TOXIC

Depends on the boat size and hull type but the above info is pretty spot on. 12-24” is good for running but I need 2 1/2 - 3 feet to get back on plain if I set down. Point being I can run a lot shallower than I can get back up in. I can set down and fish on the tm with my motor trimmed up or raise the plate up. If it’s a sandy bottom I might give it a shot getting back up on pad in 2ft and that’s a 21ft Ranger.

You may be right about the fishermen but you also have a lot of substance problem.... NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — 2020 was a tough year for many reasons, but the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reports the devastation also applied to boating in the state. The year had the most boating-related deaths in 37 years with 32 fatalities happening on Tennessee waters, the TWRA said in its year-end report. A number of outdoor activities had higher participation rates and boating was no exception. The TWRA says the year had a noticeable spike in traffic on Tennessee's lakes and rivers, which brought an increase in calls for service. Preliminary numbers from the TWRA indicate about 30 percent of the 2020 deadly incidents had alcohol or drugs as a contributing factor. 2019 had record-low boating deaths with eight. In addition to the deaths in 2020, there were 61 serious injury incidents that left 82 hurt and damage to 82 properties. TWRA officers also made 62 boating under the influence arrests last year.

Wow, way to pull one out of the depths and bring it back to life. Always a good topic to repeat though. As for hot foot or no hotfoot, I’ve had boats both ways and each has their pros and cons. As for rough water, a hull can only do so much and at some point the driver has to make it work. The old saying is that a bad driver can make the best hull beat you to death and a good driver can make the worst hull smooth as silk. I’ve had it proven to me multiple times. A professional walleye tour pro and I went out on Lake Michigan and I literally had blisters on my back from bouncing in the seats. We were in a Ranger deep v 621 Fisherman hull made for rough water. I’ve been on lake st Clair with a good friend who grew up on the lake in a 20ft Ranger bass hull in extremely rough conditions and I didn’t even have to hold on to the “oh *****” handle. The difference was my buddy on st Clair never and I mean never stopped inputting to the throttle and steering.

Yes, my hair is short and the lady that cuts my hair knows the clipper routine.....1-2-3. 1 for around the edges, 2 for the sides and 3 for the top. But that’s not the only reason I go to her.......truth be told it’s for the scalp and neck massage she gives when washing my hair after the cut. That gentlemen is a slice of heaven if you’ve never had it. I learned about it from a girl I knew in my single days whose parents ran a beauty college. For someone who knows what they are doing, a scalp massage can be quite the experience. ?

While we all have to be very aware of safety, I can tell you that the % of those fatality numbers that are in “fishing/bass boats” is relatively small because most of us who fish put safety first. Sit at a well used ramp in the summer and watch who launches. When I was younger I’m guilty of being one of those who thought a day of waterskiing or just boating wasn’t complete without a cooler of beer ?. I spent many weekends skiing with my 16ft Ebco Stinger tunnel hull speedboat. And I will admit we did some pretty stupid and dangerous things. This was when a pfd was a foam belt that buckled to your waist?. Any one of a number of my group could have ended up a statistic. Unfortunately the drinking and boating sentiment is still strong. I watched the Sheriff hand ticket after ticket out in Wisconsin and he kept passing me by so I motored up to him and asked why he wasn’t checking me like everyone else....he said because you bass guys always have your things in order, it’s a waste of my time.

I know it was a bowfin.? I caught 4 of them with that one being the biggest. At one point my buddy and I doubled up and had to net a bowfin and snakehead at the same time in the same net. We laughed about it because now he has to clean out a bunch of slime from the boat before we leave on Thursday for Michigan.

I’d have to write a story on the actual setups I have for smallies. I leave Wednesday for a week on st Clair and we will be targeting smallmouth mainly but will probably get some by catch of musky, walleye, perch, goggle eye, largemouth and white bass. It’s easier to list the baits I will be throwing.... Senko, dropshot, Ned, aruku Shad, flukes, tubes, grubs, jerkbait, and crankbaits. Just to name a few.?

There’s something to be said about a man who keeps his cork clean. ?

Had a few hours to get out one last time on the Rappahonock before we head up to St Clair for our annual fishing trip. This makes 18 years straight. The Rappahonock was very good to us. We caught a lot of different species and the most bowfin ever in 1 trip. I caught 4 and we caught 5 snakehead, a bunch of bass, ring perch, some big gills, actually while my buddy was reeling in a big Gill, an osprey dove on it and grabbed it. They both floated in the river for a while before it decided to release it. Fish were stacked up on deep drops and bit best on the outgoing tide. Ned rigs did the most damage with a Yamamoto Cali roll. Catching those big snakes on a Ned and 6lb test was fun.

Another thing to be aware of is to remove your plastics from the hook at the end of the day. After using the hook for a period of time the salt in the plastics may compromise any nick or spot on the hook that gets exposed. If you fish in rocks and nick the protective covering, they eventually will rust and become brittle. I always check my hooks every time out and especially those that have been used for a while. Same goes for trebles on crankbaits.

Well, a lot of pros claim red hooks increase bites so I wouldn’t totally diss a colored spinnerbait wire but I don’t think bass are keying into the wire, it’s the blades and skirt.

I have read a lot on the 5.3 AFM problem and the transmission problems. I have a few good friends that are excellent wrenches. Pic is off a 55 frame off restoration one of them is doing. For the AFM problem disabling it is not that easy. Basically, must add a new cam, lifters and rockers..if you disable, the problem child is still there. It's a horrible oiling problem. De activate the assist ...prolongs the inevitable, because the lifter - roller still has those funky sticking pins. What helps is great oil and more frequent oil and filter changes. He does his every 4,000 miles. I do mine every 5. I don’t have any oil consumption at 56k and none of the problems he states with the 4 cylinder mode. I never feel it shift. As for the tranny, I read about the clunking and could make it happen if I was coasting down a hill and the transmission went from 1st to 2nd. Because I was on very good terms with my dealer, there is a TSB on the hard shifts and it involved a drain, flush and refill of the transmission fluid with an updated fluid. Without knowing how many engine problems are out there really limits how widespread the issue is.

You might be right on the salt. When I lived in Massachusetts we lived close to a reservoir so no salt allowed. They used cinders which made a black mess but were not corrosive. Here in Virginia they do use salt and a sodium chloride slurry but I’m not usually driving my truck in it. Mine sits outside but I do have a cover for it if I’m not going to be driving it for a while.

If they didn’t eat their own, there’s an awful lot of bass colored lures out there that won’t catch anything.?. Had a 50 inch class musky on st Clair engulf a 3lb smallie and not let go until both were boatside.

Good to hear. We leave from Virginia next week for our 17th straight year. We stay on Harsens Island. I’ve been chasing the illusive 7lber to get a replica made. Possibly I’ll get her this year.

I also grew up in the muscle car era or when they were still attainable. For muscle I had a 57 Chevy, a 1964 Ford galaxie with a 390 police interceptor, a 1968 Charger with a 440 magnum and the final one that got me out of the fast and furious crowd when I got a ticket for 89mph over the limit on the interstate....a 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 that was blueprinted. I had a bunch of others that I considered more show than go.?

You are not too far off with the sickness. ?. More of a hobby. None of my trucks or vehicles since I was in high school have ever gone through an automatic car wash. I have tried a lot of products but the key has always been consistency with keeping something protective on the paint. Pays back at trade in time or sale time. When I traded my last truck in which was a 2004, with 175k, the new truck sales manager at the dealership said it was not going on the lot and that one of the mechanics already had purchased it. I got a premium trade in value for it as well. My only concern with my current truck is the problems that are out there with the 5.3 and the Active Fuel Management system where it shuts down 4 cylinders. I almost got the 6 liter in the truck but decided against it. ?. We’ll see if it comes back to bite me.

All is right in the world now. My OCD is off.. I couldn't take the fact the 303 Graphine was a bust and I had zero water beading on the hood and roof.. Of course it's ready to rain buckets but I don't care. All sealed up for at least the summer. Maybe a couple more coats of wax but that's just insurance. I’m off for lake St Clair next week so it will get some road miles and more bug splatters. The first product from Klasse that I used has a chemical stripper so I got to skip the clay bar. Turned out good.

It somewhat depends on what lure you are using. A rattle trap, spinnerbait and crankbaits have a weight forward orientation and are thrown more easily. Weightless plastics are more neutral and a Texas rigged plastic depends on whether you have the weight pegged or free flowing on the line. Lighter weights don’t throw as easily and heavier weights can wallow out a hole in the fishes mouth allowing it to be thrown if you fight it too long. With all that being said, the most universal way to keep them pegged is to keep steady pressure on them.

I tried but in a 26 foot sea ray it was a bit difficult.?

Griots makes a fine product. The only thing I do different,is that I don’t use anything buffer related to apply or remove product.

Out fishing on the Rappahonock river here in Virginia and a guy pulls up in a Ranger. He asks “Is your name Scott”? I answer “Yes it is”. I’m looking at the guy because a lot of people know me through the guide service and the fact that I moderate a few Facebook pages and because I never forget a face. He didn’t look familiar so I ask “Do I know you”? He then says “Are you Scott Jenkins”? And I say no. The guy starts laughing and says what are the odds I know a guy that looks just like you, has the same name as you and runs the exact same boat as you? We both laughed it off. The only other time I had some mistaken identity, I was on my buddies 26 foot SeaRay Sundancer on Lake Mendota in Wisconsin and I had a Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits T-shirt on when he stopped for fuel at the marina. When he came out after going inside to pay, he was laughing and had a marked up paper map in his hands and told me the guys in the marina thought I was Gary Yamamoto and marked out some fishing spots. ??

My one and only outing on the Potomac this year was a total grind. The Rappahonock on the other hand has been fun.

Even though I am retired and can fish any day I want, I like company in the boat so I go on the weekends with my longtime fishing partner who is still working. We are going to skip this weekend and get ready for our annual trip to Lake St Clair. I’ve got my hard baits sorted, plastics packed, rods ready and just need to sort out some clothes, get the oil changed on the truck, and freeze up a couple of large pans of lasagna for my nights meal obligation. COVID put a damper on last year and it was an abbreviated trip but we are back with a vengeance this year. A full week on Harsens Island in a beautiful cottage. Can’t wait.

My wife gives me grief because I have a dedicated closet for all of my fishing clothes and it is filled to the brim yet I only wear the same 4 T-shirts that are old and ragged. Don’t even get her started on hats..l.l??