Fishing Rhino

I am since my last day was in October and my next day will be in March or April. You're half way, only if you do some ice fishing, or take your gear south.

Maybe they did a lot of trolling.

Do you really want to know the answer to that?

But, but, but, but, if you don't have followers, who or what are you leading?

Condolences. May your happy memories sustain you in the days ahead.

Pickerel teeth slice, like small scalpels. Trout teeth puncture. I learned the hard way this past year when I caught a nice trout and lipped it. Five puncture wounds on my thumb. It took a long time to staunch the bleeding, and my white rod was almost red around the grip before it stopped. Fish blood will not coagulate in the air. Next time you have a bleeding fish hold it over the water and see how the blood coagulates when it hits the water. I doubt that your contact with a fish, or its slime would have a prolonged effect on human blood coagulation. Fish slime can however cause big problems if it gets into a puncture wound. The resulting infection will spread rapidly. There is a simple preventative if done soon enough. Soak the wound in hot water. Hot enough to be uncomfortable but not hot enough to scald you. Soak it for a half hour, and it will kill the toxins found in fish slime. If a spine stabs you Start first aid right away ❯ Rinse the wound with soap and water. ❯ Soak the wound in tolerably hot (40-45°C) water to relieve pain. ❯ Continue soaking for 30 to 90 minutes, or longer if the pain continues. ❯ Never apply a tourniquet or pressure to the wound. ❯ Remove any visible spines. ❯ If the fragile spines break and leave fragments in tissue, don’t try to dig them out. Keep the wound clean, and get medical attention as soon as possible. A doctor may use x-rays to find the fragments and then remove them. ❯ Purple dye released by urchin spines may fool you into thinking spines are embedded under the skin. This dye is not toxic and will be absorbed in a few days. ❯ Tell the doctor about your tetanus immunization history, and consider a booster shot. When is it a medical emergency? Radio for help immediately if: ❯ The injured person is in shock. Seek medical attention if: ❯ A spine punctures a joint space between bones. ❯ Signs of infection appear — fever, redness or discolouration, warmth, swelling, pus, increasing pain or altered sensation around the wound.

Here's a clue. When you are backing down the ramp, do not have the tow vehicle in reverse, and have your right foot resting on the brake pedal. Gravity will take the rig down the ramp and with your right foot on the brake at the ready, even if you panic for some reason, all you need to do is press on the brake pedal. If you have it in reverse and get confused and fouled up, it is possible to step on the throttle and lose control of the rig. Another hint. When stopping on a ramp to load or launch, use park and the parking brake. Use the brake first, then put it in park. Using the transmission's "park" without using the parking brake can cause torque lock on the parking mechanism. In some cases the only way to shift out of park is to have someone hook up to your vehicle and move it forward to allow the parking mechanism to release. There are some places, and Quabbin is one of them that requires wheel chocks to be used when loading or launching. They also have a pair of boots hanging at the ramps. You must use them or your own boots if you are going to step into the water when loading or launching.

Here's a hint for getting the Quabbin rentals up on plane. The fuel tank has a long line. Move the tank forward as far as it will go. If you have a heavy 12 volt battery for the trolling motor, move the battery as far forward as the power cables allow. I'm going to make an extension to move the battery ahead of the middle seat. I have managed to get the boat up on plane and probably hit around fifteen mph with just me in the boat, and all my gear placed in the bow. I had to sit as far forward as possible and had to reach behind me to control the throttle and steering.

I'd go with the aluminum. It is still rust proof even if the surface gets damaged. Galvanizing while more durable than paint is still a coating. If the coating gets damaged, the exposed surface will rust. And that rust, unless cleaned up and recoated, will spread.

Merry Christmas to all.

Maybe they didn't have a change of undies.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.

Never ice fished anywhere, but Sawdy is a popular place for ice fishing. I think the problem might be the stream that runs between the two sections of the pond. It will be the last place to freeze over solidly enough to walk across safely. I've seen a white (snowy) egret that spent the winter in the small section where we launch. While it was frozen over, there was still. It was usually perched on the rocks near that channel. But, it must be frozen enough at times because I know of a couple of people that ice fish it when it's safe. I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to ice fishing. Deep water? Rocky bottom? Seems to me the guys I talked to that ice fish it set their gear in eight feet of water, for starters. Don't know how deep they set the shiners they used for bait.

How many ribs did the kid break when his ribcage hit the rail of the boat?

I was playing with the dog, skipping in the driveway, came down on my left leg and it snapped. It didn't totally part so I didn't require surgery.

All the ponds around here are now covered with skim ice. Haven't been fishing since the middle of October, and won't be able to wet a line until the middle of March. Ruptured my left Achilles tendon in early November and will be in one of those air cast boots for four months. After consulting with my doc, we opted for the more conservative treatment rather than surgery. The most recent studies show that the results are close enough to be called the same. The up side of non-surgical treatment is that I can remove the boot for taking showers. Surgery requires a cast and you can shower, but you have to use some type of plastic sleeve/tube that can be sealed at the bottom and sealed at the thigh. You also need to use crutches for all moving around when you have a cast. With a boot, you can use a knee scooter to get around. They are very handy for all below the knee injuries.

In the meantime, here's a trick to try to get up on plane quicker when you have another on the boat with you. As you are getting up on plane steer the boat to the left and then the right. When it's done right, it will provide more lift for the boat at the stern. You'll find what tempo and how much steering input to use with practice. It really works quite well. I'm not so sure about the sandbags in the bow. It will take a few, or several mph at the top end. It keeps the bow down, and that keeps the speed down as well.

2107? Where'd the last century go? I've heard time flies when you're having fun, but this is incredible. Well done on the fishing.

About five years ago I had the transfer case in my 08 GMC lock up in four wheel drive. This was in the summer and I used four wheel drive launching on a sandy gravel ramp. When I headed home it would not switch back to two wheel drive. I tried rotating the switch through the entire positions, turning the truck off and restarting, but no luck. I thought something in the mechanism was binding. Had to drive home in FWD. Brought it to the dealer. They had to plug it into their computer for an upgrade on the truck's program. Could never have found the problem by disassembling the unit looking for something bound, broken, or jammed. Speaking about DIY servicing. I quit doing it years ago. While servicing may be pricy, making a simple mistake can be much more expensive. At least when the dealer (auto or boat) performs a service, they own it. I've pulled the cowl off my 200 hp Optimax two or three times, just to look around. It's darn near impossible to find the spark plugs. The stuff that is packed and crammed under that cowl is incredible, and intimidating.

When I was a kid, I loved working on my car. There was nothing I wouldn't tackle including rebuilding the hydramatic in my '53 Olds. Tune up (points, condenser, distributor rotor and cap) was a piece of cake. It worked great until they started computerizing automobiles. No more distributors with their internal parts. A gazillion sensors and other control components and you could no longer see what parts had failed. As our finances got better, into the shop for everything except adding fuel. Tinkering had ceased to be fun, or practical.

I don't see a problem with it either. It just seems to me that it might be an Excedrin headache for BPS/Morris. He bought out Ranger only for it to be resurrected, albeit with a different name. Time will tell.

Hmmmm, why can I see a large number of Ranger devotees switching to the new brand, just to get away from Morris? How deep did the non-compete agreement reach into the existing Ranger power structure at the time of the transaction? Seems like Johnny might have a few sleepless nights. The lawyers must be huddling, looking for some way to alter this course of events. Could Morris find this deal to be akin to the introduction of "New Coke" a few decades ago?

I'm just guessing here, but I'd say that most of the repairs and maintenance costs are for the engine, not the boat. If that's the case, Rangers will have the same problems as Nitros when it comes to the big expenses. I've had two Nitros in the past 8 years and not a problem with either regarding the hull and its hardware, wiring, etc. The expenses have been winterizing, and an oil pump that had to be replaced. Fortunately the motor was still under warranty or it would have cost me north of 400 dollars to replace it. No doubt Ranger is a nicer and better boat, but when all is said and done, the motor will eat up the biggest portion of repair or maintenance dollars whether it's on a Nitro or a Ranger.

Yep. I am.