So the boat goes into the water yesterday. First time for me trying to move this monster around. The biggest thing I’ve ever put in the water before this was my 14′ Lund. My kids tagged along. Al 4 of them HAD to see how Dad’s new toy would go.
I loaded everything into the boat. Rods, tackle, warm weather gear, and last but not least, a paddle from the old boat. My lady looks at the paddle and snorts. “A paddle? You’ve got three motors! What the h— do you need a paddle for?”
I give her the glance. The one that says lack of confidence on my part definitely indicates the need for a non-mechanical backup unit.
We take the boat to Spring Lake, a little fishing hole near us and right next to Prior Lake. I didn’t want to put into Prior the first time because there would certainly be more observers there. Spring has always been good for a few bites and has some nice, easy crappies for the kids. I’ve never been there this time of year, though, but figured it couldn’t be that bad, even with no dock.
First thing we did was to forget bait. The local bait shop is closed until ice fishing (which I hope never comes), so we figured plastics and jigs would work. Not a huge problem.
Down to the boatramp, no problem. I took all the releases off the boat, carefully checked to make sure that the whole thing was ready to go. Even remembered to unhook the lights. The kids helped a lot, fortunately. Double and triple inspections. Then it was time to back down.
The first thing I noticed was that the ramp was out of the water. First time I’ve ever seen that. The water level has dropped a lot this year and we had about 4 feet of sand beyond that before we actually got to water. No problem. New van tires and patience. No worries.
The boat slid off easily. Hougie’s right, the Shorelander trailer is fabulous! deep enough water for about 18 feet off the end of the ramp. The boat floated great. I hopped in, one child pulled the van away and parked it. Thinking that we were in for clear sailing, I dropped the motor and heard a squish. Sand. Right at the back of the boat, a sand bar had formed. There wasn’t even a foot of water there. Heck, I doubt that we had six inches. And that water is Cold this time of year. I wasn’t about to get into it, so out comes the paddle. Thank goodness for a lack of confidence.
I pushed the boat back to shore, loaded everyone on and then, with the help of a slight breeze, got us stuck on two points of the sandbar. Naturally, about the time this all happened, some guy pulls up in a red jeep and starts watching. Then he gets out of the jeep and starts taking pictures. Great. We’re in the paper, me with a big beautiful boat loaded with kids, the last fisherman on the lake this year. Stuck solid. At the ramp. My face went as red as the jeep the guy was driving. I only pray that his film didn’t come out.
Finally, we got her out, though and found enough water to drop the motor. Raced around the lake a few times, went to a spot at the far end and dropped our lines. I would have parked at this point, except the anchor rope didn’t reach very far. About 20′ of rope and we were in 22 feet of water. Not very useful. So down goes the electric motor. Did I mention that I’ve never had a foot-controlled electric motor? We spun around in some very neat circle patterns as I explained that I was trying to stay on top of the imaginary fish I was seeing on the fishfinder. Right.
Finally got the darned thing going in a straight line and we very carefully moved to fish. My 11 year-old started getting bits and couldn’t quite get the hang of setting a hook. The rest of us tried to help. My unattended line was down near the front and suddenly started jerking. Fish on! Then my son’s did the same thing. That circular movement pattern had started again and managed to catch lines on the prop. We scrambled back to the front and turned the motor off before we did major damage, pulled the motor in and figured that fishing was probably out for the day.
A few more turns around the lake, scaring seagulls and we decided to try the ramp again. Same thing in reverse except two older gentlemen were kind enough to offer advice and encouragement as we used the nonmechanical power to get us back onto the trailer. All in all, a fabulous day. I can’t wait to get back out again!
One final comment. That boat goes so fast that I get disoriented and the lake seems much smaller than it used to. What’s that all about? We kept wondering how far we’d fly if we happened to hit shore. My kids rated the houses if we happened to hit one on our way out of the water. We saw a few 20 pointers. Fortunately, we didn’t quite have to find out what it would feel like to go through someone’s picture window.
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, Teach a man to fish and you’ll never see him again.
lol. In alot of ways your new boat will make you a better angler because you have several distinct advantages over your last rig. More room, fully rigged, faster, (less wasted time) etc. Your gal just needs to get in the boat a couple times and she will be sold on it too. I like that cigar smell! When you get really good you will be really easy to find!