I"m Stranded !!

If you have lumber …. I think you’ll be okay ;-)

We don’t own our toys. They own us. THAT much, I’ve decided is true :-)

-- -- Neil

Climb into the front seat of the boat, throw out a line(no lures required) pop a beer and enjoy the peace and solitude nature has to offer.

-- Life is good.

I’ll come get you to go to town in two weeks maybe longer:)

-- A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body

I like Howie’s suggestion….

-- "Everything that is great and inspiring is created by the individual who labors in freedom" -- Albert Einstein

Red Green would put duct tape around the prop and trailer axle and drive it to the lake.

-- You can lead a horse to water, but you can't tie his shoes. Blaze Foley

Good one hairy! Haven’t seen old Red in a long time. Liked his show.

-- Life is good.

Hey Wayne,

That looks like a Ranger 519 or 520 Commanche with a 225-250 Mercury Optimax(?). Also looks like a MinnKota Maxxium 74 or 80 pound thrust trolling motor. I recoginize Ranger Boats, cause I’ve been running them for years. I’m currently running a Ranger 491 Special order w/ a 225 Opti Max and MinnKota 80 p.t. t4olling motor. I use to fish for Ranger years ago, and fish Pro-Am and FLW Stren tournaments. So I know what it’s like to be down without a boat and tow vehicle…I’ve been both ways on that road. Do you ever fish Lake Minitonka for smallies? Hope you’re back on the water soon…...Look at my avatar and you’ll see I like Rangers…...

-- " There's a better way.....find it"...... Thomas Edison.

Thank your lucky wooden stars that you still have the truck and boat, even if they aren’t doing you much good at the present moment.
I gave up my truck over a year ago because my back won’t allow me to drive a standard anymore. I now have a blazer. It will pull my boat, but little to no bed hauling capacity.
For several reasons, mostly financial, I now have my Bass Tracker up for sale for less than I have in it.
Maybe I can just give it a few weeks and come fishing with you?

-- http://wddsrfinewoodworks.blogspot.com/

Yep, very lucky to have the stuff that I do William.

Hey Rick, the boat is a Ranger 620 VS Limited Edition with a 250 Mercury Optimax and a Merc 9.9 4 Stroke Pro-Kicker. My trolling motor is a Minn Kota Terrova I-Pilot. I love this boat. It really goes (65-70 mph) and the trolling motor is really cool too. I have two Lowrance Sonars, and recently added the Humminbird 1198. I am planning on getting out on the water this Friday if all goes well with the truck….hope to have the truck back any day now.

Great on the 491 and fishing for Ranger. That sounds like a blast. I havent fished in tournaments but it sounds like fun. I havent gotten over to Lake Minnetonka for quite a while. Its only about 3 miles from me but its gotten full of millfoil and zebra mussels so its turning into a bad place to go. Plus its a big party lake on weekends. I’m retired so I usually go out during the week and beat the traffic. I have been to quite a few lakes, but in Minnesota and over 10,000 of them I have a few to go :-)

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

Morning Wayne,
Just setting here drinking coffee, and was reading your reply on your boat. Thanks for the information. It sounds like a great ride. Isn’t the 620 VS a Fisherman Series? I should know these things, as I only live 8 miles from the Ranger Boats MFG. plant in Flippin, Arkansas….lol. But I just mainly keep up with the bass rigs. Your’s is about 20’-4 inches long, right? You know the right electronics to use…lol. Can’t got wrong with Lowrance. Is the Hummingbird 1198 a “Side Finder”? I have a Lowrance X-130 on the bow, and a Lowrance X-17 with GPS on the dash, and a Lowrance in-dash flasher(which I never use). Some of these guys that fish the tournaments have “over-kill” with some of the electronics they put on their boats. The fish don’t have a chance…..lol. They spend thousands of $$$ just on electronics alone, and I normanly catch just as many, if not more fish than they do…..:)). Tournament fishing is a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work, too. You need at least 2-3 days of practice time to find the fish. I try to hit about 10-12 spots a day in practice. If I can get one good keeper bite from 5 of those places, I’ll usually (but not always) draw a check. But I’ve been hendered from fishing the last couple of years due to knees and a recent hip replacement. By the time I get healed up enough to get back at it…...I’ll be too old…..lol. I love my boat,too. It’s 21’- 6”, and a single console. I like the extra room for my partners to store their rods and gear. I have 2—32 gallon tanks, and 64 gallons of gas is a lot of gas to haul around, and very costly these days. But all the partners chip in $30-40 dollars for gas, so it’s not too bad. It helps to off-set your expenses. By the time you drive to the lakes, motels, eats, gas, baits, etc., it gets a little costly. But brother, is it fun, like you said. I live on beautful Bull Shoals Lake, and we don’t have millfoil or mussels, cause it’s too deep, clear, and cold.. A couple of the lakes we use to fish did have millfoil and hydrilla. I liked fishing these,cause it’s a good place for the fish to hide in the shade. But… you have to learn how to fish the grass, especially in hot weather….You need to try fishing a couple of local tournaments…I think you would really enjoy it. Have fun, and think of me when you get into a big one…..lol. Oh…one more thing: You must troll for walleye with the Merc 9.94 Stroke Kicker. And my woodworking is on hold ,too for a while. I hope my machines and tools aren’t rusting over….lol:))

-- " There's a better way.....find it"...... Thomas Edison.

Hi Rick,

Yes, the 620 is the deep hull dual consol Fisherman series. My boat is a 2007. It works great in the deep and rough water which we have plenty of here. I hear you on the electronics…I sometimes wonder if I have over done it myself, but its cool stuff…ha ha ha. The boat is 20’ 3” to be exact. The 1198 has the side scan, switchfire scan etc. along with GPS. Its quite a unit. The image is just like a picture. The big selling point for me though, was the screen size (10.4 inches.) I need something I can see at my age. Its mounted on the top of the drivers console. I also have a Lowrance 332 in the drivers console, and one at the bow. The other console has the AM/FM/CD player and VHF radio. The Minn Kota I-Pilot works off one of the Lowrance’s. I primarily use the Minn Kota for trolling. I can get a couple of days worth out of the batteries. I use the kicker for a back-up motor mostly. Its amazing how well that little Minn Kota moves that boat. The neat thing about the Minn Kota is that it has an anchor function so if you are trolling and start getting hits, you can just hit anchor and the Minn Kota goes into a hold pattern off the GPS and keeps the boat in the same spot so you dont have to use the regular anchor and waste time. It also follows waypoints etc. I can use a remote control with it too, so I can sit in another part of the boat and operate it. I sometimes wonder if I have all these things to catch fish, or to just have fun…kind of like my shop.

Your boat sounds great. Thats a pretty big boat at over 21 ft. Sounds like you live on the lake. Do you trailer it much? The problem I run into is if I dont have a good launch, its easy to get stuck. The boat weights about 3000 lbs with the motors so I cant just muscle it around. Its great having the large gas tank. I am not quite as big as you, but I have a 51 gallon tank. Its nice until you have to fill it. :-) I bet the tourny fishing does take a lot of time, but I guess if you like fishing, its worth it. Sorry to hear you have been sidelined for a bit. Hope you can back on the water soon. I would imagine the bounching boat wouldnt do too good with hip trouble. I will have to try the tourneys. I usually go with friends or my kids or brother. They have been good too helping with the expense. Since I am retired, it helps a lot. I can easily blow nearly $300 on gas for the boat and truck on a fill.

My truck is a 1999 Silverado. Its all custom with a 6” lift, Corvette engine, and 35 inch tires, special gears. Its a great truck and looks like new. It was starting to get some rust on the rocker panels so I took it in to have it fixed. I just have 140,000 miles on it. They just called and said it would be ready this Thursday…another two days to wait.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

You have a boat and no water, I live on the river (st.croix) and don’t have a boat.
Good luck, hopefully things get fixed up soon so you can enjoy the nice weather.

I live on the river. I have a truck. I have a boat. Sometimes the truck runs,sometimes the boat runs. Sometimes they both run. Both are old and no payments so can’t complain. I have found the best solution to malfunctioning equipment is a $2.99 lawn chair that I put into the river along the bank and sit on. Sadly I don’t spend enough time in the river. I need to do it more often. :)

-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."

I’ll bet he had the boat for 5 weeks because he was fishing with it!!

As for supplies…order a pizza and have the delivery guy stop and pick up the woodworking supplies on his way out there!!

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

Thought my Hubby was the sweetest guy in the world when he ran to the bank to get the cash needed to buy the truck I wanted!
Yea right!
Now his truck sits, camper on, with the boat hooked up, 24/7! No more taking the camper off for hay season or hauling stuff! He can pack his bags and go fishing whenever! And if his truck is broke, he can use my truck to pull the boat! (minus the camper, mine is a flatbed)
An IF, (that’s a big if) his best bud the boat mechanic can’t fix his boat when needed, they can take his buds boat!!!
Not really complaining, he brought home some Sturgeon Sunday, good stuff!