Fishing Weekend
Saturday morning found me and Rod up at Butch's house getting the Jon boat ready for the first run of the year. It took a little bit to flip the boat, get the motor on, yard it over to where I could get the truck to it, and change out the stickers...but we managed and were headed out in about 45 minutes. We decided to head up to Hayden lake since it was a shorter drive than to Fernan, and the many bays led us to think we could escape the wind. Got the boat in without a problem and after a few tugs on the pullcord...the little Yamaha came to life! Always a good thing after being in storage for close to a year.
We skipped over to some coves and started to troll a bit. The weather was TRYING to break, but every time we thought the sun would come out...another black cloud was waiting to block it. So it was cold, the water was still very chilly, and the wind was blowing...but definitely easy to deal with.
I'm obviously enjoying the first boat trip of the year
Short story short...we didn't catch anything and the above is the only photo I have. We DID have two tame mallards following us around while we trolled. Bizarre, they came right up to the boat begging for a handout. Then they'd fall back and seem to swim right over our lures...occasionally looking down at them. Then they'd fall further behind and literally fly to catch up...landing in the water next to us...and continue to beg.
So there we were about halfway up the lake...when we both looked to the south and noticed whitecaps!! SHOOT. The weatherman was correct when he predicted the wind to shift to the southwest at about 1400! That's also when we noticed we had about 1 gallon of gas left! That little motor sure does like to eat. With Rod at the stern, he gunned it to the dock....both of us slamming on the seats after each 2 foot wave. But, everything worked out, the boat got a workout, and we made it back to the put-in.
Now, seeing this trailer without the boat on it is difficult...because you CAN'T see it. I have since learned how to take the tailgate off, so did that and tossed it in the bed. I had an exceptional view of the trailer and got it backed up easily. Boat loaded...we then noticed one of the trailer tires was VERY low. By the time we got to a gas station to fill it up, it was almost flat. I'm now considering just investing in those solid-rubber trailer tires. I'd never have to worry about them again.
Then on Sunday while Sarah was running the Spring Dash, I took off to Fernan to do a little shore fishing. Pretty quick both Tick and Rod showed up and we battled the blowing wind and cold for a couple hours. Again, we didn't catch anything...but saw some other folks pull in a trout. The fish are THERE, at least that's good to know.
But, the wind was out of the west blowing right down the lake, and from the spray put up by the few boats out there...I'm glad we didn't try to do that again. Then right before we took off, we noticed a boat across the lake from us, obviously dead in the water...with someone waving a red flag. Hmm, dead engine in those winds and they were about halfway down the lake...coulda happened to us on Saturday. It didn't look like much fun, but being in no position to do anything...we just sat and watched until another boat came by and towed them to the dock. (At least in the Jon boat, I could oar it into the shore...but this was a big boat that woulda been hell to paddle.)
Overall, it was a good weekend. A little too much wind for my taste, but it's funny how quickly time goes by when you're fishing. Makes me wish the weekends were just a little longer.
We skipped over to some coves and started to troll a bit. The weather was TRYING to break, but every time we thought the sun would come out...another black cloud was waiting to block it. So it was cold, the water was still very chilly, and the wind was blowing...but definitely easy to deal with.
I'm obviously enjoying the first boat trip of the year
Short story short...we didn't catch anything and the above is the only photo I have. We DID have two tame mallards following us around while we trolled. Bizarre, they came right up to the boat begging for a handout. Then they'd fall back and seem to swim right over our lures...occasionally looking down at them. Then they'd fall further behind and literally fly to catch up...landing in the water next to us...and continue to beg.
So there we were about halfway up the lake...when we both looked to the south and noticed whitecaps!! SHOOT. The weatherman was correct when he predicted the wind to shift to the southwest at about 1400! That's also when we noticed we had about 1 gallon of gas left! That little motor sure does like to eat. With Rod at the stern, he gunned it to the dock....both of us slamming on the seats after each 2 foot wave. But, everything worked out, the boat got a workout, and we made it back to the put-in.
Now, seeing this trailer without the boat on it is difficult...because you CAN'T see it. I have since learned how to take the tailgate off, so did that and tossed it in the bed. I had an exceptional view of the trailer and got it backed up easily. Boat loaded...we then noticed one of the trailer tires was VERY low. By the time we got to a gas station to fill it up, it was almost flat. I'm now considering just investing in those solid-rubber trailer tires. I'd never have to worry about them again.
Then on Sunday while Sarah was running the Spring Dash, I took off to Fernan to do a little shore fishing. Pretty quick both Tick and Rod showed up and we battled the blowing wind and cold for a couple hours. Again, we didn't catch anything...but saw some other folks pull in a trout. The fish are THERE, at least that's good to know.
But, the wind was out of the west blowing right down the lake, and from the spray put up by the few boats out there...I'm glad we didn't try to do that again. Then right before we took off, we noticed a boat across the lake from us, obviously dead in the water...with someone waving a red flag. Hmm, dead engine in those winds and they were about halfway down the lake...coulda happened to us on Saturday. It didn't look like much fun, but being in no position to do anything...we just sat and watched until another boat came by and towed them to the dock. (At least in the Jon boat, I could oar it into the shore...but this was a big boat that woulda been hell to paddle.)
Overall, it was a good weekend. A little too much wind for my taste, but it's funny how quickly time goes by when you're fishing. Makes me wish the weekends were just a little longer.
posted by geotracker12 at 9:24 AM
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