I was all jazzed up on Friday to pull an all nighter into Saturday morning. It's early fall so my thoughts of finding some bass on the outgoing tide at one of my favorite "Out Back" spots seemed like a good idea. High tide was at 1030 ish some not too bad. But if I really wanted good moving water and the ability to walk and wade I'd have to stay till after 1 am. By 8 o'clock I started to lose my mo-jo.
It's the same old risk vs gain conversation I had in my head. And it really didn't have anything to do with catching as I'm more into the hunt than anything else. But let's say I went, got home before 5 am, then my Saturday is shot. And as you get older that "shot" really lasts a few days. Would it pay to piss off the Mrs. this early in the season. Would it be worth throwing off my sleep-wake cycle for a what-if"? I must be getting soft in my old age.
I settled for a good nights sleep but did wake up early and hit the Delaware for a half-hearted effort. It was the start of the outgoing and the river was running 4850 cfs, which is low, and at 68 degrees, which is good. Starting with my first cast every time I'd cast I'd pick up some kind of cabbage during the retrieve. Outside of a few leaping sturgeon there was nothing to see and after about an hour the drain plug was pulled and the water was lost.
On the boat bass front it looks like some bigger fish are starting to show themselves for the start of the fall run. They've been in the channels and deeper water all summer but with temps dropping, bait
moving, and the migratory pull starting to warm up, the fish are starting to eat, and move. Last year the first big showing of fish were the jumbos that happened mid-October. I was lucky enough to catch it one a few days. I caught it, but not them. But half of the fun is just being there early before the crowds show up. That's still a month or so away so hopefully there will be a trickle of fish showing as the bait migrates in the meantime.
The other reason I didn't want to be a mess by fishing all night is working on the pickup project. In true me fashion this all started in June shortly after I got back from Martha's Vineyard. While it may look okay in the pic above the bed was dented and scratched and starting to rust. At 265,000 miles what could I do to this truck that would decrease it's market value. So I went over to the scrap yard and we
tipped it over exposing all the damage from 20 + years of Northeast weather and road brine and salt. If you ever want to know how your old-ass ride is really holding up just take a peek underneath. I got out
some power tools and started to get rid of the flakes and bring them down and put on a fresh coat of POR 15. This rust encapsulating paint goes for $75 a quart but allegedly really extends a metals life. My brother did some metal work and we reinforced a few areas on the frame where the rust had called home. I used old OSHA scaffolding plank my family used for bridge construction for the bed and sideband had them cut to a close length before building a new bed and sides earlier this week.
That brought me to this weekend. I had to tackle the lights switching from OEM taillights to finding a place and installing flush LED's. I'm no mechanic, or electrician, so what may have taken someone with a brain 2 hours only took me six. So as I always do I could complete yet another project about 85% and then let the ADHD
kick in and go find another one to start. But I'm almost done. Besides the rear bumper, which will be made out of a 10 inch channel, it's just finishing up the wiring and a few tie-downs. The last step
last step will be the bumper installation which calls for some cutting, bolting and welding. I'm hoping to get that done before the leaves start to fall and the fishing picks up. It would be nice to have a project 100% done for once in my life.
