Fishing Rhino

Spencer Tracy?

Class of '59 here. What does that make me?

Maybe I missed it, but a must have for towing is a transmission cooler. It doesn't matter how big the tow rig and how small the boat (within reason) a cooler will add years to the life of a transmission. When I'm towing, I frequently check the transmission temps, and tire pressures. Gotta love the modern electronics in vehicles.

It's route 177, also known as Bulgarmarsh Road and the American Legion Highway. That's the only public access.

Excellent!

Pultruded? Did you say pultruded? I've got to look it up to see what it means. Sounds serious. It is serious. Pultrusion Pultrusion is a continuous process for manufacture of composite materials with constant cross-section. The term is a portmanteau word, combining "pull" and "extrusion". As opposed to extrusion, which pushes the material, pultrusion works by pulling the material. Now I've got to look up portmanteau. Portmanteau A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a linguistic blend of words, in which parts of multiple words, or their phones (sounds), and their meanings are combined into a new word. Originally, the word "portmanteau" refers to a suitcase that opens into two equal sections. See what you started.

I won't be able to make it tomorrow. Have to tend to a couple of repairs around the house.

Before you get too excited, see my post to you about your "Great Life".

While you love your life, it could be better if your beloved Raiders weren't playing so well. You've had years of low expectations without a care of them letting you down. Now, it looks like they could be a contender, and you might even have visions of them going to the Superbowl. How bitter it will be if they choose the post season to collapse.

Ahhhhh, a nice "upgrade". Go easy with all that power until you learn how to handle it.

I'll take Tuesday under advisement. Maybe I'll show up with my canoe, and chase you guys around.

Quabbin is good, but it's two and a half hours from here. I fished it twice this year. The second time I went with Dog Bone. I caught five nice smallies, all over two pounds, a couple close to three within a hundred feet of the dock where we got our rental. I caught one more small one in that same area when we returned. If I recall, I caught about a dozen small mouth, and half of them could have been caught from the shore. Wacky worm and a Srike King seven inch elaztech finesse worm rigged on a shaky jig head green pumpkin with red flakes. Webster used to be great until they de-weeded the place. Catching forty to fifty bass was a typical day fishing the vegetation. After they treated it, you would be lucky to catch ten fish. Haven't fished John's pond since I got the Z-8. The Z-7 could be launched but the ramp is none too big. The 7 was much more nimble to trailer at the smaller ramps than the 8. Never did much at John's. Ashumet close by John's was pretty good for smallies, then they de-weeded it and thrashed the weeds with what look like a waterborn wheat combine with the big paddle wheel in the front. Merrimack River will produce smallmouth and largemouth. It's been hit or miss for me. The first two or three times I did okay. Fishing beneath the I-93 bridge in the first two sections on each bank. Caught decent numbers, but nothing of bragging size. Peters pond has largemouth and smallmouth. Wequaquet is decent, but parking at the ramp is limited to residents with parking permits. I've parked there a couple of times once prior to Memorial day, and then again after Labor day. Never had any problems with the locals. There is a rowing club facility at the ramp, and the locals told me that the cops only enforce the parking between Memorial and Labor day. It is a nice pond. Peters Pond has smallies and largemouth, but can be tough to fish. There is a campground on the pond with docks and moorings. It seems most rent a space for the summer. In season it can be over run with jet skis, party barges, water skiers, wake boarders, etc. I've had to work for every fish I caught there. Wallum Lake, near Webster has the rep of being a great smallmouth fishery. My limited experience and that of some of my friends is that it's a spring fishery. April and May then it tapers off. Singletary is a decent Pond. Fished a couple of years ago four or five times. Caught a lot of bass at the shoal north of the island on the big section of the pond the first time I went there with a friend of mine. The next time it produced nothing. They seemed to be holdin in six to eight feet of water along the shore. Buffam or Buffamville was interesting, more for the beaver that call the place home than the fishing. It looked very fishy with standing timber and submerged stumps. Only went there once with a friend who knew his way around. None of them can hold a candle to Sawdy. The smallmouth bite was off a little this year, but the largemouth more than made up for it.

I won't be going to the Nip until next year. Hopefully, it will be at full pool next spring. Heh, heh, full pool is something I heard for the first time on the first road trip. It refers to the normal water level. They use it all the time. The lake is three feet above full pool. The lake is two feet below full pool, etc. Another thing to pay attention to is when they will be "drawing water" at the dams to generate electricity. They will tell you how many generators will be drawing water. When they draw a lot of water, and the current is running, the fish in the middle of the river will head to the shore and inlets to get out of the current. When they are drawing much water, and there isn't much current, the fish tend to move toward the deeper water. That doesn't mean you won't catch fish along the banks or in the coves and creeks. As we all know, the fish do not always abide by the "book".

God bless you guys for upholding the honor of the northeast fishermen. Time for me to get to the chores around the house so they won't interfere with the next season. I went to the Nip once, back in 208. Spent most of the day in my canoe and didn't get so much as a tap. Never went back. The posts have got me curious. May have to try it next year, preferably with someone who knows how to fish the pond. My Nitro might be overkill, but I can run it all day on the trolling motor, and move around in it without doing a balancing act.

Great Herring in Plymouth used to be a great smallmouth pond, but over the past few years it has been on the decline which coincides with the serious decline in vegetation. It had a weed bed that ran the perimeter of the pond in water from six feet to ten or more feet. You could catch plenty of fish from those plants. It can still have its good days, but nothing like it was from 2009 - 2011. It can also produce good largemouth and pickerel fishing as well. There was an increase in vegetation the past two years. Hopefully, that's a good ***. There is a fairly large shoal to the northeast of the Mass Maritime Academy facility. It's about a hundred to a hundred fifty feet in diameter. It is from seven or eight feet deep to about 12 feet deep, where it drops suddenly to twenty plus feet on the west and thirty plus feet to the east. It is covered with short vegetation, and holds both species of bass and pickerel as well. I used to be able to fish that for about two hours catching plenty of fish. Not so much any more. Mashpee Wakeby also used to be a great pond for both species of bass. I used to fish it a couple of times a week. I only fished it once this past year and a couple of times last year. It too has suffered a drastic decline in its vegetation. Watuppa can have its good days, but they are few and far between. I generally avoid it like the plague. I'll fish it once or twice a year at most. Your favorite pond has been the most prolific fishery in this area for the past several years in terms of numbers and average size. It's less than five minutes from my doorstep.

Yes, white is cooler in the hot weather. But there is also more glare from the sun, and thus you need more sunscreen. I've had a boat with white as the inside color. The one I have now is red. But, it's only the cockpit where it makes a difference. The front and rear decks are covered with gray carpet. You'll spend more time on the carpet than in the cockpit. And, most of the time you are in the cockpit is when moving from one spot to another, then it's back onto the carpet.

Sorry to hear about your loss. My wife and I have been married for 51 years, I don't even want to think about losing her.

I don't know about four cycles, but when they winterize my Merc Optimax they fog the engine which protects the cylinders and pistons with extra oil. They told me not to start it until I was ready to use it on a regular basis since it would remove the coating of oil that fogging puts on the pistons, rings, and cylinders. I would think that would be just as critical for a four cycle engine, maybe more critical since there is no oil mixed with the fuel.

I'm glad for you, that you are so happy and blessed. But for some reason, I can envision the others in your household saying, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Condolences.

It couldn't have been silicone. Silicone is inert. I'm a big fan of 3M5200 but would never use it on through hull fittings, unless I wanted them fixed permanently in place. It would be a nightmare to remove those fittings from the hull. They'd have to be cut off, or ground off, and then you'd have the pleasure of separating the tube from the hull.

Silicone will work fine on through hull fittings, provided you assemble the fitting properly. Put a quarter inch bead of silicone where the fitting seats against the hull. Screw the fitting just tight enough so the silicone starts to ooze out from between the fitting and the hull. Then let it sit for at least 24 hours. That will allow the silicone to completely set. You then end up with a 1/8th inch of solid silicone which forms a perfect seal against the hull. Once set, all you need to do is tighten each mounting screw a quarter to a half turn. That will make a snug seal between the fitting and the hull. If you tighten the connection to the hull without allowing the silicone to set up, all you are doing is squeezing the silicone out from between the hull and the fitting. Eventually, that connection will leak.

Major League 3?

Google "gluvit". It's an epoxy that can be brushed on or rolled on. Coat the entire surface of the live well, sides and bottoms. It will seal all small cracks and crevices. It is also used to seal mobile homes at the seams to stop leaks. It remains flexible. Make sure the surfaces of the live well are free from dirt, grime, grease, etc. Scuff with sandpaper to get a good bond. It's an epoxy, so it bonds well to almost any clean surface.

The motor doesn't sit on the spring.