Newby finally gets wet

[10thMTNDAVE]

Got out of work early, checked the weather report, and finally took the boat out to Henderson Harbor for the new boat shakedown cruise. New 21 foot G3 is still a work in progress as I don't have my Big Jon electrics on the corners yet. Have the Otter Boats but the mast is still on the way getting shipped and the mounting base is still to be ordered. Also still to come are Cisco rod holders, right now I am relying on Ram mounts rod holders that came with the boat. Probably a great mount for eyes, but don't think I would expect it to hold a diver, spindoc and fly even without some monster King attacking it. I took along 4 Daiwa 8'6 Wilderness rods with Okuma Magda45dx reels (two have Berkley Trilene Hi-Test 30# in green, and two have 30# Berkley BigGame in clear; All four have a 9' Seaguar, Fluorocarbon 15# leaders) and an assortment of floating minnows in varying sizes and colors and types some jointed, some not.

Anyways, back to the tale:

Managed to get the boat into the water and off the trailer with Wifey at the truck wheel and me in the boat. OK so far, no catastrophes yet.

Head out the Harbor mouth and around association Island. Pretty stiff wind blowing down the lake so we hug the south shore and head back towards the harbor mouth staying in about 20' of water. Surface temps stayed about 54 degrees everywhere we went. Set two poles, one straight out each side, one was back 150 the other 100. marked a few fish on the Lowrance LCX-27C but no takers. Headed for the North side and dropped the other two poles straight out the back, one out 75 and the other 85. Tried to keep the speed (GPS Speed) at about 2.5, but the throttle control on the kicker does not want to take small corrections, and I just don't have the feel for it yet so we were anywhere from 1.5 to 3.0

Just after I sit back at the Helm after getting the fourth rod in the water, the rod back 150 on the starboard side starts bucking. I was hoping rainbow as I could see the dance happening way back, fish broke the surface at least four times. As I grab the rod and turn on the Auto-pilot (Yelled to wifey to grab the wheel). It was Chinese firedrill time!! Wife is asking me "what do I do, stop the boat?" I am yelling "No, don't stop just slow it down" while weaving the rod under the two rods on the port side as that is where the fish is going. I am thinking to myself this is going to be one hell of a tangled mess as my wife is asking me "How do I slow it down?" Guess it is my own fault for not bringing her up to speed on the basics before throwing her to the wolves "I tell her just pull back that lever do-hickey"

As I am reeling like crazy to keep up with the fish who unbelievably is now swimming under the boat and heading out under the bow. It is at this time that I realize that my trusty autopilot has grabbed the throttle mashed the red button and pulled it back through neutral into reverse.

Finally get the fish under control and reach down and grab the lower lip of a nice healthy bronzeback. Not a Brown and not a Bow, but at least I am not skunked on the first outing.

The farther north we go the snottier it seems to get with that stiff breeze, so we pack the rods up and give my wife the crash course I should have given her before we started.

In the end, it could have been worse. Didn't even have the Stowmaster landing net out of it's bow storage compartment yet. Managed to have my wife take a picture for memory sake, and after releasing the nice smallmouth realized I never weighed or measured it. It was a "Nice one" though.

We even managed to get the boat back onto the trailer (took two tries) and out of the water.

Looks like I have a long way to go, and a lot of equipment yet to install, but the journey is underway...Stay tuned for the continuing adventures!!

Oh yeah, here is the pic:

[Gotta Bite]

Congrats on the christening of your new boat. At least you weren't skunked.

[muskybob]

Atta way to go Dave. I enjoyed the adventure reading it. There's gonna be many more stories to tell, but keep a good thought and have fun with it. Congrats on keeping the skunk at bay.

[LongLine]

WTG Dave. Nice Small mouth. You did better than a lot of guys on their first time out.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[chowder]

Thanks for the story of the first trip out, it reminds me of something a minister once said to me - "son, real life is messy"

[jeb1340]

Great story and sounded like a great day. Anytime you come back with everything you left with, and catch a fish is a success! Auto Pilots do have a break in period. Good luck with the new boat.

[CBish]

Ok now -- catching the fish is the easy part, but can you get your wife to go out again with you???

Congrats & Welcome to the Big O

CC

[Reel Nauti]

Hey, Newbie........congrats on your first trip, first fish in the boat, and congrats to your wife. Glad the day went well and produced. Good luck in your future adventures, the seasons just beginning......it gets easier......

[JR]

Congrats Dave

The best part is telling the story after you get back and you did a great job at that

[NitroMusky]

great story. that was me and my wife last year...and my wife still this year...

Given the subject line I kept waiting for the part where you go in the drink and the ensuing horror story glad it wasnt literal