Ups and downs with a boat.

SawyerTed · September 02, 2022, 09:31:57 PM

Don't get me wrong, I love my boats.

We use one of ours almost weekly during spring, summer and fall and I'm apt to be fishing any month of the year.

The "return in investment" is what Yellowhammer is explaining, a boat is a tool to access uncommon experiences.

It is a waste to own a boat and let it sit.

To borrow from Yellowhammer- If you have a boat and don't use it "you ARE suffering" and don't know it.

YellowHammer · September 02, 2022, 09:50:28 PM

:D :D

Ianab · September 02, 2022, 10:56:17 PM

Quote from: stavebuyer on September 02, 2022, 07:32:08 PM
No good for off-shore fishing; but a nice Kayak requires no fuel, insurance, and very little upkeep and will get you to where most of the fish are and where the jet skis are not.

8)

Locally guys use them for open water, but close-ish to land of course. Get more use days if you are in more sheltered area of course. The fancy kitted ones have a fish finder / ice chest etc. Depending where you are there can be plenty of fish in the surf zone or around a river mouth, maybe only 100 yards from shore.
Personally I prefer the option of occasionally paying a local charter skipper $100-200 for a fishing trip. All the gear supplied, local knowledge and usually some good fishing stories to fill in the slack time. If you are only going out a few times a year I figure you are WAY ahead on $$.
We are in the Cook Islands right now, and here on the main Island the fishing is basically outside the reef, the lagoon has a few fish, but generally smaller types. Lil did a day trip to Aitutaki (one of the outer Islands), which has a huge lagoon and a small population. The tour boats stops at one of the small Islands, and a guide wanders down the beach and throws in a line. 10 mins and he's got enough fish to feed the tour group. Lunch was grilled fish sandwiches, and they only bought the bread with them. Local knowledge, they knew they would get some fish.
Even here on the main Island the kids can get 12-18" goatfish in knee deep with a crust of bread. So in a "Survivor" episode, I'd want to win the fishing kit, and it would be hard NOT to catch something.
Big Peacock Grouper I saw in the lagoon yesterday. Hard to judge sizes underwater, but these grow to 2ft long, and I'd say he was an adult sized specimen. This is in about 4ft of water out in front our rental house.

When I get home I'll post a video of Giant Trevally in the harbour. Where the charter boats tie up, the clean the clients catch on the dock, and throw the scraps over the side. The GTs have learnt this, and about 20 of them gather, If you haven't seen a GT up close, they are impressive. Up to 5ft long and 170lb, and there is a school of them just circling in front of the dock. Offcuts barely hit the water before there was a splash and they were gone.

K-Guy · September 03, 2022, 08:50:48 AM

My son and I went fishing last Sunday and when I got to the boar ramp I did something I expected to happen but didn't want 3. We got ready and I put the boat in, parked the truck and got on to head out. I then remembered that I left the new rod holder in the truck. So back to the dock, run up and get it, that's when my son asked if this was normal. I look where he's pointing at the back of the boat, I forgot to put the drain plug in and we're taking on water. Ooops, pull out the boat, drain it, put the plug in and we had a good day from there. Southside we were at Wyman lake and got skunked but it's always a good day fishing with my buddy. 😃

terrifictimbersllc · September 04, 2022, 07:41:00 AM

Not just the MC of wood that matters :D

WDH · September 04, 2022, 08:04:18 AM

Good call, Stan. They float better and longer with the plug installed.

tule peak timber · September 07, 2022, 06:19:11 PM

I've always had a boat of one sort or another and always loved them. The one I have now is a lot smaller and once I get situated up north, I will remedy that situation. This is an old pic of good times.

SawyerTed · September 07, 2022, 09:00:55 PM

These are a few photos of my Wellcraft that I had for 21 years and one of my new boat.

The Wellcraft was beginning to need a lot of attention to keep her going. She provided many many good times on the water both fresh water and salt.

The new boat is different but is tons of fun too.

K-Guy · September 08, 2022, 10:25:38 AM

For those of you who like trolling and want to get your hook down deep without a downrigger I found an app for android and apple that will calculate how much line to let out for your speed, weight, hook etc. It's called the Troll Master Depth Calculator. They have limited free version and a pay version. Good Luck!!

SawyerTed · September 08, 2022, 04:05:29 PM

A "poor man's down rigger" is a way to get baits deep when trolling without dealing with the heavy weights and you don't have to have the down riggers.

I've started running a big planer on my down riggers instead of the weight.

A Google search will get a dozen or more sources for a poor man's down rigger. YouTube, of course, has videos on how to use it.

SawyerTed · September 20, 2022, 11:28:43 AM

Some people see you have a boat and think it's all deserted beaches and loads of fish. Sometimes it is.

Then comes the not so glamorous stuff like flushing 3 days of salt water and washing the boat, coolers, stowing fishing gear, etc.

Owning a boat has to be like owning a sawmill, you have to love it.

customsawyer · September 20, 2022, 08:15:03 PM

I have had a few boats back in my day. I now prefer to wait for a friend with a boat to send a invitation. I will gladly pay for fuel, bait and whatever else is needed. Only problem is I still feel guilty the next day when I'm sawing and I know he is having to clean the boat. The feelings don't last to long though.