Hell, that's the best part about spring.

I'll be the guy in the lawn chair with the cooler of beer down by the boat ramp getting my fill of "new boat owner" entertainment. Yes, I mean you seadoo dad who drops his PWC right there in the parking lot because he prematurely released the bow line before backing up.

I love the sound of cracking fiberglass in the morning, it sounds like...victory!

Can't wait...

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz222/bassdreamer_photos/100_0277.jpg?t=1267983581

Here's the first (and only) fish out of the new boat. It was surprisingly tough fishing yesterday.....carolina rigged lizard in 25ft of water.

you can't catch more than 1 if you don't boat that 1st fish..

Congrats on the new ride!

@ Team Heineken

I lived on a Houseboat in Virginia when I was in the Military, It was quality entertainment to take a 6-pack & perch pole to the end of the dock & watch people attempt to launch boats!

If anybody has been in the military, they will understand... I watched a guy pull up with his Station Wagon & Jon Boat w/15hp Johnson on trailer, Rented it from Outdoor Rec on post. He went through the routines, plug, straps, lights, etc... then he started backing...
His 1st attempt was way too fast, jackknifed the trailer into his bumper. What baffled me next was he got out & stood there a good 5 minutes studying what had occurred. I pinned him as being an Officer, way too analytical. He made 20-30 attempts at the ramp, every time it would jackknife, he would get out and study it, It probably didn't help that I was about to fall off the dock from laughter and calling my buddies to come watch!
He FINALLY got the boat in the water ,Trailer Jackknifed, but at least the motor was in the water. he hooked up the fuel line and started cranking...and cranking....and cranking... He was only about 20' from me at this point so I hollered at him to squezze the black bulb until it was tight... He threw me a dirty look, cranked it about 6 more times, then he began to study the bulb.... finally giving it a couple pumps.... then he started cranking again... So I hollered at him to Pull the Choke out... he wouldn't look at me at this point, he was staring at the choke knob, finally he choked it and about 3 pulls later got it started.... The next logical thing would be unhook the Bow strap... He threw it in Reverse and started givin it gas, which caused the motor to jump up, so he flipped the "Lockdown" lever... and gunned it some more, then he realized bow strap.... So he unhooks the Bow Strap, obviously fuming at our laughter ... throws it in reverse and guns it... wide open, off the trailer and into a dock pole... Obviously he had enough, he threw it back in gear, gunned it back on the trailer, hooked the bow strap up (that was a miracle in itself) and laid into the throttle of his station wagon, burning tires up the ramp, as he left the parking lot in a cloud of dust, the Boat was sitting at a 45* angle on 1 bunkboard & fender... Never saw him again.....

I watched a guy & his buddy 1 morning pull down the ramp & they were getting the boat ready for launch, he had a 2WD explorer and bragging to his buddy (loudly) how fast the 200 Merc would make his boat fly, The ramp was slick and there was a nice slick moss growth in the water, His buddy backed him down and he fired up the motor and was motioning for his friend to keep backing up, well... His friend back the tires into the water & slime just as he started revving it up to get it off the trailer while looking over his shoulder... he drug the Explorer about 5' into the water & the Outboard started lifting out of the water before he realized the Bow Strap was attatched! The Explorers back tires were completely under water & water was about 6" up the rear doors already!

He had to use the Outboard & Bass Boat to "launch" the Explorer back onto Dry land! The Boyancy of the boat was floating the back of the Explorer!

Now THAT was quality Springtime entertainment~

Thanks Doug. I'm going with the theory that all the other bass will be bigger-got the little one out of the way!

Congrats bassdreamer...

Glad to see someone's living the dream!

I dream of zx200's hitting wake, jumping in the air over the fence like sheep, then gracefully hitting the water...carolina-rigged brush hog accidentally falling into the water and catching largemouth.... over and over and over....

...then I take off at 2am to fish for an hour and come home because I can't sleep.... SICKO!

I always go to Texoma on Memorial day and one year my boat was in the shop due to a major beating it took on Easter w/e. We had a campsite near the ramp at the Lighthouse and after I got over not having the boat I just enjoyed the theatrics on the ramp. The Lighthouse ramp is a good combination of tight, long, and fairly steep. It is steep enough that you definitley do not unhook until you are in the water.

First decent warm week and Fork is going to be a mess at the publice ramps.

+1 i can load and unload my 21' pontoon faster by myself than some guys w/ bass boats at the ramp.

Is it too much to ask for you to PM me next time you're going out alone? I'd be glad to fetch beers as payment for the trip... hahahahahaha