03-22-2012, 05:26 PM
"He was an old man and he fished alone in a skiff in the gulf stream currents and he had gone 75 days without taking a fish." Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea"
To which I say, "Hey bro, I feel your pain."
Figuring it was time to do something about the situation I broke out the "skiff" (Tracker Targa) and headed for the "gulf stream currents" (Lincoln Beach). Mostly just wanted to see if the prop still went around and spend a little time getting to know my new I-pilot. Dug some old freezer-burned carp meat out of the freezer planning to go after my first Black Marlin (channel cat) of the year. Planned to arrive around 7:00 but was delayed by a large mattress that was stuck to my back. Finally separated myself from the mattress and arrived at LB about 9:00. Purrtee.... glass calm water, noisey birds feeling hormonal promptings, no bugs, beautiful view of the mountains, warm, and no crowds – couldn’t ask for anything better.
"Skiff" fired right up and purred along just fine. Dropped anchor with the I-pilot and it worked great. Had to break out an oar to push away from my anchor point and sure nuf, the Minn Kota kicked on and pulled me right back to my original anchor. I’m gonna like that feature.
Tried the memory feature to establish a coarse and follow it back. Great! Took me right back over the exact coarse I had traveled. I’m gonna like that feature too.
Nuf playing for awhile; time to try for that first "marlin" of the year. Tried around the river inlet south of the dike in a couple of different places to no avail. Had a frenzy of white bass there that would not leave my carp chunk alone. Moved down by the orchards and tried a couple of different places; a few nibbles, probably mudders or white bass again but no marlin. Played with the I-pilot a bit more and finally went home. The trip was a smashing success and I will return on a regular basis as the water temps rise toward the magic numbers.
It’s gonna be good year for the cats -- or maybe a bad year for the cats and good year for the cat fishermen. Let the fun begin!
Beautiful day, a harbinger of things to come, but alas.... I have gone 76 days without taking a fish.
[signature]
To which I say, "Hey bro, I feel your pain."
Figuring it was time to do something about the situation I broke out the "skiff" (Tracker Targa) and headed for the "gulf stream currents" (Lincoln Beach). Mostly just wanted to see if the prop still went around and spend a little time getting to know my new I-pilot. Dug some old freezer-burned carp meat out of the freezer planning to go after my first Black Marlin (channel cat) of the year. Planned to arrive around 7:00 but was delayed by a large mattress that was stuck to my back. Finally separated myself from the mattress and arrived at LB about 9:00. Purrtee.... glass calm water, noisey birds feeling hormonal promptings, no bugs, beautiful view of the mountains, warm, and no crowds – couldn’t ask for anything better.
"Skiff" fired right up and purred along just fine. Dropped anchor with the I-pilot and it worked great. Had to break out an oar to push away from my anchor point and sure nuf, the Minn Kota kicked on and pulled me right back to my original anchor. I’m gonna like that feature.
Tried the memory feature to establish a coarse and follow it back. Great! Took me right back over the exact coarse I had traveled. I’m gonna like that feature too.
Nuf playing for awhile; time to try for that first "marlin" of the year. Tried around the river inlet south of the dike in a couple of different places to no avail. Had a frenzy of white bass there that would not leave my carp chunk alone. Moved down by the orchards and tried a couple of different places; a few nibbles, probably mudders or white bass again but no marlin. Played with the I-pilot a bit more and finally went home. The trip was a smashing success and I will return on a regular basis as the water temps rise toward the magic numbers.
It’s gonna be good year for the cats -- or maybe a bad year for the cats and good year for the cat fishermen. Let the fun begin!
Beautiful day, a harbinger of things to come, but alas.... I have gone 76 days without taking a fish.
[signature]
