Fishing Rhino

Regarding the colors, I agree with the second post. Is every fishing spot in your area also a hunting spot? If so, then you, and/or the hunters have a problem. You cannot move through an area without disturbing the game they are hunting. Hunters wear camoflage, station themselves in tree stands or blinds to hide their presence. Around here, the most common conflict is during waterfowl season, since most fishing is done on ponds that hunters also use. Sometimes, what appears to be a flock of ducks or geese along a shore can also be an array of decoys. As a matter of course, I avoid such areas, even though they may be prime fishing spots. Just as fishermen have to share the water with each other, so too do we need to share the water with hunters. Their season is fairly short, only a few weeks or days out of the year. Reverse the situation. If the fishing season was short, and the hunting season was long, we'd want some courtesy and respect from the hunters during the few weeks we had to fish.

If I need to carry that much stuff, I'll buy a purse.

Use epoxy resin to patch the holes. Fiberglass (polyester or vinylester) is fine for laying up composites when it has a chemical linking bond to prior layer. Once the resin cures, its adhesive bond is not as strong as that of epoxy. That's why you sometime see fiberglass patch jobs that start to peel, no matter how well the surface is prepared. Any repairs on cured fiberglass are best made using an epoxy resin, rather than a fiberglass resin.

Ghoti's soiree cooler is on the bottom. The cooler on the top is for his drive to Pickwick. Then he refills it for the ride home.

Watch it! Your grandma's day is also my day.

Hey, it coulda been worse. She could have taken care of his secrets the way Lorena Bobbitt did with John's.

Not necessarily. Maybe he's just tough on the gear. Or, the bait/gear monkey has him by the short hairs.

A new wife for two days? What's with that? Most "new" wives are only "new" for a few hours, maybe less. It depends on how long it takes you to get from the church or the justice of the peace to the honeymoon suite. Another thing, now that I ponder it. isn't justice of the peace spelled wrong?

My brother in law referred to his roomy trousers as his dancing pants. Said he wore them for the ballroom.

Remember Gary Hart? He looked like he might have had the dem nomination for their presidential candidate, until....................he told reporters to "catch me if you can". And they did, with Donna Rice onboard a yacht. The name of the yacht? What else, Monkey Business. One way or another them darn monkeys will throw a monkey wrench into your plans.

You may have to turn in your man card, but look at the bright side. You get to keep your tutu.

If you like roomier, try Carhartt relaxed fit.

I know a guy.

Cases of bottles, and a box of Ritz Crackers. Not really, but too good to pass up.

If it's two hours difference, take I-81. I saw your favorite fishing haunt was the Potomac and guestimated that they would be about the same. The area with the serious elevation changes are between Roanoke, VA and Bristol, TN/VA. After that stretch, it begins to level out. It's still hilly, but not bad. I-75 isn't bad. The area as you approach Chatanooga gets a little hilly. I've never travelled from Chatanooga to Guntersville. You'll be running by the "mountains" of northwest GA, so you might get into a few hilly areas, but nothing serious.

I'm guessing you'll be travelling south along I-95 to I-85 south, or I-81 south to I-40 then south on I-75 to Chatanooga. I forget the route you'll take from Chatanooga to Guntersville. Keep in mine, I-81 has more, longer, and steeper grades than anything you'll encounter on I-95 to I-85, to I-40 west. From Mass, I take I-81 even towing a boat because if I take 95 south, I have to deal with the traffic between New York and D.C. It's not only traffic. It's also the tolls. If you've towed for three hours with no problems, you can certainly tow the ten or eleven hours to Alabama and Guntersville. As someone suggested, make sure your trailer bearings are well lubed. Feel the wheels at every stop. They should be warm, but not hot to the touch. Take the sun into account as well. The first time I towed to Pickwick I got concerned when my left wheel was noticably warmer (but not hot) than the right wheel on my trailer. I pulled the grease cap and there was plenty of grease. Then it hit me. It was a hot sunny day, and I was southbound. The morning sun was shining on my left wheel, while the right was shaded by the boat. Around noon, they felt the same. I wouldn't hesitate to use overdrive on the level or downhill runs, then drop it back to D when you encounter a steep or long grade.

I have mine winterized. I have them check the water pump, change the fuel filter, whether it needs it or not, lube every thing and check the level of the hydraulic fluid in the steering. They treat the gas, which I do anyway, every time I buy fuel. A full tank may last two months or more, so it's treated when I fuel up. They also fog the engine. Years ago it was remove the spark plugs and put a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder then pull the cord to distribute the oil in each cylinder. Fogging does the same thing. It's cheap insurance, particularly for those who don't keep their boats in a heated garage. When fuel is burned in an engine, one of the by-products is water vapor. When the engine is shut down, not all the burnt fuel is expelled from the cylinders. Any that remains can and will cause rust. Not a good thing to have in a cylinder. Fogging coats each cylinder with oil or some type of rust barrier. It's worse when an engine is subjected to temperature variations which can cause condensation. They also flush the cooling system with an anti-freeze solution. My boat is kept in a heated garage. When I'm not working in it, the thermostat is set to just below 50 degrees. But when I do need the space, the boat gets pulled out in the morning, and put back in at the end of the day. So it can be exposed to below freezing temps.

I had three Johnny Morris Signature spinning reels (not Carbonlite though) and the finish was junk. Within a year the finish started to blister and looked like it had been underwater for years. They worked fine, but I gave them away and replaced them with Shimano Saros reels. No finish problems with my Extreme and Nitro baitcasters from BPS. They changed from a chrome looking finish (titanium deposition) to black and then discontinued that line of reels.

There are still a few of us seasoned citizens around. Some of the joints are a little stiff when I get up in the morning, or after several hours behind the wheel, but I'm relatively pain free, and can still get around well enough to keep up with the young guys when it comes to fishing. I've learned that efficiency can compensate for losses in quickness. Yeah, I need glasses, and take a few meds, but everything is under control. So far, so good. I know that will change, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

I cannot speak about other covers, but the Nitro branded cover comes with a pole with discs on each end. It sits in the cockpit and supports the top, taking some of the strain off the windshield. The Saran wrap and similar products sound like an interesting solution. I might give it a try. What might be even tougher is the plastic wrap that is used when boxes are stacked on pallets, to make the whole thing a single unit. While it sounds expensive, the 18" wide roll costs seventeen dollars per roll. But, the roll is 2000 feet long. Comes four rolls per pack. 18" wide would allow it to be installed with a few inches above the rail while still having plenty below the rail to extend beyond the edge of the cover. http://www.uline.com/BL_2966/Cast-Stretch-Wrap The fiberglass vendor I do business with uses a lot of it. They wrap many pallets each week for shipment. I'll have to see if I can mooch a partial roll from them to see how it works.

Update: There are now 18 confirmed attendees.

It would be interesting to know who makes those lures for BPS. It could be the originator of that particular bait. Sears does that with their home appliances brand Kenmore. For years, Whirlpool made their washers and driers. I was told that Samsung makes them now. The controls on the cabinet, and the trim might be tweaked, but the important part, the innards, are the same, down to the last nut and bolt. I've tried some of the BPS baits, but none that I've tried seem to work as well as the name brand baits they compete with. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I'm at the stage of life where the kids are grown and we have no debts. I can afford to pay a buck or two more for a bait. But if I was pinching pennies, I'd probably make do with the knockoff store brands.

Hey Raider, stop your snivelling. Be thankful the car you're driving isn't a Gremlin or a Yugo.

I'm going to venture into controversial territory regarding boat covers. To tow with or without the cover on the boat. I was told by the techs at BPS that I should not tow with the cover on, especially for long distances. The instructions in the pocket where the ratchet for the cord say the same. The pamphlet that came with it says the same. What happens is that road grit will get between the cover and the hull, and at highway speeds the cover will flutter or vibrate at the edges no matter how tightly you pull the cord. You can wrap a soft fabric around the edge, but that will only gather more abrasive material, and may damage the gel coat. It may not pose that problem on a tin boat. It will keep the inside of the boat cleaner to be sure. But you may end up with scuffs on the hull where the edges of the cover make contact. If it rains, it rains. I just pull the drain plug. Besides, it's a boat, and boats get wet. We fish in rain, in monsoons. We have fish slime and sometimes blood in the boat. Covers are nice if a boat is kept outside. It protects from tree sap, bird droppings, and the UV rays of the sun. A cover also provides a slight deterrence to thiefs because they cannot see what is in the boat. In the end, do your homework and figure out what works best for you.

Heck of a way to end the old year, or start the new year. It's a lot of dough,. but not as bad as I thought.