What's Your Good-Luck Charm?

Back in the day, it was nothing unusual for young girls to carry a 4-leaf clover in their wallets (see photo right), and/or to have a penny in the loafers (see photo below) they wore. Boys, meanwhile, often would walk around with a rabbit's foot (see photo right, about halfway down) in their pockets or tied around their necks. Heck, ol' "swivel hips," none other than Elvis "the Pelvis" Presley himself, even recorded a hit tune entitled "Good Luck Charm" in late 1961.

"So, what does all this have to do with fishin'?" perhaps you're asking. Well, for some, it probably has no connection whatever. After all, I've heard some dudes remark, "I make my own luck." Or, if they're really sure of themselves, they'll say something like, "I don't need any luck, 'cause I'm good at everything I do."

If that's you, I say, "More power to ya." I, however, will gladly accept every little piece of good luck I can sequester in my corner, especially when it comes to fishin'. And, I'm not alone in thinking that way, either. Many anglers carry something either on themselves or in their tacklebox that serves as a good-luck charm.

Some anglers claim it's their faded, rusty, smelly, sweat- and blood-stained fishin' hat that's their ticket to the winner's circle. I read about one such fella, Mike Cork, who explained that his fishin' hat stays in the boat.

"It doesn't get worn around town, doesn't get shown off at morning registrations, and doesn't even get to go to weigh-ins," said this owner and manager of the Ultimate Bass website, adding, "but when the Mercury Pro XS fires off, she knows it's her turn." For what? "For boosting my confidence, taking the punishment of a missed fish, cooling my head on a hot day, and keeping the rain out of my eyes. All year long, she's crammed in rod lockers and boat compartments, blown into lakes and rivers, thrown in the floor of the boat and stomped on, as well as cussed and fussed at. She's also used to swat at wasps and bees. Yet, just like a good huntin' dog that hears a shotgun blast, my hat jumps at the call of bass fishin', especially on tournament days."

The good-luck charm for pro angler, Keith Poche, is a buckeye, which a friend once gave him. He always carries it in his pocket. Said Poche, "It does give me confidence, but I know God is the one in charge."

For Michigan pro, Kevin VanDam, it's the chocolate-chip cookies his wife bakes for each tournament day. He makes it a point to share the cookies with Davey Hite and his nephew, Jonathan. Incidentally, Davey used to have his own charm--a pair of boxer shorts, which he wore every day when fishing a major tournament--after washing, of course. He eventually had to toss the shorts but replaced them with a pair of old, rusty pliers his granddad used when teaching Davey how to fish.

Former Federation angler and 1994 Classic Champ, the late-Bryan Kerchal, also had a good-luck charm. It came about as a result of his fishing a May 21, 1994, Connecticut Federation tournament with Roy Rickis of Windsor, CT. Roy had carried a 4-and-one-half-inch whistle (see photo left), shaped like a fish, for several years as a good-luck piece. When Bryan started pulling in big keeper fish, Roy started blowing the whistle. Bryan got a big kick out of what Roy was doing, and at day's end, Roy suggested that Bryan carry the fish whistle to the Bassmasters Classic, where he blew it twice every time he landed a fish.

The whistle became Bryan's trademark during his inspirational victory (see photo right). Almost two weeks later, he autographed the whistle, with plans to return it, but Roy suggested that Bryan keep it until after he had defended his title.

As we all know, though, less than five months later, on Dec. 13, 1994, Bryan died in a plane crash in Morrisville, NC. The airline subsequently returned his personal possessions in one of its bags, but the whistle didn't appear to be among the contents, which led to speculation it had disappeared in the crash.

In June 1995, however, as Bryan's mom was getting ready for a trip to Florida, she emptied the airline bag for her own use and found the whistle among a smaller bag full of fishing lures. That original whistle subsequently served as a model to produce similar whistles for sale to collectors, fishing enthusiasts, and those who had been inspired by Bryan. The first duplicate, along with the original, then was returned to Roy Rickis.

The Bryan Kerchal Memorial Fish Whistle includes an exact copy of everything Bryan wrote on the original whistle. Proceeds from sales have benefited the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Fund, Inc., which is dedicated to assisting youth-oriented fishing programs. (FYI: At one point, copies of these whistles were available for sale from http://www.bryankerchalfund.org/, but that doesn't appear to be the current case. However, I did find a few for sale on ebay, usually with a price tag of $30 each.)

I would talk about the superstitious beliefs held by some anglers, but because there are those who say that doing so may bring bad luck, I choose not to address that topic. After all, bad luck already finds me far too often, as it is. Why hang myself out there for a double whammy?

Got the Wintertime Blues? Maybe These Will Help

If one thing rings true about most fishing trips, it's that you never know what's going to happen from one time to the next. The short stories that follow are a testament to that fact.

I've purposely deleted all names. However, I assure you that none of these tales are mine. Accordingly, be equally assured that I cannot vouch for the authenticity of any statements made herein. I leave it to each of you to decide for yourself what you want to believe and/or dismiss as just a figment of someone's imagination.

At the very least, though, these tales/stories/whatever should serve as a distraction from the winter blues that may be affecting a few of you. I hope you enjoy.

One night when I was 15, my dad and I were night fishing at a local lake when a pickup showed up and started circling the lake. It made 20 or 30 trips around the 3-mile perimeter. My dad was a cop, so this kind of behavior immediately peaked his interest. There were no cellphones back then, so we just waited and watched. Suddenly, we saw the driver stop, pull a rolled-up carpet from the back of the truck, and toss it into the lake.

My dad didn't even reel up our lines; he and I just high-tailed it over there. The truck took off but not before Dad got the license-tag number. We dragged the carpet out of the lake, thinking a body surely would be inside it. However, Dad started laughing, then said, "Son, we hit the mother lode." Inside the carpet were nine rifles and shotguns.

We packed up all of them and headed into town to call the sheriff's office. Turned out the weapons weren't stolen as we suspected. Instead, a mad, jealous wife had decided to exact a little revenge on her two-timing hubby.

We never went night fishing again after that episode.

A friend and I were scouting out a golf course for some night fishing. As we approached the water's edge this particular night, we saw a weird shape in the water about 20 feet away from where we were standing. We "assumed" (and I urge you to remember what usually happens to people who make this mistake) it was just a goose or something. We decided to get a little closer, and then, for grins and giggles, asked, "What's up?" Imagine our fright when a voice answered.

Of all things, a dude was snorkeling for golf balls at 2 o'clock in the morning.

While night fishing from a canoe, with no moonlight, I heard a loud splash and saw something large in the water about 30 feet or so in front of me. It scared the crap out of me, so I started back-paddling as fast as I could go. Curiosity overcame me, though, and I just had to stop paddling long enough to switch on a light. The large object turned out to be a horse that had gotten out of its stable up the road.

I was fishing below a bridge when I heard a car screeching its tires moments before leaving the roadway and going airborne into the river just below me. I ran downstream and got there just as the occupants were getting out of the upside-down vehicle. I spent the next couple of hours helping a local ranger recover their belongings from the river. Would you believe, though, that the ranger then asked to see my creel and my license?

It was mid-morning on a Thursday, and I had this whole section of a river all to myself... or so I thought. I was engrossed in what I was doing until something caught my eye to the left. I looked up in time to see a half-dozen Indians in full authentic dress. These guys were quietly stalking through the woods with weapons in hand and wearing full war paint. Suddenly I felt like I had traveled back a few hundred years in history.

Just as I'm thinking to myself, "This can't be good," I hear someone back in the woods yell, "Cut!" The warriors stopped in their tracks, and I was asked to leave the area. It seems I quietly had become involved in a documentary that was being filmed about the Cherokee Indians.

Though the fishing was good, I was outnumbered, so I left.

I used to fish an old estate lake, which was rumored to be haunted. That all ended one very dark night, though, when I saw a shining white light coming through the trees toward me and what sounded like the thundering of horses hooves on the old road that led down to a long-demolished country house. I nearly had a heart attack.

As I would learn, the noise was coming--not from horses hooves--but from a caterpillar tracking through the trees to make an early start on some construction work the next morning.

One autumn night about 15 years ago, a friend and I were fishing a lake in London, England, under a bright, full moon. We had decided to pack it in when, in the midst of the misty night, I started spooking my friend with talk about the American Werewolf in London and how these conditions were similar to the opening scene.

As we loaded ourselves up and started walking in silence (due to the old-school rod bags around our necks), there was this sudden THUMP just in front of us and a crashing noise in the bushes. Then, from the marsh behind us, came this crashing sound and heavy snorting noises, which prompted me to shout, "Werewolf!"

That's all it took. Absolute hysteria ensued and survival instinct took over, as we started running in random directions. All of a sudden, I was jerked back by something around my neck, causing me to gag violently and fall on my back. I hollered for my friend, who was screaming and running blindly to get away.

After a few seconds, I got up, with heart in my mouth, about the same time as my friend finally found me. We stood in silence for a second or two before my friend turned on his headlamp. That light revealed that, while running around in blind panic, I had encountered a branch, which had caught the strap on my rod bag, jerking me backward and nearly strangling me. My friend, meanwhile, had mud all over him.

We later discovered that the noises which spooked both of us had been deer... so the joke was on me.

I was camping at a little state lake with my buddy and his girlfriend. My friend and I were on a rock pier night fishing because the game warden had stopped by earlier and told us they had shocked up a big bass from the very spot where we were camping. I was really pumped about that news and was flinging my big, black musky jitterbug with great enthusiasm.

After nearly a half-hour of listening to that hypnotic plop, plop, plop, though, I was about to nod off when, suddenly, I heard a splash that sounded like someone had thrown a brick in the water and felt a huge tug on the line. The fight was on!

The adrenaline dumped immediately, and I was standing in the water, with my rod buried, trying to keep her from jumping. There was a bright moon out, but I couldn't see anything because of all the trees along that part of the shoreline. The fish was stripping drag and severely straining my rod--to the point where it eventually broke.

I was busy trying to pull the fish towards me when I realized my line was heading up. No matter what I did, my line just kept going up, up, up. It was about the same time I realized my line was well above the water that I saw a huge owl flying across the sky--with what appeared to be my line following it.

By now, my buddy had found a spotlight and lit up the sky, which proved conclusively I indeed had hooked an owl in the foot after it tried to pick up my jitterbug. I still was holding onto my broken rod, trying to figure out what to do, when the owl crash-landed into some blackberry bushes along the shoreline. We were discussing a game plan when the owl suddenly jumped out of the bushes and took off, leaving my bait tangled in the bushes.

All of this happened in probably no more than 30 seconds or so, but it felt like a lifetime.

Many years ago, a buddy and I decided to go on a camping/fishing trip. We spent the first day fishing and, that evening, sat around a campfire, getting plastered. Finally, my buddy decided he was going to sleep in the johnboat, which we had pulled up to the bank. The last thing I remembered was watching him stumble off toward the boat.

I awoke the next morning, still by the fire. When I went to wake my buddy, I discovered the boat had drifted out into the lake. The anchor, however, was on the bank, so I simply pulled the boat in. My buddy, though, was nowhere to be found. I started calling his name but got no response. Then came the sinking realization he probably had gone to sleep in the boat and, sometime during the night, likely had fallen overboard.

In a panic, I ran and jumped into the truck to go and get help (this incident happened before the widespread use of cellphones). So, here I was, hauling down this gravel road in the middle of nowhere, sliding around curves, still feeling half-blitzed, when I hear this tapping on the back window of the truck. I glance back to see my buddy yelling, "Hey, where the hell are we going in such a rush?"

Tragedy Strikes Twice in 3 Months

That's right, folks--in the span of only three months, two bass anglers have had their lives snuffed out at boat ramps.

The first victim was 53-year-old Gregg Hawkins, who was gunned down by an unidentified person Oct. 22, 2015, while walking to his boat trailer in a Tennessee parking lot. He just had come in from a quiet morning of fishing.

An avid outdoorsman and dedicated Christian, this husband and father of two was looking forward to his upcoming retirement from a nearby Nissan plant.

The most recent victim was 18-year-old Dylan Poche, who was murdered Jan. 30, 2016, at a Louisiana boat ramp. The nephew of pro bass fisherman Keith Poche, Dylan was stabbed about 11:30 at night.

A suspect is in custody for the death of this college angler from Northwestern State University. Dylan's younger brother caught and held the suspect until authorities arrived on the scene.

Unfortunately, senseless tragedies like these occur all too often--in all venues. It behooves all of us, regardless of time of day, to be alert to anything that appears amiss. Watch out for yourself, as well as friends, family and others in the vicinity.

Catching Up Overdue Boat-Shed Maintenance

Knowing for a while now that I needed to replace the surge suppressor in my boat shed at the marina, as well as the extension cord for my boat's onboard battery charger, I had decided to get those jobs done last Sunday. I also wanted to put up some new lights in the shed.

I had made a trip to Northern Tools last week and picked up what I needed--make that "most of" what I needed. I'm only too well aware things often involve unplanned contingencies, and last Sunday was no exception.

There were no problems whatever in hanging the new lights. In fact, they went up exactly as I had envisioned. I felt so good about 'em I even took a break when I had finished and walked down to the store to visit with "Yankee" and Tom for a while.

After viewing the accompanying photo, you might be wondering why I didn't just let the original overhead fluorescent lights take care of my requirements, so perhaps I should explain. A couple of problems were involved with those fluorescent lights. First, the rusty fixture has a starter and/or ballast problem. I know that to be true because I replaced the bulbs a week or so ago, and they both still flicker.

Further, with that fixture directly over my boat, bugs that got zapped constantly littered the cover, which was OK until they started landing in my face as I removed the cover. You see, I have been leaving the lights on 24-7 since I learned several months ago, that that's what it takes to keep the mice away. Have not had a single problem with those pests since I started leaving the lights on all the time.

Anyway, when I returned to the shed from jawin' with "Yankee" and Tom, it was time to remove the old surge suppressor (after all, the only time you want to hear snap, crackle and pop is when you're eating Rice Krispies) and install the new heavy-duty model (see photo at right) I had bought the other day. In no time, a gremlin had reared its ugly head.

As I went to unplug the old surge suppressor from the power lead coming into the building, it wouldn't budge. I quickly broke out a pair of pliers for more leverage, but even that move failed to get the job done. The situation quickly went downhill from there.

Before continuing, I went looking for Steve, so I could show him what I was up against. The problem, as we both could see, was that the prongs on the old surge suppressor had gotten so hot they had melted--actually, welded would be a better word--to the rubber from the power lead's female end around them. I don't think I ever would have been able to separate them. There also was a black ring around the rim of the surge-suppressor's plug, where the prongs had been attached.

One look is all it took to convince Steve that the only smart thing to do was to cut off the old female end on the power lead and install a new one. I set about doing that, while Steve resumed his work on smoothing out the marina's parking lot.

Thanks to Steve's providing a new female fitting and loaning me the additional tools needed, I was able to finish my work, rehook things, and check it all. There were a couple issues I had to leave undone so I could get home for dinner, but I went back yesterday and tidied up those loose ends.

To the best of my knowledge, that will conclude the only maintenance tasks I need to do on the boat shed. Too bad it isn't that easy to keep up with things around the house. There never appears to be an end to those tasks.

Before leaving the marina yesterday, I made a trip down to the ramp area, so I could check out the new solar light (see accompanying photo) Tom told me Steve had installed to help boaters launching in those oh-dark-30 hours. It reportedly comes on as you round the bend down by the ramp and lights up the area.

I personally haven't seen the installation work, so please don't use my name as an "authoritative source." I'll have to find out like all the rest of you.

P.S. I'm still trying to get to the bottom of problems I'm having with my laptop. Thankfully, my wife still is giving up some of the time she usually spends on her desktop, so I can do things like this and try to keep up with my email. One way or the other, I assure everyone that, at some point in the next few days, you'll be seeing an "all clear" signal from me. I will get up and running at full steam again, even if it means buying a new computer.

To Set Everyone's Mind at Ease...

I'm very much alive and am OK, except for going through a major dose of computer withdrawal. My laptop's battery and AC adapter both died last Saturday, which has restricted my online activities to those moments when my wife isn't on her desktop.

As a result, I'm not doing much of anything, except to try and keep up with my email, and some of that even is limited, because I don't have access to many of the files stored on my laptop. Without that access, I'm generally out of luck in providing any attachments to emails.

I figured I'd better get some kind of explanation on the street, when Charlie emailed me earlier today, asking if I had run out of things to write about on my blog. If it helps, I'm supposed to receive a new battery for my laptop on Monday. I already have a new AC adapter. So, if nothing else fried last Saturday, it shouldn't take me long to start catching up on overdue business, once the new battery arrives at my door. If I find any other problems, I'll be taking the computer to some experts to sort it all out for me.

Y'all probably remember my mentioning in an earlier post that I had had to call some repairmen to work on my heating system. Well, that issue went south quickly, and I had no choice but to throw in the towel and call 'em back to install a whole new system. That happened this past Tuesday, and now everything is once again nice and toasty around the Testorff household.

The best part of all is that, for the next 10 years, I don't have to worry about any heating or air-conditioning difficulties. I purchased a maintenance plan at the same time I had the new system installed, which guarantees service techs will be at my beckon call--night or day, 7 days a week--if anything breaks down. Regardless of whatever should be wrong, they will take care of it--up to and including replacement of the whole system with another new one, if necessary--and it won't cost me  a dime. That's a good thing--seein' as how I don't have any more dimes left in my pocket. This is one of those moments when it really sucks being on a fixed income.

Thank God I learned how to live on a tight budget many years ago, 'cause, otherwise, I'd probably be running around a bit panicky right now. Maybe I also ought to go the route of some friends and acquaintances and try to get some disability on the basis of my hearing loss from an incident that happened during my Navy career, coupled with the diagnosis I received a few months ago for spinal stenosis.

In any event, I'm still kickin' and hopin' that it continues this way for a good while to come.

Dates Set for New Tourney Season at West Neck Marina

Please excuse the sudden withdrawal of my earlier post on this topic, but there were a number of errors in it, and I wasn't happy. Therefore, I went back to the drawing board and reassembled a product I think will be cleaner than my first attempt.

With that explanation aside, here is our new tournament schedule. If you're interested in participating and would like to have an electronic PDF copy of our rules & regs, just email me at kenneth34@cox.net. I'll be more than happy to oblige.

Learning to Share the Waterways with Tugboats and Barges

One of my earliest recollections of oddball things that have happened during local fishing trips involved what I came to understand was caused by a tugboat pushing some barges out on the Intracoastal Waterway. I was well up a shallow creek at the time, when, all of a sudden, the water around me started swirling and disappearing, much like someone had flushed a commode, and the boat began moving the opposite direction I was trying to go with the trolling motor.

I didn't know what to make of the situation. For a few unnerving moments, I considered that I might have entered the twilight zone. Then, though, just as fast as the phenomenon had begun, it stopped, and everything returned to normal--again like a commode. It wasn't until I got back to the marina that evening and talked to Bill Brown, however, that I learned what had happened.

With that lesson learned, I wasn't so surprised at the squirrelly sensation I felt in my boat the first time I came up behind a tug pushing a barge on the Intracoastal Waterway. Even though I probably was a couple hundred or so yards back, the shimmying was very noticeable.

According to one tugboat worker, "The wheel wash, or strong underwater current, from a tug can cause severe turbulence for hundreds of yards behind the vessel. The safest thing to do is to stay well back or pass as wide as possible."

I also read about a fella who, while growing up around the Intracoastal Waterway, would wait for a tug to pass. Once the water started getting sucked out of an area, he and playmates would dash out on the newly exposed land to pick up crabs and whatever junk they could find. "We just had to get back to shore before the wall of water came rushing in and caught us," he said.

When dealing with tugboats and barges, you can't afford to overlook the dangers involved. For example, the No. 1 cause of serious collisions between recreational boats and tugs is the former crossing the latter's tow cables. It's important that recreational boaters realize those "big ugly boxes," otherwise known as barges, are connected to tugs via a thick steel cable that can run up to 3 inches in diameter. A cable that big can saw a boat in half in a matter of seconds.

And what about this case of a weekend bass tournament gone wrong? It seems an angler and his partner had anchored their boat in a favorite spot that was uncomfortably close to the channel, near a sharp bend in the river.

After only a few minutes of fishing, the front-seater spotted an empty barge poking its gigantic bow around the bend. At first, he thought the barge was heading over toward the beach, but a few seconds later, it began swinging directly at his anchored boat. The two men stared briefly at the towering wall of steel moving ominously toward them before frantically trying to start the outboard. It coughed a few times, sputtered and quit. Both men had no choice but to dive overboard before their boat was run down. They subsequently reached shore unscathed.

The tug's captain used the wind, which was blowing 25 to 30 knots that day, and the current to "flank" the barge through the tight bend in the river. It appeared to the two anglers that the wind had caught the barge's bow and swung it too far toward the middle of the river. The tug's captain, however, claimed he was right where he wanted to be, and the bass boat had left him no room to maneuver.

And while we're speaking of being run over, there's this close call involving a rowing scull crew that one day crossed the path of a tug, which Captain Bob Deck was maneuvering in high water to pass downstream through a railroad bridge. When he saw what was happening, the captain threw all three main engines into reverse, but "within seconds," he said, "the scull disappeared from view in front of my barge, 600 feet ahead.

"Fortunately for those eight men," he continued, "they realized their mistake just in time to accelerate to a speed they had never before achieved. Lonnie, the bridge tender, hailed me on the radio to say they had been so close to being run over that the coxswain could have touched the barge."

That account and others are revealed in "Stayin' Safe on the River: Big Boats and Right-of-Way," written by Deck and first published in the May-June 2014 issue of Big River Magazine (click on this link for the full story: http://www.deckondeck.com/big-river-magazine/stayin-safe-on-the-river-big-boats-and-right-of-way/).

The author goes on in this article to describe water-skiers as making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "In 40 years in the harbor, I cannot recall the number of times I have seen a boat pull a skier past my boat, then decide to circle my slower moving vessel," he explained. "Dozens of times, I have gasped in horror when a skier fell in front of my tow. So far, I have been lucky and was able to slow down or steer around enough to avoid running over any of them."

However, Deck has witnessed situations in which the people weren't as lucky. He cited one afternoon in 1996, when a pilot was pushing six loads in the narrow channel of the Minnesota River.

"I dropped my cup of coffee and watched in horror as a jet ski ran across the front barges and crashed into one of them," noted Deck. "The young man driving the jet ski was in the hospital for over a year and probably still isn't right." And in case you're wondering, the jet skier was sober.

Something people in recreational craft need to think about, according to Deck, is that, while a towboat pushing barges may seem slower than a speedboat or even a houseboat, the towboat cannot easily overcome its huge inertia. "A tow steering a bend or shaping up for a bridge span can throw the engines into reverse, attempting to avoid hitting an errant small boat," he said, "but doing so might cause the pilot to lose control and run aground or hit a bridge pier. No captain ever wants to be in the position of deciding whether to run over a small boat or to take out a bridge.

"Some boaters are obviously under the impression that all they need to know about the Nautical Rules of the Road is that unpowered vessels have the right of way over powered vessels," continued Deck. "While this is true, if they actually read all the rules, they would discover that a 'vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver' has the right of way over ALL other vessels--powered, sailed, paddled, or rowed--except those not under the control of an operator (a very rare situation, such as a runaway barge or a boat with a broken rudder)."

While our nation's inland and coastal waterways play host to thousands of recreational boats, they also carry barges, tugboats, towboats, and large ships loaded with tons of cargo 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Being aware of the constraints under which these commercial vessels operate can arm recreational boaters with the best protection against danger and could save your life.

I leave you with this final caution: Remember that five or more short blasts on the whistle is the "danger" signal. Always stay clear of any vessel sounding this signal.

Captain Bob Deck, with his son, Cullen.

The excerpts I included from Bob Deck's article, as posted in Big River Magazine, were used with the permission of both parties.

Author and journalist Mike Mosedale once wrote a "Welcome!" for a couple of Bob Deck's books (Deck on Deck and Between the Sticks). I'm including it here, so that you'll have a better understanding of this man's credentials. It reads as follows:

"For anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of the Mississippi, it's hard not to be a little jealous of Bob Deck. A deckhand as a teenager and a captain by the tender age of 22, Deck worked the big river during the 1970s and 1980s, a boom time for the Twin Cities barge business. Like Mark Twain and George Merrick before him--two former riverboat pilots who also felt compelled to chronicle their experiences on the Big Muddy long after they moved on to new careers--Deck paints a vivid and nostalgic portrait of a working life on the river. And for budding river rats, he also provides some practical tips on how best to guide six barges and 9,000 tons of grain through certain tricky stretches of water in St. Paul."

Remember the Spirit of Nantucket?

That's the 207-foot cruise ship (pictured left), which, back on Nov. 8, 2007, hit a submerged object and incurred a foot-long gash in its stern while transiting the Intracoastal Waterway near Virginia Beach. The captain subsequently grounded the ship, with its 66 passengers, in the shallows to avoid having it settle on the bottom in deeper water.

It should be noted here that the Spirit of Nantucket was halfway through a 10-day cruise from Alexandria to Charleston, SC, at the time of this incident. No one was hurt, and all the passengers completed their trip by bus or were given partial refunds by the cruise-ship operator, the Seattle-based Cruise West.

Meanwhile, the cruise ship was refloated and a tug was brought in to push it to Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk for repairs. The Coast Guard and a Virginia Beach Police boat served as escorts.

Afterward, the Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the 1,090-mile waterway from Norfolk to Miami, located a large piece of debris (see photo at right) in the area, about 4 miles north of the Pungo Ferry Bridge. They said the object had reduced the clearance for a vessel to 7.5 feet in an area where the allowed minimum is 12 feet.

When asked about what the object was, Steve Baum of the Corps offered the following explanation: "It appears to be a bulkhead" and almost certainly fell from a barge. "We're talking some trash that came from somewhere else, because there are no bulkheads in that whole area." Baum even went so far as to say he was certain it had fallen there recently, "probably in the last few days."

For what it's worth, though, I always have had an entirely different take on the object the Corps of Engineers found, which, according to them, measured 40 feet in length, stood 7 to 8 feet tall, was about 13 feet wide, and weighed approximately 30 to 40 tons. I don't, even for 5 minutes, believe that it was a bulkhead or that it fell from a passing barge. Instead, I suggest that it was a huge chunk of those old sunken barges from the oxbow you see in the accompanying lead photo of the beached cruise ship.

Why do I say that? Because it was described in the media as "fashioned mostly of solid timber and has the remnants of metal plates and spikes in it." And anyone who ever has fished around those old barges in that oxbow knows you see the same thing sticking up everywhere you turn in that area. Further, I know for a fact that chunks of those barges are always shifting around as the result of passing storms and wakes set up by all the traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway. The changes are dramatic enough from one year to the next to always make me idle through there or use my trolling motor. Only a fool runs through there on step.

Why no one, to my knowledge, ever made a connection between the object they found with those old barges in the oxbow is anyone's guess. Instead, however, most media outlets simply kept referring to it as a "big mystery," even though The Virginian-Pilot described the mass as "curving to a point, or bow, at one end." Duh? I think an appropriate saying here is, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck."

So what ever happened to Spirit of Nantucket? you may be wondering. I didn't know until today, when I did some research on the Internet.

Turns out that, following this incident, Cruise West moved the ship to their Pacific operations in early 2008. And on July 7 of that year, the renamed Spirit of Glacier Bay ran aground again (as depicted in the photo at left), this time in her namesake park (Glacier Bay National Park) at the head of Alaska's Tarr Inlet.

This time, the ill-fated cruise ship, with 24 passengers and 27 crew members, was traveling just over 1 mph when it ran aground at 7:12 a.m. on a sandbar. Spirit of Glacier Bay was stranded for about nine hours before a Coast Guard boat was able to tow it to the middle of the bay on a rising tide. Once again, there were no injuries reported.

After this second grounding, the cruise ship went back to Seattle, where she laid up at Jacobsen's Terminal. From 2008 to 2010, she was used as a floating accommodation for training, meetings and storage space for Cruise West. The operator then announced plans to rename the vessel either Spirit of America or Spirit of Adventure, give her the extensive shipyard work necessary to make her structurally sound and operational again, and to run the vessel on a series of itineraries in eastern North America. However, Cruise West ceased operations Sept. 18, 2010, before beginning the work. At last report, the cruise ship was sitting idle just northeast of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, along with many other vessels from the former Cruise West fleet.

I was prompted to do this post after reading "Abandoned boat stirs fracas on cities' border" by Katherine Hafner in today's issue of The Virginian-Pilot. It got me to remembering some other local marine issues that have come up over the years, and the foregoing was one of the first things that jumped into my mind.

It Was an "Exhilarating" Boat Ride South Yesterday

That's just another way of saying it was a "long" ride, given the conditions yesterday morning. I really wanted to speed things up and end my misery, but for the life of me, I couldn't bring myself to put pedal to the metal. As a result, it seemed to take forever to reach the Pungo Ferry Bridge and continue the short distance beyond to Straight Creek.

I finally made it, only to learn that all the rain from the night before had turned the creek into a giant mudhole.

There was one slight diversion for me before reaching my mudhole, though. While motoring through the no-wake zone, I noticed that the old boarded-up marina store there on the Pungo Ferry waterfront finally had been taken down, and equipment and workers have moved in to begin erection of what will be a 22.5-acre waterfront park, including a ramp for motorized boats, as well as canoes and kayaks, and a parking area. [1/21/2016 UPDATE: Had an email from an "inquiring reporter," otherwise known as Charlie, who had been out to this site yesterday and talked to a Parks & Rec guy who just happened to be there, too. He told Charlie they only got $800K for this phase of the construction, which will cover the cost of the parking lot and boat ramp. He said both would be open sometime in the late spring or early summer. Other things planned include: beach for swimming (wetlands issues involved here, though), playground, and a fishing-instruction spot at the small pond for kids.]

After spending an hour and a half in Straight without even so much as a bump, I decided to go back and fish some of the same areas in the Albright's oxbow that my buddy, Charlie, likes this time of year. I eventually moved into Albright's itself. All of this water looked good, but I still couldn't find any fish.

For the last hour, I went back to West Neck, which also had good-looking water, but, alas, I was destined to wrap things up at 2:30 without ever boating the first fish.

Having seen Eddie Sapp on the water with Chris Napier yesterday, I sent Eddie a note this morning, asking what kind of day they had had. Eddie came back, saying they had caught 20 to 25 fish, most of which were yellow perch. However, they also boated a couple of good-sized crappie and a couple of bass.

Further, on Bob's Fishing Hole website this morning was a note confirming that Al Napier won the Goody's Big Bass Tournament yesterday with a 7.01-lb. bass, and Brian Skeens took 2nd place with a 2.44-lb. bass, so some people definitely had a nice day.

I spent about 90 percent of my day yesterday throwing various suspending jerkbaits. The rest of the time was split between a crankbait and a chatterbait. The water temp as I left West Neck yesterday morning read 47 degrees, and it only had bumped up to 49 degrees by the time I reached Straight. When I returned to West Neck about 1:30, the reading was 51 degrees.

The weather forecasts I've seen for next week aren't exactly conducive to my making plans for any more trips. I'm not ruling anything out yet, though. Will just have to take a wait-and-see attitude.

Hmm... It Ain't Just Me After All

That's what I was thinking after reading an item in the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster. In this particular item, 54-year-old bass pro Randy Blaukat (seen playing a fish at right) from Joplin, MO, was calling out expensive bassin'.

To start with, anytime I see a Midwestern town I'm familiar with mentioned in any kind of news, I sit up and take notice. And I'm more than a little familiar with Joplin, which is only about a 47-minute drive from my hometown--Oswego, KS. Used to keep that road between Oswego and Joplin plenty warm when I was a kid with my first couple of old cars, especially on Saturday nights. You see, at the time, I was dating a young gal from my hometown who had decided to attend nursing school over there.

Getting back to the point, though, Randy was taking today's high cost of bass fishing to task. Here's a digest of his comments (see them all by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/randy.blaukat/posts/744419812357811).

"I don't think the current explosion in technology is a good idea for the future of our sport. I say this because technology--and the need to keep up with it to compete, even on a weekend level--is turning bass fishing, especially tournament fishing, into an 'elitist' sport.

"I think it is a huge injustice to our sport for tournament directors to allow an unlimited amount of electronics on a boat... . For some anglers to be able to afford $15,000 in electronics, while some anglers can barely afford two very simple basic units, creates an uneven playing field.

"Same with rods/reels and tackle. Professional golfers are limited to how many clubs they can carry. The same should apply to tournament fishing--again in an effort to level the playing field for those less financially fortunate.

"We live in a world of fishing, where an $80,000 boat, a $50,000 truck, $70,000 in entry fees and expenses, and another $15,000 in tackle each year is the norm. This is insanity."

What was Kumar's response to these comments? "Randy abso-frickin'-lutely has a point. Was recently talkin' to a high-school basser and his parents, going over how much this whole deal costs.

"Larry Nixon was a fishing guide. George Cochran worked in a train yard. Denny Brauer laid bricks. Can such folks be pro bassers anymore? Sure hope so, but it's lookin' pretty tough," concluded Kumar.

Here's how some weekend warriors have chimed in on this same topic of discussion:

     * "I cannot fathom telling the wife I need a $50,000 boat and a $50,000 SUV/truck to pull it with. If I got that far in the conversation with her, I don't think I'd mention the extra $5,000-plus for all the tackle, electronics, and accessories that I would want to go with this outfit. I want to live a little longer."

     * "We are pricing ourselves out of fishing by paying for all of the new and better stuff. Can't blame the companies for making money."

     * "It's a hobby and only worth what you are willing to spend on it. Fishing peaks my interest to no end and is my one and only hobby. I make sure my family is taken care of first, and everything else goes in the fishing fund."

     * "If you can afford an $80,000 boat, God Bless you. I can't and don't know I would, even if I could."

     * "It's not the boat that catches the fish. Granted, the fishfinder electronics help locate where the fish are. However, you can be on top of the fish and not catch 'em all day if you don't know what you're doing or have what they want."

I also was reading the story a newspaper reporter wrote, based on some interviews he had conducted with boat dealers. They, of course, had been telling him about all the bells, whistles and geewhizits available on today's modern bass boats.

In a final analysis of his article, though, the reporter asked this rhetorical question, "Does all this mean you have to spend your life savings on fishing equipment to catch a bass? Not really. It's called marketing, and the industry knows how to market to the most gullible of all people--fishermen. As one famous fisherman once told me, 'The bass don't care if you're in a $70,000 bass boat or a $300 wooden rowboat."

When I see comments like these, especially some of which are from a pro basser, I don't have any misgivings whatever about my own convictions that bass fishing has evolved into a high-priced sport. As a friend and I were discussing just the other day, even places like Bass Pro Shops have lost some of their "curb appeal" since they joined the ranks of companies jacking up their everyday prices.

My friend and I both give a lot of our business to Tackle Warehouse for that very reason. TW consistently beats the prices offered by many competitors, including BPS, and given their free shipping on orders of $50 and over, what can you say but that it's a good deal.

The bottom line here is simple: Comparative shopping is the only way to go. I also would add this caution: Remember what year we're living in.

If You Wanna "Take a Load Off," Why Not Try This?

Dura Matz is a custom-fit pad, made of neoprene padding and
marine carpet. The pad comes with multiple options. You can
place this pad over existing carpet, as seen here.

Just four months shy of turning 73, I prefer parking my behind in a seat with a back to it when I'm on the front deck of a bass boat for 8 or more hours. Meanwhile, many others, especially the young guns, would rather stand up or lean against a butt seat all day. Either way, I just learned night before last, thanks to my good buddy "Doc" Murdock, that there is some stuff on the market designed to make all of our fishing days a lot more comfortable.

You can completely customize the deck of your
boat by removing a portion or all of the existing
carpet and do your entire deck and boxes with
the Dura Matz. This provides additional
comfort while standing or kneeling.

The product I'm referring to here is padding--that's right, the same kind of stuff you get installed under the carpeting in your home but probably better. As I understand it, a lot of new boats these days already come with padding, or the buyer at least can get it. But, if you own a used boat, you, too, can enjoy the same creature comforts, whether you do it yourself or hire someone else to install it for you.

Before going any farther, please let me acknowledge I'm likely the only one who has been going around with blinders on. Padding probably has been available for a good spell. 'Twouldn't be the first time I was on the tail end of the information line. I can assure you I haven't been looking at any new boats--that ship sailed a long time ago. Besides, I'm totally happy with what I have now.

Dura Matz is custom fit around deck boxes. Additional carpet
is secured inside the box to allow for maximum stability. The
carpet is trimmed to ensure the boxes open and close easily.
This provides a custom, sleek appearance. This is optional.

That being said, however, I'd like to share the following information, which "Doc" was kind enough to hook me up with in his email night before last. I contacted the folks at Dura Matz in Cumberland City, TN, as provided in the link from "Doc," and they then granted me permission to reprint the data from their website on my blog.

The idea for Dura Matz was borne when a buddy of Jim Brewer, the man with this vision, just had purchased a brand new boat, and the deck had padding under the carpet. Jim knew this padding would make his buddy's boat more comfortable, but he wasn't about to buy a new boat just to have a padded deck.

This mat can be secured by additional Velcro along the sides.
This is optional. The carpet inside the box can be secured by
adhesives or screws, which will allow for easy removal when
needed.

"I thought about it for a while, and about 4 o'clock one morning, I told my wife I had an idea," said Jim. "After some trial and error, we invented Dura Matz. Daylight 'til dark is just fine with me," he continued; "however, my back, feet, ankles, knees, and everything else on me hurt after standing for a prolonged period of time."

Dura Matz is made with 3/8-inch neoprene anti-fatigue foam and then covered with marine carpet. "Let me tell you, once you stand on this mat, you won't want to fish without it" is Jim's challenge to all. "It's that comfortable!" he assured.

Easily secured and easily removed if
needed.

Would-be Dura Matz buyers can get a mat to fit just in front of your boat, or you can customize the entire deck, including boxes and even the back of the boat. And if you simply want a mat on the back, there's a Buddy Mat available to fill that bill, too.

For the benefit of anyone who may be interested, you can access the Dura Matz website by simply clicking on this link: http://duramatz.net/. There you will find a form you can fill out to obtain a free estimate for their products. For example, I learned that it would cost me $200 for a custom-fitting mat for the front of my Skeeter--one that would extend from the bow boxes forward. I would have to provide a template and photos. They then would make the pad and send it to me for installation.

Let's not forget about your buddy on the back of the boat. The Buddy Mat can be customized to size and design for this area, based on your needs.

Measuring 36" x 25", these Mini Mats are a quick fix for quick comfort. These mats are designed for the front or back of your boat. You decide where you want them, make a slit for your pedestal, and get set for a day of comfort. They're the ideal thing to take along when a buddy is planning to spend a day on the water with you.



If you want to get a clear picture of everything that's available on today's market in the way of padding, I urge you just to Google this phrase: "bass boat padding." Or maybe you're shopping for a new boat that already comes with it. Whatever your goal, I wish you well.

Tried It Once But Doubt I'll Ever Do It Again

The "it" I'm talking about here is sight-fishing. I'm not among that group of people who see it as unsporting or unethical. I simply don't have the patience or the desire to put in the time necessary to aggravate bedding fish into falling for my lure, regardless of how big they may be.

One spring several years ago, while I was with my friend, Jim Bauer, on Lake Gaston, an opportunity presented itself one morning as we were leaving a cove to cast for some spawning fish. When we spotted the beds, I asked Jim to hold up for a few minutes. Those "few" minutes soon became "several" before I finally teased the one bass enough to take my offering, and then he came unbuttoned only seconds later.

At that point, I was ready to move on...and, to date, never have looked back or even thought about trying sight-fishing again.

As probably any dedicated sight-fisherman will tell you, it's important to put as many optical advantages in your favor as possible, starting with a good pair of polarized sunglasses. The more glare off the water you can eliminate, the better. After all, the objective is to see the fish, which, contrary to popular belief, is the hardest part of the job.

You would be amazed, too, if you only knew the lengths to which some anglers will go to get a leg up on being able to see the fish. Take, for instance, pro angler Byron Velvick. According to BassFan editor, Todd Ceisner, Byron keeps a Super Soaker squirt gun filled with vegetable oil on his boat to use when sight-fishing conditions are less than the best.

If the water in a known bedding area is roiled up, Byron sprays it with some of the vegetable oil, and in no time, the water has calmed down enough for him to see the beds. He learned this trick during a visit to his mom's house. As explained by Ceisner, "She was a school teacher, and he (Byron) stumbled upon a junior-high science textbook... . There was a part about a kids' science experiment where you could make a ripply pond flat by putting a little oil in the water."

The then-25-year-old Velvick tried it and has been doing it ever since.

Actually, the science behind Velvick's trick is nothing new. "Benjamin Franklin was the first to investigate the effect a small amount of olive oil had on a small pond in England in the 18th Century," said Ceisner. "His work has led to additional experimentation."

Once Velvick finds the area he wants to start on, he'll locate the farthest wind-blown spot, fire a couple sprays of oil into the wind in that direction, and wait for it to gather together. He then simply follows the oil down the bank from there. Incidentally, if you'd like to see this complete story, simply click on this link: http://www.bassfan.com/news_article/7210/velvick-spills-his-%C3%82%E2%80%98slick%C3%82%E2%80%99-secret#.VpcZYvkrKM8.

Another important factor in sight-fishing is water clarity. While gin-clear water can offer some challenging and fun sight-fishing moments, lightly-stained water and/or areas with overhanging trees, which create shadows, are a better choice.

Lighting likewise is an important factor. Bright, sunny days offer the best view into the water. However, they also give the fish their best chance of seeing you. For that reason, overcast days are likely your better choice.

Bottom structure further figures into your sight-fishing considerations. Smooth, gravel flats can be nice, but heavy cover often provides some of the most rewarding sight-fishing. In your search for productive spots, don't overlook stump fields, large areas of laydowns, and other shallow-water structure.

As far as baits go for sight-fishing, you're probably better off experimenting to see what works for you. The same goes for colors, as well as the tackle you should use.

Meanwhile, the saying "the devil is in the details" never applied more to anything than it does to sight-fishing. Clipping tag ends off knots, hiding the hook eye and knot with the nose of the bait, and other such small details can make or break your fishing day. That's why many anglers hesitate trying their hand at this presentation.

Die-hard proponents, however, find nothing more rewarding than spotting a bedding fish, casting to it, and watching the fish take the bait.

Ready to Stow Their Gear for a While

That's how kayakers Ron Ameika and his son, Alex, say they feel after suffering a washout/skunk at Albright's this past Friday evening, combined with a skunk on Lake Prince the following day.

Sunday's trip to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area (PAWMA) wasn't much better. "The wind was howling," reported Ron. And while they were protected from the breeze in the canal, they had their hands full from debris on the water. "It was covered with wind-blown debris, pine needles, leaves, and you-name-it," explained Ron, adding, "it made for frustrating fishing."

The PAWMA trip wasn't a complete loss, though, in that Ron managed to boat one dink on an XTS minnow, and Alex scored four bass in quick succession on a Mann's 1-Minus crankbait, with the biggest one tipping the scales just shy of 2 lbs. "He was finding them near tree branches along the bank," said Ron.

Their bite lasted from 12:30 to 1:30, then shut down. They also talked to a fella on the bank, who had four rods baited with live minnows but said he hadn't even had a bite.

"Time to dust off the snowboards and put a tarp over the kayaks," concluded Ron. "Tight Lines!"