Fishing Rhino

Jumper cables. When I'm towing the boat, I have a couple of bottle jacks, chocks, rubber mallet, dead blow hammer and a five pound steel mallet. I have a set of socket wrenches to make sure that I can change a tire if necessary. They are in a fish tote beneath the front of the trailer. Placed there so I cannot forget them. They go in the back of the truck. Good thing. Three or four weeks ago I had a tire that went flat at the ramp.

Hard to give advice without knowing what kind of a budget you have.

Can't make Quabbin again this week, but count me in from next week on. Going to see if my canoe can make it through the channel at Sawdy. It had gotten too low to navigate in one place. Hoping the rain last weekend raised it enough. An inch or so higher would make it navigable with just a bump here and there. Haven't fished it in a couple of weeks..

This is the Vike shakey head. I pinch the top loop/coil closed, then bend it so the bend of the loop is up, and stretch the coil slightly. I find it easier to bend the coil up to "screw" the bait onto the coil. Once it is glued to the weight, and the glue has set, I bend it down so the coil is facing the point of the hook, as shown in the image below. From there, it's easy to "adjust" the coil so you can fish it weedless, with just a pinch of "skin" hiding the point, or so the worm rides on the bend of the hook with the wire going through the body of the worm, and the hook and barb fully exposed..

I caught most of them on a shaky head rig. A 3/16th ounce Vike shaky jig head and a seven inch SK super finesse (elaztech) worm. The first two were caught on a wacky worm, 4" Senko Watermelon w/black and red flakes. 1/8 ounce jig head. Most were caught on the shaky head. Depth of water was 8 to 14 feet. The Fat Ika same colors as above, on a Keitech 1/8th ounce super round tungsten jig head with a 3/0 hook. Put a small drop of loc tite super glue where the bait buttoned up against the jig head. I use a safety pin and a candle and melt a hole about an inch deep along the centerline of the head of the worm. The Vike hook has a coiled spring keeper and you cannot get any type of keeper (except those on the NED jig head) into the head or body of the bait. I close the top coil, stretch the coil a bit, then insert it into the worm and twist it on. A drop of super glue will keep it there for several fish. By the way, Dogbone threatened me with bodily harm via a hitman if I posted our score for the day. Don't mess with him.

Well, it's possible to operate it that way, but, keep in mind that when used as designed forward is at the middle of the motors rotation, while to back up, the motor is near the left or right limit of its steering rotation.

I remember. I had taken my mother-in-law to her doctor. I was sitting in my vehicle listening to the radio. The programming was interrupted with news that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. Shortly after that a second plane was flown into the second tower.

Went on Sawdy yesterday. It will be the last time until we get enough rain to raise the water level. I barely made it back to the ramp. Anyway, I had gotten a couple of Whopper Stoppers or Floppers or whatever and I got a chance to try 'em out. Caught four fish, all small, but it was action. It caught both small and largemouth. Caught several more on an assortment of wacky, fat albert, Rage Tail Craws and menaces. I came to a conclusion that we try various baits when nothing seems to be working. The best time to try various baits is when the fish are actively going after what we throw at them. If they aren't hitting much of anything, we aren't learning much of anything. So for the time being, with Sawdy out of commission I'll be consigned to the Nitro. Tomorrow it's off to a small pond on the Cape. Maybe another if the first disappoints.

Alabama license covers all the waters of Pickwick (above the dam), Wilson, Guntersville, and Wheeler. It includes Yellow creek to the bridge over the Tom Bigbee Waterway, Indian and Bear Creeks on the west side of Pickwick. An annual fishing license for Alabama is about forty bucks. A seven day license is less. The cabins can accommodate four or five anglers easily. Unless the rates have jumped, thirty five bucks per fisherman per night should cover the cabin rental. They have been building a new loop of cabins for more than two years, but aren't in any hurry to get them finished. The web site says they are in the planning stage, but last year all the new cabins were weather tight, but the interior partitions were still just stud walls.

What's wrong with the good old dog turd smeared on the inside surface of the door handle? The surface you pull to open the door.

I have one question. If it is fitted with treble hooks and an eye, will it catch bass?

Reminds me of the pose that Hulk Hogan used to get attention.

All you need to determine the width, length and height is a tape measure.

How old is the fuel? You can try the simple stuff like trying fresh fuel, changing fuel lines and spark plugs, but I quit doing the shade tree mechanic thing years ago when computers started controlling the engines. Much too complicated unless you have the expertise and a diagnostic computer to identify problems.

Better than crap flavored shrimp.

I'm sorry, but this song from my youth came to mind.

No, I don't keep any type of log other than what is stored in the space between my ears. When I was a commercial lobsterman I kept detailed logs with the Loran bearings of where every trawl was set, when it was set, and when it was hauled. It also included the count of legal lobsters caught by that trawl. When I'd start setting gear in the late winter/early spring, I'd go through those books to select where I would set my gear. When it was time to move offshore from the Bay and Rhode Island Sound, I'd again consult my books from prior years. I would also include how the traps were baited, whether the bait was in a bag or on the bait string in the trap. If I used a different bait, I'd also make a note of that. But, I was doing that commercially, to make a living. I fish for fun, and will admit that I do not put a lot of effort into it other than getting the gear rigged and maintenance on the boat. I respect those who are meticulous in their record keeping. But for me, it would be more like work, something which is a dirty word nowadays.

Well, here's my strategy. You know how you think you have everything you want/need and you get an hour away from home and realize you forgot this or that? I don't pack as far in advance as some, but I don't wait 'til last minute either. I make a list, and if I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of something else I need, I'll make a note of it, then turn the light off and go back to sleep. There are always several items on that list that might have otherwise been left behind. When I'm facing a long drive I'll finish packing the suitcase(s), gear, tools, and other miscellaneous items at least three days prior to leaving. I'll double check my lists, and then relax so I'm well rested before I leave. And, if the spirit moves me to do so, I'll attach the boat to my truck and head out early. This happens more often than not.

We lived on the Cape many years ago. I used to fish both freshwater and salt water. I used to fish a small pond that was in Truro or Wellfleet named Horseleech Pond. It's an ideal cartop boat pond. That was back around 1972, so I don't know if the access changed. But, here's the kicker for you. Only a narrow band of dunes separates the pond from the Atlantic Ocean and a nice sandy beach. If memory serves it's only a few minutes walk from the pond to the beach. Do some homework with the local authorities regarding the current access to the pond and the beach. As an aside, back in the day there used to be a nudist colony on a portion of the shoreline. Google Horseleech Pond, Wellfleet, MA. you should get maps that show where the pond is, and its proximity to the ocean. Copy and paste this link to your browser. For some reason, if you just click on the below link it will open to a broader map. https://www.bing.com/mapspreview?&ty=18&q=Horseleech Rd %26 Black Pond Rd%2c Wellfleet%2c MA 02667&mb=41.970853~-70.009936~41.963127~-69.996084&ppois=41.96699_-70.00301_Horseleech Rd %26 Black Pond Rd%2c Wellfleet%2c MA 02667_~&cp=41.96699~-70.00301&v=2&sV=1&qpvt=horseleech+pond+wellfleet+map&FORM=MIRE

When our younger daughter started college, credit card companies were on hand for the orientation days. They were handing them out like candy. Our daughter got one and sure enough, she used it beyond her means. Then the phone calls started. Since she was rarely home between school and her part time job, we answered the phone. They'd ask to speak to her, and we'd tell them she wasn't here, could we take a message? Finally, I told them to stop calling. They said this was the number she put on her application. I told them I did not care what she put on her application, it is our phone, not hers and do not call this number again. Sure enough, we got another call, this time they told us they would have to put it in for collection. I told them, do what you have to do, but we are not paying for her. I went into a long diatribe about how they give these kids cards indiscriminately, counting on the parents coming to the rescue of their children. We would not have been co-signers had she/they requested it. You gambled. Your problem, not ours. I ranted on telling them they were worse than predators. The phone calls stopped, and our daughter eventually got paid up, without our help.

Please, put on your pfd, and it better not be the inflatable type. If you don't, I'll have to post the picture with the birdie. Here's the deal that is seldom mentioned when it comes to wearing PFDs. I always wear one when I'm on the water. If I have a fatal heart attack, and fall off the boat, it will make finding my body a lot easier. It will also save the government money by not having to drag the waters looking for my sunken body. It will also be easier on my family. The quicker they find my body, the better.

You are an old fart. You're eleven days older than me. I'm lucky. I don't have any aches or pains. I have had two arthroscopic surgeries for torn meniscus (menisci?). one on each knee. Now the doctor tells me I have no cartilage in my right knee. Interesting is that it does not bother me when walking. It's only when I squat a bit, in a certain position, that it aches. That goes away as soon as I stand. Upstairs, downstairs, long walks are pain free. The only thing I really notice is that I don't have the stamina of a few, or many years ago. I can still hook up my boat and tow it twelve hundred miles in less than 24 hours.

My square stern canoe naturally faces downwind when not under power. I'm not pushing with my trolling motor, it is pulling the stern into the wind. I am always casting downwind, which is much easier than casting into the wind. The trolling motor acts like a rudder. In your case, it causes the bow to lie into the wind. In my case, it causes the canoe to face downwind. When I hook a fish, the trolling motor is behind me, out of the way. I also have a bass boat, with the typical bow mount, so I have plenty of experience fishing with a bow mount and a stern mount. To hold the boat in place with the bow mount, the boat has to be facing into the wind. I much prefer casting with the wind. As with most other things in fishing, we all get to do it our way. There is no wrong way, or right way that fits all. I've tried it your way, but I happen to prefer my way, and those who fish with me get to fish the bow of the boat, and on breezy days they have the best access to the fishing at the bow.

If your engine runs rough, particularly at idle with the SS prop, I'd hazard a guess that the prop is out of balance with a bent blade(s). It's not necessarily something you could see by a visual examination, It would have to be checked on a pitch block.