6 Months Later....

After selling the Hotrod Gheenoe I pretty much intended to not post to my blog anymore but I see that it still averages a thousand hits a month so I guess people are still reading it. I guess I will fill you in on what has happened since then.

After selling the Hotrod Gheenoe, the boat I wanted to buy (1988 Silver King Signature) got sold out from under me the day before I was going to buy it. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I found another boat that actually worked out better for me. I ended up getting a 1996 Silver King Silver Flash. It is 16'3 with nearly an 8' beam. It is almost identical to the Signature except it has two 25 gallon livewells. (And you know I love my live bait...) The Silver Flash was not in as good condition as the Signature but that's fine with me as I like to do a lot of my own work so I can learn about stuff.

The boat was in near perfect working order but since I have had it I have done quite a bit. I replaced both livewell pumps, rewired the trolling motor, replaced the battery, changed the impeller/water pump, replaced the lower unit (I backed into a submerged rock... luckily I found a used lower unit as a rebuild was going to cost me $1600.) and had the trailer shortened so the boat would fit in my garage.

The Silver King has a 75hp mercury. It tops out about the same as the Hotrod Gheenoe did at about 32 mph but handles chop much better and is a lot drier and has a ton more room for two people to fish. It does not draft as shallow as the Hotrod Gheenoe did and I have had to abandon some of my old fishing spots on the lower tides, but I have added a few new ones since then that I could not access before on anything but the calmest of days. So that is pretty much a fair trade off. As far as negatives: It takes more time to prepare, cleanup and maintain the Silver King and it costs a lot more to run it. I could fish every day for a week on a 6 gallon tank of gas and a couple ounces of oil with the Hotrod Gheenoe. I usually end up stopping at the gas station about every two or three trips for 12 to 15 gallons of gas and a quart of 2 stroke oil. I have a 25 gallon tank but I like to keep it at least half full so it isn't as painful to fill it up.

I also find that I don't fish quite as often and I don't like to fish by myself as much. The fishing hasn't really been all that spectacular this summer either. I still catch fish nearly every time I go out. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have been skunked in the last year and a half. I just don't get the numbers I was getting last summer. I'm looking forward to fall though as I think the fishing will improve.

I have been doing a little more fly fishing too. My baby tarpon hole has been holding tarpon all summer and I have caught a few. I have yet to hook up with one on my flyrod yet though, but I will keep trying. I'm still waiting to find the schools of redfish that I found last fall as well. This year I am going to attempt to fish them with a flyrod.

Anyway. That's the update. I will try to keep updating this even though I don't have a Hotrod Gheenoe anymore. If I could I would have a Hotrod Gheenoe and my Silver King but I don't think my wife would go for that...

I Caught a Tarpon!

About 2 months ago I found a resident school of juvenile Tarpon on one of the rivers I like to fish on down here in Tampa. I have been fishing them at least once or twice a week with dismal results. I have managed to jump 6 of them but can not seem to land them. Finally I was so frustrated that I invited my friend Capt. Tommy Z of Action Charters to accompany me to my top secret Tarpon spot for a Tarpon Tutorial. He declined the offer to come with me in the Hotrod (Can you believe it?) and insisted we take his brand spanking new Maverick HPX Kevlar Tunnel Hull flats boat. Now how can you argue with that? Why drive a Corvette when you can catch a ride in a Ferrari?
Anyway, we get to the area and just sit there for about an hour and observe to see if we can establish any kind of a pattern, see what they might be eating, and generally absorb any knowledge that might help us figure out how to catch them. Finally he says okay lets do it and we pull up the anchore and drift within casting range. He suggest we cast up stream and let the current bring our lures back towards us working them at different depths until we get a hit. We tried several different color jig tails and finally I feel a tug. I set the hook hard three times and start fighting the fish. It jumped immediately and confirmed that indeed it was Tarpon on! The fish made a couple nice runs and 2 more jumps before I finally manage to get the fish boatside so Capt Tommy can get a grip on the fish. He kept the fish in the water while he removed the hook and then handed the fish to me for this quick photo before the fish was released to grow bigger so I can catch it again some day.

I cant wait to go back in the Hotrod and see if I can do it Solo.

Capt Tommy Ziesmann (Tommy Z) can be contacted at (727) 432 - 0355. His website is http://www.action-charters.com/