Fishing Rhino

At 100 miles per week, you average about 5000 miles per year. I haven't experienced that kind of wear in the two rigs I've owned. In two years I put over ten thousand miles on the trailer with my Nitro Z-7 (single axle), and the tires had very little wear. I've got over a year on my current tandem axle trailer and about 7000 miles on it, and the tires still look good. A lot of those miles were at high speed on the interstate. A trip to Alabama, Tennessee and one trip to Georgia from Mass, plus the miles I put on it around here, and no signs of abnormal wear. I'm towing a Nitro Z-8 which is much heavier than your 16 foot aluminum boat. Since the wear problem began when you replaced the axle, that's where I'd look for the problem. Any misalignment will cause the tires to scrub on the pavement, and cause excessive wear. If they wear evenly across the surface, chances are the wheels of the trailer are toed in or out. If they wear unevenly on one edge or the other it's most likely a camber problem, with the wheels tilted in or out at the top. Have it checked at a reputable shop for alignment problems.

Hey Long Mike, I've got the ultimate solution for this thread. Pesticide.

Rule number one: Never leave biting fish. The sole exception being if the biting fish are dinks. If you aren't getting bites, do something different. It may be a different bait, or a different spot. How long to work one spot? It depends on your patience, determination, endurance, or wisdom.

If you do, be sure to wear hearing protectors.

Or, maybe a gold medal. This is no small feat. Or is it feet? Or is it fete? Paging Long Mike. Paging Long Mike.

I don't leave my key in the ignition, unless someone is staying with the boat. If I'm by myself, I take the key out when I'm parking my truck after launching, or when I go to get it for loading. When I'm on the road, the key is with me in the truck. There are a lot of unsavory characters in the world. Why take chances? As for the problems inserting the key into the ignition, get some lubrication for the switch at an automotive or hardware store. Chances are likely that the tumblers are corroded. Doesn't take much to cause problems. You can use WD40 or something similar in a pinch, or even the spray version of white lithium grease. Insert and remove the key until everything moves freely. If the key and switch do not operate smoothly after lubricating, replace them. When you say the motor won't turn over, do you mean the starter doesn't spin the motor or it does, but the motor won't fire? I'd suggest getting a set of the water muffs that clamp on the water intake, and hook up to a garden hose. At least two weeks before you plan to use the boat, hook it up to the water source, and see if the motor starts. That allows time to straighten out any problems that might occur. At least you won't be scrambling trying to get things going at the last minute.

If you have any small streams that feed into the water you'll be fishing, don't overlook them. Fish will often congregate where these feeder streams dump into the main body of water. The wadis (basically, streams that only exist when it rains) and small feeder streams gather up all manner of bugs and critters along their way. If you have areas where muddy water meets clear water, try fishing along the line where they meet. Fish may move into areas that are normally too shallow, looking for an easy meal.

Keep in mind, that a boat will draw more water when it is barely on plane than it will at full throttle. I can get down to almost 17 mph with my Z-8, and still be "on plane". I'll hazard a guess that wide open at 60+ mph the stern will be several inches higher when it's up on the pad.

It includes more than stabilizing the fuel and fogging the engine. Fuel filters should be changed, and lower unit lube should be changed as well. If the lube in the lower unit shows any whitish coloration it shows water intrusion into the gear case. You may consider checking the water pump (I have that done along with the rest of the servicing). All the pivot points on the engine should be greased or lubed. It's a good time to "nut and bolt" all the fastenings for the mounting bracket, steering, etc. It's the "ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure" adage. Fuel lines should be checked. Electrolyte levels in all batteries should be checked and distilled water added as needed. It's also a good time to go over the boat from stem to stern and make sure everything is in good working order for the next season. Batteries should be kept up to snuff by periodically charging them when a boat is laid up for prolonged periods. That's a few items to tend to. I'm sure I've left out a few, or maybe several.

A carpenter went into the lumber yard to buy some 2 X 4s. The clerk asked how long he wanted them. The carpenter said that they were going to use them to build a house, so they would need them for a long time.

Nice, especially the part about the elbows. Did you know it's the same thing with nails? A carpenter and his apprentice were shingling a house. The carpenter noticed that the apprentice was throwing about half the nails onto the ground. When asked why he was throwing the nails on the ground, the apprentice told him that about half the nails had the head on the wrong end. The carpenter told him not to throw them away, but to save them for the other side of the house.

The "problem" with bass boats is they are notoriously stern heavy. This is done by design. It is also why they need more horsepower than other boats of similar size. You can move weight forward, and it will get on plane at lower speeds, but it will lose a lot of top end speed in the process. It's all about "wetted surface". The less wetted surface, the less drag. If you've noticed, the really fast bass boats have the spray from the hull at the last three feet or so ahead of the stern. Bass boats are not designed for cruising at much less than 20 - 25 mph. "Regular" boats will stay up on plane at much lower speeds. You can add a whale's tail to your motor, which will help some. But when all is said and done, you are trying to make a boat do what it was not designed to do.

Ghoti, I do believe you've turned yourself inside out.

Consider the shaky head type of bait. It is also a "feel" type of bait.

You should proceed pretty much as instructed. Use the same procedure. Exercise more caution if the boat is painted. A heat gun, applied to an area for too long will cause the paint to blister. If it's not painted, then you'll likely need to get an aluminum cleaner. The areas beneath the stickers have protected the aluminum surface beneath, so you may have areas that look better than the rest of the hull. Don't have any experience with aluminum, so I don't know what cleaners are available. Do an internet search on the topic of cleaning/restoring an aluminum finish.

Shhhhhhhh, don't tell anybody, but they are still biting. Not like they were on Saturday, but the same sizewise. After starting the day at M/W which yielded only two fish on the two bites I got in over three hours of fishing, I loaded up and moseyed back to the honey hole. Had to park on the road because of the sticker required to park at the launch between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Remember the water temp on Saturday was 64 versus the 68 it had been only two days earlier. Now, six days later, I saw temps over 74 degrees at the end near the herring run. I suspect part of the problem at MW is that the pond(s) is/are loaded with herring and alewives. Saw them everywhere I went. Vegetation is also very scarce, even in the northern section by the island near the cranberry bog. I liked the weather better last Saturday. Today, not a cloud in the sky, a mirror surface on the water, and after loading up and heading home, the outside temps were showing 90+ degrees on the Cape.

I've been wondering what was going on with you and the surgery. I recall you having a couple of false starts where it was scheduled and then insurance issues scrubbed it. Good luck with the surgery. Hope it goes extremely well and brings you a great measure of comfort.

Not sure if a blow dryer gets hot enough, but a heat gun does. It can get too hot if you don't move it around, and damage the finish. What I've found that works best is to gradually heat a corner of the sticker, then try to lift the edge of the decal using your fingernail. Once you get it started, keep the gun moving, and heat the area adjacent to where you've started lifting the decal free. You can also apply heat further away on the decal, but concentrate on the area that should lift free next. Once you get a feel for it, the job should go quickly. Be sure to keep a lifting pressure on the sticker, and apply only enough heat to free the sticker as you work your way across it.

What I can't figure out is why you want to look like a striper.

Why throw your money away on rent? Around here monthly rental fees are about the same as a mortgage payment for similar properties. Been a while since I had a mortgage, but the mortgage payment included an escrow payment to cover the cost of property insurance. Unless the government changes things, the interest you pay to the bank on a mortgage is a tax deduction. You'll need to do a little homework to see if itemizing deductions or taking the standard deduction based on what you earn is better. We used to itemize before my wife retired because she had a lot of work related, deductible expenses. Now it's better for us to take the standard deduction, by a wide margin. It also avoids filing several forms and then having those audited, which has happened. In every case the IRS was satisfied when we provided supporting documentation. Now may be a good time to buy. Property values around here are on the rise, and realtors are seeing a lot more activity recently. In any case, if you hold onto your property for several years, you should get some, maybe all of your money back. The only thing you may get back if you rent is a security deposit. But you do have the hassle of dealing with plumbers, electricians (ok, you can handle the electrical issues), and other tradesmen when something needs repair. You'll also need to maintain the grounds, such as mowing the lawn, which the landlord may do if you rent. Another plus, if you own is that you can do whatever you want with the property as long as it complies with local building codes. Want a different color trim, want to add or remove a closet, want to tear down a wall, or put up another partition, make a game room in the basement or add some dormers to make a couple of bedrooms in what was an attic, you can do it. You may need to get a building permit for some renovations, but it's your choice.

Apparently, whatever was attracting them to the mouth of the creek is no longer there. Most likely it was some type of baitfish moving from the main body of water into the stream to spawn, migrate, or whatever. They could also be moving from the stream into the larger body of water. You need to provide more detailed information. It would be helpful if you would provide a bit more information, such as your location. Are the stripers you mention salt water fish, or landlocked fresh water fish. I have seen elvers that were spawned in the ocean heading upstream in the creek that ran by our property when I was a kid. There was a steady procession of them, but that was mid summer here in the Northeast. They were heading to the pond that fed the stream. They had to negotiate a dam in order to get to the pond, and like herring, they would gather at said dam during their migration. The process, lasted a few weeks, then they were gone from the foot of the dam and the creek, having completed their journey to their destination. Whatever may have preyed on them during their journey, would have moved on once that food source disappeared. Stripers will gather at the mouth of herring runs only to disperse once the run is over. Not knowing any particulars makes it impossible for anyone to give you an informed answer to your question.

Very true. By the end of fishing season around here, I look forward to some down time. Heck, I even stopped getting cabin fever a long time ago.

You feel old? Seriously? At 37 years of age? Man, you are doing something seriously wrong if you are feeling old at your age. The test for old works like this. You know you're getting old when some cops and teachers look like kids. At 37, this can happen from time to time, but rather infrequently. You are getting really old, when doctors look like youngsters. You are nearing the end of the road when you see the funeral director licking his chops whenever he sees you. With this in mind, how far along the road of old age are you? At nearly 72 years old, I got in my truck, with boat in tow, and drove the 1230 miles from Westport, MA to Pickwick for the Road Trip in just under 24 hours by myself.

Grampa can catch anything with those. Heck, he could even use 'em to catch a cold, if he so desired.

Not a bad practice. I don't. By the time I get everything secured and buttoned up, the motor has been in the upright position for a few minutes by the time I get to the transom saver. The times I've had occasion to remove it in the garage, nothing has run out. My problem would be that I'd have to lower it, and watch for any drainage. Then re-install it immediately, or I'd be likely to forget it the next time I hauled it to the water.