Fishing and dad's old boat

[tubenit]

My dad was one of the most honorable men I've known.  Someone I'd seek advice from.  And he was a great dad, an hilarious story teller, a mentor to me and my fishing buddy.  I still miss him.

Long story short ……………….  I got a hold of his old fishing boat about 4 yrs ago and started fishing again.  Used to fish ALOT in Texas because there were big fish there and a bunch of em as the lakes were well stocked.

Here in Charlotte, NC …………….. fishing is well  "less then ideal"  with poorly stocked local lakes, heavy fishing pressure and big boaters out all the time. 

However,  this spring I decided to fix up the old boat some.  The boat itself is an 1987 16 ft Lowe semi-vee hull.  And the Evinrude motor is a 1993 30 hp tiller.  The motor runs like it was brand new. Starts great and runs super smooth but being a 2 stroke has a little smoke in the exhaust.  The Minn-Kota trolling motor is from around that same time frame.  I have two new depth finders. 

So, I painted the boat put in some more carpet on the bench seats.  The carpeted platforms I did 4 yrs ago.

I do catch fish.  All small for the most part. An occasional accidental catfish that's big.  Mostly small spotted bass, white perch and occasional hybrid striper. 

I fish 4 or 5 hrs and try to get out about 3 times a month.  6 of the last 7 trips, I've boated 15-21 small fish with most of those fishing alone.  I have a lot of fun taking friends and grandkids out fishing too.

Still using 40 & 50 yr old Ambassadeur 5000 reels one of them my dad's old one.

With respect, Jeff   

[sluckey]

Nice fish. The old boat looks great!

[shooter]

Nice!

really nice job on the boat

learned to fish from my Dad also, but it was river fishing, poor folk style 
I took it back up when I travel in the winter.  I find "swamp" fishing the best, just me gators and the most amazing nature all around, the biggest fish is ALWAYS the catfish 

[SILVERGUN]

Love seeing these pics, thanks for sharing Jeff.


The smile is almost as big as the catch!


Very happy for you! 

[jjasilli]

Synchronicity!  My older grandsons, ages 8 & 10, have just gotten into fishing.  Took them for bluegills @ a pond near their house in central CT.  They didn't want to leave at dark!


Much of my fishing equipment I got 20 - 30 years ago, and it was old when I bought it.  Often at yard sales and flea markets in small towns in PA. 


Just an hour ago I was refurbishing some rods to use with the grandkids.  Pflueger pushbutton rod & reel combo.  Shakespeare spinning Wonder Rods.  Fixing up the rod guides, wrappings & finish; and cork handles. 


Nice boat & tackle; enjoy!

[vampwizzard]

Great job on the boat and some good fish there! Have you hit Cornelius yet? You also should make the trip to Fontana.

Ive been hitting Laurel Bed Lake in southwest VA this past month with the weather too hot for trout. Y'alls trout streams are ABSURD too.. but not really boatable!

[PRR]

> Y'alls trout streams

Are lake trout (togue) any good?

Guy up here couldn't catch salmon so he dropped to the bottom and hooked a trout.
Andover man shatters 62-year-old state record reeling in 39-pound lake trout

[shooter]

That's like a BIG lake trout, down riggers, 7' swells, 100' of line, maybe you get lucky!

[vampwizzard]

holy cow! now dont get me started on Maine. Was up there for a couple of gigs last August and good lord. Surely a fisherman's paradise. Hit Unity pond and cleaned up on the perch. If I hit the lottery thats where id be spending the warm weather.

[tubeswell]

That's a super little boat. Very tidy and looks handy for lake or near shore sea fishing

[bmccowan]

I grew up fishing in Maine. My Dad loved to fish, and would fish all day. Mostly fly fishing. I had no such patience and would fish for about 30 minutes and then go for a walk in the woods. When I was 12 (1965) we built a camp on Mooselookmeguntic lake in the Rangeley Region - I share it now with my siblings. We had a 17' Rangeley rowboat, which is a pretty famous design. But we bought it in bad shape for $25. and it lasted about 10 years. One story - In his 80s with Alzheimer's starting to take hold I took him to Upper Dam - a famous fly fishing spot that he loved. Most everybody fished streamer flies at the Upper Dam Pool, but my Dad and I liked to fish dries.  The fishing was slow and after a bit I climbed up to the top of the earthen dam. I ran into a couple of whippersnappers up there that were all decked out in new Orvis gear. They watched my Dad down in the pool and one of them said "look at that old fool fishing dry flies; everybody knows you can't catch fish on dries here." I did not let on that I knew Dad. A moment later a large brook trout rose to his fly, and he played the fish and then released it. He looked up at me and I gave him a thumbs up. One of the Orvis dandies hollered down - "hey mister what fly are you using." He yelled back, "It's called an Old Fool. Come on down and I'll give you a couple." The dam sluice-way makes a racket and people do not realize how their loud voice carries. BTW, the fly was a Hair-Wing Caddis, and he did give those whippersnappers a few flies and showed them how to work the eddy line in the pool.

[tubenit]

Great fishing story!  Thanks for sharing it!  Those of us who had dads who fished with us were blessed! Great memories!

Jeff

[bmccowan]

Thanks Jeff - Yes we were blessed. I feel sorry for kids and Dad's today who are so wrapped up in organized sports that they have no time to go fishing. Another totally true fishing boat story. My Uncle Bud used to come to our place in Rangeley every summer for 2 weeks and fish with us. The gang had gotten too big for one boat and he and his son were coming back from fishing near their home in Rochester NY, when they spotted a boat with a for sale sign. They bought it. 15' aluminum painted white with a 20hp Johnson. They towed it home. My Aunt came out of the house, and Uncle Bud said, "look what we bought!" She turned back toward the house and said, "looks like white trash." Uncle Bud and cousin Joe went into the garage, found some black paint and a brush and painted White Trash on the stern.

[tubenit]

My dad was a triple war vet. WWII, Korean war and Viet-Nam.  1st Navy officer in the history of the U.S. to transfer to the Air Force  (Strategic Air Command).  He also was awarded "civil engineer of the year" award for the entire country in his civilian job as Director of Public Works  Dallas County Texas.  Master's in civil and mechanical engineering and a bachelor's in electrical.  Our roots are in Texas with the first of our family coming there in 1833.

He looked for the best in people and greatly enjoyed life and relationships.   

And he loved to fish!! Photo of him (83yrs) in the jon boat was our last fishing trip together a couple yrs prior to his passing away.   Jeff

[bmccowan]

Love those pics Jeff. Fishing is such a universal bridge of generations. Your Dad was a hero in my book. My Dad and Uncle Bud were pilots and navigators in the Army Air Corps in WWII & then the Air Force in Korea. Another uncle took shrapnel to the head on Omaha Beach - D Day shortly after hitting the beach. Spent months in recovery and was never quite right. My admiration and gratitude are boundless. Taking them fishing in their twilight years was the very least I could do.

[tubenit]

Update on a modification to my old boat.  I cut out a portion of the middle seat and added a new Minnkota trolling motor.  This boat runs great!  Lots and lots of fun fishing out of it.

[shooter]

I ran into a friend at the beer bait n gas, he was fillin up his Bass boat, said he was taking it out Ice fishin 
the lakes here are open, but the wind and air temp have kept things sub-freezing

[Platefire]

Hay Jeff, just now seeing this. Great pictures of you, your Dad, fish and boat. My Dad loved to fish also. He most of the time went every Saturday afternoon. I went with him occasionally but he was steady as clockwork. Only hard rain could keep him home. It don't snow much in Louisiana but I've seen him go in the snow more than once. What bmccowan said kind of reminded me of myself. When I went fishing with Dad, if the fish wasn't biting I would get impatient pretty fast and go exploring to kill time. Even got lost a couple of times on my explorations and once Dad got the Law and Dogs searching for me Dad was a District Forester for International Paper Co. that covered Sabine and Desoto parish in Louisiana. Worked for them 39 years. Yes we were Blessed!