River Rat

get a long bow rope, tie it to your hitch or trailer with enough rope to clear the trailer obviously but not hit anything behind you at the launch.......ram it in the water get out and move the bow rope from the hitch to the dock.....park the truck and let the games begin. It's very easy after a few times at it. I launch my 17footer alone all the time. RR

go catch some lakers....change up that stink! RR

do not use 3 in 1 oil if you plan on fishing in the cold. Sewing machine oil works good. what ever oil you plan to use, put it in the freezer over night. If it still flows well after being in the deep freeze for 12 hours, use it. If it gets solid or fairly close, it will bind your reel in the cold temps. RR

that's funny,.....correcting the way a guys spelling by saying you "spelt" it wrong.....no offence, I'm not a literary genius by any means but that was just funny. RR

the best way to rig your regular skipper transducer for ice is to drill a hole 4 or inches into the ice forming a bowl, clear out the snow / shavings and fill it with water....cut a 5gal bucket about 4 inches up from bottom to make jerk cover for the transducer hole. Drill a hole (same size as cord) and use a saw to cut a slice from the outside to the center hole for the cord. Put the cord through the slice, into the "cord hole" and put the transducer in the water filled with the cover over the hole. This will delay freezing and keep snow out. Maek sure the face of the skipper is flat in the bottom of the "bowl"......this way you are not dealing with the transducer in your jigging hole and it's easy to see if it's pointing the wrong way etc.............let the games begin. River Rat

I had a blow out on the inside wall of a trailer tire once....big bulge. I could hear it whistleing down the road. Puller over, didn't see it. Kept going and pulled over again and took a closer look and found it before it blew thankfully

was it Monty Python that tried to cross he "BOG of eternal stench"?.......they couldn't do it either

dude, I don't know what a footistis is but if that means dragging more than one buddy along....forget it! I can barely tolerate a partner let alone a third of fourth person on my boat....even if it was 30 feet long. Anyway, it obviously depends on what water you are fishing 80% of the time.....big water will be a problem from time to time but if you can handle it, that ranger will too. Common sense prevails on the water bro,......live the dream, get the Ranger. RR

for start up: if you wallis cast, start up is a moot point considering you pull start the spool anyway. Fast water fishing will start up even a sluggish reel when you drop the float so it doesn't matter there either. Slow water fishing is where a light reel with quick start up really helps alot. 5 inch reels are better for big water cause they bring in more line. If you are a side caster the Islander is not ideal due to the large square foot with square edges that can grab the line as it flys out the side. I have fished most of he reels mentioned so far and the Mykiss is my go to reel. A 5 inch reel that is super light with lightening startup. I modified my #12 ported with some nice rose wood handles not for looks, but because the plastic ones that came with it were kinda small and short. I understand the reason for the small tapered handle design, but it's a joy to fish now without th sore fingers from winding in those long drifts. Some guys like heavy reels for big water and long drifts cause they can spin the spool on retrieve to take up more line (inertia). I tend to wind in on the long drifts. The start and stop of batting or pull, spin, pull can really mess up your line on the spool. for my money, the Mykiss is the best over all performer I have seen out there....of course there ar better but if I could only own one reel under $700.....that's my baby. River Rat

Actually, I joined cause I ran into a really nice guy on the river a couple weeks ago named Bill who told be about this site....I recognise a a bunch of the guys on here too including Danbo. No offence to Danbo intended obvoiusly.....like solo paddler, I just had to respond. Cheers Rive Rat

Danbo, if it works for you then nuff said but, I would pretty much guarantee that you will hook more fish if you know how to place shot to match flow and trot your presentation under the proper conditions.....you should never drag a presentation....the fish will see or feel the line, swivel, shot etc. before it has a chance to see or smell the bait. I run dead drift in many situations like frog water or moderate flow, but in a good riffle trotting is the best way to present the bait. Bar none, the most violent arm breaking stikes I have ever had while float fishing happenened when I was trotting fast water. .......come to think of it, the fish in my profile pic came at the end of a long deep fast flow in gin clear water, I was running a 16gram slipper in a 10ft fast run. Heavy shot to get it down and close to the tail out I start to trot hard....float is almost stopped as the bait is now coming up with the river bottom to the end of the drift.....I'm out over 120ft for sure now, .......wait for it....BLAMO, out she came like a bolt of lightening. Felt like it pulled my arm out of the socket......Hard lean back (yes, upper pressure in this case) to keep her from cresting the run to the rapids below. Little hint, in the situations where trotting is most effective...you can afford to up-size your hook / leader and you will miss less fish for sure. See you out there bro. River Rat