Fishing

One of my favorite hobbies is fishing. This blog will show all the tools I have used to catch the big ones.

The Boat is a 1977 Starcraft. I customized the inside, installed New Seats, Console, Storage Box and Transom Supports. These supports raise the motors for optimum water bite. This Boat is a real go getter coming out of the hole. The Motor was new when I got it, but was used as a demo for the Ohio Fisherman Magazine Editor for a few weeks. The Motor has a SST Prop.

1983 9.9hp Johnson Motor. I bought new and it has just a few hours on it. What is nice is that year Johnson made a thottle restrictor that reduced the output to 6HP. Several lakes in Ohio have a 6HP Limit. Others have 9.9HP Limit. Motor is connected to all the console remotes, and sits next to the 35HP motor.

The picture on the right shows the inside of the Evinrude 35HP. Like new and it has powered us to some of the best fishing spots ever.

The above picture is our 9.9HP motor. Notice how clean this one is.


This is our custom fish club. Sounds cruel but when we keep fish we put them on ice to bring home. We have not kept fish for years so the last time this club has been used is over 20 years ago. I keep it around because of the great memories and it is home made.





This is Bob"s Custom Homebrew Lure Knocker. What is the ole saying "You always keep the things you give away" Bob was a fishing buddy of mine who made this lure knocker for me" This knocker is about 45 years old. Has retrieved hundreds of my lures from snags everywhere. Thanks Bob.






Every fishing boat needs a tow vehicle. Nancy purchased my latest truck as a gift for our 50th Wedding Anniversary last year.
Some Truck, Great Wife, Great Friend. Been through a lot together





This is my Bumper Sticker on the truck. I have received many a thumbs up for this sticker. I hope you enjoy it also.







This is a small picture of our retired lures. They are hung up in our basement under our 4 original and registered graphic rods by Skyline. The lures are strung out over 30 feet. The reason these lures are retired, is that the majority cannot be replaced or they caught so many fish I was afraid of losing that particular lure. Just like a horse who wins the Triple Crown they get retired and enjoy the rest of their lives. Oh the money I spent.



This picture is tackle box 1 of 5. All Five Boxes are filled with lures that have caught fish. No losers in these boxes. When we go fishing we carry a pair and a spare of lures. I could lose 3 lures of the same type, but with Bob's lure knocker the only lures we lose are to tree bass. Sometimes the wind is really out to get you and blows a perfect cast into the trees.



These are a few of my really old lures. I know you probably won't believe my stories, but these lures have caught a lot of big fish
with me at the controls. My grandfather did use one of these lures. Can you guess which one it was? I stopped using these many many years ago, because of the fear of losing them. Did not want one of them to be Bob's Lure Knocker first loss.



No Fishing Blog or Story would be complete without a picture of the one that did not get away. Here is a picture of our 10LB 2oz Largemouth Bass. After the picture the fish was gently returned to the water. He is probably a little smarter now knowing never to hit a home made crawfish colored lure. This fish hit at the very end of a very long cast. It was a ball bringing this one to the boat.


Pictures always tell the story. Here are our biggest fish ever. These two Halibut were over 50 lbs and Mandy will attest to that. Pictures were taken on the fishing boat in Homer Alaska. They were so heavy Mandy could not lift them up Pleae note they were heavy enough you could not hold them out from your body.


These are the same two fish as above, but had to have a stronger person to hold them up. These were big dudes. So you know they ended up in our freezer. The fish didn't mind as they told their friends on the way up from 200 feet down they were caught by the Greatest Fisherman Who Ever Lived. That's my story and I am stickin to it




This is a gun rack I built in High School 55 years ago. It holds my current Shimano Reels and Galyan Performance Graphite Rods.

The picture to the right is our collection of better knives. The one on the far left is a handmade knife from Wyoming. The 3 long blonde sheaves are Rapala Fillet Knives. The third from the left is the IRBI (I'd Rather Be Independent) is my custom knife from the IRBI shop in Alaska. The fourth knife from the left is a handmade knife from Wimberly Texas






A close up picture of the IRBI Knife. The case is custom and the handle is made of Rosewood from South America

The knife to the right is my original Rapala Fillet Knife. If you look close you can see the worn knife edge. This is the only knife in our collection that has been used. This knife reminds me of the ole country song "Not as good as I once was, but as good once as I ever was" It is now retired thinking of all the big fish that it has filleted for the table

You seen the Fisherman, The Boat, The Motors, The Lures and the Pictures and now you can see the Trophys. At one time we fished in Bass Contests against some of the best and we came out on top several times. The Biggest Trophy is for "Fisherman of the Year. Thanks for letting me brag a little.

This is the fishing vest that Nancy made for me in 1973. Notice I can still wear it.

Notice the fishing lure vest buttons. What stories this vest could tell

Thanks for viewing and have a great week

Rick, Nancy, Bandit and Belle