Waiting for Insurance Companies and Wade Fishing.

Well, I have not been fishing since the accident on Dec 26th because I wanted to stay home in case the insurance company needed to contact me and I didnt want to miss a call to cause even 1 minute of delay of getting the Hotrod back in action.

Finally I was about to give in to my impulses and scheduled a fishing trip for today with one of my fishing buddies, Capt Greg... (Man, I sure got a bunch of buddies that are captains huh?) ...when I finally got the call I have been waiting for. The appraiser wanted to come check out the Hotrod Gheenoe...the next morning... between 10 am and Noon.

So I had to cancel my trip with Capt Greg (darnit) but I called another buddy of mine (who is not a captain...) and asked if he wanted to go wade fishing around Simmons Park. He said sure so we met at 7 am and launched our boatless selves and had a great time catching nice slot trout and small ladyfish on artificials for about an hour until he hooked himself in the thumb on one of the treble hooks in his lure. Unfortunately, his crimped down barb wasnt as crimped down as he thought it was though. He was stuck pretty good. He couldnt decide on whether he should yank it out or push it through and cut it out. It went right into the very center of the pad of his thumb too. So I volunteered to help him remove the hook. I grabbed it gently with a pair of pliers and said "On a count of three... One... Two..." YANK! "Three" He said he never even felt it. That pretty much ended the fishing for the day though. He said that the fish probably felt sorry for him and didnt want him to hook himself again.

So I made it home about 5 minutes after 10 and was worried that the insurance guy had come and left already.... but as I expected, He showed up promptly at 11:30. (I could have fished for another whole hour and a half... grrr.)

He took a couple pictures of the motor, a couple pictures of the Hotrod Gheenoe, took some notes, asked a few questions and said "Thanks. I'll file this report tomorrow and you should hear something soon." I said, "Wait a minute, I have a couple questions for you." "What do you think? and what is gonna happen?"
Basically he said that he would file the report. He thinks that the motor is totalled and he needs to get an estimate on the glass repair work on the Hotrod, if it is too much he would probably total it too. (It's barely scratched for crying out loud....) He said I would most likely get a check for the market value of my motor and the same for the hull if it is totalled. And they would come and get them... No F'in Way are they gonna take my Hotrod! The can have the motor but the hotrod stays. It can be fixed. The other thing is, I said how do they determine fair market value? He said that they have books and charts etc that list those things. I said what if fair market value isnt enough to replace my engine? I told him first of all it is very difficult to find a used 25hp Yamaha 2 stroke for sale and a short shaft like the one on the hotrod is even more difficult to find. (and more expensive too...) He said "Them's the breaks..."

Oh Hell No, I dont think so... In fact I think Im getting a stiff neck... and my spleen hurts...

Stay tuned...

Gotta New Toy...

I normally do all my inshore/flats fishing with a 7 1/2 foot light to med action rod. They in my opinion are the best for the flats because you can get good long casts and the rods have great sensitivity for feeling when a fish bumps you lure or bait. However most of my fishing lately has been in narrow mangrove lined creeks and other tight areas where accuracy is more important than distance.
So I called an acquaintance of mine, Jim Gamble at Dudley Rods and told him I was looking for a 6 1/2 foot rod with plenty of sensitivity and a fast enough action to allow me to still reach out when I needed to, yet enough backbone to turn a large snook or redfish and keep them out of the mangrove roots.
He told me he could build me just the right rod to suit my needs. He used a 6 1/2 foot G. Loomis IMX blank with 7 Fuji SiC guides and a skeleton reel seat with a cork insert. The rod turned out beautiful.
I put on an extra reel I had sitting around and tied on a small jighead I had laying around and practiced casting it around in the front yard. The rod has a very nice action, I can cast it far enough to suit most of my fishing applications and it is very accurate. I can tell it is going to be one of my favorite rods for fishing in the mangroves. I will post a full report on the rod after I put it to use later this week..like hopefully tomorrow morning..if the wind lays down...
Jim can build you a custom rod to fit any application you desire at an affordable price to fit your budget. You can even pick out different colors for you wraps to show support for your favorite teams or whatever suits your individual tastes.
Jim can be reached at www.dudleyrods.com. Tell him you heard about him on The Hotrod Gheenoe Fishing Blog!