Bass Tracker TX17
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- May 26, 2008
- Messages
- 253
Have a pretty interesting story to share.
I arrived at my favorite boat launch last weekend for a great day of fishing.
Only one other boat was there sitting off to one side of the parking area. So I did my pre launch routine,
backed down and launched. Beached the boat and parked the truck.
While I was walking by I said good morning and asked if he was going to catch some fish today.
And commented on the nice boat he had. (A bass tracker also)
I was very surprised by his reply.
?If I can get it into the water without hurting anything.? Well, you know ?hahaha and have a good day? I said. So I walked to the boat, fired it off and off I went. I was gone like 10 min and something just kept eating at me. I turned around and went back and beached my boat. He was still sitting there.
I walked up to him and said, ? your not kidding are you?. He said nope.
Come to find out he bought the boat and had a ride in it but didn?t operate it.
He was not too sure about backing with a trailer either.
So I asked what he was going to do. He said, ?go back home I guess.?
So I made a decision I thought I was going to regret.
I said, ? Do you want me to help you??
His eyes lit up like a flare. ?I don?t know,? he said. ?I?m not to sure about running the boat?
?Well I guess you and me are fishing partners for the day? I said. So I introduced myself to Paul and
told him to get in my truck and we?ll go get my boat.
So to shorten the story a bit I showed how I did my trailer backing and boat recovery.
Got my boat secured and then went to his boat.
My area is popular for bass trackers and his seemed to be an older unit.
Started from the bow and did a walk around explaining what I was looking for and why.
Asked for him to show me his safety gear etc. MMMMMM flares out dated. Ok back to my boat and grab the flares.
Then made him do the walk around and explain things to me. Safety gear, fuel, THE PLUG, etc.
Paul got that ok.
So then it was the trailer backing and launching and why I use a 50-foot rope.
He did a real good job actually with only one forward correction.
Explained to him about steep launches and wind. He did it all himself with me watching him and keeping him from getting into trouble. He was a good listener.
So he parks his truck and I get my fishing gear.
We get in the boat and we just sat for about 10 min. talking about boating in general and safety and ramp courtesy.
So he gets the boat running with a little help from me and I told him about the big rock 20 feet to our left as we?re backing off the beach. Another boat shows up at the ramp but we?re ready to go. Fish finder on and we?re off.
Got the boat up on plane and a nice easy ride. Showed him problem points in the lake and thing to avoid.
I could tell he was nervous driving so I said I would drive for a bit and show him some quirks about his boat. Showed him problems he could get into with his power trim. And if he stuck the bow the tether for his kill switch would be a useful thing to have hooked to himself.
Ended up at one of my fav fishing spots. (I didn?t tell him that though). He did run a trolling motor before so that?s all I needed to hear.
I plunked my gear in the back of the boat and I started to fish. The ride with the trolling motor was a little shaky as he bumped into logs and such but nothing bad. Between the laughing and the oops and other choice words we had a good time. I caught a few fish and Paul caught some also as well as a few logs.
He drove around a little more and started to be more comfortable with everything.
All the while he?s asking good questions and I?m doing my best to answer them.
We headed back to the launch.
A few boats were there being put in and this was a good time to drop anchor and watch.
I was explaining things to watch out for earlier and I was hoping for some examples being shown.
OH YEA!
Without going into details it was quite entertaining.
When things were clear we motored up and beached.
Told him to get the truck and do what I did to get my boat out.
Well a little harder to back up a trailer you can?t see so I helped him back up and get the trailer into the water. SET THE E-BRAKE!
I jumped into the boat and had Paul get the boat running and push off.
He was nervous about loading but I told him no problem, it?s easy with this boat.
Made a few passes at the trailer and backed up. Good job. We switched and I did a few things that can happen and showed him how I got things corrected.
Ok last time for him. Nice approach and up on the bunks nice and smooth 2 feet from the bow stop.
Motor off and up trim.
Walk to the bow and reach over, hook the winch line, climb onto the trailer tongue and winch up nice and easy. Oh yea keep your balance MMMMMMM oh well shoes and socks dry. And drive me up to the waiting area.
Talked to him for a while on how he will get his own way to do things. Practice backing up in a parking lot. Get a checklist going etc.
Paul asked me why I helped him. I said why not. He said I ruined your day. MMMMMM I said, ? we used your boat, your gas, your food and soda. I didn?t hurt my boat or motor and I caught more fish than you.
You didn?t hurt yourself or your nice new boat. You saw what not to do at a launch. You were respectful to me and to others by not trying to go it alone and then getting into trouble. You weren?t an A** H*** or else I would have left you on the beach.
Maybe you learned a few things today to make your time on the water more enjoyable.?
?Yea but you came back,? Paul said.
?Well, a long time ago someone came back for me.? I said.
He shook my hand and said thank you so much. I said no problem.
?I?ll see you again here I guess?? Paul asked.
?I hope so, you still have my flares?
I arrived at my favorite boat launch last weekend for a great day of fishing.
Only one other boat was there sitting off to one side of the parking area. So I did my pre launch routine,
backed down and launched. Beached the boat and parked the truck.
While I was walking by I said good morning and asked if he was going to catch some fish today.
And commented on the nice boat he had. (A bass tracker also)
I was very surprised by his reply.
?If I can get it into the water without hurting anything.? Well, you know ?hahaha and have a good day? I said. So I walked to the boat, fired it off and off I went. I was gone like 10 min and something just kept eating at me. I turned around and went back and beached my boat. He was still sitting there.
I walked up to him and said, ? your not kidding are you?. He said nope.
Come to find out he bought the boat and had a ride in it but didn?t operate it.
He was not too sure about backing with a trailer either.
So I asked what he was going to do. He said, ?go back home I guess.?
So I made a decision I thought I was going to regret.
I said, ? Do you want me to help you??
His eyes lit up like a flare. ?I don?t know,? he said. ?I?m not to sure about running the boat?
?Well I guess you and me are fishing partners for the day? I said. So I introduced myself to Paul and
told him to get in my truck and we?ll go get my boat.
So to shorten the story a bit I showed how I did my trailer backing and boat recovery.
Got my boat secured and then went to his boat.
My area is popular for bass trackers and his seemed to be an older unit.
Started from the bow and did a walk around explaining what I was looking for and why.
Asked for him to show me his safety gear etc. MMMMMM flares out dated. Ok back to my boat and grab the flares.
Then made him do the walk around and explain things to me. Safety gear, fuel, THE PLUG, etc.
Paul got that ok.
So then it was the trailer backing and launching and why I use a 50-foot rope.
He did a real good job actually with only one forward correction.
Explained to him about steep launches and wind. He did it all himself with me watching him and keeping him from getting into trouble. He was a good listener.
So he parks his truck and I get my fishing gear.
We get in the boat and we just sat for about 10 min. talking about boating in general and safety and ramp courtesy.
So he gets the boat running with a little help from me and I told him about the big rock 20 feet to our left as we?re backing off the beach. Another boat shows up at the ramp but we?re ready to go. Fish finder on and we?re off.
Got the boat up on plane and a nice easy ride. Showed him problem points in the lake and thing to avoid.
I could tell he was nervous driving so I said I would drive for a bit and show him some quirks about his boat. Showed him problems he could get into with his power trim. And if he stuck the bow the tether for his kill switch would be a useful thing to have hooked to himself.
Ended up at one of my fav fishing spots. (I didn?t tell him that though). He did run a trolling motor before so that?s all I needed to hear.
I plunked my gear in the back of the boat and I started to fish. The ride with the trolling motor was a little shaky as he bumped into logs and such but nothing bad. Between the laughing and the oops and other choice words we had a good time. I caught a few fish and Paul caught some also as well as a few logs.
He drove around a little more and started to be more comfortable with everything.
All the while he?s asking good questions and I?m doing my best to answer them.
We headed back to the launch.
A few boats were there being put in and this was a good time to drop anchor and watch.
I was explaining things to watch out for earlier and I was hoping for some examples being shown.
OH YEA!
Without going into details it was quite entertaining.
When things were clear we motored up and beached.
Told him to get the truck and do what I did to get my boat out.
Well a little harder to back up a trailer you can?t see so I helped him back up and get the trailer into the water. SET THE E-BRAKE!
I jumped into the boat and had Paul get the boat running and push off.
He was nervous about loading but I told him no problem, it?s easy with this boat.
Made a few passes at the trailer and backed up. Good job. We switched and I did a few things that can happen and showed him how I got things corrected.
Ok last time for him. Nice approach and up on the bunks nice and smooth 2 feet from the bow stop.
Motor off and up trim.
Walk to the bow and reach over, hook the winch line, climb onto the trailer tongue and winch up nice and easy. Oh yea keep your balance MMMMMMM oh well shoes and socks dry. And drive me up to the waiting area.
Talked to him for a while on how he will get his own way to do things. Practice backing up in a parking lot. Get a checklist going etc.
Paul asked me why I helped him. I said why not. He said I ruined your day. MMMMMM I said, ? we used your boat, your gas, your food and soda. I didn?t hurt my boat or motor and I caught more fish than you.
You didn?t hurt yourself or your nice new boat. You saw what not to do at a launch. You were respectful to me and to others by not trying to go it alone and then getting into trouble. You weren?t an A** H*** or else I would have left you on the beach.
Maybe you learned a few things today to make your time on the water more enjoyable.?
?Yea but you came back,? Paul said.
?Well, a long time ago someone came back for me.? I said.
He shook my hand and said thank you so much. I said no problem.
?I?ll see you again here I guess?? Paul asked.
?I hope so, you still have my flares?
