Fishing Rhino

Who'd a thunk to rig it sideways? Now I'm itching to get on the water again. Probably Monday.

They say inquiring minds want to know. In the same vein, puckering sphincters will not wait.

I could have sworn I saw at least one of those pics on the bulletin board at the Post Office.................................or was it a milk carton?

I don't know about your Evinrude, but both of the Mercs I've owned would sound the horn when you turned the key to the run position. It beeped to let you know the engine was ready to start. If it was in gear, or the safety shut off switch was not in the run position it was silent. The starter would activate if the safety switch was off, but it would not start. The beep may mean that all systems are go for starting the engine.

In Massachusetts, alcohol is prohibited at all state launching ramps. While the state of Alabama does not ban the presence of alcohol on waterways, some counties in Alabama have laws against possessing alcohol on their waterways. "Although the Alabama Marine Police Division encourages all boaters to leave the alcohol at home, boaters who wish to have alcohol on board must consider the fact that Alabama has both wet and dry counties (see map). Boaters should check to see if the waterway where they will be boating is in a wet or dry county. A person boating on a body of water in a dry county is not permitted to have alcohol on board the vessel. On most bodies of water in wet counties, there is not an open container law and you may have alcohol on board for the passengers, but you should use a designated operator who will not be drinking." http://www.outdooralabama.com/boating/alcohol.cfm

What kind of waters will you fish regularly? What size and type of boat?

What unit are you considering? That will determine where the transducer should be mounte Except for wiring it to a power source, all of the wiring is pretty much plug an play. Routing the wiring properly may require the use of a "snake" to run the wiring beneath the gunnels. Mounting the transducer is straightforward once you determine where it should go. It will either mount to the hull or available brackets to mount it to the engine or jack plate. Side imaging transducers must be mounted where it has an unobstructed view of the bottom on both sides of the boat. Hull shapes vary, but the instructions give general instructions on where and how to mount it. Specifics would be difficult because of the various hull shapes. The other major consideration is where to mount the display. It may be a flush mount in the dash if there is room. If not, Ram makes a mount for just about every possibility. If you are fairly handy, you should not have a problem mounting all the components. The trick is where to mount them for best performance.

Exaggerated? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what you consider "maintenance". Some lump repairs into maintenance. Two people buy the same car. One is fastidious about its maintenance, the other doesn't bother changing oil on a regular basis as well as other preventive maintenance. As a rule the lack of maintenace guy will have much larger repair bills. Every fall I have my engine winterized, fuel filter(s) changed, fogged, all pivot points lubricated, lower unit lube changed and the water pump inspected. It costs just over a hundred bucks at BPS. It seems they usually have an end of the year special on these services. It's a win win for the customer and the dealer, particularly in the North when their service department work slows to a crawl. Neglect is much more expensive than maintenance. That includes the carpet on a boat. When it gets soaked from rain or spray, use a wet or dry vac to get out most of the water. Not only does it speed the drying process, it removes the grit that causes causes most of the wear. When you use the boat and get sand on the carpet vacuum that before using the boat again. Your carpet will last much longer. You play the major role in determining how much it costs to keep your boat shipshape and dependable. The same goes for cleaning the rest of your boat. Clean and wax your boat with a product that has ultraviolet inhibiters regularly, be it fiberglass or aluminum. Be it gel coat or paint the sun will damage both. A little "elbow grease" goes a long way to extending the life of a boats components.

If she starts sharpening the knives,.....................................RUN.

I agree Long Mike. Let's just call it the top three.

Got mine today too. Thanks to all.

Bingo!

Sorry, but no.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you caught it on an umbrella rig. By the way, if I'm not mistaken that fish you are holding is a bass.

It depends. Those plugs might help, if your engine is over revving. The purpose of the vents is to allow the prop to turn faster, thus, supposedly getting the boat up on plane faster. What is the engine turning for rpms at full throttle when you try to get up on plane. Less pitch, a four blade might help, but it will cost you top end speed. If possible, move some of the weight in the aft compartments forward. That will help get the nose down, but that too will cost you top end speed. You can also get one of those whale tail thingies, which will provide lift for the stern without costing much at the top end. It's possible that when you are fully loaded with fuel, live wells and gear, that 200 hp engine is just not adequate for what you are asking of it.

I agree with matstone about the keel weighted hooks, Owner twistlock being my favorite. Alas, that weight is lead. I'll throw one other out for consideration. It works slick with lizards. It's the Owner Sled Head. The trick to rigging a lizard is as follows. With the hook oriented as in the photo, pierce the center of the nose with the top of the bait up, and insert the hook to where the bend starts. Then lift the rest of the body until it is parallel to the long straight part of the shank and exit the point from the body of the lizard. Then, slide the lizard to the twistlock coil eyes/top up. Depending on the weight/size of the sled head it will take two or three turns to button the nose of the lizard against the weight. Then pinch the body at the outer edge of the shank's curve. Push the point through the lizard's body at this point, and skin hook the point to make it weedless. You can drag this sucker through the thickest jungle and snag nary a blade of vegetation. It will present a nose down drop compared to the fairly horizontal drop of a keel weighted hook. There is no wrong way to retrieve this baby. You can reel slowly. You can twitch it. You can jerk it. You can swim it, if so inclined. I've had fish hit it when I'm cranking it back to make another cast. That's not to say that all retrieves work equally well. It's up to you to find which "presentation" the fish prefer.

They have nothing to do about catching fish. 1. Know how to handle the fish you catch. This includes such things as how to safely remove a hook from a gut hooked fish. Handling a fish properly so you remove as little slime as possible from the fish. And how to get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. For instance, if you catch a photo worthy fish, have your camera where it can be readily accessed and ready to go. Don't emulate the fishing shows where they take the time to admire the fish from all possible angles, and then impart a kiss on the fish. If you're not going to weigh it, or take a photo, unhook it and immediately return it to its own environment. 2. Practice common courtesy and etiquette, not only to fellow anglers, but others who use the water for other purposes as well. Don't crowd other anglers or other boaters. Do not bounce your lures off anchored, moored or boats tied to docks. Do not risk bouncing your lures off other boats. Fish around docks, but be respectful, they are the property of others. These are things we all can do, regardless of our skill levels. If you cannot, or will not observe these simple rules, you should be doing something else, no matter how many fish you catch, or how big they are.

Just a suggestion, for what it's worth. Please slow down when you type. I can't read that fast.

On the surface that sounds like a plan. One problem. She won't stay 25 forever. Consider, if you had ten kids, ages spaced one and a half years apart, she'll be 40 by the time your last kid enters pre-K. What would you do if she moved to another town/state to teach? Ooops, that's two problems. Your volunteering sounds like the most practical plan.

It has a string on the bow for haul out.

Taht should be outta, not outa.

Sounds like a case of seeing what you want to see. May I suggest a visit to an optometrist? Considering the size of the N in the heading, it could never be mistaken for a B, even with these old eyes of mine. Having said that, there is a thread in the bass boat section "Does Anyone Have A Tarpon 100 Kayak?". I invariably read it incorrectly. But then again, at least an r is almost half of an m. There is a fleeting resemblance.

If there are pickerel in the reservoir, I would suspect a pic was the culprit. It sounds typical of a pickerel. Pound for pound, they fight much harder than a bass, and they are not called "slime rockets" for nothing. You can have them hooked solidly, and fight them for a while, but a shake of the head, or even a slight change in direction can put the line on one of their teeth, and snick, the line is parted. If a knot fails, there is usally a bit of a curl at the end of the line. If it's cut by a toothy critter, it will be a clean cut, as though done with scissors or a knife.

OK, I'll toss Massachusetts into the fray. Smallmouth and largemouth bass, panfish, walleye pickerel, northern pike, striped bass, bluefish, fluke, codfish, tuna, including bluefin, swordfish, halibut, quahogs, steamer clams, bay and sea scallops, white perch in fresh and salt water, scup, mackerel, bonita, mahi mahi (dolphin, not to be confused with the porpoise), marlin, and the list goes on, and on, heck, I'll throw lobster and several species of crabs into the mix as well.