Don't know when the stripers follow the bait down the coast, but I decided to start a log of the temperatures for future understanding of striper migration.
Location Date
10/24
Sandy Hook, NJ 60
Cape May, NJ 66
Lewes, DE 63
Ocean City, MD 64
CBBT, VA 65
Kiptopeke, VA 66
Got a few round to its accomplished. Mounted the tie down, greased the hubs (one had white that indicates a mix of water from inside the hub, maybe open it and regrease before I leave, but have a spare rebuilt hub assembly) pulled a new line between the stern starboard hatch and the console. The old one got hung and couldn't run it either way. Lubed the steering zerks and those on the motor. Have one spare tire mounted and will carry a second in the truck. Need to put the trailer axle jack in the truck before I forget.
Plan to take the Kerr striper gear off the boat and remove the bait tank today. Need to mostly remove the cover that is keeping the leafs out of the boat. Should install the eel tubes (1-1/4 PVC as shown in photos).
The batteries check OK, 2 - 12 volt for the Trolling Motor, 1 - 12 volt for the sonar, 2 - 12 volt start batteries. I have a perko switch on the start batteries and only run one, leaving the other in reserve. All other electronics run off the start battery as the motor charges while underway. Need to check Nav lights. Have two torches, one fully charged and the other works only off boat battery. I have a third torch that needs to be charged.
Likely I'll discover additional round to its as the day wears on.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The link is finally broken, cut off . . .
The frozen link is cut and a new ratchet tie down will be installed. Just another small round to it needed for the upcoming Kiptopeke adventure.
By golly, some very old tools work just
fine today. The rebar cutter shown
below is at least 40 years young.
Most bit the dust trying to cut Japanese
rebar.
Got my truck back and the pad wear indicator wasn't the problem. It was some kind of gimble bearing ( electric that works the 4X4) and lightened my wallet by near $500. Wonder why prep for Kiptopeke always seems to involve expensive truck mainteneance/repair.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Only 32 days to wait . . .
Made it to the BISC meeting in Henderson, NC only to find a handful of fishermen interested in keeping the club running. No discussion of Kiptopeke fishing. Guess that's in another world and a different time.
The travel to the BISC meeting takes me about 60 miles cross country and frequently I get lost near Henderson as the GPS usually leads me around in circles. But this trip was different as I had a rumble strip sound occuring frequently all the way to the meeting. Leaving the Golden Corral felt like something was grabbing and breaking loose. Resumed the rumble strip when I got out of the lot. At home, I thought I would lose the truck on the road, but it made it into the driveway. Next day, crawled under to see any obvious defect. Now think it is a wear indicator completely shot and killing the rotor. The shop down the street will let me know in the morning. If not, I'll need to go to the dealership for a diagnosis/repair. :(
Water at Kiptopeke Beach is 69 degrees and at the CBBT it's 68. Not cold enough up North to drive the bait South. Maybe arriving at Kiptopeke too early for the COWS. Tidalfish.com isn't giving much in the way of current fishing reports. http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/AN/632.html can provide daily wind, wave, water temp, at several locations near the mouth of the bay, including Kiptopeke. Another link that seldom works for me is http://stripertracker.com/ Think it only gives striper information for the lower Delaware coastal area.
Still got hubs to lube, new tie-down to install, motor lube to do and maybe a visit to the boat shop to evaluate motor needs. Been 3 years since it's been checked. I have been careful to use only alcohol free fuel, use startron, seafoam, and a Yamaha decarbon additive. Two new start batteries in the aft hatch and replaced one of the trolling motor batteries. The boat is rally gungy and I'm sure the stripers would never suspect that I'm a pro looking for them.
Got my annual statewide pass for the VA State Parks. For a handicap senior, the annual pass is $44. A good deal with the launch fees going up all the time.Yet, for Kerr, ya need an annual pass for the Corps ramps in VA and a Dept of Nat Resources annual pass for the NC ramps. Really easy to get things mixed up. Too bad they can't get together and have one placard!
While Ramrod plans to be at Kiptopeke during the same period that I am, he just finished should surgery and may not be fully recovered in time for the COWS. Sure hope so as he knows where they hide.
Other frequent fishermen are lodging from Smith Beach, well above Cape Charles and scattered all the way to Sunset Beach Resort. Ha, ha, like providing info about stripers, few will provide exact locations for their lodging. Yet, sharing on the water for safety is of critical importance for me.
The travel to the BISC meeting takes me about 60 miles cross country and frequently I get lost near Henderson as the GPS usually leads me around in circles. But this trip was different as I had a rumble strip sound occuring frequently all the way to the meeting. Leaving the Golden Corral felt like something was grabbing and breaking loose. Resumed the rumble strip when I got out of the lot. At home, I thought I would lose the truck on the road, but it made it into the driveway. Next day, crawled under to see any obvious defect. Now think it is a wear indicator completely shot and killing the rotor. The shop down the street will let me know in the morning. If not, I'll need to go to the dealership for a diagnosis/repair. :(
Water at Kiptopeke Beach is 69 degrees and at the CBBT it's 68. Not cold enough up North to drive the bait South. Maybe arriving at Kiptopeke too early for the COWS. Tidalfish.com isn't giving much in the way of current fishing reports. http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/AN/632.html can provide daily wind, wave, water temp, at several locations near the mouth of the bay, including Kiptopeke. Another link that seldom works for me is http://stripertracker.com/ Think it only gives striper information for the lower Delaware coastal area.
Still got hubs to lube, new tie-down to install, motor lube to do and maybe a visit to the boat shop to evaluate motor needs. Been 3 years since it's been checked. I have been careful to use only alcohol free fuel, use startron, seafoam, and a Yamaha decarbon additive. Two new start batteries in the aft hatch and replaced one of the trolling motor batteries. The boat is rally gungy and I'm sure the stripers would never suspect that I'm a pro looking for them.
Got my annual statewide pass for the VA State Parks. For a handicap senior, the annual pass is $44. A good deal with the launch fees going up all the time.Yet, for Kerr, ya need an annual pass for the Corps ramps in VA and a Dept of Nat Resources annual pass for the NC ramps. Really easy to get things mixed up. Too bad they can't get together and have one placard!
While Ramrod plans to be at Kiptopeke during the same period that I am, he just finished should surgery and may not be fully recovered in time for the COWS. Sure hope so as he knows where they hide.
Other frequent fishermen are lodging from Smith Beach, well above Cape Charles and scattered all the way to Sunset Beach Resort. Ha, ha, like providing info about stripers, few will provide exact locations for their lodging. Yet, sharing on the water for safety is of critical importance for me.
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