TOXIC

Shrink wrapping gives a better seal and no seams to leak. My cover is old and has some leaks on the seams as well as losing some of its water shedding properties. As for furry freeloaders, I put some sticky boards in the compartments. I can’t prop up the tarp because it’s so high off the factory cover. We had a little bit of snow yesterday and I’d did shed it pretty well. I fish year round so shrink wrapping isn’t an option for me or I would for sure do it. My figuring it out has been a slow process and a wet boat more times than I could count. 😂

@Jigfishn10 while I’m no stranger to tarping over my factory cover, yours looks to be shrink wrapped which is 100% better. This is only temporary until I can get the boat back in the barn.

Well, my daughter is loading hay in the storage barn where I normally keep the boat so it’s going to have to ride out the predicted 4 to 8 inches of snow coming in this weekend. With the grab pole and the power poles and an extra big tarp over my factory cover, we’ll see if it can shed the snow.

Taking the glitter sled and going to Headwaters the first week of February.

Wife is superstitious. We had our first meal of the year the traditional Hoppin John for good luck.

I’ve learned my lesson with them. It never fails they are hot on the color you only brought 3 bags of and the fact you never know which color it is going to be. I have a solid 10 colors for Florida and 10 bags for each color. Throw in some chatterbait trailers, swim jigs, big worms and Ned rig baits and I have all I really need. Last year the Senko bite was off the hook and they really preferred one color. Also, I’m packing for 2 of us. 😉

Installed my present from the wife. Trick Step for the trailer. I guess she really doesn’t want to cash in the insurance check.😉😂

Going out today to pull all my gear out of the boat to re-tool for my upcoming trip to Headwaters at the end of the month. We take my partners boat pulled by my truck, so I’ll throw 100 bags of Senkos and a few rods in the truck. We are supposed to get frigid with possible snow/ice.

Senko with a screw in nose weight if I want to get threw the weeds or a weightless DShad fished on top.

@gim I’ve been towing long distances for so long, I always have enough forethought to not get into situations where I come close to Jack knifing the trailer. I’ll keep an eye on it to be sure though.

Well it’s on and secure. Pays to look at instructions. I was trying to fit the squeeze block that goes between the winch posts, to the wrong posts and it wouldn’t fit. Re-read the instructions and it fits like a glove. Boat is bundled up because it is here at the house while my daughter piles hay in the barn. Double covered.

Well, I’m not going to get too many 60 degree days this time of year so I decided to get the hose out and run water directly on every spot that is prone to leak. Started with the cowl drains. Water drained so fast it created a whirlpool. Sprayed both sides and middle. Waited long enough for the water to make it into the cab if it was going to. It didn’t. Moved up to the shark fin antenna. Let water run on it for 5 minutes, then waited another 5 to see if it made it to the cab…nope. Moved on to the sunroof. Same deal. No water intrusion. Same with the 3rd brake light. So…..I got some hot soapy water and poured it down all of the drains on the truck. Hopefully that cures it. Due to the nice weather I went ahead and washed the truck and put 303 Aerospace Protectant on all of the rubber seals. Finished up early afternoon so I thought….what the heck….and pulled out the wax and did my final wax of the season. Included the rims and chrome. Dang thing better not leak now. 😂😜

@A-Jay I’m glad to hear you like your steps. I was kinda tongue in cheek about the old part. I’m still able to navigate in the boat. The Trick Step is supposedly no drill, no cut. Easy application. I’ll post up my install when done.

I did quit doing that a while back. Good thing the Ranger trailer has plenty of foot holes on both ends and the middle of the fenders but they aren’t the easiest to find doing the ape hang off the gunnel. It also has a big step on the front starboard side of the trailer to help when winching up but it’s a pain to crawl back onto the deck when finished, especially over graphs and rods.

Well, went out to install Trick Step and noticed it would interfere with me replacing my winch strap which was in bad shape. So, first things first, ordered a new winch strap and mounting bolt. Works out good since it’s the original and hopefully I won’t need to replace it for a good long while.

My wife was talking to my fishing partner and got me a Trick Step for the boat. I’ve officially entered the “old man” club at 67. 😂 I’ve always said that if I ever get to the point I can’t launch, retrieve or get in and out of my 21ft boat by myself, I’d hang it up. My fishing partner is 7 years younger than me and he has a Trick Step on his Ranger and really likes it. We will see…..pic is pre install. I’ll post the after in a bit.

That’s the odd thing. It’s right smack in the middle of the weathertech, almost squarely under the steering column but nothing is wet around or under the column. It rained all last night and of course it’s dry, no puddle today. 😜

@VolFan That would be a good resolution. I don’t cherish trying to seal the shark fin, windshield or 3rd brake light. @Jigfishn10 I thought that as well but if the water travels to the floorboard anywhere behind the dash, it could fog the windshield. I’m trying to objectively examine if I hear more wind noise or if I’m just paying more attention. 😂😜

My 2016 Silverado High Country has developed a strange water leak. Started after a couple hard rains and I noticed water in the Weathertech floor mat on the drivers side. It was a small puddle in the middle. I had driven it in the rain so I just thought it came in on my shoes and there was no sign of any dripping from under the dash. I ran my hand all over under there and no water. I dried it out and reminded myself to keep an eye on it. It happened again in the next rain but then again, I had driven it so I doubted myself. Was out at my daughters farm yesterday and it rained last night. I made sure to look at the mat when I got home. Went out this morning and there was a small wet spot on the mat. Once again, no trail or wet spot under the dash I can find. Funny thing is, I have noticed my windshield has been fogging up on the inside some where it has never done that in the past and it seems like I am hearing more wind noise than normal. It’s been raining all day and supposed to rain tomorrow so I’ll see if the puddle grows. In my research I have found the following possibilities: Cowl drains plugged Shark Fin antenna seal bad AC drain plugged (ruled out because it only does it in the rain) Sunroof drains plugged 3rd brake light seal Wimdshield seal i don’t think it’s the 3rd brake light since all of those I’ve seen leak show up on the headliner. Same with the Shark fin antenna. My headliner has no moisture. When the rain stops, I’m going to take the hose and start at the cowl drain lines and bottom of windshield wet it down and see if it leaks after a good amount of time. If no leak then it’s up to the Shark fin, if no leak, it’s to the sunroof and finally the 3rd brake light. Hopefully it will show itself.

Yamamoto is still making the 4”, 5”, and 7.75” Kut Tails. I have a friend who uses them religiously. They are made in 13 or 14 colors depending on size. No plans to discontinue.

@Bankbeater while I won’t disagree on the Manns baits at all, there’s a few baits where the original is worth the extra $$. A Senko just happens to be one of those. 😂😂😂 As far as I know GSM hasn’t gotten into making Senkos for off brand sales. 😜😉

I’ll relay a little story that made me rethink the need for most name brand merchandise. I was out in the Midwest doing my job and as a result, had to learn the sugar beet processing industry. Long story short, I went to the plant and watched the process from harvest to filling packets of individual sugar pouches. One line was being packaged in different generic store brands. In the line right next to it, it was being packaged into C&H sugar packs. Wanna guess which one was more expensive? 🤔Being pro staff for Bass Pro for so many years, I can tell you they don’t make their own baits. They are rebranded. Figure out who makes them and you might just have found a deal.

Merry Christmas and tight lines to all. ☃️🌲🎅

I can remember most details about every lake I have ever been on. I amaze myself on how much information I can store. Problem was when I was guiding, I remembered everywhere I caught fish and after a certain amount of time it was most every cove, hump, brush pile, point and dock on the lake. It made planning a day with clients super difficult.

The same was said when Mike Iconelli was pulling his shenanigans. It’s a hard persona to maintain and eventually your fishing success will speak louder than your antics to get clicks and noticed.