Fishing Rhino

Yes, you are correct. One of them posts on this forum.

I went fishing with a friend yesterday, in salt water. Didn't use a rod and reel. Used an oyster rake. Got over a half bushel in about an hour. On the way home I bought an oyster knife to open them. Opened many, and did not spill a drop of blood. Ate some raw on the half shell, and about an hour ago, I roasted ten of them in a 425 degree oven for about five minutes. Yummy. No catch and release, other than the undersized oysters, when "fishing" for shellfish, be they clams, quahogs, or oysters.

I'll borrow a line from The Aviator, when Howard Hughes tells his new right hand man that he is looking at the world's largest private air force and asks him, "What do you think of that." To which his new hire wisely responds, "It's your money." Far be it from me to tell anyone else how to spend their money. You earned it. You spend it as you see fit, to pursue your heart's desires.

Can we play musical ladles?

Yackity Yaks? http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=yakety+yak+don't+talk+back&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=847BC1C0FF6E36AA8AAF847BC1C0FF6E36AA8AAF

Casting while sitting is not a problem. It's a matter of preferences. But, if you do sight fishing you have a better view of the bottom, the higher you get. That is an advantage, particularly on waters you do not know well. On water with poor visibility it doesn't make much difference. On the other hand, kayaks and canoes have a stealth advantage due to their low profile.

Is pink the new black?

I'm not being a wise guy, but I'd talk to my doctor about that. It could be a frequency, or harmonics, or perhaps an inner ear thing. I can understand the noisy two cycle engine causing headaches, but a four cycle engine?????? Do you get headaches when riding in an automobile or pickup truck? I've been on a couple of bass boats with four cycles and the noise created by the boat moving across the water drowns (pun intended) out what little hum the four cycle produces. Try earplugs, or noise cancelling head phones. You might be hyper sensitive to exhaust fumes, but that wouldn't apply to a trolling motor. When you have your next physical, talk to your doctor about the headaches.

I see you mentioned three monkeys but you left out the most dangerous monkey where you are involved.

Okay, I'm going to chime in here on heating and circuit breakers. I have a circuit breaker on my trolling motor, the rating recommended by the manufacturer. I never had it trip. It is kind of a clunky thing because it is installed on the power lead from the motor to the battery. That necessitated having a jumper from the breaker to the battery post. I made the mistake of removing it because it was so clunky. my mistake. I fried the speed controller and some of the other wiring in the head of the unit. I "repaired" the wiring, replaced the speed controller, reinstalled the breaker and off I went. Some time, and a few trips later, the motor quit. Checked the circuit breaker and it had not tripped. So, back to the house and opened up the unit. Again it had melted down. Why? Because I did not do a thorough job of examining all the components. One of the main power leads had several strands that were broken. What remained could not draw enough amperage to trip the circuit breaker, but it could overheat because it was probably only operating with half of the strands broken. So I ordered a new power lead and the thirteen dollar speed controller, and all is now well. Removing the circuit breaker allowed the first melt down. Failing to notice that one of the main power leads was about half frayed allowed the second, in spite of the circuit breaker being installed.

You can expect to catch more fish in a bass boat vs. a canoe or kayak. Not because it makes you a better fisherman, but because it makes you a more efficient fisherman. This is particularly true on waters that are familiar to you. You have already touched on it when you mentioned the time and effort it takes to move more than very short distances. Conversely, you will miss some things in a boat moving on plane at 25mph or faster that you would see on a sounder in a canoe or kayak. Small patches of productive bottom often go unnoticed at speed because you pass over them so quickly. It may be a small patch or rocks, or plants that hold fish. It's amazing how many fish can be stacked on these little spots at times. But, because you can do so much exploring you'll gain more information. Each boat has its strengths and weaknesses. I fish a pond not more than five minutes from our home. I fish it in my canoe with a trolling motor. It's about a mile long, and a half mile across and every square foot of it has either structure or cover. It is strewn with rocky bottom and has huge plant beds which hold fish. Maximum depth is about 12 feet. It has four or five islands, depending on how you count them, and once you learn the pond, you can find fish just about anywhere on it. They can be close to the bank or a few hundred yards from the shore in the vegetation. Even if I could use my bass boat on the pond, I'd use my canoe. Too many boulders in the deepest water that are only a few inches from the surface. Some use aluminum jon boats or even small aluminum bass boats, but not me. The canoe or a kayak are perfect for this pond. Fishing is such an individual thing. You only need to look at the endless variety of baits, combos, and boats that are available to anglers that it becomes a matter of personal preference. Fish respond to a bait and its presentation, not the type of boat you may be in.

The Waffle House chain is a long time survivor. We've seen a lot of other franchises come and go in our lifetime, and that is one of the few that have endured. I can remember when Howard Johnsons was the largest chain along the country's highways. I'm sure you're familiar with Route 24 and the service area at the junction of 24 and 495. When 24 was first built, there was a Howard Johnson's on each side of 24. They probably sold more ice cream than food during the summer months. Not many vehicles had air conditioning in those days, so ice cream sold very well when temps rose. Traveling south we used to stop at the now defunct Dutch Pantry Chain for lunch or dinner and Aunt Sarah's Pancake House chain for breakfast. Stuckeys was also a popular restaurant/gift shop chain. I'm thinking that McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subway, among others did a tune on those early food chains. When heading south, we rarely use I-95, opting to travel I-81 west of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountain ranges. And, the only toll we hit is at the NJ/PA state line, on rte 78. No traffic jams like there are between here and Richmond, VA., and for the most part, a nice scenic drive.

That has happened to me. While visiting our daughter in GA, we had a deluge. The next time I went out, I noticed that the motor was tilted up and the front of the transom saver had fallen to the ground. I thought maybe someone had played with one of the trim switches. I lowered the motor, putting the front yolk of the transom saver over the back roller on the trailer. I was doing some work in the vicinity of the boat when I heard a hum. I looked up to see the motor tilting up again. It turned out that the horizontal switch on the bow had filled with water, which activated the tilt. I put the transom saver in place, and disconnected the cranking battery while I got a battery switch to disconnect the cranking battery. Would not have been fun if the motor had tilted and the front of the transom saver dropped to the roadway like a vaulting pole. It probably would have broken the transom saver and not the motor, but who knows? Now, whenever the boat is not in use, the circuit to the battery is turned off.

I can remember the days of my youth, when I could not get out as often as I'd have liked. That was back when Massachusetts fishing season opened on the third Saturday in April. Don't hold me to that third Saturday in April. It may have been the second or the fourth Saturday. Been a long time. I couldn't sleep a wink for a week or two before the season opened. Those were the days when "I wished my life away", wishing those two or three weeks prior to opening days could go by faster. In the four years following our marriage in 1965, the wife and I lived in Holliston, MA, and one of my favorite haunts was Lake Winthrop in Holliston, and when I felt like taking a journey, I'd toss the jon boat on the roof of my car and drive to Lake Whitehall in Hopkinton. Somewhere along the line, after having lived on Cape Cod from '69 - '72, we moved back to our home town of Westport. After a short stint of making grandmother and grandfather clocks as well as school clocks and mantle clocks for a company on Cape Cod in Osterville, I became a commercial lobsterman. Did that for over twenty years, and when I quit that profession in '98 I did not care if I spent another minute on the water, fresh, or salt. Been through the raising of two daughters, and pinching pennies so we did not get over our heads in debt. My wife is a thrifty Yankee, who is a much better money manager than I am. In 2008 my wife thought it would be nice if we got a couple of kayaks, or a canoe to get some exercise as weather and time would permit. That was when I resumed recreational fishing for freshwater bass, and any other fish that might take the bait. Being semi retired at the time, and with a pond only minutes from our door, the fishing bug bit me. Off to BPS and returned home with two spinning and one bait casting combo, and I was off to the fishing wars once again. On the water at or before daylight, and fishing 'til mid afternoon, or later was enough to satisfy my fishing "fix". For a year, I fished out of the paddling canoe in my avatar. In 2009 I got a square stern canoe and a trolling motor. In 2010 I got a new Nitro Z7 and two years later traded it in on a new leftover Z8. My wife had not yet retired, so I was on the water, either in the Nitro, or the canoe with the trolling motor, several days per week. I'd fish until the ponds iced over and resume as soon as the ice was gone. Never interested in ice fishing. When my wife retired from her day job, she became my "supervisor" wanting to get this or that done around the house and the yard. I've always been handy with tools so we never had to hire an electrician, or a plumber, or a carpenter. So, being able to satisfy the fishing bug when the weather was nice, and being able to get the household stuff done during the off season turned out to be an arrangement that satisfied both of us. So now, I'm getting the household stuff out of the way. Clean up the gardens, fight the wars with the falling leaves, replace the carpet in a room or two with pre-finished hardwood flooring, install a built in double wall oven, etc., keeps her happy enough so that in the fishing season, from late March, early April through October I can fish to my heart's content. I take care of the lawn, and emergency. When we visit our daughter who lives in GA in October or November, I may drag the Nitro along to get a few days of fishing in down there. Come late April or early May, I've hauled my Nitro to the forum's Road Trips. Since that has been a 1200 mile trip, one way, I've turned the road trip into a two week fishing expedition to Pickwick, KY Lake, Guntersville, Wilson Lake, all on the Tennessee Valley Authority waters of the Tennessee River. At the end of those two weeks, I look forward to returning home, where the bite is usually heating up. On all but one year, I've made the drive by myself, only stopping for food, fuel, and to answer nature's calls and a few naps along the way. I know where all the best prices for gasoline are along the way, and how to avoid purchasing gasoline in states with high taxes on fuel, such as Pennsylvania. A fill up, just before the state line into PA will allow me to get to Virginia before I need fuel. And I know where every Cracker Barrel, and every BPS is along the way (Harrisburg, PA, Bristol, TN, Sieverville, TN, and Nashville, not to mention the BPS in Birmingham, Alabama. And, there is always the Cabela's staring you in the face on I-78 west, in PA. My heart's desire for all my fishing friends is that when you reach my stage of life, you are healthy enough, and have the means to live life on your terms. It's a system that works well for my wife and me.

You might be surprised to find that you may be able to "spend" that BPS card at Tackle Warehouse. I'm not sure how it works but a few years ago there was a thread, or a post, about that very thing. Here's an answer at Yahoo that tells a little more about that. " Best Answer: Most, if not all gift cards like the Visa gift card will require an activation fee. You can use the Visa ones to order things online. You would use the numbers on front, like it was a real credit card. I think other gift cards for a specific store that don't have the numbers on the front can still be used to order things online. They just make you use the scratch off code on the back or the barcode. "

Looks like a quick disconnect setup for sure.

When I want to have an intelligent conversation, I talk to myself.

God bless you guys for extending the fishing season. I'm most likely done for the year. I've fished into January and caught bass. One year I had set a goal to catch a bass in every month of the year, and caught three bass on the last day of December. The problem for me was that the bass were lethargic. They'd try to jump and could barely get their noses out of the water. The fight was more like a tug-of-war with an inner tube. I went out on New Year's day and fished for about an hour before packing it in for the season. To me, it's just not fun to drag a lethargic fish to the boat. Now, the wife and I are cleaning up the gardens, cutting down the perennials and waging war with the falling leaves. After leaf season ends, it's into the house to tackle some projects that have been on the back burner during fishing season. After the holidays, more inside projects, then it's off to Daytona in the middle of February for speed weeks. After that, it's back to the house, attacking what remains on the to do list and transitioning into the 2016 fishing season.

I believe I had my first sigmoidoscopy in my early fifties, and have since "graduated" to colonoscopies every few years. Had a few polyps removed over the years which were precancerous. It's something everyone should have. It can save your life and prevent the need for more invasive surgeries and colostomy bags when cancers are allowed to grow undetected. I asked my gastroenterologists how he chose this field of medicine peering up folks rectums. He laughed and said that the gastro field was very rewarding because it is one of the few specialties that can successfully treat polyps before they develop into cancer. By the time symptoms appear it's already too late in most cases to avoid the more drastic surgeries. The procedure is a breeze, it's the prep and that darned magnesium citrate that is the worst part of the entire ordeal. When you start on that stuff be sure you don't stray more than a few steps from the bathroom.

The main concern about older fiberglass boats is the transom. Many old boats sandwiched plywood between layers of fiberglass which is all well and good until motor mounting holes are drilled, as wells as holes for mounting steering, power poles, etc. Eventually water gets to the plywood, it begins to rot, and the rest is history. Once the rot starts, it's nigh on impossible to stop it. A product like Git Rot may work okay if it's caught in the early stages, but you should have it checked by a qualified tech who does that type of work. A punky transom can ruin your day and/or your life.

While we are on the topic of hooking up a trailer, have any of you how many of you have driven away without disconnecting the lead to the battery charger? I have, so I developed this practice, and it has eliminated that oversight more than a few times. When plugged in at home, with the trailer disconnected from the boat, I remove the hitch from the receiver, and set it on the rear deck of the boat near the plug connection. When I'm away, and the truck and trailer do not get unhitched, I have one of those short bungee loops, and put it on the top of the steering wheel as a reminder to unplug the charger. No more driving away without unplugging the charger. And, I also have set the trailer onto the hitch without it seating all the way down. It fell off in the driveway, so no harm, no foul. Now I check, and double check to make sure the trailer is all the way down over the hitch, not just on it.

Good for you. Glad you got it worked out. Having said that, I'd let them change the axle when you take your boat out of winter storage, especially if it has brakes. I know they were a pain, and unresponsive, but why would you want to pay someone to install the axle when they have offered to do it. Let 'em do it, then never darken their doorway again, if that's what you still want.

How much weight? No one correct answer. It depends on how you retrieve the drop shot. You can jig it vertically, or cast it and retrieve slowly with slight twitches. The heavier the weight, the faster the worm will sink when it has slack. I like to go as light as I can usually between 1/8th and 1/4 ounce. It's easy enough to change the weights on a drop shot. Bait? I've used the SK elaztech four inch finesse worms (they float) with good success, but also have used the Yamamoto Flapping Hogs which has a much larger profile than the typical drop shot bait. Distance between the weight and the bait. Again, that depends. In vegetation, I like to keep the bait dancing around near the top of the vegetation whether fishing vertical or swimming the drop shot. That means you'll need a greater distance between the bait and the weight if you are swimming it. I leave about a four foot tail behind the bait. It usually provides adequate length for adjustments. Antioch East Lake in the Rocky Mountain state park in northern GA. March, 2010. Flapping hog. In that year, most of my drop shot bass and pickerel were caught using the Flapping Hog, watermelon with black and red flakes.

Ah yes, wise words from the old philosopher. http://www.bing.com/search?q=eddie+lawrence+the+old+philosopher&form=PRHPCS&pc=HPDTDF&mkt=en-us&refig=d3691ad5c7df436795b2ab999eecc902&filters=ufn%3A%22eddie+lawrence+the+old+philosopher%22+sid%3A%22a05163ec-d385-96e8-18bd-9a16ace37b05%22&qs=ME&pq=the+old+philo&sc=8-13&sp=1&cvid=d3691ad5c7df436795b2ab999eecc902