo patterns.

Browning Realtree Max 5 waterfowl camo

Sitka’s got a very different take on waterfowl camo and camo in general than other brands. Sitka’s scientists are interested in what the ducks’ eyes see, rather than how humans see camo.

This Sitka waterfowl jacket is designed to look like a wetland when viewed from overhead.

So that’s why Sitka’s camo has a honeycomb or mesh look to it: Sitka’s betting that the birds will see Sitka camo as a more realistic view of the environment, because the camo is designed to blend in when viewed from overhead – so the ducks don’t see you as they fly.

Remember, you might have camo on, and you might be in a blind, but the most important thing is to keep still! Try to only move your eyes and keep your head as still as possible for the best shot at your birds.

Gamehide waterfowl pants

Duck Hunting Gloves

When you’re duck calling, you don’t want your hands to stand out. Keep warm and put a bit of camouflage on your hands with these hunting gloves.

Waterfowl gloves are waterproof, so you can go in and get your decoys or get your ducks out of the water without getting your hands wet! Again, Sitka makes its own special camouflage gloves so you’re even more hidden, since they’re designed for how ducks see you rather than how animals on the ground see us.

Sitka’s gloves are great as stand-alone gloves, or, you can wear them as a base layer because they’re form-fitting and not at all bulky, so almost like a second skin. You can slide on another pair of gloves on top of them when it’s really cold.

Keep your fingers warm in the blind with these camo gloves. You’ll find your size in a variety of patterns and levels of warmth.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Brigham City

Hat

For the best chance of success, use our lucky Smith & Edwards hat. And we’ve got tons of styles of hats so you can pick your favorite. Black, Hunter orange, and several patterns of camo hats that’ll keep your head warm on those cold mornings.

Sitka waterfowl beanie hat

Hand Warmers

Keep warm with handwarmers in your gloves. We’ve got both reusable hand warmers and single-use handwarmes. Both will give you several hours of nice, glowing heat. Put ’em in your gloves, with or without a liner, to keep your fingers flexible and ready for action.

Now that you’ve got your camo and you know you’ll be warm next time, let’s make sure you’ve got all the gear from sporting goods you need. Head over to our east wall to our Sporting Goods department for decoys, duck calls, and shot.

Dog

We don’t stock dogs, sorry. But we do have nice dog treats and bones for your hard-working retriever.

We’ve also got training dummies, whistles, leashes, training collars, and scents – both duck and pheasant scents.

Working on training your own retriever? Check out this video lesson:

Decoys

Sure we’ve got decoys! Get your ducks in a row with duck decoys and a mesh decoy bag to pack them out.

This Tanglefree® mesh decoy bag and mallard decoys are a great place to start with decoys.

We’ve got duck decoys and geese decoys. The ducks above were a favorite in 2013. In 2014, we now carry Deek Decoys made here in Utah! Call 801-731-1120 for any questions, we’ll be happy to help.

Duck Calls

You knew all about duck calls way before Duck Dynasty was cool.

We’ve got Duck Commander duck calls that will work great on your next waterfowl hunt. If you prefer Primos duck calls, we’ve got those, too.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Brigham City

Shotgun and Ammo

We’ve got the shot and ammunition for all kinds of hunting this season at Smith & Edwards, and we’ll be happy to recommend the ammo as well as guns for your hunt – whether you’re duck hunting, turkey hunting, or looking at four-legged game.

Come on back to the Sporting Goods counter – we know the guns and ammo you’ll need because we hunt ducks ourselves – as well as elk, deer, and more game. We’ll get you what you need.

For shells, you need to use steel shot for waterfowl. 3″ is a good place to start – you want to use 2s, 3s, or 4s for ducks. We’ve got a huge selection, and we’re happy to help you choose the best shot.

For shotguns, Scott’s pick is the Benelli Nova, hands-down.

If you’re looking at semiautomatic, take a look at Benelli, Winchester, Beretta, and Browning. You’ll want a gun with a synthetic stock, and we’ve got those in black and camouflage. You’ll get a gun you can rely on to function well in cold weather.

Remember to give your shotgun a good cleaning after a day in the swamp. Mud, grit, and all sorts of crud can build up on your gun. Doesn’t hurt to carry some cleaning equipment and a cleaning rod with you into the blind, too, so you don’t have to go back to the truck or worse, home, if your equipment gets too dirty to function.

Duck hunting at Bear River Bird Refuge in Brigham City

Cooler and Thermos

Nothing like hot cocoa or warm soup after a long morning of duck hunting. We’ve got both thermoses and coolers, so you can keep your hot drinks hot and keep your ducks on ice til you get home.

Duck Stamp

You can get your federal duck stamp right here at our Sporting Goods counter. They’re $15 and they’ll get you in to all the waterfowl areas here in Northern Utah, like Farmington Bay and Ogden Bay. When the federal government gets its act together, check out Bear River up by Brigham City – it’s a federal wetland, so it’s not open at the moment, but it’s a great location for duck hunting.

Get duck hunting gear in our web store

Do you have a good bag for all your gear? We’ve got a great selection of gear bags in the store, and you can find our favorites online, like our 5.11 tactical bags and Voodoo tactical bags.

You might also want to bring a headlamp and a compass so you don’t wander around the swamp longer than you have to. And we’ve got a huge selection of paracord in-store and in our online store, so you can keep your gear where you need them.

Hunting Camouflage Paracord at Smith and Edwards

Choose from camouflage paracord as well as bright and solid colors of paracord, both in-store and online.

Come in for great deals on hunting gear!

Don’t forget to stop by our Sporting Goods department for all your shot, too. They’ve got some great sales and rebates for the beginning of hunting season, so come on in today.

Whatever season you hunt, we’ve got the camo and gear to help you have a successful hunt. Maybe you’ll bring us back a souvenir!

What are your duck hunting tips?

Leave us a comment below with your duck hunting tips & tricks. What gear do you use year after year? What are your favorite spots? We want to hear what works for you!

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Western Department Hosts a Horse Packing Clinic

August 17, 2013 - posted by Rose Marion

Today we had a great in-store demonstration in our Western Department at Smith & Edwards. Duane LeRoy and his son Scott LeRoy came to give us a Pack Clinic. Duane and Leroy know all about packing horses and trail riding because they love trail riding – and they’re members of the Back Country Horsemen of Utah. (Check their group out on Facebook)

Duane and Scott shared their knowledge and expertise about packing horses for trail riding, and demonstrated some of the great systems you can use to pack food, water, and supplies while you’re out riding on a trail.

Several people were here to get knowledge out of the hour-long horse packing demonstration, and there was time to ask questions and trade stories after the demonstration.

Packing with Horses for Trail Riding

Duane and Scott had been up at Ben Lomond just yesterday to support folks on the trail. Then this morning, there was the Skyline Mountain Marathon! Up in the pines, it’s much cooler than down here, but it still got hot. They were able to pack in 20 gallons of water, with dry ice to keep it cool, on each horse using this system!

Adding a bag to our packhorse at Smith & Edwards

Scott adds a bag to our packhorse.

Scott LeRoy telling us about the rope, bags, and coolers you can use for horse packing and trail riding here at Smith and Edwards

Scott LeRoy telling us about the rope, bags, and coolers you can use for trail riding.

You can hold one 10-gallon cooler on each side of this canvas sling pack. Scott and LeRoy loaded theirs full of water bottles, but you can keep your favorite drinks and cold food in these coolers. Then make sure they stay cool by packing the coolers with ice or dry ice, depending on your level of adventure! Load up your top packs with food, supplies, and Easy Boots just in case. We’ve got all this gear in-store for your next adventure… waterbottles too!

All packed and ready to go!

We carry all the equipment to load your horse and have a nice day of trail riding. Marty and the folks in our Western Department in the northeast corner of Smith and Edwards will be happy to help you get all the gear you need – as well as tack and supplies. We know Western Tack because we use our gear ourselves! All our folks in our Western Department know and love horses, from trail riding to work to rodeo.

Did you know we make a lot of our Western Tack right here in the store? And if there’s a real special saddle or set of spurs you’ve got your eye on, we offer Layaway, too.

We’d love to have the Back Country Horsemen back here next year to demonstrate packing techniques again! Will we see you here? What do you like to use when you’re trail riding with your horse?

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