JonBailey

California is under its worst drought ever as you know. This will adversely impact inland/freshwater fishing in this state for years to come, quite possibly. This state may be becoming a desert. You may have to trade your fishing boat in for a dune buggy for CA recreation. Of course, if CA should fall ever into the sea, that would quickly avert the drought. You then will need a coastal boat to fish off the shores of Reno, Nevada. Casinos on the Pacific Ocean beach front! What a notion! The CA lakes and reservoirs are all mud puddles by now. The rivers are exposing their beds to the air and sunshine. Maybe a swamp buggy might work as a bass rig. Then again, you can dip a line into a tank with fish in it.

What is a PROPER diet? Mine is high fiber so just in case...

Since I will have two big pooches in life vests, portable toilet equipment, extra fuel, and a big cooler, I had better consider an 18 foot Cresty for some extra space on deck. My 14' Lowe of yore was awfully tight for room. A 50-HP motor should be sufficient.

There are no woods out on the California Delta. There is seldom woods near a duck blind or an open dove field.

I do know treated waste is dumped into the Sacramento River and the thought of that still grosses me out. I will probably just use the Delta waters for day cruising and not fishing, skiing or swimming and restrict my freshwater fishing to clear-running rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs. The non-navigable shallow rivers of significant current will require waders or expensive jet boats, not prop-driven power boats, for angling. Because I, a flat lander, am prone to altitude sickness, I want to be no higher than 3,000 feet elevation in northern California for outdoor recreation. I suspect California fishing this coming season will be poor due to the record drought.

Well, yes, as at a deer stand, a dove field or a duck blind. Hunting in a stationary position or an open field that doesn't offer good natural cover for loo privacy. Hunting deer walking, I had to take a dump behind a tree in that hunt but the denser woods provide enough privacy. I carried TP in my backpack.

He has seen them but is concerned that the waters they are caught out of are polluted. He is also concerned that the rusty Navy mothball fleet has contaminated the Suisan Bay and that sewage is dumped into the Sacramento River. I am concerned about the pesticides and chemical fertilizers that run off into navigable Delta waters from farmland irrigation. It seems like salmon and trout caught out of northern California lakes and mountain rivers are going to be from cleaner waters than from Delta waters. Same goes for lake bass. I am concerned about water quality and QUANTITY during this drought episode for northern California inland fishing. I live in Sacramento County.

There should be laws and regulations governing power boating as there are for driving an automobile. Boating likewise is a privilege and not a right. For somebody to lawfully operate a power boat in any state I believe the following should be mandatory: 1. some kind of license or permit to operate a motor boat 2. some kind of minimum age requirement unless a licensed adult is on board 3. absolutely no driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol 4. mandatory life jacket wearing for all persons on board a recreational power boat while boat is underway 5. some kind of formal boater training and safety education approved by the USCG 6. training on how to properly trailer a boat, launch and load a boat at a boat dock instead of holding up everybody in line like an amateur 7. mandatory liability boating insurance Too many idiots are out on the water. Proper training and stiffer regulation eliminates stupidity.

A man I know claims that the Sacramento River is too polluted to catch quality food fishes from and the same goes for the Delta as a whole. I want fish that tastes good and are safe to eat.

Living, fishing and boating northern California inland waters, I would not be getting into water any bigger than Trinity Lake, Folsom lake, Lake Oroville, Lake Berryessa or Shasta Dam which ever is bigger. My outboard would be limited to 50 HP and so would my cruising speed, say 25 knots tops. I won't boat Lake Tahoe because the altitude is too high for my respiratory health. I am a flat lander and not a mountain man. The Cresty 16 deep-vee should handle freshwater lake chop up to 25 knots. I drive conservatively too not making hard turns and if the water gets too rough due to high winds, there is a procedure called slowing down the boat. The Cresty should also handle the Sacramento River and the California Delta.

I probably would go to the bank if I could and use the pop-up privacy shelter there if no public lavatory were close by.

I want to be able to fish for them on a multi-species deep-vee prop-driven aluminum boat under 20 feet. This is obviously not for large bays, arms or coastal waters. I want the best tasting salmon and fish weights for the grill and for the smoker. Which seasons are the best? Which species are the best? Are salmon found in inland waters strictly during spawning seasons? Are there more species of salmon than the chinook or king in northern California inland waters? Which bodies of water navigable by small motor boar is the best for very good food salmon? I live in Sacramento. The navigable non-land-locked bodies of water around here including but not limited to: 1. The Feather River 2. The Sacramento River 3. The San Joaquin River 4. The California Delta with its various complex maze of sloughs and channels 5. Folsom Lake 6. Carquinez Strait I am not sure if any part of the American River is navigable by non-jet power boat. i have heard of anchor fishing for Chinook on the Sacramento River. Are these good-tasting fish? What other methods and tackle are used for inland salmon? My main interest for food fishes are the salmonids: salmon, trout, steelheads, char or whitefish.

Something like that. But boats don't have plates. The DMV evidently sends a list of vacant (unregistered/untaken) boat numbers to marine dealerships. Each dealership, of course, gets a range of numbers that no other dealership has. There are about 6.7 million possible combinations for CA boat reg. numbers. When those become exhausted they will probably make the reg. numbers longer than 8 digits. With computers this should be no sweat these days.

The toilet tents fold very compact. Your "boat" must be an inner tube then if it won't fit.

It depends on the dealer. Apparently this particular dealer can as follows: Brothers Boats, Folsom, California I believe they have a pool of registration numbers the DMV allots them to use for new boat sales.

At any California boat dealer, should the VESSEL REGISTRATION NUMBER (VRN) appear on any paperwork that the customer signs at the time of sale? The paperwork could be a sales/purchase agreement or contract. The CA vessel registration number is the 8 digit number that appears on either side the hull in this form: CF XXXX XX New boats don't have these displayed on the hull until the boat is sold. I just emailed a certain CA boat dealer and told him I wanted the numeral "5" to appear in the VRN but that I did NOT want three consecutive numeral 6's to appear in this number should I ever buy a new boat from him. He replied to me saying getting the number as I wanted it would not be a problem for him. I figure that if I were to see the VESSEL REGISTRATION NUMBER firsthand in writing on the sales documents before signing the deal, I could simply refuse to sign and walk out on the deal if such number printed on the contact were not to my specifications. I will not sign the contact if the printed VRN number on the papers is something like "CF 1267 HG" or "CF 5666 TP" for example. What is to guarantee that I will get my VRN according to my wishes based upon a dealer's word alone? I need something that will hold up in court.

But it should be the deep-vee "form factor" by design that cuts through waves like a hot knife through butter. I also must consider the price factor as well. Lund can get pricey. Here is the Crestliner Kodiak 16 in review. Not a horrible ride at all.

But do older fish get more selective about the" flashers" you troll with?

No aluminum bass boat that I know of comes with a cuddy cabin for privacy purposes and many 'glass and wood boats are all open deck too. It is lightweight and folding and the better ones store in their own carry bag. It also provides instant privacy for changing and other personal business. Just Google "toilet tent". You also need something like the famous luggable loo and loo liner bags as well as TP. Should work well for camping, shore fishing and hunting as well. I am a very selective fellow about whom "I flash" in front of to quote Billy Junior "On Golden Pond".

Mr. Pike not listed at Lund site. http://www.lundboats.com/

or, perhaps the Lund Fury 1625 SS.

Unlike most typical aluminum bass boats, this deep-vee type does not have high platforms fore and aft. This boat will ride better on the choppy big lake waters of California as well as other inland waters as reservoirs, navigable rivers and channels, sloughs and the California Delta. This boat should also ride drier than the typical flat bass boat layout. A deep floor means better carrying capacity for bulky items as 2 extra fuel tanks or large fuel cans, a portable loo, a folding toilet tent, a big cooler and a pair of Labrador Retrievers as well a seat for a fishing buddy. The dogs would be able to carried more securely on a boat with a deep floor than on a high bass fishing platform and allow them to lay down out of the wind. The side console would have a custom stainless steering wheel. My boat would be used to fish inland waters mainly for trout and lake salmon and to cruise the Sacramento River and other Northern California inland waters. My boat would also be used as an economical day cruiser with a 25-40 HP outboard. I don't bass fish and have no need for the optional electric trolling motor but would have a Garmin Chartplotter/Fishfinder like the GPSMAPS 541 for navigation as the California Delta is a complex maze of bays, rivers, channels and sloughs totaling 700 miles! I would have a Delta paper chart too.

Actually, the reg. number is not important to me on a NEW boat any more since I will only buy used anyway and that way I will KNOW what the reg. number is. I really want a Crestliner 16' like the Kodiak with a deeper floor inside fore and aft. The Bass Tracker 16 has a high platform deck on either end and not much space on deck for bulky items like my two Labs, the portable loo bucket, extra fuel containers, a big cooler, the folding toilet tent and a buddy.

Is this something the various state boat registration agencies, DMV in some states, assign at random or is it based upon information within the HIN? If one lives in California and their boat registration number were to be "CF 1579 AB", would the "1579" part come from information on the HIN? Would that "1579" in the example above be the serial number portion of the HIN? What determines the final two digits of the vessel registration number? The "AB" in the example above. When one buys a used boat, does the same registration number, displayed on the hull near the bow on either side, transfer to the new owner? The first two letters of your vessel registration number are always state abbreviations. California boats always begin with "CF". Why is this information important to me? I am a numerologist, that is why. I have number superstitions, indeed. As a condition for purchasing my next boat, I require that she have a "5" within the registration number but NOT 3 "6"'s in a row.