Possibly the first known recorded act of human smuggling into the U.S. New screen name, "Iconn4Coyote".

A friend bought a brand new Z18 with a 175 pro xs. He had it about 6 hours. Picked it up that morning and he wanted me to fish a working man’s evening tournament in it with him. I told him I’d be at the lake about 10 minutes late and told him to start without me and I’ll call him when I got to the ramp. Well. I get there and call him. While I’m getting out my fishing pole and bag of senkos, I hear this boat hauling [censored] down the lake. It’s him. Wide open. Boat has about 10 minutes of run time on the motor. He comes in flying around the buoys and doesn’t let off the throttle nearly soon enough. The boat slid up the bank…almost to my truck door. I told him “it’s ok…I don’t mind walking down to the bank”
This brand new boat was an entire boat length OUT OF THE WATER!

There were a few people standing around, luckily, and a couple guys launching a John boat. Between 6 people and that John boat, we were able to turn the boat around, heading towards the water. We all pushed this boat to the water. The wetter the bank got, the harder it was to slide. We finally got the boat mostly in the water, so I suggested putting his Fortrex into the water, turn it in 100, while we pushed from the back. Inches at a time. Then WHOOSH! The boat took off across the lake without us.
He jumped in the John boat and they chased his boat. He jumped in and got his boat under control. Turned around and idled back to the bank to get me.

We wasted 1-1/2 hours getting the boat back into the water and still won the tourney.

The bottom of the boat looked exactly like you’d think it would. ROUGH.

The new motor and prop were scratch free. Somehow.

My friends boat still looks like new from the sides up….the bottom looks like he drug it down the highway.

I had a co-angler once that had fished as a non boater for several years and had never got in the money. I told him at the meeting I could probably get him a pretty good limit on topwater and he said he didn’t have any. I gave him an old beat up pop r, but I called it a popping f’n r. He catches a good limit, obviously is going to be high in the money, and they get him on stage and ask him what he caught them on and he said, “ RJ gave me a popping f***ing r”, the announcer thought he misheard him and made him say it again. I was so proud lol.

I would sure love to have a beer with RJ and hear more of his stories.

I am very sad that hotel story got deleted last year when they cleared all of our PM's.....

You would have to bring that up lol. A bunch of us will probably get together and go to the expo at the Classic, you’re welcome to join us and the beer will be flowing.

Steez's story reminds me of one along time ago at Ray Hubbard when Point Royal Marina was still there.

This is not really helping out a fisherman but rather helping out a boater.

A guys pulls up in the parking lot with a brand new walk-thru windshield pleasure boat. It was a pretty good sized boat maybe 22-23 feet with an inboard. It sat on a trailer with rollers. I guess he had seen guys unhook their bow eyes then back down the ramp. He unhooks the bow from the winch and gets in line to the ramp, wife & kids still in the truck. It is a busy weekend.

Finally it is his turn to back down. He gets lined up for the ramp and starts down the steep ramp. About 3/4 way down he taps his brakes. The boat slides off the trailer and onto the concrete ramp, out-drive still about 10 feet from the water. Now we really have a mess. It takes about 10 of us pushing to get the boat down the ramp into the water. I am fairly sure there are shards of gelcoat & fiberglass still on that ramp from his boat. He loads the boat back onto the trailer and leaves.

Another helping a boater story - Was on Ray Roberts in the early days and coming back to the ramp I ran across three guys in a runabout, floating in the middle of the lake, just sitting on the bench seat in the runabout. There was no motor. They could speak very little English but I was able to get out of them that the "motor fell off."

Towed them back to the ramp and they loaded up the boat and left. Ought to be a good fish attractor if I could only remember where it was.

Helping a boat owner (not fisherman). I was at Ray Roberts a number of years ago. I had launched my boat and had to park my trailer (I was alone). As I parked my trailer (Isle DuBois) I was walking back to the ramp and there was this young woman in her truck cab towing an empty trailer crying her eyes out. I asked what the problem was but soon realized what the problem was. She had jack knifed the trailer and did not know how to fix it. The lot was very crowded and other tow trucks/vehicle's were honking at her to move.

I asked where the boat was and she said at the ramp. Her husband had backed their ski boat in an told her to park the trailer. It was obvious to me she had no idea how to park it. I asked her if I could park it for her. I thought she might kiss me and said yes. I got it parked and she was very thank full (no not that kind of thankful you horney toads). As we walked down to the docks her husband was yelling at her for taking so long. Was thinking to myself, I hope (bet) he does not get any for a long time.

I have parked and or recovered many trailers and boats over the years mostly at Ray Roberts but also at Lewisville and Ray Hubbard.

Yeh. I might have sunk a dudes boat once….pulling them back to the ramp. Thank goodness the rope was tied to it. His John boat took a nose dive and the rope kept the nose down. It swamped it and it was dragging the bottom of the lake all the way to the ramp.

But….he eventually got it back on dry land and drained.

It would surface, like a bad chatterbait, then roll over a dive again….like a 10xd.

Yeh. I might have sunk a dudes boat once….pulling them back to the ramp. Thank goodness the rope was tied to it. His John boat took a nose dive and the rope kept the nose down. It swamped it and it was dragging the bottom of the lake all the way to the ramp.

But….he eventually got it back on dry land and drained.

It would surface, like a bad chatterbait, then roll over a dive again….like a 10xd. [/quote]

I'd love to see the video of THAT one!!

I have one that happened to my Uncle Steve, my Pops, and I.

My Uncle Steve and my Pops found a great deal on 14' v bottom boat w/ 10 hp motor. They decided to split the costs and get a crappie rig for fishing the SoCal lakes. Our maiden voyage was to be on El Capitan. El Cap has 2 ramp areas high water / low water level. The lake was using the high water level ramp which was very long but not necessarily steep. My uncle Steve drove as his truck was 4x4 and had an extended cab so I could ride. Steve backed the boat to the ramp where my Pops and I jumped out and started to prep the launching rope and prime the motor. My uncle backed the boat the water and launched with success. It was almost like we knew what the heck we were doing.

As I'm standing there with back rope in my hand, I started to notice the boat get heavy on the rope. I look down and see that the rear of the boat is about 1' from going under. I yell to my dad who was talking with another boater. Pops forgot to put in the plug! I'm now frantically attempting to pull the boat, water, etc. to the ramp as we were in 10-12' of water. I get the boat to the ramp and start sprinting up hill on the very steep long ramp. Get to my uncle who and tell him to get the truck down there ASAP. After the 3 of us morons get the boat 1/2 on the trailer, we empty the water, put in the drain plug, and launch again. Luckily we didn't kill the battery or get water in the gas tank.

That would be the time where it took 10’tries to back back down the ramp.

That same year, same place, I am paddling in from offshore and see a guy struggling... find out later he is from Columbia, just bought a small kayak and big Penn rod and reel with what looked like 80 lb braid... first time out in a kayak, not wearing a vest, dragging about 10 lbs of sea weed attached to his bait.. He had his scupper plugs in so he had a cockpit full of water, his drag was set so tight he would have been flipped if he had hooked something big..

Nice guy, had a lawn service business, spoke decent English... and we paddled in the rest of the way.. Encouraged him to fish inshore at first until he figured out what kayak fishing and paddling was all about. Invited him to join me a few days later in Chokolosskee, Everglades on the west coast of Florida as it was much safer than Flamingo, much more civilized and hard bottom if you needed to get out, and no crocodiles, and not nearly as many sharks. He shows up at nice resort we are going to launch from in a big box truck.. which he carried all his lawn equipment and his kayak... unpainted, eyesore, front row parking... we get on the water quick and make it out to the oyster bars...

I let him use one of my spinning rods as his pawn shop Penn Squidder wasnt really going to work throwing plastic baits... I am catching redfish and snook, he is learning... finally he hooks a good one and begs me to take rod and land it for him so he doesnt lose it. Get the fish, take picture with him holding it, and then release it as it is over the slot.. he is pi$$ed.. but keeps fishing... we get separated and meet back up later.. he has a bucket full of undersized reds and snook... which I had to release for him... he was livid.. I tried to explain the slot, the reason for it... he was looking at his dinner swimming off... he left mad, never spoke to him again.


all smiles before letting him know we had to release it...