Dipped a line today

Posted by Greybeard on Mar 14th, 2009 in Fishing | Comments Off

Today was this spring’s first trip out to the riverbank.   We tossed a few spinners, a few plugs,  and a spoon or two.  No luck,  and even though it was sunny,  the wind was very cold.  The water is muddy and moving pretty quickly,  and there’s an occasional chunk of ice coming down.  I’m thinking pre-season close Walleye are a bust.    I guess we’ll wait for April 25th.

Thinkin’ of open water, and boat bottoms

Posted by Greybeard on Mar 13th, 2009 in Fishing | Comments Off

With only one more day of (inland) Walleye season for over a month,   my thoughts are starting to click over to open water.   The SportCraft is still in storage,  but,  when the weather warms about another 10-15 degree’s,  I’ll bring it home to get it ready.  I need to respool the Walleye rods,  and get a good coat of wax on the SportCraft.   All the electronic’s need to be re-installed,  and a general cleanup.   Oh,  and there’s that washdown pump regulator that needs replacing.

The other thing I’ve been thinking about,  is bottom paint.   It’s never had a coat of bottom paint before,  because the previous owner kept it on a lift.   My first summer as the owner  saw it moored in the river.   I didn’t really enjoy the acid wash I had to give it last fall  to get the bottom crud off.  (Mary Kate’s On and Off)  Soooo,  it’s time to think about bottom paint.  So far from what I’ve learned,  Pettit Hydro Coat,  waterbased ablative might be the answer.  West Marine has a video about bottom paints HERE .   Another idea is a soft sloughing bottom paint,  like Interlux  Micron Extra VOC.   In my case,  where the boat is in the water for months at a time,  and out of the water for months at a time,  one of these two seems to fill the bill.  Both should last for more than one season,  and make the fall cleanup,  considerably easier.  A formula I found to figure the square footage of paint needed is:  Lenght x Beam x .75 = square feet 

Of course I could just trailer the boat,  and not moor it in the river.  I’m only a mile from the launch,  but that’s  a lot of loading and unloading,  and a 25ft hardtop,  isn’t that easy to handle at the loading docks.   (I took a bath last year,  trying to launch the 21 ft SeaRay by myself on a windy day). 

AuGres River mini-report

Posted by Greybeard on Mar 10th, 2009 in News and weather | Comments Off

Well,  it rained all day long today.  The river is moving along at a pretty good clip,  with an occasional big ice flow  pulling away from the shore line.

  This is a photo of  pretty good sized one.   It might not look like it, but it’s about 150 feet long,  and 15 feet wide at it’s widest point.   It’s still around 1 ft thick too!  A rough calculation, figured it was moving at about 3 miles per hour.  Imagine,  on a rough ice out,  the river jammed from side to side,  and end to end,  with these babies,  grinding their way down through the river.  As mentioned in a previous post,  it was a soft “ice out” this year.

The weather report is predicting heavy winds again this evening, out of the SouthWest.   For the sake of those on the shoreline,  I hope the Bay is cleaned out enough to stop a repeat of the other night’s damage.

Tea Party April 1st

Posted by Greybeard on Mar 9th, 2009 in News and weather, Political, Shootist | 1 comment

“”Dear Friends and Family,

    I do not usually do this, But I think we need to let Washington
know how we feel.  Join me in this.  Also be in prayer for our country
and its leaders.

There’s a storm abrewin’.  What happens when good, responsible people
keep quiet?  Washington has forgotten they work for us.  We don’t work
for them.

Throwing good money after bad is NOT the answer.
 I am sick of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan.
 I am sick of Congress raking CEO’s over the coals while they,
themselves, have defaulted on their taxes.
 I am sick of the bailed out companies having lavish vacations and
retreats on my dollar.
 I am sick of being told it is MY responsibility to rescue people
that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford.
 I am sick of being made to feel it is my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes.
 I, like all of you, am a responsible citizen.
 I pay my taxes.
 I live on a budget and I don’t ask someone else to carry the burden
for poor decisions I may make.
 I have emailed my congressmen and senators asking them to NOT vote
for the stimulus package as it was written without reading it first.
No one listened.  They voted for it, pork and all.

O.K. folks, here it is.  You may think you are just one voice and what
you think won’t make a difference.  Well, yes it will and YES, WE
CAN!!

So, here’s the plan.

On April 1, 2009, all Ameicans are asked to send a TEABAG to
Washington , D.C.   You do not have to enclose a note or any other
information unless you so desire.  Just a TEABAG.

 Many cities are organizing protests.  If you simply search, “New
American Tea Party”, several sites will come up.   Your one voice will
become a roar when joined with millions of others that feel the same
way.  Yes, something needs to be done but the lack of confidence as
shown by the steady decline in the stock market speaks volumes.

 I visited the sites of the ‘New American Tea Pary’ and an online
survey showed over 90% of thousands said they would send the teabag on
April 1.  Why, April 1??  We want them to reach Washington by April
15.   Will you do it?  I will.       Send it to;    1600 Pennsylvania
Ave. Washington , D.C. 20500 ..

Forward this to everyone in your address book.  Visit the website
below for more information about the ‘New American Tea Party’.  I
would encourage everyone to go ahead and get the envelope ready to
mail, then just drop it in the mail April 1.  Can’t guarantee what the
postage will be by then, it is going up as we speak, but have your
envelope ready.  What will this cost you?  A little time and a 43 or
44 cent stamp.”"

See the website HERE.

USCCA 80 percent mental

Posted by Greybeard on Mar 9th, 2009 in Shootist | Comments Off

The article “80 percent mental” , “80% of your solution comes from learning the lessons of tactical advantage“,  is a must read for CCW affectionado’s.  It’s free from United States Concealed Carry Association.