Took my boat out last Monday for the first time this season. Made a run up a local creek. When I beached my boat on a favorite gravel bar everything looked perfect. Water was 64.4 degrees with a slight stain and moving well, the baro at 30.15, clear sky with a light breeze, just enough to ripple the surface. Little frogs were jumping in the water ahead of me as I walked the bar to the pool above. Schools of baitfish were hold up over a sand bottom in the shallows of the pool and I could see sand bass moving up stream through the riffles at the bottom of the pool. Spawning fish were circling in the deeper water above the riffles. I dropped a size six green over white clouser into the pool and immediately was into a fish. For the next two and a half hours I got a strike on almost every cast, some I hooked, some I missed and some I lost during the fight but, a strike on just about every cast. I typically don't keep count of how many fish I catch. I get distracted to easily - taking pictures, watching birds, goofing around with frogs and turtles - and I loose count after about three. If I had to guess I would say I landed about thirty. It doesn't really matter though, the number, I caught plenty for me. So much so that I decided to quite early so I could take my time getting to work for the evening shift. There is only so many pics you can take of a sand bass and my are was getting tired wrestling them on my four weight.






















I shoved of the gravel bar, cranked up the engine and brought the boat up on plane. I got about a quarter of a mile down stream when it sounded like the engine was thrown into neutral. I looked back to see what I had hit but the water was clean. The graph read seventeen feet deep and a smooth bottom. The just wouldn't go into gear. I found out later the drive shaft had snapped in two. Probably from all the other stuff I have hit over the years, finally just vibrated through. I called a work buddy that has a boat. Bradly said he would be there as soon as he could. About forty five minutes later I his boat running up towards me. He gets about two hundred yards from me and the boat noses over. I called him to ask if he was o.k. He tells me HIS engine died and wouldn't start. Now both of us are floating around and have to be at work before long. After thirty minutes of trolling down stream another boat comes along and tows us both back in. We made it to work by the skin of our teeth.

You must have caught a few too many fish or not been gentle enough getting the hooks out.;)

Sounds like a great day till the end.
All that maintenance on the rods/reels over the winter looks like it paid off.
Too bad you could not tell the drive shaft had a problem when getting the boat ready.
My kayak has never given me a bit of engine trouble
Glad you made it to work on time, sorry such a memorable day had to end as it did.
You have done a lot of work on the john boat, looks very nice.

Ha! Yea, i should have KNOWN filming that part about the boat maintenance was just jinxing myself. Taking that boat into the places i take it, breaking stuff is just part of the game. Still was a heck of a morning though.

I love this one.

Fantastic post as always. Thanks for sharing.

Yep! Sweet pics and read!

That�s a sweet rig you have there. Reminds me of one I had years ago. Light enough to pull
over the first rapids in the Guad above Canyon. It was just me and the bass after that.

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I have to be careful down on the coast. It will run in shallower water than it will FLOAT in. I've had to push it a long way a few times.