Fishing Rhino

Try letting out more line. It might do the job. If there is not enough "scope" in the line it will prevent the anchor from digging into the bottom. Too short, and the boat is lifting, rather than dragging the anchor. Or exerting too much lifting force on the anchor. The longer the line, the less the boat will exert "lift" on the anchor.

Just got back today, from Daytona and then our daughter's home in GA. Went by the access pond to Sawdy and it was iced over. Took a swing by Stafford Pond just up the road and the main pond was free of ice. Suspect the same would be true of Sawdy, but access to the main pond would be a problem. I'll take a look at Sawdy and Devol tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Did you have the motor tilted up?

At the top of your list should be to take a boat safety/handling course, regardless of what boat you get.

He's gotta be doin' a lot of fishin'.

Or his former sister-in-law.

I believe you can use a cooler, and there are kits available with all the plumbing, connections, valves and a pump. Hot water and live wells are not the best for survival rates. You can freeze a gallon jug of water, and throw it in the cooler. It should help keep the water cooler, hopefully enough to make a difference. there are also additives that help keep oxygen levels up. Try googling cooler live well kits. Here's one. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/marine-metals--super-saver-pump-kit--304446?cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-Shopping_PLAs-_-304446&product_id=304446&adpos=1o2&creative=108421551844&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CI3QpZGmjtICFUe5wAodpgkLIQ Search for it on Amazon, and you'll find several options.

You'll need to consider how you are going to charge a single 36 volt battery. I'm a bit confused about it being an option. Is that by your choice, or does the company that makes the boat offer it as an option? If so, I would think they'd install a 36 volt charger to go along with it.

Make sure to use stainless steel staples. The carpet may hide the staples, but it won't hide the rust.

Generally, if memory serves, the deeper the water, the narrower the cone. And vice versa, the shallower the water, the wider the cone. Think of it like a flood light and a spot light. In shallow water, a wider cone, like a flood light, will reveal more of the bottom. While that may seem like a good thing, in deeper it doesn't give you an accurate picture of the bottom. The echo is from a much larger area with possibly, conflicting information such as when a bottom transitions from sand to mud or rock, all can be included in the image, in effect, taking it out of "focus". You want to know what's under the boat, not off to the sides. Side imaging is another matter which gives a lot of info in small slices linked together in the moving display.

This brings back memories. I used to tong for quahogs and sea clams many years ago. The "regulars", guys who made their living on the water, used two grapnel anchors. One at the bow, the other for one corner of the stern. They held the boat in a precise position in the current and/or wind. The bow line could be taken in, or let out, and the same of the line at the stern which controlled the "sweep". Without the anchor at the stern, the current and wind could swing the stern like a pendulum. It's no fun trying to scratch up shellfish with the boat moving around moving away from the spot you are working, or running over it. Tongs work best when operated in a vertical position. Any other angle is not efficient. When you found a good patch of shellfish, you could work that area thoroughly without missing or wasting time on an area you had tonged clean. You never really tonged an area clean, but you thinned them out enough so it was time to adjust the lines. We had one advantage. The critters were not free to come and go, though at times I've seen quahogs in clear water on the bottom moving slowly along. They would leave a trail of their movement on the bottom.

Man Hootie, you are in overdrive.

Then at eleven, it turned to snow. Then it got serious. Been a whiteout since. Cannot see the road a hundred feet from where the pictures were taken. Add in thunder and lightning and you have a marvel of nature.

Raider has gone AWOL.

C'mon, surely someone went out today. But for prior commitments, I'd have entertained the notion of trying Devol Pond. It can't get any nicer than this in Feb. Temp pushing 60. Light breeze. Won't be anything like this tomorrow.

There is one ramp I use that requires a different technique. It is a sandy gravel ramp, with a very gentle slope. To get the trailer deep enough for the boat to float off results with the exhaust outlet on my truck being submerged. The shoreline is rocky, so I cannot pull the boat onto the beach. Once the boat is off the trailer, I remove the eye splice from the trailer and drag the boat toward the beach. When I am close to the rocky shore, I lower the motor until the skeg digs into the bottom. Then, I tie the bow to a tree along the shore. Park the truck and trailer. Untie the line from the tree. Coil the line as I approach the boat. Then I place the coil on the bow, tilt the motor to free it from the bottom give the boat a shove, hop onto the bow, deploy the trolling motor and move the boat to deeper water. It really gets interesting if a northerly wind picks up during the day. Then, I have to use the anchor to load. As I approach the ramp, I toss the anchor over the side. I have a long anchor rope. I'll drop the anchor sixty feet or so from where I want the boat to stop. Then let out enough line so the bow is close to the shore, then tie it off. get the launching line, hook it to the bow eye, and tie it to a tree. Back the trailer into the water. Untie the line from the tree. Get in the boat, pull it back to the anchor and retrieve it. Start the main engine, tilt the motor a bit, then back the boat off to the side until it's lined up with the trailer. Take the motor out of gear. Let the wind push the boat toward the trailer and use reverse as needed steering to get the boat lined up. Here's where the hip boots pay off. When the bow nudges onto the trailer, I climb down from the bow, onto the trailer while holding the bow line. Then I step down onto the bottom and pull the boat along as far I can without hurting myself. Then I hook the winch strap to the bow eye, and crank the boat the rest of the way onto the trailer. This can really get interesting when it is windy enough to create whitecaps. The pond is a mile and a half long, north to south, so it can get pretty hairy when a good wind breezes up.

Are you going to be able to put down that knife when the fishing starts up again?

Years ago, Yankee Magazine had a man who answered all manner of questions on just about any topic. The title of his page was, "The Oracle". edit for correction. It was, Sayings of the Oracle. The Bass Resource Oracle has a nice ring to it. https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-environment/sayings-of-the-oracle/

Superbowl commercials? Toilet bowl commercials is more like it.

Doesn't sound legit to me. Changing the HP number on a cowl will not fool a knowledgeable law enforcement officer. Some try that game for limited horsepower bodies of water and get caught. Further, if caught, it proves deliberate intent to break the law, which could result in additional charges. I doubt that Ranger would issue a capacity plate that is out of their control. It seems to me that any boat manufacturer would only issue such a plate to one of their authorized dealerships who would install the new plate. They wouldn't want the liability that might result. There are unscrupulous people in this imperfect world.

Interesting. I find that nylon is too stretchy and springy for me. I couldn't find polyester rope at the hardware store. I have to be careful with the nylon so it doesn't act like a slingshot, when the rope gets "loaded".

Hip boots. It's easy to launch without using boots, but loading is another matter. I use the rope for both when I'm alone. If we could power load, I wouldn't have to back the trailer in as much as when having to winch the boat onto the trailer. Will post some pics later. Gotta run. Here are the pics. The 3/8th nylon rope is about 35 feet long. It has an eye splice on each end. The clip is connected at one end of the line, and snapped onto the bow eye. It is always hooked until the boat is launched, and is connected as soon as the boat is back on the trailer. I don't want to risk launching the boat when the clip is not connected to the boat. The eye on the other end is slipped over the step protruding from the winch stand. The line is coiled and stored on that step support. Some looped bungees with the plastic ball work perfectly to keep the cord firmly against the stand and the trailer's tongue. Remove the bungees, and slip all the coils except the eye splice from the step assembly. Set the coils on the frame of the trailer so the line will be pulled from the top of the coils. One trick when launching is to back in deep enough so the boat is barely in contact with the trailer. Then, pull forward quickly enough to leave the boat in place on the water. Back in fast and the boat will drift backward. Pull forward far enough so you can get to the winch without getting in the water. I always have my hip boots with me when fishing. I don't need them when launching. But in some places I need to use them. The top edge of the boots can be pulled down and then folded back up, leaving the top of the boots just below the knee. This is the best image I could find that shows the boot folded down, then up. My boots do not have that retaining strap. They will stay folded like this on their own. I'd suggest getting one size larger than your shoe size. Makes it much easier to slip them off. A snug fit can make removal a pain.

Hip boots. It's easy to launch without using boots, but loading is another matter. I use the rope for both when I'm alone. If we could power load, I wouldn't have to back the trailer in as much as when having to winch the boat onto the trailer. Will post some pics later. Gotta run.

Does your engine have an electronic control module? If so continue reading. If not, disregard my advice. For it to happen suddenly, rather than gradually sounds like the computer for the engine is sensing a problem and will not allow the motor to be run over a certain rpm, usually idle. Could be any number of things that will cause the computer to limit the power the engine can produce. You can drive yourself crazy doing a trial and error search for the problem. But if it were me, I'd pay to have a tech hook it up to a computer and diagnose the problem.

The answer to your question is that many of us have done foolish things. But we grew up. "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ... " My father used to tell me that I was like the guy that kept hitting himself over the head with a hammer because it felt so good when he stopped.