It's gotta be the fishes.....

 I think the fishes have gained mind control over everyone I have to deal with to get my boat up and running. 

By making that statement I can give just one more example.... 

When Monday came around and my spindles didn't get delivered to the welders, I thought Hmmm ok. So I waited for Tuesday afternoon and called, they still weren't there. So I called the place I got my spindles from, he checked in the back and saw that they were still there, and couldn't figure out why? He couldn't remember them being there and said UPS usually just picks everything up....mind-control? 

Yep, that's the only thing I can come up with, for all the set backs and miscommunication I've had in this journey to just be able to fish a little. I know why this is being done.... so I stay landlocked and am not out slaying their brothers and sisters by the Thousands?.... Hundreds?.... dozens, yeah dozens.....

Anyway the spindles found their way to the welders yesterday, and said my axle might be done by Friday. 

 

I am ready and packed for vacation I've only got 3 days and a wake-up. The work on the boat has been at a standstill for a couple weeks. I did however siphon all the gas out to enable me to put fresh in, and at 4.57 a gal for non ethanol it is quite the deal..... hope it stays that way 'til I get back from vacation.

The "old" gas didn't even look bad and will be used in my neighbors lawnmower and my pos. 🤞 

Rose bush is looking great.

Don't even want to go on vacation.....

 WHY??? because I have soooo much to get done before vacation, and I can't finish any of it until I GET MY AXLE BACK. Yep, that's right I still don't have my axle. It is still up at Higbee's...😡 why? Well I called them this week to ascertain that very question. 

We're going to back up a little here, Monday was Moe's Monday so I went to eat at Moe's with a buddy of mine. When we got done he and his kids wanted to do a little kayaking so I took them to a lake that I knew was trolling motor only. While they went kayaking I drove up to Higbee's and saw that my axle was in the same place I had put it 👿. Since it was Memorial day I had to wait.... and stew about why it hasn't moved in 2 WEEKS. When I called on Tuesday I asked if they had gotten to it yet, they replied with, "no we can't find spindles"😠. I held my tongue and told them to give me a couple minutes, 5 minutes after I had talked to them I had spindles on order and shipping out. I will let them know when I pick up the axle how upset I was when they hadn't just called me a week ago. 

With all that being said I still don't have my axle and am not sure when it will be done. So my vacation after my vacation is now in jeopardy because I NEED MY BOAT. Even if I get my axle before I leave, I won't even have 1 shakeout cruise under my belt before I roll North to De Tour village after vacation.

UUUUGGGGGHHHHH dammit.

 

I did go fishing with my buddy, we took his kayak and I borrowed my neighbors, we went to my lake for half a day. We didn't do good but I did get one bass before we had to get off, then I caught 1 more from shore. It was a good day. That was all after we spent the morning at my neighbors cutting a couple small trees down and de-rooting them (I did have to go back Wednesday and finish the job.) Speaking bout Wednesday, after I swung an axe and mattocks for 2 hours, Bill and I went to get his pontoon. Then we launched his pontoon and ran it over to where he slips it for the summer. When we went to put in on the boat lift we realized the water was too high and had to get another slip closer to shore. That entailed floating the boat lift over to the new slip, centering it up and putting the pontoon on it. All in all I had a couple hours short of all day running around and fixing Bill's problems. Which I'm not even mad at, we had a good day and got alot done. I didn't have anything planned anyway. 😁

 

I once again came to the conclusion that I am not 16 anymore. I have the skill just not the strength, or stamina to swing an axe and/or mattocks for hours on end.... and I'm a little sore too. 

I guess since I know what awaits me at home I should be happy I got a preworkout....... 

 

Anyway, I had a pretty busy week, but I feel like I got alot done albeit not for me....  

 

Oh, yeah almost forgot...... look at my Rose bush.

😁

At a standstill

 Yep, 98% of what I needed to get done before the shakeout cruise is done. I am currently waiting on the axle to get done.... without that, the boat is just going to live in the garage.

 

This week I got all the little stools done I wanted to get done and rewired the lights so they work now. 

I got some fiddling to do at the back of the boat but that it unnerves me to think about moving too much in the back with it being suspended with jack stands. So I'll wait till I get the axle and get the tires back under it..... more waiting.

Still in dry dock

 I did however get alot done, I got the battery box fixed, the step fixed, the boat cleaned up and ready to work on the nav lights. I also brought the hubs up to where my axle is awaiting new spindles. I hope that gets done next week so I can put that back together. Nothing else going on. I am hoping to get the boat in the water if not next week the week after.

I GOT ROBBED

 Somehow they got into my garage, and stole my springs, hubs and spindles off my axle, fortunately they left my axle so I can get all new put on. My axle is currently at Higbee welding getting new spindles put on.

Alright I didn't get robbed I just did that to grab your attention. I did get all the new stuff mentioned above. I was only going to get new hubs and springs until I took the hub off and found this on the bottom of my spindle.

Pretty beat up and abused so I did bring it to Higbees, it's a local welding shop that does alot of trailer work.

 

Outside of that I've been pretty busy this week working on the boat... 

 

Let's see I......

Mounted my fish hawk.. 

Put another seat base so I can be back a little more when I'm trolling.

This is where it sits for my passenger on the way in and out.

Then I made some boxes... The first is multi purpose, it serves as a step into the boat, and is my step for when I'm trolling in the "big" chair, and lastly it is for a little extra storage.

Next is my battery box..

I do have to make some tweaks to this bad boy... 

First off in the first pic do you notice that it is off the deck? Well it should sit flat. Also in the above pic, that is all the higher I can open the cover because the battery charger is too far back. So I'll have to reposition the charger more to the front. Then after I get it situated I'll probably screw it to the floor, so it doesn't move. Then next year I'll order some carpet and carpet both boxes. 

 

Well that's all I got done this week. I won't be fishing until I get the axle and accessories back to put together.... maybe next month. 

Fouth day was not the charm

 I started my week on Monday getting up early, driving to the public ground, entering the draw and wondering how long my luck would last. Since I didn't get drawn for a hunt this year I've been putting in for a no show since the open, and so far have been really lucky to be drawn both days last week. Monday did not disappoint, I did end up getting drawn for the third day of my hunt. So as soon as I got my sign in card I sped off to get to "my" spot, which was where I left off last week. I got to within less than 100 yards of where I thought the Tom was. I put out my decoy, set up my chair and blind, and instantly heard a gobble, followed by hens.... which were only roosted 50 yards from where I was. I called softly and sparingly until the Tom flew down, then the hens flew down. I picked up the calling a little more, and tried to get the gang to come over to see me..... They did not. They moved off to the North through the woods. After a couple hours and calling to make sure they were gone, I got up and changed locations to get ready for his return... which is what he did Thurs. I set in that spot the rest of the day and called every half hour or so... and finally had movement in front of me. 2 Jakes came out of the swamp, up over a log, and headed over to check out my decoy. There was one Jake that almost died right there, his beard was about an inch longer than his brother. But then again I knew I had alot of season left and knew I could've filled my tag again, so I let them walk. The tom did not come back.

 Tuesday I got up early and headed out to sign up for the draw... I just kept wondering how long my luck would last. When I got to the sign in I didn't see many other cars, so I felt pretty good. That was until I got in, signed up and realized I had the same number as Monday and I noticed how early it was. Well, by the time it was said and done there were 18 guys for 7 spots... and I wasn't one of them. 

So, plan B was to stop at another public spot with no draw, owl hoot and see if I could hear a gobble. 

I did not...

Plan C spot is anther public spot that I've shot a bird on a couple years ago. So, I got there set up in the same spot and heard... crickets, ok actually it was frogs, but no turkey's.

Since it was kinda late 9am I decided to drive around and see if I could put my eyes on a bird, again I could not.

So as a last ditch effort I stopped at a parking spot with some thick ground in back, grabbed my gear and headed back to a spot I had marked on OnX as "check here". So off I went to "check here", fortunately it had rained and all the leaves were quiet as I walked through the woods on my way to the highest point. When I got there I pulled out my slate, clucked 4 times and yelped twice, and was met with an immediate response.

I looked around and found a spot to put my chair, sat down, shut up and waited for him to stick his head over the hill so I could shoot him in the face. After 35 minutes I realized he wasn't coming so I got up, still being quiet, and clucked a couple more times.... He answered again except further away. So I knew I didn't spook him and he was doing the same thing I was... he was trolling. 

So I pinned his last gobble on OnX and set out to loop in close to where I thought he was. He started gobbling on his own so I could keep tabs on him. That helped alot as I looked for a spot close to where I thought he had gobbled from the first time. When I found a spot, I set up again, this time setting out my decoy. When I was ready I clucked and yelped again, he gobbled, I clucked and yelped, he gobbled, I clucked and purred and he gobbled twords me and headed in. 

I shut up and waited. It was only 5 or 10 minutes before I saw his white head through the underbrush, and within a couple seconds I could see him clearly head and shoulders down like a bull, charging in to find the hen that he was talking to. Unfortunately for him he only found the load of #9's that exploded out of my 410 and met him only 20 yards from where I was sitting.

 When he went down I breathed a sigh of relief and felt a surge of exhilaration. That was one of my favorite hunts, he did it right, I played it right and got to walk out with a nice bird. I took time and got pics, gathered my gear and my bird and walked out. Awesome day.

 

So, the first part of this VIDEO is the Monday hunt with the Jakes and then.... well you'll figure it out. 

 

 

I did try to get video of the tom coming in however I didn't elevate the camera to be able to see over my netting so all you saw was the netting.  

 

I'll do better. 

TURKEY SEASON....

 Well, as we know I didn't get drawn for the turkey hunt, so I went yesterday and today for the no show. Would you believe I made it both days? I know...

Yesterday I really didn't have any interactions until the last couple hours where I got to mess with a gobbling turkey, he didn't budge. 

I did see all this though....

This was my last set up

With the info I had from yesterday I went to the same area in the morning, and worked a gobbler that I was hoping would pitch across the river and right into my lap..... He did not!

So after a couple hours of trying to get him to cross the river, I left that bird and went to find the bird from yesterday afternoon. I slipped a couple hundred yards into the woods to a spot I thought looked good, set up my decoy and chair and started calling.... He absolutely opened up and let me know where he was... so I shut up and let him come to me.... After a half hour or so I called a
gain and again he gobbled, only this time I also heard a hen and a Jake.... Well that's no good.... 

I kept letting him know I was still there but he wasn't budging. I can only hunt until 1 so I just sat tight and waited. Eventually he shut up, I'm pretty sure the hen drug him away. So I called every 15 mins or so, and on one of the breaks I heard a twig snap. I got the gun up and ready to shoot, within 4 minutes I had 4 Jake's walking by me at 10 yards. They never saw me and I almost dropped the hammer on one, but just knowing I could've filled my tag was good enough. I let the hammer down slowly and just watched them until they moved out of sight.

 I know it's a crappy pic but between the two trees are 2 of the Jake's.

After they walked off I started my calling again and wouldn't you know it the Tom started gobbling again. I was like.. well alright lets finish this... 

I called, he gobbled, I called, he gobbled a little further, and eventually I ran out of time. I had to let him be, so I slipped back out of the woods, with the hopes I can hunt him again on Mon. 

 

 

Real quick....

 I got quite a bit done this week and I'm happy to say that the boat is water worthy. The first thing I did was install the buzzer that I got on Fri.

The next thing I did was install a battery monitor.

I also have 2 more for my trolling motor batteries. The next thing I did was work on installing my bilge pump.... that sucked.

I had to slide into the 1x2 foot rectangle to drill out the rivets, pull the plate, install the new bilge, hook up the power, hook up the drain hose, and rivet it back in. I know it sounds easy but it was horrible and my shoulders still haven't forgiven me.

I know it doesn't look like the hose is connected but there's another attachment that could've affixed to it if needed.

 

Next week I'm going to install a new switch for my nav lights. I messed with it and it seems the switch is not working so.... there's that. Oh, and turkey season starts next week, which I just found out my draw didn't go through. So I'll be going to the no shows and trying the very small amount of private that I have to try and get one.... 

 

As much as I hate to say it, there will be no fishing until I get a turkey.😁/😢

 

On pause

 Well, I capped off another week spending more than I make. I'm sure it will all be worth it, hopefully after this round I'll be able to get out in the next week or 2. That is unless gas prices me out of the market..🤷‍♂️

Then all this is for not👎..... 

who am I kidding?

 I'll still go....... into more debt.🤑

For the love of the game.

Be safe, 🙏 that I can get this boat wrapped up next week. Or at the very least that it blows all next week, so even if I was done I still couldn't get out.

🤷‍♂️

Really close....

 Well from the looks of it right now I am going to miss my start date for fishing... I'm hoping it's only going to be a week unless I get what I need fixed, fixed. 

I had a pretty good week got quite a bit done, at least done enough to fish... until.... my bilge pump stopped working, and the alarm on the motor stopped alarming. So those are the 2 things I will have to address before I go out. 

The stuff I did get done....

Yep I got all my fishfinders mounted and even switched out my fuse panel. The bilge should be a pretty easy plug and play. The alarm I'm hoping just had a fuse go out on the motor. Not sure bout anything else just going to not think about anything else til Monday.

Hope everything is going well for you. Stay safe 

talk to ya next week. 

Ran out of time this week...

 Saved all the happy work for today and ran myself out of time for this. I'll have a good update next week though. 

Only 1 more week and I "should" be on the water.... 

still going

 I spent more money than getting alot done this week, not too happy bout that. The main cost was a new starting battery

Yeah... that was a chunk of change I "wanted" to spend only because the old battery would drop to 50%  after only a week of not being charged. So just to make sure I can get back in once I get out, I thought it would be a good purchase.

The other stuff I have started and am working on is getting my new fishfinders mounted and installed. I have my Helix 12 ready to install since I got the mount installed and the wiring hole punched and started running the wiring.

My 7 is next but I have to move the Garmin around to allow the 7 on the dash. When the Garmin was mounted on the dash I didn't have enough room between the windshield and the unit to install my 7, so I had to come up with a solution......

 I removed the base, cut off locking arms, and attached a couple aluminum brackets. This way I can lower the unit in front of the dash and allow more room between the windshield and the Garmin to install the Helix 7.

 And I'm hoping to mount it kinda like this.....

The only difference will be when it's mounted it will be level..... ha ha.... 👈😆 and I should enough room to mount the 7.

Other than that there's not much going on.. the weather kept me from shooting my turkey guns this week but I'll do that Monday. The weather is also going to get in the 50's next week so that will be good to shoot in. I was hoping to get my boat worked on this weekend (rebuild carbs) but my guy has to work, so hopefully next weekend.

 

So that's all I got, since I have the ground work laid, I'm hoping to get at least the fishfinders done by next week. 

Be safe til then. 

did some work

 Well, I got my boat back from the canvas maker and this is what he came up with. 

The windshield cover unsnaps and comes off while leaving the cockpit cover on... I like the fact that it will keep the bugs off the windshield and the foam on the back will soften the blow of any wayward rocks.

As far as what I did this week I crushed cans, changed out my water heater (with Cliff's help), got my chair base put in, and got my fish finders mocked up to mount. Next week I'll be putting them on and changing out the old electrical board with a new marine post set up.

Gotta go, til next week be safe. 

week 1

 Well, the boat is at the canvas makers this week to finish the cover I wanted. The garage is cleaned out and I have even started to work on getting my lures ready. So much to do and get ready I already feel overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. I got some small stuff done this week that needed to be done. I'm hoping that my boat will be done next week so I can get to work on it. I also need to schedule time for my mechanic to rebuild the carbs. That's the only other thing that I'm not doing. Alot to do and a short time to do it in.... As soon as I get the boat back I'll be sure to send out the pics.....

 

Side note- I'm sure you don't know but skunk pelts are at an all time high. I've heard of tails reaching 80 bucks...😱 So as I was making my rounds this week I passed 2 on the road. I called my furrier and asked if he was still taking fart kitty's, he told me he was so I picked 'em up and drove to his house to drop 'em off.

Needless to say- if you're going to cash in on the road kill skunk trade. I would suggest you carry around some bags, a seal-able air tight container, and some disposable gloves.....

Wait a sec so I can write that down.

Ok, yeah I hope the smell dissipates quickly.  😵

When I dropped 'em off my furrier wasn't home but I'm hoping to get paid this Sunday after work... I'll keep you informed. 

Seasons end and Seasons begin......

 Spent my final day afield on Monday trying to take a coyote... or even see one. I thought I would be in for a good day when on my way to my first stand, I cut a track that was still steaming... Well, I called all day and had 0 luck on pulling one to the call... If I get froggy during March I might give it another try but as we both know March is fix the boat month, sooo...

I did however see some good sign for the season after boat fixit month.

Oh yeah, it'll be turkey season sooner than you know.

Damn is it hot.....

 I was feeling a little better about going coyote hunting on Tuesday when I saw the forecast. It was spose to be starting around mid 30's and warming to 50.... I bounced at noonish when it hit 60 and I hadn't seen a track. I did see more than a few turkey tracks and even found a roost tree (wish I took a pic).

Yeah no snow, warm weather and miles put on. I made over a dozen sets and only managed to call in a couple hawks and many eagles.

Next week looks much better.... keep your fingers crossed for me.🤞🤞

I did get the garage cleaned out and ready for fishing season. After next week I am going to be working on the boat. I hope to get the cover back soon, and I got my boat guy doing a carb job on it to start the year.

Another season...

 Has come to an end, I just had my last goose hunt of the 25-26 season. I didn't get limit but I had an awesome day on the river. It was my first hunt down there this year and it didn't disappoint.

This is the upstream look 

Downstream view

My spot

The view from my spot

The geese unfortunately wanted to be down in the basin area because of the wind. They just couldn't make it in to my spot because of the trees... at least they didn't want to work that hard. So I made an executive decision and made a move 20 yards past the the tree laying over in the first pic. 

 

This is where I ended up hunting and shooting 2 of my geese

This was my view where I ended my day

Super nice day to be out..... this spot isn't so much about limits as much as it is just good memories.

only 1 week left

 I headed out to the same field that I've been hunting what seems like all season. The geese where there on Monday afternoon when I scouted, so I made the phone calls and let the landowner know I would like to hunt. He got back to me around 10pm, I found the permission the next morning. So I got loaded up and headed to town, as usual I was running a little late. So I stopped for coffee and a slice of Casey's breakfast pizza. By the time I got set up it was already around 8am. I had a couple 4 packs come around but had no interest in playing the game. 

Finally a couple hours later I had a flock coming in from behind me start their final approach. I had a train track no more than 20 yards behind me and when the geese started to commit a train was passing behind me🤬. Well needless to say they didn't like that and flared off and landed a little over 100 yards away. Well I kept talking to them very sparingly and finally they got up, they weren't going to land but one got a little too close to me and he was the first one I added to my spread. 

So 1 down 4 to go.

An hour after that it seems they were getting a little restless, and I had some small groups passing here and there. I spotted a flock right on the deck a couple hundred yards out, I hit 'em hard hoping to change their minds. They were looking for a place to go down and didn't seem like they wanted to fly all the way to me, they landed a little over 90 yards out. Again I just kept talking to them a little bit letting them know how much fun my spot was. Well, pretty soon all their heads were up and talking and then they were lifting off in my direction. I thought they were going to do the same thing the last flock did and just give me a passing shot, but they started to set up to land on my far right. I waited until they were in range and....

       Have you heard of the 3 shot challenge? That's where you take 3 birds for 3 shots, well.....

Shot #1 I dropped the far right bird, #2 I dropped the bird to his left, and shot #3 I shot at a pair right in front and dropped 'em both before they got out of range. 👍

Yep, that's right I did the 3 shot challenge and dropped 4 birds to complete my limit.

Taking limit in such a glorious fashion, one would think I would've been stoked right?? Well, I was, but you see I had my gopro set up and had been trying to get some footage of the hunt. I had 7 recordings on the gopro prior to any shots and it seemed like as soon as the shooting started I completely forgot to hit record. So I didn't even get my 4 bird limit shots on video...... very sad. 🤷

Anyway, limits a limit I guess... 

Weather looks not too good for next week but I'm sure I'll hunt at least 2 of the days.🤞🤞🤞🤞

Holy snow.....

 I'm going to start off by saying,"I haven't seen this much snow in years". 

The sun made a very long showing everyday this week, so I ended up going coyote hunting. I didn't go down south, I stayed up around me. I hunted from sunnup til about 2ish, when I started it was 9 degrees, and heated up to a balmy 16 degrees. Needless to say I shed clothes like crazy and just walked slow. Speaking of the snow.... I really only wanted about 2-4 inches to hang around for the season. I've got around 6-8 and where it's been drifting it's easily about to my knees. Not sure how much is down south but I'll find out next week. I really hope it hasn't pushed all my geese out. 

Anyway, back to this week I didn't get, or even see a coyote, but I did get the scouting done that I wanted to get done.

I did see this....

and found this.... 

Either that's one massive buck or a fork acting big in front of his friends. 🤷

Yep, so I got some exercise and intel for this spring. I'll head south after work on Sunday and see if I can hunt geese this week, or do I have to hunt coyotes....

 

I knew this would happen..... Bad

 As it turns out Wednesday was going to be my best day to hunt. So I made the appropriate calls and headed out in the AM with thoughts of heavy clouds, temps in the 20's, and snow squalls in the near future, dancing in my head. I set up a good snow spread with 2 dozen sleeper shells and around that many full bodies, along with my snow blind and I was set. 

All I had to do now was wait..... and wait.... and...

After the sun came up and was moving into mid morning this happened.

With that glowing ball in the sky I knew it would be an all day sit... so I took a nap. When I woke up I had some decoys to pick up that the gusts had blown over. I started looking around and began to worry I wasn't going to be able to stay. When I finally threw in the towel my beautiful snow covered field looked like this. 

I looked like a white turd in a field, so I packed it in and headed North.

 

On the way home I realized that this was my first skunk of the year... or was it?🤔

Either way it was Bad, but I didn't have to clean a goose....  

I didn't take this pic yesterday, I just really like it, it is the same field though.