Appreciating my little jon boat

One of the benefits of living fairly close to coastal waters is that
salt water fishing is very popular and fresh water fishing is looked
upon as a rather low-class cousin. That means that I don't have to
fight for space on the water with a lot of other boats. A couple of
weeks ago I took a couple of friends up on their offer to go out on
their boat and do a little grouper fishing. This is something I had
never done before. They provided everything we needed except the
Dramamine.

The tide was so low that we had to wait for it to come in a little so
we could launch the boat. Once we finally got their 26 foot boat in
the water, it took an hour to run to the location where we were to
fish. At that point Joe pulled out the rods and reels. The rods were
as stiff and heavy as two by fours. The Penn reels were as big as Warn
winches. The rods were rigged with line as stiff as baling wire and
included a weight about the size of a hen's egg.

The deal was to bait the hook with half of what the bait store called
an L-Y. I believe it is a menhaden. You then drop the rig until the
sinker hits the bottom. Then you wait...while the boat is rocking up
and down and you are trying to get your sea legs under you.

So, after an eternity, I get a strike, set the hook, and start hauling
a fish to the surface. Tim tells me, "Forget that Bill Dance stuff and
just crank him in." I may as well have had a sack of sand on the end
of the line. The fish didn't seem to fight at all. He may have been
fighting but the pool cue rod was so still I couldn't tell.

We caught several grouper and had a pleasant day on the water, but that
certainly is not my idea of fishing. It seemed an awful lot of work,
especially since, once we got back in, everything had to be washed
down. I had left home at 6 a.m. and got back about 7 p.m. We actually
got to fish for about four hours.

Most of my fishing is done from a 12 foot jon boat that has seen better
days. If I decide that I feel like going fishing, I can hook the boat
up and be on the water in about 30 minutes. I can get in that same
four hours of fishing and still be back at the house before LOML has
finished her coffee and the crossword puzzle.

If I hook any bass or crappie they have a reasonable chance of getting
off since I don't use a block and tackle to haul them in. Once I get
home, all I have to do is unload the boat and charge the trolling motor
battery.

The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

Olebiker wrote:
snip
The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Your rant sounds a lot like mine except my rant is about
metal flake boats, big honkin' outboards, electronic fish
finders and trolling motors. All I need is a canoe, paddle,
fly rod rig and a cooler full of beer. And the hound dog,
can't forget the hound dog. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

In the words of Hank Hill... "Yep".


"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
One of the benefits of living fairly close to coastal waters is that
salt water fishing is very popular and fresh water fishing is looked
upon as a rather low-class cousin. That means that I don't have to
fight for space on the water with a lot of other boats. A couple of
weeks ago I took a couple of friends up on their offer to go out on
their boat and do a little grouper fishing. This is something I had
never done before. They provided everything we needed except the
Dramamine.

The tide was so low that we had to wait for it to come in a little so
we could launch the boat. Once we finally got their 26 foot boat in
the water, it took an hour to run to the location where we were to
fish. At that point Joe pulled out the rods and reels. The rods were
as stiff and heavy as two by fours. The Penn reels were as big as Warn
winches. The rods were rigged with line as stiff as baling wire and
included a weight about the size of a hen's egg.

The deal was to bait the hook with half of what the bait store called
an L-Y. I believe it is a menhaden. You then drop the rig until the
sinker hits the bottom. Then you wait...while the boat is rocking up
and down and you are trying to get your sea legs under you.

So, after an eternity, I get a strike, set the hook, and start hauling
a fish to the surface. Tim tells me, "Forget that Bill Dance stuff and
just crank him in." I may as well have had a sack of sand on the end
of the line. The fish didn't seem to fight at all. He may have been
fighting but the pool cue rod was so still I couldn't tell.

We caught several grouper and had a pleasant day on the water, but that
certainly is not my idea of fishing. It seemed an awful lot of work,
especially since, once we got back in, everything had to be washed
down. I had left home at 6 a.m. and got back about 7 p.m. We actually
got to fish for about four hours.

Most of my fishing is done from a 12 foot jon boat that has seen better
days. If I decide that I feel like going fishing, I can hook the boat
up and be on the water in about 30 minutes. I can get in that same
four hours of fishing and still be back at the house before LOML has
finished her coffee and the crossword puzzle.

If I hook any bass or crappie they have a reasonable chance of getting
off since I don't use a block and tackle to haul them in. Once I get
home, all I have to do is unload the boat and charge the trolling motor
battery.

The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

The one good thing about your trip Dick is that I didn't read the word
"puke" in your post.I've been on some "deep sea" trips where there was more
throw up on the deck than anything else.Loads of fun,every 10-15 years!
"Charles B. Summers" wrote in message
. ..
In the words of Hank Hill... "Yep".


"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
One of the benefits of living fairly close to coastal waters is that
salt water fishing is very popular and fresh water fishing is looked
upon as a rather low-class cousin. That means that I don't have to
fight for space on the water with a lot of other boats. A couple of
weeks ago I took a couple of friends up on their offer to go out on
their boat and do a little grouper fishing. This is something I had
never done before. They provided everything we needed except the
Dramamine.

The tide was so low that we had to wait for it to come in a little so
we could launch the boat. Once we finally got their 26 foot boat in
the water, it took an hour to run to the location where we were to
fish. At that point Joe pulled out the rods and reels. The rods were
as stiff and heavy as two by fours. The Penn reels were as big as Warn
winches. The rods were rigged with line as stiff as baling wire and
included a weight about the size of a hen's egg.

The deal was to bait the hook with half of what the bait store called
an L-Y. I believe it is a menhaden. You then drop the rig until the
sinker hits the bottom. Then you wait...while the boat is rocking up
and down and you are trying to get your sea legs under you.

So, after an eternity, I get a strike, set the hook, and start hauling
a fish to the surface. Tim tells me, "Forget that Bill Dance stuff and
just crank him in." I may as well have had a sack of sand on the end
of the line. The fish didn't seem to fight at all. He may have been
fighting but the pool cue rod was so still I couldn't tell.

We caught several grouper and had a pleasant day on the water, but that
certainly is not my idea of fishing. It seemed an awful lot of work,
especially since, once we got back in, everything had to be washed
down. I had left home at 6 a.m. and got back about 7 p.m. We actually
got to fish for about four hours.

Most of my fishing is done from a 12 foot jon boat that has seen better
days. If I decide that I feel like going fishing, I can hook the boat
up and be on the water in about 30 minutes. I can get in that same
four hours of fishing and still be back at the house before LOML has
finished her coffee and the crossword puzzle.

If I hook any bass or crappie they have a reasonable chance of getting
off since I don't use a block and tackle to haul them in. Once I get
home, all I have to do is unload the boat and charge the trolling motor
battery.

The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

Bass_Mr. wrote:
The one good thing about your trip Dick is that I didn't read the word
"puke" in your post.I've been on some "deep sea" trips where there was more
throw up on the deck than anything else.Loads of fun,every 10-15 years!

There's a story about that. The night before the trip I went to the
medicine chest and got out the box of Dramamine. It had expired in
1991! Thank goodness we have a CVS pharmacy that is open 24 hours a
day. I got some non-drowsy Dramamine and had no trouble at all.

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
. net...
Olebiker wrote:
snip The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of
deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Your rant sounds a lot like mine except my rant is about
metal flake boats, big honkin' outboards, electronic fish
finders and trolling motors. All I need is a canoe, paddle,
fly rod rig and a cooler full of beer. And the hound dog,
can't forget the hound dog. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

So you are an alcoholic.

"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...

Bass_Mr. wrote:
The one good thing about your trip Dick is that I didn't read the word
"puke" in your post.I've been on some "deep sea" trips where there was
more
throw up on the deck than anything else.Loads of fun,every 10-15 years!

There's a story about that. The night before the trip I went to the
medicine chest and got out the box of Dramamine. It had expired in
1991! Thank goodness we have a CVS pharmacy that is open 24 hours a
day. I got some non-drowsy Dramamine and had no trouble at all.


I fish both Salt and Fresh. Sometimes the same day. Sacramento Delta can
be salt at the bottom and fresh at the top. We fish off the coast of Calif,
but use mostly bass type outfits. A lingcod will put up a lot more fight
than most LMB. Just use appropriate gear. I see some of the people fishing
the delta, with broomstick rods. And just winch in the bass. This is not
tourny fishing, but just out for the day.

Bill McKee wrote:
"Ken Fortenberry" wrote:
... All I need is a canoe, paddle,
fly rod rig and a cooler full of beer. And the hound dog,
can't forget the hound dog. ;-)

So you are an alcoholic.

I am ?!!?

Damn, why doesn't anybody ever tell me these things ?

Thanks, Bill.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Olebiker wrote:
Bass_Mr. wrote:
The one good thing about your trip Dick is that I didn't read the word
"puke" in your post.I've been on some "deep sea" trips where there was more
throw up on the deck than anything else.Loads of fun,every 10-15 years!

There's a story about that. The night before the trip I went to the
medicine chest and got out the box of Dramamine. It had expired in
1991! Thank goodness we have a CVS pharmacy that is open 24 hours a
day. I got some non-drowsy Dramamine and had no trouble at all.

My wife is prone to motion sickness, she's tried almost
everything, and she swears by the acupressure wristbands.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Lol Ken, you wouldn't want to operate a high-performance bassboat under the
influence of alchohol. A drunk in a canoe might kill himself, a drunk in a
bassboat might do far more harm.

Warren

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
. net...
Olebiker wrote:
snip
The point of my rant is that I don't see what folks get out of deep
water salt water fishing. Compared to bass fishing it is boring,
uncomfortable, expensive, and time consuming. I am going to have to
start taking better care of my jon boat since it has given me more
enjoyment and satisfaction than I appreciated before.

Your rant sounds a lot like mine except my rant is about
metal flake boats, big honkin' outboards, electronic fish
finders and trolling motors. All I need is a canoe, paddle,
fly rod rig and a cooler full of beer. And the hound dog,
can't forget the hound dog. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry