fishinwrench

A customer was unhooking his boat one time and crushed his foot pretty bad. His wife attempted to sue but he admitted it was his own mistake and that he was aware that his tongue jack was a POS so it got thrown out. Had one come in once with the complaint being that the fuel gauge quit working. If I had turned the key on or flipped a switch it probably would have blown us both sky high.....Cuz the bilge was full of gas. I always wondered who would have been considered liable if that had happened. I'm around fuel so much that I don't trust my nose, so I try to treat every boat that comes in here like a ticking bomb.... But I admit to getting a bit careless and taking alot for granted sometimes. I've been very lucky so far (knock on wood).

Things that should be so simple, are increasingly complicated nowadays. But I think the complications are self induced, to a large degree. Who is likely to be more careful, the guy who knows that if he hurts someone that he is gonna be in BIG trouble, or the guy that knows that no matter what happens..... he's covered ? I think all this "fully insured" business is making folks reckless. I have 2 vehicles, one is fully insured and the other I only carry liability insurance on. Guess which one gets moved into the garage when a hail storm is coming ? Guess which one I drive the most during deer rut season ?

Well pffft ! If you're a guy depending on part time guide money to make ends meet, then a bad stator can ruin you financially.

Yeah they're good boats. I have a surprisingly solid '89 Tracker glass boat that I just can't get myself to part with too. That sucker is put together really well. Here's the kinda stuff I'm talking about. Do you know anything about rivets? I have two boats from two different year classes where the builder stuck the rivets in the holes....But they never squeezed down. I guess the dude heard a pop and just kept on going. Never checked to see if the rivet actually bit anything. If you were a top of the line boat builder would you shrug that off ? Just depend on some RTV to hold that cap on? C'mon now. That's all I'm saying. True enough the cap didn't move.... But still ! Might as well just save the rivets and use thumb tacks.

If he falls out of the boat and drowns then he can't say he was a "client". So....If you're an unlicensed "guide" and your customer gets hurt....DROWN HIM !!!! Hit him in the head with a seat pole, empty his wallet and just kick him overboard.

Regatta permits aren't only for fishing tournaments. Any event, even ones held on private property require a RP if boats are involved. Even sailboats and kayaks. Only for lakes though, rivers are somehow exempt.....Which blows my mind. The other mind blower is that places that rent boats do not have to have one even if they rent out 100 boats per day. But if that place decides to host an "event"....then they do. Makes zero sense to me.

What is the maximum penalty for getting paid for taking someone fishing without all the alleged proper credentials ? I've never heard of anyone being busted for that.

Actually I think hunting shows are way worse. Nothing is more lame than watching a guy whispering in a tree while baited deer nibble on kernals of corn in the background.

Actually it's not Fish&game, it's the Mo Hwy. Patrol, and yeah the Brandon Ellingson deal pretty much showed that they do work with certain people to keep things quiet.

There is a whopping total of 53 bass tournaments on LOZ just for the month of May. Eldon Bassmasters Open Buddy on the 18th and the 25th out of Coffman. There's an open on Truman on the 20th http://fishforsight.org/ Osage Beach Bait & Tackle Opens on the 12th and the 26th out of PB2 A Holiday Hills Open on the 27th @ Holiday Hills. There are Monday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night opens every week. Here's how you find them all....https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/WP04Web/app/searchRegattaWeb?action=Search+Again I wonder how MLF got away without applying for a RP ? They were never listed last year when they were here.

Naw, they just want to see an official looking piece of paper. Many trailer manufacturers are now out of business, so a dealer of them does not exist.

It is silly, but nothing worth launching a campaign over. There are mechanics that quit their marina jobs and try to start "Mobile Marine" businesses around here all the time. They screw up stuff and force themselves out of town within a few months. I'd say that the fly-by-night guide thing effects the Established Guides about as much as the temporary "Mobile Marine" gigs effect me, which is not at all.

I didn't even have business cards. Referrals came from bait & tackle stores, restaurants, bars, motels and resorts who just knew me as a guy that was friendly and was always out catching fish. ? And that's all it took to generate 2-3 trips per week from April to October. Not making any assumptions here....But if a full time guide gets upset because a stack of his cards disappeared from the Hop'n'Go then he is only PRETENDING to be a full time guide. ?

I appreciate the kind words, thanks. Honestly I enjoy having something worthwhile to offer here. Plus hearing the problems guys are having and being able to answer some of them helps keeps me sharp.

I'm only carrying on in this discussion because I once was that guy. I charged less than the full time guides, but only because I had a less comfortable (less fancy) boat, and I fished areas of the lake that the other guides wouldn't even go to. I didn't set my prices based on being cheaper than anyone, I based them on my expenses which were far less than the guides from the Lodge and TT. Plus all of my clients were already pretty good fishermen, I wasn't having to babysit anybody's teenage kids or anything. Was I "insured to the hilt"? Nope Did I accept checks or take credit cards? Nope Did anyone, including other guides, ever complain or feel like I was hurting them? I don't think so. They were already booked solid and couldn't have taken another trip anyway.....So who did I harm?

Doing some guiding on the side should be no big deal. It didn't used to be so why is it now? Just because it isn't your main source of income shouldn't mean that you can't do it at all.

Personally I would like to see a 2-3" gully washer. I'm anxious for the whites to run. ?

I think there needs to be some study and testing completed before participating in these "sanctioned" tournaments. I think there might be a bunch of unlicensed, rogue, fly-by-night Pro's out there.

Conspiracy theories ! Stop saying things like that, it's anti-american !

Yeah cuz ordinary local fishermen that haven't been "tested" get hit by tugboats and run into bluffs all the time.

The licensing and certification crap that is required of "guides" now is a bit rediculous. Most people would be perfectly happy with a guy that is friendly, helpful, knows his way around safely, and can put them on fish. Others apparently need someone who will "take them into custody" and be 100% legally responsible for their health, welfare, comfort and happiness all day. Their guide has to be a rescue ninja and a paramedic to boot. Anything other than that is considered "fly by night". That's fine, whatever, but the powers that be shouldn't deny the simple guy (guide) from trying to make a living.

Yeah it can be done, sho-nuff. Last Fall I put this rig together, including trailer, tax and licensing for under 1300.00 But this is a thread about bass boats, and from what I can tell by messing with them nearly every day for 30+ years, is the guys that get the best bang for their buck are the ones with a budget of 5-7k. A 10-15k bass boat won't do anything that a 7k bass boat can't do.

That's funny ! Nobody boats for less than 5k. ? That 1200.00 rig is gonna need a water pump, a carb job, and some gearcase seals at the very least. Wheel bearings and trailer tires too. Couple of batteries. Gotta have some sonar. I get some real "steals" brought in here from time to time, but by the time it's dependable enough to get out of sight of the boat ramp..... Usually the investment is about 5k.

A Sleep Study discussion sounds like an excellent way to hijack this thread. What are some of the more common problems, and what can be done to cure them? If you had a 80k bass boat in your driveway you might not sleep very good. I'd be afraid that a junebug might fly into it and make a poop smudge, probably wake up in a cold sweat, and run out there in my underwear with a damp chamois every hour and a half.

Heck Yeah ! ?