FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors
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Today was a new day, and homage to the past. Approximately 50 years ago I went to Arkansas to be fishing guide. Talk about a rebel without a clue that was me, but I digress. My first boat was a 14 foot Evinrude with a 25hp motor. I have been through somewhere around 12-14 boats, they all run together. Big Champs with a mercury Black Max. Several old cigar style before the pad and then the V. Big ones little ones I have had my share. Now here it is all these years later and I have returned to my roots.
A nice fish, she thumped it. One of two I caught but fish were not the reason I was out there today.
Monday I picked up the new boat. It has been in the works all last year as I searched high and low for the perfect boat for the high Rockies lakes, a tiller good for trolling and easy to tow. I saw plenty of Lunds, the standard in aluminum boats and just kept looking. I saw several 1400 Fury for sale which looked small to me. But with the big move coming time to finally go to the dealer and take a look. And I was pleasantly surprised.
The new ride.
I envisioned small but the 1400 is actually 2″ short of 15′, and being a deep V has plenty of freeboard. The Boss was all in with new once she saw it and who does not love a wife like that? I had them mount a Merc 25hp 4stroke leaving the rest of the rigging for me so I could pick out what I want, not what they sell.
A lot more amenities than I thought until I looked at them. Rod storage for 7 footers, bilge pump, aerated live well, and wired for a trolling motor and battery placement.
I started with a hand control TM and bought a 12 volt freshwater which saved serious money, it has been 24 volts for years. It was a job to mount but I got it just the way I want it. There is a bunch of stuff to come from Amazon then a trip to Bass Pro to finish the rigging but I was anxious to get on the water and see how it does. And I am still deciding what GPS/sonar to buy. This is the last boat I will ever buy or rig and I am going slow and making sure once anything is on there it is exactly what I want.
Since the engine is not broken in, they put 45 minutes on it so that was next up. If you have ever broke any motors in you know the drill: 10 hours at variable speed, do not exceed 75% of throttle, limited trolling speed. It can be somewhat a chore so today the purpose was to work on hours, so I spent almost 4 hours up and down the lake. Went way up the Coleto arm, then all the way to the intake, then back up lake. Breaking them in is a little boring but I follow it to the letter, why the boat I sold had over 16oo hours and it still runs like a top. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
When I got back to the ramp 2 real advantages became apparent. It used a little over 2 gallons, it has been while since I covered that much ground for so little. But my favorite, just stuck the nose on the trailer and cranked it on like nothing. Love that! And you did not have to back in so far to get it off which is nice. It road well and once I got the throttle and motor tension right it steered like a pro and was easy to use. It is definitely a new/old adventure but it sure was perfect for Coleto and will fill the bill on the Colorado lakes. We will be heading out in less than 2 weeks so hopefully will get to fish some more and knock those hours out.
And by the way the 2 I caught were on the swim jig and 1 of the 2 I missed chased it to the boat and blew up on it. Obviously the weather the last few days knocked them for a loop. As I have not mounted a locator yet not sure how cold the water was but talked to a guy at the ramp and it was 51 at the discharge. That is cold.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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Iowa
Since we bought the house in Colorado we get plenty of questions about winter. Colorado folks wanted to know if we are going to spend our winters there, which is a big yes, part of the reason we are moving there. Folks in Texas ask us about the cold and wonder why we would do that. So, I point you to the current weather in Iowa. The Boss and I while not knowing each other grew up in Iowa. As I tell folks when the wind is blowing 30 across the flat lands and it is 0 degrees it gives a new meaning to cold. Where we are in Colorado it is more of a snow issue. The great thing about retirement, turn on the stove, grab a blanket, a hot toddy and a good book, or get out the snowshoes, it does not get any better than that.
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It has been an interesting past few weeks since I returned from Colorado. My mom’s 90th in Arkansas, then I got sick with the Covid for 2 weeks, bought a new boat, sold a boat, went to San Antonio for service and cross bars on the truck which turned out to be broken so I have to head back next week, boat rigging, the last few weeks have had it all. I thought this retirement thing was supposed to be easy and suffice to say it has cut into the fishing time. But hopefull the next couple of weeks before I head back out I can remedy some of the no fishing thing. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
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Insanity Knows no Boundaries.
AOC is now agreeing with some Republicans, as is other Democrats, that they need a raise from $176,000. Are you freakin kidding me! First this is not supposed to be a career, serve a term or two for the good of the country and back to real life. Hell we have folks in Congress and several presidents current and past that almost need embalming! Second that amount is 3x what the average American makes. Third until both parties start doing their job and acting civilly the most they deserve is a pay cut. Last, they take more time off than I do. We need term limits. I used to debate that point with my brother-in-law and he said we should not have them for the need of institutional memory. Bullshit, there is no part of their actions that deserve anything other than condemnation and a ticket home.
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