Fishing Rhino

I fish with a 55 pound thrust Minnkota Traxxis on the stern of my canoe. The wind is not a problem if you do this. Place the canoe upwind of the area you want to fish. Orient it so the stern faces into the wind. The bow will be facing the area you want to fish. Use reverse as needed to hold the canoe in place. You can "slide" the canoe from side to side. I wouldn't want the trolling motor mounted on the bow. It forces you to keep the boat into the wind, with you casting into the wind. With a little practice you'll be able to hold position or slide it side to side. If you have someone in the canoe, you are both casting downwind, without casting over a trolling motor. If you want to fish along shore, you can use the tm to hold position, and turn it off to let the canoe drift with the wind. It will not blow in circles using this technique. I've done the circle thing, and it's definitely a pain.

One suggestion. Take the mat out, let it dry and vacuum the tray. Grit and grime will naturally accumulate beneath the mat. After vacuuming, clean and wax the gel coat.

Fish GH enough, and you'll end up catching a catfish or two. The two I caught there were at the north end of the pond in about eight feet of water. Most waters have them, more commonly known as hornedpout. Two years ago on the forum Road Trip to Wilson Lake I caught a forty plus pound channel cat on six pound test line. Took over a half hour to get it to the boat. The fellow fishing with me asked if it pulled hard. I handed him the rod and told him to play with it for a while. This past year at Pickwick I caught another about 25 pounds. Both were vertical fights.

Long Pond in Brewster/Harwich is supposed to be a good smallmouth pond. Will you have a boat? You'll need to find the access. The one in Brewster requires a resident sticker. There is supposed to be an access available to all in Harwich. Ask around when you get there. Some of the deeper ponds around the state park in Brewster have trout and landlocked salmon. Never fished them, so I cannot be of much help.

Is your grease fitting in a bearing buddy, or the end of the axle? It is possible to blow grease past the inner seal if that is the only place it can escape. If the fitting is in the end of the axle, grease should not blow past the inner seal. The grease exits the axle between the inner seal and the inner bearing. From there, it works its way through the inner bearing, the space between the inner and outer bearings and finally exits through the outer bearing. You should rotate the wheel while greasing the bearings with this arrangement.

What boat should you get? That is really only a question you can answer. I have a bass boat and a canoe that I fish from. Each has its place. I enjoy the canoe as much as the big flashy bass boat. Let's say I suggest you get a canoe. There are members of the forum who prefer kayaks, others, jon boats, others prefer Pelican/Bass Hunter type of boats. Others have and prefer a twelve to fourteen foot aluminum round bottom boats. That is why none of us is qualified to tell you what type of boat to get. I have a Nitro, and am perfectly happy with it, while others hate them. Fishing has something for everyone, hence the endless variety of boats designed for fishing. I wouldn't begin to tell anyone what type of boat they should get.

I always wear, and use the safety lanyard. I clip the free end to a belt loop. When I get up, I pull the lanyard free from the safety switch, and put that end in a pocket below the belt loop. It's never in the way, or hanging loose from the safety switch. By the way, it is important to know that by pulling the lanyard free from the safety switch, you cannot forget to hook it up to the switch, and start the motor.

As has been said. Put a piece of masking tape on the gel coat where you want to drill the hole. Then, drill a small hole. Use a countersink to enlarge the hole at the surface. Make the surface hole just a bit larger than the finished hole will be. Then drill your hole. You will have a slight bevel at the top of the hole, but that is better than chips.

Back in my lobstering days I had a trick to stay cool on hot days. I always wore a hat. I'd dip it in the lobster tank, bring it up full of water, and in one swift movement, put it on. It worked great. The ocean surface temps would get to seventy degrees in early September.

When I first got my boat insurance here in Mass, I read it. It seemed to read that the boat was insured for eight or nine months of the year. But that was not the case. It limited, or restricted, leaving the boat in the water year round, which makes sense. Insurance companies do not want to pay for negligence resulting in ice damage, sinking, etc. Insurance policies vary, so you need to check with your agent when it comes to understanding the details and fine print.

I don't know the first thing about kayaks, but, it seems to me that there should be preferred spots where the J cradles should be situated against the hull, where the hull is the strongest. Too far apart, and it could sag in the middle. Too close together, combined with a bow and stern tie downs could bend the ends of the yak downward.

Has the vegetation come back at Webster. It was three or four years ago they killed most of it off, and the fishing went downhill. It was easy to catch thirty or forty fish a day prior to the "de-weeding" of the pond. The last time I fished there with Grampa, before he moved south we managed about a half dozen. Haven't been back since. It might have been in this thread, someone said they went to the small state ramp at the south end of the pond, getting there around seven or seven-thirty in the morning. Three years ago you couldn't have found a place to park your vehicle at seven-thirty. I'd launch a half hour before sunrise, probably around four thirty a.m. Most of the time, I was the first one there, but only by ten or fifteen minutes. The parking area was jammed by six o'clock in the morning on weekdays. Weekends? Forget about it.

I'm disappointed. It seems my reference went over your head. Sloan had a typo using constriction instead of construction. Constriction as in Boa Constrictor, hence my reference to "The Snake".

I'll be working the east side of the pond, starting around the first island to the left as you head toward the far end of the pond. I'll probably be about half way down the east shore when you get there.

Good luck, and follow the doc's instructions diligently. I'm with Bassturd. If they can do it arthroscopically, you'll probably be up and about that same day. Medicine can do some amazing things today.

Jeepers, you've had a heckuva day Ghoti. May your trip go without further incident.

Kenny "the snake" Stabler?

I'm going out on Sawdy tomorrow morning. I'll be launching around 5:30 a.m. I have an empty seat for anyone's interested. Be done around noon. It's about 45 miles south of Boston.

Just checked out Whopper Plopper on the TW site. There are two versions. The new is called River2Sea Silent, so you are probably correct about the sound and the hooks.

If the weather cooperates, we're good. 5:30 at the ramp.

Can't make it to Quabbin. Hope you guys do well.

I'm interested as long as it's early enough to beat the traffic mess around Boston. I'll be bringing my canoe, unless it's a body of water with a decent launching ramp. Then, I'll bring my bass boat. Either way, I'll have a seat available.

Fowl bird!

Son of a gun. Shoulda got my wife plastic. Woulda been cheaper than a diamond.

Under a bridge. It's much nicer. You never know what kind of fluids will be running down the gutter. A slightly used shopping cart will complete your domicile.