A Series of Unfortunate Events

This is a tale too tall for even Capt. Dave to weave. Simply put, next time you see Irwin, ask him to describe the thread common to the following pictures:

Needless to say, NO FISHIN’ took place today!

Fishing this weekend - 05/30

Barring weather complications here's this weekend's schedule:

Saturday Afternoon - Irwin
Sunday Anytime - Scott & Daughter

As usual, weather reports taken at the time of the event may delay and/or alter any scheduled excursions. Capt. Dave will be in contact with each of your parties to work out the day's details.

-- REMINDER --
PURCHASE YOUR FISHING LICENSE PRIOR to the TRIP !!!

Yea, It's Just Like That !

The Humminbird 797c2 si worked just like this. Crystal clear renderings of the bottom as if you had a scuba mask on, and your head in the water.

It's E L E C T R I C ! & It's F I X E D !

Capt. Dave just got the call from Reeder and Trauche.

They found the problem !

It was electrical ! An electrical connection which looked o.k. upon visual inspection, was not completely closed together, which caused an intermittent loss of ground and subsequent starting and running problems.

Their diagnostic scanner told them to check multiple connections, one of which turned out to be the source of the problem.

So while I'm not happy to have the problem, I'm VERY HAPPY it was:

1. Identified and corrected before the three day Memorial Day weekend
2. Did not involve replacement of an expensive part or series of parts
3. Waiting on parts could have significantly extended the repair window
4. Did not involve any increased expense in parts and labor

IN SHORT IT's FISH ON THIS WEEKEND !!

The Perfect Storm

Reflecting on yesterday an number of events came together to form a perfect storm.

One year of research, budgeting, and saving in pursuit of the proper balance between pay vs. performance in a fish finder.

The anxious anticipation of fish finder installation after 5 unsuccessful purchase attempts.

The initial delay of "it will be next week before we can get to that". That's what Larry said when I towed the boat out Monday evening the 12th, for the fish finder install (missing a weekend of good weather).

Receiving a call Tuesday morning the 13th at 8:10am that the install was complete one week ahead of schedule. And the disappointment knowing the boat would go unused all week.

Culminating in deep disappointment Saturday morning the 17th when the boat now with fish finder installed at the console, it's previously rock solid engine will not start ! At that point, even though the transducer was in the water, I did not turn on the fish finder.

Driving away from the lake realizing at least one great day of fishing ( and use of the fish finder ) was lost. It turned out to be two days nice enough to fish....

To add insult to injury, Monday morning the 19th they say "there's a real problem with the engine". But we did not find it last night. We'll look at it again tomorrow.

Tuesday morning the 20th, they say we did not work on your boat because it rained last night. The next chance the mechanic will have to work on it will be Wednesday evening.

That's a Nice Tractor !

That is the first thing that comes to mind, reflecting back on today's events. That was a really nice John Deere Tractor. It sure made removing the boat from Reeder and Trausche Marine's indoor storage a breeze. Fully hydraulic steering, and very quiet for a large garden tractor, with a factory installed trailer hitch on the front, it made effortless work of moving the boat around. Certainly easier than trying to drive the SUV around, hitch up the boat, and pull it out, the quarters are kinda tight.

The second thing is we're on board with year around storage-- Yup, thats right-- No more trailering the boat to and from the lake ! The wife is happy to regain possession of our 2nd and 3rd garage bays. Eventually 3 of our fleet vehicles will get back under roof. Larry said he would work on getting access to power, to trickle charge the batteries while it's not on the water.

The Uncontrollable Variable:

Capt Dave has to drive out to Reeder and Trausche Marine Saturday to review and approve their work, pay for, and pickup the boat. Given today’s gas prices it would be foolish not to take advantage of an obvious ready made fishing opportunity.

In conversations with Ray-Man, he’s not available Saturday, but Sunday sounds good to him.

Weekend weather forecasts have been variable as to the better fishing day - Saturday or Sunday (neither or both).

Capt. Dave has checked with his social event coordinator, and his schedule allows fishing both days- morning & early afternoon. Capt. Dave has to be home by 3:30pm Sunday.


Tentative Schedule:

Saturday - Irwin and Capt. Dave depart Capt. Dave’s residence at 7:00am to arrive at around 8:00am at R&T Marine. We’ll conduct an intensive field trial of the newly installed equipment, and fish the sweet spots.

Sunday – Ray-Man and I leave Capt Dave’s residence early morning to continue the field trial and fishing exploits (Irwin attendance optional).


All plans are fluid based on prevailing weather conditions experienced at that moment. The plans will be updated as needed, please stay tuned.

A Miracle Unrealized!

Returning from dropping off daughter at school at 8:10am my phone rings- caller id says it is Reeder and Trausche Marine. A couple of thoughts flash through my mind. There must be something wrong-- They are calling because I did not order all the right parts. They are calling because there were parts missing from inside the boxes. Something doesn’t fit…They have questions or need additional direction regarding the installation.

With great hesitation I press the send button and offer a cautious “ Hello ?”. Larry says “Dave this is Larry, your boat is ready to go!”. Confident I misheard him, I said "What? Are you sure?". Larry says “Yes, I had one of my part time mechanics come in last night, and he wanted a quick job. So I had him work on your boat. Everything you asked for is done”.

I said “W O W, I really appreciate that! I did not plan on coming out your way today. I’ll make every effort to get out there before you close”. ( It did not hurt it was such a nice day ). I called Ray man, who is in Six Sigma training this week (bad timing Ray). I called Scott T. who said his son-in-law was having surgery (Scott- your daughter needs to be more accessible) and he’s not able to make it either. All day I ponder, WHAT TO DO ?!

I leave the house and pick daughter up right on time at 3:15pm and learn she has a mountain of homework. With Mom at an all day & evening conference, that is the last straw. The boat will have to sit until Saturday ! U G H !

So I dropped of the boat at 4:30 pm, and the fish finder is installed by 8:10 am the following day! In addition, the weather is GR8 it’d be a great day to be on the water! An opportunity w a s t e d!

Sadly, the lack of a partner, no mom at home, and a mountain of homework combined to quench any hopes of testing the new aquatic creature locating device.

With this backdrop; short of torrential downpours or 30+ mph winds…

THERE WILL BE FISHIN’ THIS SATURDAY !! Stay tuned!

Fish Finder Install - In Progress !

Capt Dave towed the boat out to Reeder and Trausche Marine after 5pm, and discussed installation details with Larry. Larry said it might be by this Saturday or by early next week (at the latest) before the install takes place. Larry said we could still fish, but we'd be without the latest piece of electronic fish locating wizardry.

As usual, Capt. Dave is contemplating a Saturday fishing outing - weather and schedules permitting. However, we can all sleep in this Saturday given that R&T Marine doesn't open until 8:00am.

Details to follow as the week progresses

Scandalous Accusations Fly at Capt. Dave's

Some have charged that Capt. Dave artificially stimulated the weights of last Saturday’s catch. The exact quotes are not fit for electronic print.

These baseless and unfounded accusations only cause harm to those whose focus has been to promote a green and peaceful coexistence between the continued health and habitat preservation of nature's aquatic creatures and the activity of recreational sport fishing.


Press Release from Capt. Dave's Water Excursions Ltd.:

“I was only feeding the fish, fish flakes provided by and at the doses prescribed by their personal trainer. I have no knowledge, if in fact they received any artificial growth hormones or other stimulants. Their trainer tells me, everything we gave the fish is completely 100% natural. The components are from the same food stuffs which they naturally forage for in the wild. Furthermore, I respect the sport and its heritage; I would never do anything to harm my personal reputation, their trainer, those of the fish, or the sport as a whole.”

“I believe this satisfactory explanation allows us to put the matter quickly behind us, we should now focus our attention forward to the remainder of the fishing season” – Capt. Dave.

Please forward any addition inquires regarding this topic to Capt. Dave’s legal team of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, LLC

THE FISH FINDER PARTS ARRIVED TODAY!

The additional miscellaneous humminbird fish finder parts arrived at Capt. Dave's door step today ! Nearly one week earlier than expected ( Y E A !! ).

• trolling motor mounted side imaging transducer
• front base mount
• front base mount cover
• power cord

I'm expecting the two RAM Marine Boat Mounts to arrive tomorrow.

Once all the accessories are in, it will be time to schedule the 797 C2i Si Combo installation with Reeder and Trausche Marine

Then Racoon Lake Sporting Fish WATCH OUT ! There'll be no where to hide !

NO FISHIN' - 05/09 - 05/11

Hey - It's Mother's Day Weekend. Capt. Dave will be traveling to Illinois.

Capt. Dave is anxiously anticipating the arrival of the remaining fish finder accessories.

We might sneek in fishing (weather permitting) the day we tow the boat to Reeder and Trausch for 797 C2i Si Combo installation.

A Good 1 Hour of Fishin' during a Tough 4 Hour Morning Outing

Rain all night and previous day, two cold fronts moving though in 24 hours, with the last front moving through 3 hours before casting off. Cloudy, windy, mid to upper 50's the entire day of the outing; clearly not good fishing conditions.

A partial clearing in the clouds perked up the fishin'; with the proper crank bait selection Capt. Dave catches 3 !

A bad day of fishing made better, by having the Sirius Satellite Radio. We listened to crystal clear Classic Hits (15), Sirius Blues (74), and SIRIUS NASCAR Radio (128). It will be great, for the days we're fishin' when they're racing!

Charts For May

IT's A Go for Tomorrow

Given current forecasts, I think we are good from a weather perspective for fishing Saturday. Favorable conditions are noted on the Lunar Charts as well.

To maximize our use of favorable conditions, the time of 6:30 at Capt. Dave’s house has been suggested.

Follow this link for the current forcast
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/category.asp?C=119615


Given the unpredictable nature of the weather, the following activities have been suggested in the event of inclement weather flares up:

Breakfast / Lunch at FlapJacks
A tour of the BASS PRO center Clarksville, KY