Catfishhoge

Nice job on those perch Rock!

Cool, thanks fellas!

I know there are plenty of variables but I am wondering.... With a 24 volt 70 lb thrust on a 18 foot alluminum hull boat and two hefty batteries, approximatly how long will they last while fishing? Thanks Rick

1995 Ford Ranger, 4.0 automatic. I figure around 18 to 20 mpg. Not bad for what I need. My boat is around 1 ton and this truck handles it nicely. I have concidered getting a bigger boat but then I would need to upgrade the truck. Think I will stick with what I have for a while, everything works fine.

Down wind is a primary direction however on some days it will be easier to set a heading that would be almost perpendicular to the wind due to the type and size of waves. Set rods and then adjust your course. Matt has added a small detail when netting. I also position the end of the net under my net arm as the handle lays on the gunnal waiting for the appropriate time! This is one of the things that may be prefferential to your style and settup.

Good deal fellas!

I have not fished alone in a while since I found some good peoples via the internet who carry the same interest in the sport as I do. It use to be a regular event to see me by myself out on lake Michigan chasing down salmon and the likes. Actually, the things you ask are relatively easy, if you are set up for it! I have a Lund 1775 PRO V Deluxe, single counsol. I run 2 electric riggers and would have dipsy out as well. That may change as the fish determine! Boat control is easy, position your boat in such a way the wind, waves and current will keep it on a strait heading. If your steering should be "loose" you can use a bungy cord, I like to call it a poor mans auto pilot, and hold it steady. This will help you to get your lines set. Once they are all in, I would turn my seat to face the back and watch rods! The close proximity of everything in a boat of this size is great for solo trips. Cruise around looking for some action untill you hit a fish! When a rod pops, first you jump on it! Then as your fighting this fish you determine what you need to do based on the fight he gives you. Most of the time you can decide right away. If a smaller fish is on you can pretty much bring it in with no problem. However, a bigger fish is where you need to take action. Try and get your boat in the same position as when you set lines. Let the water help you to control your boat. Now you need to get this big fish in a net! He will do everything possible to screw it up for you! I will take a little more time getting it to the boat, this helps to wear it out and make things a little easier. There would usually be one side of the boat that is open. No rods out. That is where I want to net the fish. Along side. I have a longer handle on my net, with the rod in my left hand and the net in my right, I lay the handle on the gunnal for leverage. When the fish gets close enough I slip it under the fish and raise the net to get him in it. Then I will put the rod in a holder or lay it down to hoist the fish in the boat! With my set ups spinnies and flies on dipsies are no problem while netting. I keep my leaders between the dipsy and spinnie at 4 feet in length, with the fly being a couple feet behind the spinnie that only leaves you with 7 feet or so of line left out of the rod tip. There are some little things that you may adapt to your boat and style of fishing but this is what I have done in the past and had little problems. Fishing solo on big water for big fish is not as complicated as some may think. And some days it can be just what the sole needed! Good fishing! Rick

If it has a metal tank you can check it with an ohm meter pretty easy. Rick

Mike, The web cam links are a very good addition. I am sure they will get used much! Thanks for making them available! Rick

Very nicely writen. Great information and advice! Thanks for the article! Rick

Good job Matt, thanks for the report.

First event for the league and it was another good time! Thanks to Rich and Larry, you guys do a great job! My crew for the day was The dude and Hunting fool. They did super at everything, well except for maybe one net job. They did get the fish but they played "knock it around" for a while first! Kinda funny to watch! Anyway, we found all of our fish in a close proxcimity of each other. 120 to 140 fow. All fish came on spoons with yellow the primary color, I think! We ended with 5 kings and 2 coho. Great day to be out fishing for sure! Thanks fellas for joining me! Rick

Thanks for the report Jim. Got to believe there are fish to be found out there. Did you stay out front or go north/south?

Brian, Your making me think! Your theory is based on a 25% decrease in average speed, from 40 mph to 30. I believe that is unrealistic for me over the coarse of a year! However, I can deal with that! What I have a problem with is that according to your theory, going from point A to point B at a 25% slower speed will result in more fuel used. While it is true that with most vehicles there is a curve where a particular speed will in fact produce the best fuel mileage for that particular vehicle. I also would not think that you can say your added "drive time" effectively adds extra miles into the equasion. You are still going a measured distance, point A to point B. Look at it this way, car A travels at 80 mph for 100 miles (common for my old habits)! The same car, driver and circumstances now does the same trip only changes speed and travels 60 mph for the same 100 miles (trying to make it common with my new habits)! This would account for your 25% decrease in average speed. There would be 25 minutes added drive time with the slower speed. Even though your drive time has increased, the fuel usage is still measured at 100 miles. How much energy is used to get you there? Not how fast or slow did it take you? So I believe your saying it will cost more money is based on a precieved notion of some sort of engineering feat that I am totaly ignorant too! Interesting theory! Rick

I fished this lake this morning looking foir some eye action. I have not fished it in the past. I tried trolling and drifting crawlers, minnows, stickbaits and spoons to with no success! Thats ok, I am use to not catching fish the first time on a new body of water. Interesting lake though. Rick

Brian, I got to read that again before I have a couple beers!

Looks good! Let us know how it works. Just make sure you come "out of the closet"

All you need to do is look at the price signs at gas stations to get a good idea we are in trouble. Fuel costs are continually rising and no one knows where it will stop. Let me share with you some fact’s, habits of mine and what I intend to do in order to minimize these costs. There should also be some other advantages along with these changes. I drive a 1995 Ford Ranger with a 4.0 OHV engine and automatic transmission. I travel 12 miles to work each day with a portion of it expressway. When I get into my truck I feel it necessary to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Time on the road is wasted time. I would consistently drive 5 to 10 miles over the posted speed limit and sometimes more. Here are some facts; Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money. While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5-mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. Observing the speed limit is also safer. Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines. Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas. When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear. Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $2.91/gallon. Estimates for fuel savings from sensible driving are based on studies and literature reviews performed by Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc., Washington, DC. Estimates for the effect of speed on MPG are based on a study by West, B.H., R.N. McGill, J.W. Hodgson, S.S. Sluder, and D.E. Smith, Development and Verification of Light-Duty Modal Emissions and Fuel Consumption Values for Traffic Models, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March 1999. Now, I never really calculated or logged any fuel mileage figures for my truck however, I keep it in the best mechanical condition with scheduled maintenance and upkeep. I suppose I get about 16 mpg average for the type of driving I do in a given normal week. With all these facts and full knowledge of the negative effects my type of driving has on my truck and my bank account I asked myself, why are you doing this? What can I change to make things easier? Well I knew the answer and decided I would put into action a different mindset as to how I would approach driving everyday. I have now been driving either at or below the posted speed limits. If a road is posted at 55 mph, I will drive that and sometimes under if the traffic allows. When I am on the expressway posted 70 mph, I will only drive 60 mph. This is not a problem due to the fact of the extra lanes (No one has flipped me off yet). I am in the second week of my new driving habits and already I see a major impact on fuel usage alone. I use to need to fill my tank once each week under normal circumstances. I am still on my fill up for last week and believe I can get through Saturday. Lets do some math! Average miles traveled per year…. 17,500 Divided by average MPG…………16 Equals……………………………..1093 gallons of fuel used Times………………………………$2.95 today’s fuel price Equals……………………………..$3,224 annual fuel expense Now, by my thought process I should be able to reduce my fuel usage by around 15% or maybe even more according to the data and my driving changes. 15% of $3,224 equals a whopping $483. That is huge in most families budgets. It would be easy for anyone to figure there own savings based on the criteria which they are associated with. Also, I would benefit with less stress on my trucks mechanical functions, less chance to receive a moving violation citation, which would cost in fines and insurance premium increases. Not to mention what my wife would do to make me pay! The extra time to travel under my new guidelines is not that much at all. Going from 70 to 60 mph would take you approximately 10 more minutes to drive 60 miles. I think it will be worth it in the long run. I also intend to do some backing off of the throttle when in my boat. I would usually run at or near full throttle when the conditions permit. After I get her up on a good plane I will hold it there and should experience some similar effects! Good driving everyone! Rick

Good deal on finding the fish! Seems a little odd to find them at that depth this early.

We have a border collie named Pete, he got that name because it is short and sweet! I don't have a picture of him but will get one.

Very good topic Jim, I agree that you don't see many dead fish floating. There will obviously be "some" mortality among the released fish for specific reasons. I have not seen or looked for a study on the matter. Interesting topic for sure! Rick

I do not keep a log book, I guess maybe I should but I would forget to make the entries if I did!

I don't keep a log but it is about 30 give or take, mostly Coho, then Browns and last Kings.

Mike, Are they just the Great Lakes Fisherman banner with the salmon and the state in the middle?

I need one more able boddied crew member for this event! Only requirment is your food/beverage needs for the day. PM me for details! Rick