April 24, 2010 Trout Opener....Family Day!

This years trout opener found us at S. Twin Lake is the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Bluebird skies, brisk wind and short window to fish. Cecilia learned how to row the boat, Jack fished a wolly buger with no luck. We were surrounded by fish catching, power bait fishin, beer drinking camo clad anglers...made for a great afternoon.

New floor for the drift boat...EZ!

Wearing studded wading boots is a must on snotty bocci balls sized rocks of great rivers we fish. While they work great in the river, they wreek havoc on the floors of our boats. Rather than spending a bunch of money to repain with Zolatone, put down some industrial rubber kitchen mats. They are pretty cheap, I spent around $40 to do this project and it took about 45 minutes.

First get some rubber mats. Home Depot had them for $20 a piece


Second get the exacto knife and cut into long strips. That will fit into the floor of the boat.



If your mat has interlocking ends make sure to cut them so you can lock the pieces together for a better fit.Next, using a razor blade, begin to trim the rubber mats to the contour of the floor. This will be the slowest of the project. I removed the rowing station to make it easier to trim the mat.



Next, using a razor blade, begin to trim the rubber mats to the contour of the floor. This will be the slowest of the project. I removed the rowing station to make it easier to trim the mat. Trim to size and you are ready.



This works great for metal boats, fiberglass boats and rafts as well....

Tight Lines.

Fired Up the Smoker...

Busted out the Big Chief today and smoked up 3 lbs of salmon....

first batch is:
water
brown sugar
chopped onions
garlic
bay leaves
celery
salt
horse radish

second batch
water
soy sauce
garlic
orange juice
rooster sauce
red pepper
salt


smoked in Alder...

Will see how it goes...

Time to knock the dust off..

Well it was a great summer. The largest run of fish since they started tracking! It's been a long time since I have updated. I am in the process of cleaning off the tying desk and getting back at it...sending back gear for repair and replacement. Somethings to look forward to this month:

A side by side comparison of the Rio Launch vs. Airflo compact Skagit

How to Glove it an aluminum drift boat

An in depth review of the new Orvis Helios Spey Rod


Stay tuned....