dafack01

 

The boat size will really dictate what you need for a tow vehicle. I have a small 16' Hewes Bonefisher - it is built like a tank and really won't get as shallow as some of the new "technical" skiffs, but it can hit 50 with a tail wind, cover more than 200 miles, and it takes a beating. It tows with almost anything. How big are you looking at? One of the classic boats for inshore fishing has always been a 17" Mako down here in FL - decent freeboard, decent ride, relatively shallow draft. Some thing like this would tow fine with a modern V6. A few brands that I've seen up close that look good:

 

I just went to Bass Pro today to check out boats (not near ready to buy but I do need an idea of what I want so I get the right truck) and I checked out a 2008 Mako 181. 17', 60hp outboard, lightweight (2100 pounds with hull, trailer, and engine). From talking to the salesman (who was surprisingly not pushy at all!) it seems like this would be ideal for me. It'll get me around the inshore/nearshore saltwater and into some relatively shallow water (16" draft according to the specs). Able to have a trolling motor so I can use it to double as a bass boat. New and fully loaded it costs in the mid $13,000 range! That's a lot cheaper than I thought!

I'd like to check out those Carolina Skiffs too.

I figure about 2500 pounds fully gassed and loaded. I could tow that with a small V8 no problem!

keep in mind that Indy was without 2 of its top 3 receivers. If they had a healthy Marvin Harrison and Tony Gonzales i wonder if that would've been worth one extra touchdown? I say yes...

Thanks for the offer Matt, but I'm pretty sure you'll be moving before I'm ready to buy. I want to see what types of fishing there is around here, what I can do on foot, what I can do in a Kayak, what I need a boat for, etc... before I'm ready to buy a boat.

Right now I'm just trying to get a gauge on how big a tow vehicle I'd need. I might end up with a full-size pickup instead of a midsize SUV.

After checking out the boats for a couple Redfish/Tarpon/Striper/Speck/Cobia etc... guides, I think a Bay Boat is just the ticket. A 20' model that I read the specs on weighed 2000 pounds. Just the hull. Add an engine, a full load of fuel, a trailer, and all my crap I think a V8 is definitely the ticket. Damn. Looks like I'm gonna be looking at full size trucks in addition to a V8 4Runner.

First thing on the big purchase list for this fresh college grad-turned engineer is a new truck or SUV. My initial hopes were to get a 6cyl. 4Runner. However, my move to Savannah might force me to get something with more power. The reason? My boat purchase (not an immediate concern, sometime a year from now or so). Since there's no real freshwater around Savannah but a big damn ocean, I'll be getting a saltwater boat.

I haven't looked yet, but I'm pretty sure saltwater boats are all fiberglass, which means they'll be heavy. I'll be doing a lot of fishing in Savannah and South Florida too. I want to fish the flats for redfish and (and bonefish and permit in South Florida), but I doubt I want a flats boat. I'll just anchor the boat and take a kayak along so I don't have to futz with poling.

I'm thinking some sorta center console V-hull with reasonable power for use as a general purpose inshore boat.

What are some good inshore boats that are reasonably priced, how much are we looking at pricewise, and are they heavy enough to require a V-8? If so I might end up with an F-150 or something.

Thanks!

Congrats on the new granddaughter! I hope mom and baby are doing well! :yahoo:

Zip- will do! I'll have three day weekends so I'll have time for short road trips.

I know! I spent last week chillin on the beach and then meandering around downtown and the whole time I had to pinch myself to remind me that this will be my new home! Absolutely gorgeous scenery.

My family is actually talking about coming down to Savannah for Thanksgiving too! I admit I'll miss not seeing the rest of my family and the traditions we've built the past 27 years, but life's all about change. The change would've happened sooner or later. Now it'll turn into a family vacation!

I'll get to see them at Christmas.

It'll be weird not having Smallmouth and Trout to chase regularly. Now I'll have Redfish, Specks, and Stripers. Poor me, I know. At least my new 3 day weekends will give me time to make small road trips to Atlanta and Tennessee/North Carolina for weekend Trout getaways. And I'll definitely be heading south to tangle with some Peacock Bass and to try my hand at Snook, Bonefish, and Tarpon. I actually think Tarpon make it up to Savannah during the summer now that I mention it.

I'll be moving to Savannah in a week and am completely unfamiliar with the fishing around Savannah, especially fishing in the salt. Anyone who would be willing to help me out and/or show me the ropes would be greatly appreciated!

Dustin, congrats, I hope it all goes great!!! and oh yeah go MOUNTIANEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Dustin

Due to the complete suckage this year by the Louisville Cardinals, I'll have to agree with ya. I still watch some of Louisville's games and I'll always cheer for them, but I've been having a much better time this year taking South Florida, West Virginia, and Kentucky football seriously this year than Louisville football. I don't mind getting beat, just don't be pathetic. We're pathetic. We're beating ourselves. No I won't be cheering for West Virginia when we play you, but all other games, yup. Hell, we actually have been playing better on the road so who knows?

Just wait 'till basketball season! Damn I sound like a Kentucky fan.

Seriously, our basketball team will be SO freaking good. We have EVERYONE back...including our coach. I'm convinced that's the difference this year in football. We lost talent but not THAT much talent. Our pathetic year is all coaching. If Petrino was still coach I suspect we'd still be in the top 15.

Keep us updated with the fishin down south. Don't be afraid to pack some dry ice and fresh redfish and send it back to Iowa!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, you might find some GIANT bluegills in Georgia!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So pack a side arm to shoot em if need be. LOL

Heck, that 5 pound shellcracker was caught in South Carolina wasn't it?

That thing was as big as a damn garbage can lid!

Keep your head up, learn your lesson, and live and enjoy your life! There ain't many people who haven't made dumb mistakes of some kind in our youth (me included). That's what growing up is all about. Learning from our mistakes.

dfack01

 

Well there is some darn GOOD trout fishing in the mountains streams down in the south,just have to do some diggin around to find out where..

Now when i hit the the big mega million lotto I'm calling you to buy my customized trick'd out

Gulfstream V.................interior design .you guessed it fly fishing.....and hunting related stuff

on the Tail/fuselage smething ..something like a picturesque Rocky Mountian Stream with me fishing and a big ol bull elk bugling in the background...............hey it's nice to dream I'm back now.....

Good luck to you...

Mike

I wouldn't be the one you'd place your order to, I'd be the one making sure it's built right. Scary, huh?

I know I'll have a reasonable drive to North Carolina, East Tennessee, and the Chattahoochie River for some badass trout fishing. With my new 3 day weekends I might end up fishing there more often than I think. But then again with all of the Redfish and Striper around, I might end up chasing them around in a kayak all day. What a great problem to have! :headbang:

The boat I end up getting in the medium-term future will have to be a saltwater boat though. Not much freshwater around Savannah.

Thanks all! This is the job I really wanted. Gulfstream seems to care more about the well-being of its employees than UPS does. I could go on and on about why I chose this job over UPS (not that UPS isn't a good job). I'm that pumped up about it! I just don't have that same fire and passion about working for UPS in Des Moines.

Dustin,

It was great to meet you and fish with you. Good luck in your new job. Get used to grits!!!!!!!

Hope all the mud came off the jeep. LOL

 

Tim

Tim, it was great meeting and fishing with you too! Thanks for a warm welcome to Iowa! You know you're catching big bluegills when you catch about 10 of them when bass fishing. :flex: THAT was fun! Those were the biggest 'gills I've caught in a LONG time!

The mud is pretty much off the exterior but I still need to take it to a car wash and vaccuum out the floorboard. Between being out of town in Burlington and flying to Savannah for a job interv...I mean free weekend vacation I haven't had time to do the serious cleaning it needs.

mnorton, I was thinking about breaking the ice during my phone interview in August by asking (in a very serious tone) about the company discounts we get (not that I'd ever be able to even remotely afford a Gulfstream). I just thought though that specifying planes would take away some of the punch, and it could get misconstrued as the Gulfstream discounts given by other businesses around Savannah.

Now I wonder what kinda fishing there is around Savannah. I'm thinking (besides the obvious freshwater fishing) Redfish, Flounder, Speckled Trout, Striper (in the winter), that kinda thing. It should be a reasonable drive to head up to North Carolina for Bluefish and False Albacore if they don't make it down this far. Maybe Tarpon make it up here?

South Florida should be a great trip for a long weekend (seeing that I'll be working 4-10's and I'll have three day weekends, that works out perfect!). I can head down there to catch a 10 lb Largemouth finally and wrangle with some Peacock Bass! And Snook, and tarpon, and bonefish, and sailfish...

And Atlanta is a reasonable drive too if I want to catch some Trout. Steve, that short 4 weight might turn into a 9' 4 weight. I figure that'll be a good big river trout rig. One setup for dries and nymphs and one for chuckin' some streamers. The 4 weight should be killer for Bluegill too!

I'm beginning to think I'll be going on a vacation that'll never end! :yahoo: Having a job you're passionate about certainly won't hurt either.

Before i took my current job with UPS in Des Moines, I interviewed with Gulfstream (they make fancy high-dollar business and personal jets for those who aren't familiar; like Learjets except faster and higher flying). I REALLY wanted that job but didn't get it. UPS came calling so I thought what the heck?

Last Friday, Gulfstream called me saying they had a second position open up and they REALLY wanted me to come down for an interview (they're building a brand new final assembly facility in Savannah). Well, I LOVED the interview and the company and they're covering my moving expenses, and the salary and benefits are great, so I'm now moving to Savannah, Georgia!

I've been absolutely FASCINATED with planes since I was a little boy, and even at UPS my goal was to eventually work for the airline. Planes have always captured my imagination. Packages haven't. Life's way too short to do something you're not passionate about.

I feel bad for UPS, but I hardly planned on Gulfstream having another position available.

.

the fish they are implanting the stem cells are completely sterile from birth though so I guess it isn't much more harmful then what we do to humans in fertility clinics every day by giving drugs to couples that can't have children then after they go off the drug they have a multiple birth of 3-9 children

I guess what I am trying to say is maybe we as a complete society has always second guessed scientific advances calling them god like or witchcraft but after they have been in effect for 5-10 years then they are an acceptable practice remember less then 600 years ago the earth was flat and was the center of the universe and everything revolved around it

True. There is an immense amount of gray area in this debate, and that's my problem with choosing sides! I can understand and identify with both sides of the issue!

Hell, you can go so far as to say the entire medical profession is playing God.

hmmmm people having problems with this simple genetic procedure now sounds just like the same discussion people 30 years ago had about using genetics to better our tying hackle and look now not one of us has a problem using the results of that genetic procedure look in your fly tying materials and count how many different genetic procedures are in their to make the right size or color feather to better suit our tying needs talk about frivulous use of genetics atleast they are now trying to keep a healthy population of fish atleast they're not trying to make a chartruese bodied trout so its easier for fisherman to see or a more streamline trout so it moves better in the shallow waters sorry if I rambled on or upset anybody but atleast this might be a step into doing something good for the fisheries instead of destroying them think back 20 years ago at the numbers of fish we had compared to the present

The issue with this is that it goes beyond selective breeding. This is playing with stem cells to make Rainbow Trout produce Salmon babies. Totally unnatural.

I'd second any rod built by steeldrifter! My boy loves his (and put it to good use earlier today).

 

I fish the driftless area spring cricks and you'd only want that 6 wt. if you were hunting big 'uns with big streamers. The 9 foot length won't do you any favors, either.

 

I have a 6'9" 3 wt. (originally built for gills) that I use almost exclusively on the spring cricks and I like it a ton. I do plan to build myself a short 4 wt. this summer because sometimes I want a little more beef to throw smallish buggers and crayfish patterns.

 

The other advice I have for you on the driftless spring creeks is this: scuds. Tie them in a size 12 in shades of cream and orange. The creeks are filled with them. When in doubt, they're the way to go.

Thanks for the advice! I think I'm gonna be hitting up Steeldrifter for a 7' 4wt here in a couple months. That and I'm gonna hafta learn how to tie some scud patterns.

Actually I might hit him up when he gets back from the Salmon outing. I'd like to try to catch some Brookies up here this fall while they're all dressed up for their annual orgy.

It's cool that they can do all that stuff, But all it takes is one small mistake, Some little genetic flaw and you have a really big mess. Way to close to "Playing GOD"

 

 

 

Great topic title, LOL

Thought you might like that!

Burger King? McDonald's? Whaddaya thinkin?! Come on now, she deserves better than that! Treat her to a Six Dollar burger at Hardee's!

I stopped by a local Des Moines fly shop and was told about the Spring Creek trout fishing in Northeastern Iowa. Apparently short and light fly rods are the way to go (7' or 7'6" 3 or 4 weights). Currently my lightest fly rod is my 9' 6wt, which should be the cat's meow for the Smallmouth and Walleye streams up here but would probably be overdoing it for the small Spring Creeks.

What are some good small stream rods? Around $300 give or take $50 is my breaking point (preferably cheaper). Any reason to go for a 3 weight or a 4 weight? I'm thinking 4 weight to make my arsenal an even 4-6-8 weight. The Orvis TLS is one I saw in an Orvis catalog at the shop that looks promising. Part of me though wants to steer clear of Orvis so I can still say I'm not an "Orvis Whore".

It's interesting from a scientific standpoint but to me it seems like we're getting a little too involved in nature. Instead of spending money on research for this we should be spending money on natural conservation. Like cleaning up, enhancing and restoring cosystems so the species can survive naturally. But everyone has their own opinion and morals. Interesting topic.

Very good point. Using this instead of habitat restoration and cleaning up would be a travesty. It's a very interesting topic though. It is walking the "playing God" border.

To play Devil's Advocate, it's easy for you all to say "it's natural selection" if it's Sockeye Salmon in Utah and you live in Michigan. What if it was Great Lakes Steelhead or Salmon or Brown Trout that were in dire need of help? Would you all be more inclined to accept this if your all's favorite fish was in danger of going the way of the dodo in your area?

My intention isn't to ruffle feathers as I have some of the same fears that you all do. Some of the genetic engineering feats that we will soon be capable of (ie cloning, tweaking embryos for certain characteristics, etc...) scares the hell outta me. I'm just trying to fuel an intellectual conversation.

The ultimate (for me) would be to restore a healthy, thriving, naturally reproducing population of fish. When used with discretion and solely as a means to jumpstart a struggling species, AND in conjunction with other conservation and restoration projects that deal with habitat restoration and the like, I see this as a useful tool.

I do emphasize with discretion though. I would be against using this as a primary means of sustaining a population.

Check out this article I saw on Yahoo. A Japanese genetic engineer has successfully messed around with male Rainbow Trout stem cells to end up producing Japanese Masai Salmon that, when they spawn, end up producing fully functional Rainbow Trout! The trout even spawn (and spawn successfully). Japan is hoping to do this with Mackerel that produce Bluefin Tuna babies, and Utah (if I remember right) is now going to try this on Rainbow Trout in hopes of boosting their Sockeye Salmon population.

Cool Fish Conservation Potential Linky

Hey, I'm from Iowa. Although I'm a "Gopher" fan in Hawkeyeland. My friend and I are planning a trout outing the last weekend of Sept. i'll get back to you on the paticulars if you like, maybe meet up.

 

tim

Thanks! It all depends on the apartment situation though. UPS is only paying for my hotel through the month of September so I'm on a mad dash to find an apartment. If I find one this week and move in this weekend, I'm definitely in. It just depends though. I'm hoping to sign for one monday or tuesday.

I'll keep you updated by PM.

Thanks oldfart!