SHAKEDOWN CRUISE

[TubeDude]

[cool]Took my new chunky kitty (Fat Cat) out to play. Fishing was great. Catching wasn't. Beautiful sunny day in the high 70's. Water at 59. Still a bit cool for some of these wimpy Arizona fishies. Threw everything in my tackle boxes but had only three tentative hits. Saw a few fish on the sonar, but they were mostly suspended and cruising...not feeding.

In addition to recovering from a spell of unside down weather, the fish wer contending with a steady procession of boaters...some fishing, others just running over the top of fishermen to see what they were doing. The final straw was a large group of divers who were practicing their snorkeling skills, in one big congregation...splashing around on the surface. The walleyes, bass and yellow bass we target are all proven sensitive to undue noise and commotion. On many past trips we will be catching a fish per cast, and our sonar screens can be full of fish. Then, one noisy boat goes right over us...or a group of swimmers splash by too close...or that Hawaiian war canoe comes ripping over us and it's all over. Time to go home.

The Outcast Super Fat Cat fishes well. I will be doing a detailed review and analysis some time this week. The only two negatives for me were the back seat and the apron. The back seat is too short...coming only up to the middle of my back, and it is difficult to adjust for maximum comfort. Got a backache from it. I will work on that. The apron is small and wimpy. Lousy connections and placement of the D-rings for attaching. Again, I can rerig it to make it work. But, at the price of the chubby kitty you shouldn't need to make adjustments in the basic design.

I don't have any naked fish pictures to post for this trip, but here is a shot of the snorkeling team...tearing up the water in my prime fishing spot.


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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeDude,

Nice that you were able to take kitty to the sandbox to play. I'm sure you're already eyeing the catnip jar! Bummer on the back of the seat. Those kayak guys have a pretty neat setup for their seats and the one I used on an Ocean Kayak Caper was very confortable and supportive. Having not excercised in a while, the next day I didn't feel any back discomfort. Cool the way the seat could be stabilized with just the four clips-to-D-rings.

On your snorklers, a news story from Washington state told of a visit from a large pod of Orca or Killer Whales that hung around the Seattle harbor and took care of these harbor seals that were decimating a run of salmon. Hummmmmmmmmm Give you any ideas? Those snorklers sure look like yummy little harbor seals to me! ha ha

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey Ron San, you got any idea how hard it is to get a pod of killer whales to swim upriver a thousand miles (including long dry stretches), up over dams and then to selectively harvest divers and PWC operators? I had also considered illegally stocking the lake with piranhas, but thought better of it. After all, there are times I fish without waders in there, and I wouldn't want 'em nibbling on my nether regions.

I mentioned the Hawaiian war canoe. That's no joke. Last year, almost every Saturday on the one lake, a pair of these long canoes would show up in the cove my wife and I float tube. It is inside a "no wake" buoy zone, and we often fish inside a "no boat" area. But these bad boys launch from the beach and race out and back through us like we weren't even there. They have actually bounced off our craft with their outriggers and come close to smacking us with their flailing paddles. The worst are the women's teams. They go like $&##, but ain't too good at aiming. These are the Hawaiian verson of PWC.

Here's a pic I snapped in terror last year, during a close encounter. Note Tube Babe (Mrs Dude) on the other side of the canoe.


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[JapanRon]

Hi TubeDude,

Picky, picky, picky! On the Orcas, all you would need is one. ha ha As for logistics, for us, I suspect that would be a no-brainer.

Here in LA we've got our drive-by's, be grateful all you've got is paddle-by's. You know what, telling them what they were doing was wrong and reminding them they were not wearing PFD's might be of value. If they're playing the 'We're the Big Dogs Game' you could manage a low-key answer to that with a word to those managing the facility.

I spoke with a California Coast Guard officer at the Fred Hall show yesterday and found out something to aid me in my PFD crue! If someone has a water related accident where PFD's were required (in California both fresh and saltwater) and not worn OR were not the proper class rating for the circumstances, many insurance companies can and do refuse to pay damages or cover liability. That one was new to me! But then again, this is California, which is often at the forefront of such type of legislation.

JapanRon
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[Tincanfsh]

Hey Tube Dude.I have heard that those snorklers are really good fighters if you can get them hooked.I guess so are their lawyers.
Tincanfsh []
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