Sorry it's late, but I just got back into town from NYC.
So on Friday I check the weather report one last time: Winds out of the north/northeast at 5 mph with gust of up to 10. Overcast with chance of rain. GREAT! I can make my run.
And I blast out of work on my way to registration.
On the way down I hit MASSIVE rain storm which have been hammering the south end of the lake all week. I knew it would be really muddy down there. So I get my boat parked, and get to the meeting. I was hoping for 3rd flight to get an extra 20 minutes of run time. I got boat # 89, the 9th boat out on the 3rd flight....PERFECT!
I drew a co-angler who had just come back from the All American so I knew I needed to put him on fish so he could have a chance of going again. I informed him that we were making a LONG run north. He was kind of excited since he had never made the run before.
So I go back and get a decent nights sleep. And then off to the ramp.
Now this new and "improved" Ti ramp, let me just say, I will NOT be fishing any more tourneys there. If BFL goes back, I will not. Anyhow, we put in and I immediately knew I was in trouble and wanted to kill a few weather men. The winds were NOT 5-10, they were 25-30 mph and even down there in the shelter of the southern end of the lake the chop was nasty. So I knew I couldn't make the run in adequate time and decided to stay down there and fish.
Before we could get started we had to go through boat check in and it was raining. A constant, miserable, steady rain. I was checking my livewell pumps when I noticed that my side was not pumping. Funny, it did a few days ago when I last ran the boat. OK, so I played with the wiring connections....nothing. I got up under the dash and tried those connections.....nothing. GREAT!!!! Just stinkin great. Now my livewell is a single and has a divider so as long as the passenger side pump is working I'll pass inspection but I WANT both pumps working for the health of the fish (that I wasn't going to catch LOL). So I run to the dock and ask for the Ranger dealer guy who was down there with parts. Sorry, he had left for another tourney........GREAT! Of COURSE he left, how could I expect anything different???
So I began puttering around asking everyone and anyone if they had a Mayfair cartridge I could buy. With only minute left to check in, I found a buddy Dean Meckes who had one. I yanked out my tool box and went right to work in the rain and heaving waves to rewire and install the new pump. Good, got it in, now hit the switch......NOTHING! GRRRRRREEAAAAT!!! Just terrific, it wasn't the pump to begin with. So I switched pumps to make sure it wasn't the valve or lines. Pumped fine. So I knew it was that sides electrical system that was the problem. Finally my co says, "You DID check the fuses right?"
Fuses???? I've never blown a fuse in that boat before, but I HAD plugged up the livewell line last week. Let me check. TADAH!!!!!! A blown fuse, and we were back in business.
So we check in and off we blast.
Every spot I went, my co would catch a fish but I could not get bit. Of course I was having quite the time just holding boat position in the wind. It was definately a day that was better to be a co angler. So at 1:00pm (we have to be in at 3:00) I FINALLY catch my first fish. It was a dink 14" buck. So at 2:00 we ran to the bay across from the ramp so my co could get his 5th fish. He had only 4. I was mentally out of the tourney.
So at 2:30 with only a half hour left, I told my co I thought I had a last ditch effort spot to get him his 5th fish. I had done well there in the past and taken 2nd in a tourney. We ran up the creek which was boiling with current from all the rain run off. I get to the bridge and my co makes his first pitch with a jig.....BANG! He gets a solid 4 lber on but didn't have a stout enough rod and so the fish spits the hook half way to the boat.
So on Friday I check the weather report one last time: Winds out of the north/northeast at 5 mph with gust of up to 10. Overcast with chance of rain. GREAT! I can make my run.
And I blast out of work on my way to registration.
On the way down I hit MASSIVE rain storm which have been hammering the south end of the lake all week. I knew it would be really muddy down there. So I get my boat parked, and get to the meeting. I was hoping for 3rd flight to get an extra 20 minutes of run time. I got boat # 89, the 9th boat out on the 3rd flight....PERFECT!
I drew a co-angler who had just come back from the All American so I knew I needed to put him on fish so he could have a chance of going again. I informed him that we were making a LONG run north. He was kind of excited since he had never made the run before.
So I go back and get a decent nights sleep. And then off to the ramp.
Now this new and "improved" Ti ramp, let me just say, I will NOT be fishing any more tourneys there. If BFL goes back, I will not. Anyhow, we put in and I immediately knew I was in trouble and wanted to kill a few weather men. The winds were NOT 5-10, they were 25-30 mph and even down there in the shelter of the southern end of the lake the chop was nasty. So I knew I couldn't make the run in adequate time and decided to stay down there and fish.
Before we could get started we had to go through boat check in and it was raining. A constant, miserable, steady rain. I was checking my livewell pumps when I noticed that my side was not pumping. Funny, it did a few days ago when I last ran the boat. OK, so I played with the wiring connections....nothing. I got up under the dash and tried those connections.....nothing. GREAT!!!! Just stinkin great. Now my livewell is a single and has a divider so as long as the passenger side pump is working I'll pass inspection but I WANT both pumps working for the health of the fish (that I wasn't going to catch LOL). So I run to the dock and ask for the Ranger dealer guy who was down there with parts. Sorry, he had left for another tourney........GREAT! Of COURSE he left, how could I expect anything different???
So I began puttering around asking everyone and anyone if they had a Mayfair cartridge I could buy. With only minute left to check in, I found a buddy Dean Meckes who had one. I yanked out my tool box and went right to work in the rain and heaving waves to rewire and install the new pump. Good, got it in, now hit the switch......NOTHING! GRRRRRREEAAAAT!!! Just terrific, it wasn't the pump to begin with. So I switched pumps to make sure it wasn't the valve or lines. Pumped fine. So I knew it was that sides electrical system that was the problem. Finally my co says, "You DID check the fuses right?"
Fuses???? I've never blown a fuse in that boat before, but I HAD plugged up the livewell line last week. Let me check. TADAH!!!!!! A blown fuse, and we were back in business.
So we check in and off we blast.
Every spot I went, my co would catch a fish but I could not get bit. Of course I was having quite the time just holding boat position in the wind. It was definately a day that was better to be a co angler. So at 1:00pm (we have to be in at 3:00) I FINALLY catch my first fish. It was a dink 14" buck. So at 2:00 we ran to the bay across from the ramp so my co could get his 5th fish. He had only 4. I was mentally out of the tourney.
So at 2:30 with only a half hour left, I told my co I thought I had a last ditch effort spot to get him his 5th fish. I had done well there in the past and taken 2nd in a tourney. We ran up the creek which was boiling with current from all the rain run off. I get to the bridge and my co makes his first pitch with a jig.....BANG! He gets a solid 4 lber on but didn't have a stout enough rod and so the fish spits the hook half way to the boat.
