TeamGonzo's finally back!!!

[TeamGonzo]

I know I've been away for a little while, but work has me traveling everywhere. I've been in Florida twice and Belgium once, for a total of three weeks. Now I'm back and guess what? TeamGonzo's finally got his own boat now. It's not much, but it's a boat. It will get us out on the water and get us back. I'm posting a couple of pics of it so everyone can see what she looks like. Me and Algonzo are hoping to take it out on the lake Sunday morning to test it out (if it doesn't rain). The mechanic said the motor (Johnson 70) is in very good condition and there are no cracks on the bottom of the boat either. The only thing he suggested was to have the timing adjusted under load. Does anyone know how much that will cost and where I could go to get that done? Boy, it feels good to be back.....and best of all, my wife got the boat for me for Valentines Day!!! AND.....she even gave me the hall pass to start going fishing again (now that the newborn is 2 and a half months). WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!

[Gentleben]

Alrighty well get ready cause crappie season fixing to start up.

[CajunDan]

It looks like a big ol' fat lickin pot hound layin on the floor of your garage....That'd be a hack of a fishin partner..... :lol:

[TeamGonzo]

That's weird cuz Algonzo (my fishing parnter and brother) wasn't even IN that picture!!! Ha, ha, just kiddin, bro! Those pics were taken at my buddies house who I bought the boat from. Luckily I don't have a lard of a dog like that!

[flatcats]

Hi Gonzo,

I haven't met you yet but I'm glad to see that you're back. There's only two things wrong with your boat... I'm not in it and we're not already on the way to the lake. :lol:

Just kidding, it's a sharp looking boat and it looks like it was really well maintained. I'm glad to meet you Gonzo.

Steve

[TeamGonzo]

flatcats, it's always a pleasure to meet new people! There's plenty of seats on her, so anyone is more than welcome to hop in if I see you on the lake! Yeah, the boat was my buddies grand-fathers before he passed away, so he maintained it very well. I'd like to do some things to it here and there like replace the carpet, add compartments, etc. Can't wait to get the bottom of my Valentine slimmy!

[JonW]

Welcome back, TeamGonzo! Good luck with your boat.

[Thin Water Tracker]

Welcome Back TG look like you'll be knock them dead here soon.

[dwaynez]

Welcome back TeamGonzo

nice looking rig,

[algonzo]

I took a few pictures of it last night... but I forgot the camera in the wifes car. I'll get some more in the daytime. Good lookin boat though. Can't wait to get it slimed....

[dwaynez]

Nothing wrong with a little slime, good sign that the fish are being caught. Good luck with the maiden voyage and hope you guys get into the fish.

[algonzo]

We'll be hitting the lake Sunday morning if the weather permits. I want to drop about 6 to 8 jugs and come back and pick them up about 2 hours later. We mainly want to get out on the lake and cruise around, which we haven't been able to do yet considering I only have a 6HP. We want to see the east and west forks, RR tracks, and mainly the dam, luces bayou, etc... just get fimiliar with the lake.... and hopefully bring home a slab of meat for dinner. We'll see.

[dwaynez]

Good Luck,

Hope the weather holds up and the fish are biting.

[JonW]

Keep in mind it's 11 miles to the dam from 1960. Take extra gas with you!

[Gentleben]

That bow rider will do good on jugs crappie bass and even watersking it's a good all around multipurpose boat.
Make sure your fire extinguisher is charged and all your pFDs are in the boat the lake patrol always checks pretty new boats

[dwaynez]

Good call Ben, nothing worse than having to pay a fine on the maiden voyage of your boat. Good luck you guys hope you catch more fish than you know what to do with. I am gonna try and get some fishing in this weekend if I can, hope the weather cooperates with me.

[algonzo]

JonW... thnks for the tip on the dam... I actually didn't think it was that far. Oh well, I'll take an extra 5 gallon can of gas.

Thanks Ben.... I'll double check the fire extinguisher before heading out.

Anybody care to meet us out there Sunday morning if the weather is OK. We sure could use a helping hand on learning the lake and the do's and dont's on those boats.

Lunch is on us.... Anybody?

[algonzo]

By the way, Teamgonzo got the Depth Finder, compass, lights, and everything going last night. We're ready....

[dwaynez]

Sounds like you guys are ready to start pulling in those fish, good luck and be safe this weekend

[algonzo]

So Teamgonzo and I finally hit the lake in his new boat.

The day started out as a desaster, as his boat would not start, and when it did start he had all kinds of problems. After finally sitting docked for a few hours we finally decided that it might be the battery. My father-inlaw went and bought a new battery, and about an hour after he left, we finally had a battery that worked. We finally got the motor to turn, and it finally worked. We took it for a spin, learn a few things about the boat, and turned out to be a good day.

The day had it's ups and downs, like the rain, and me hanging halfway in the water, and sitting around like idiots on the dock at Deusen Park for a few hours while other spend five minutes launching their million dollar boats.... but other than that, the boat worked fine I think, it just needed to be ran for a while. Now it will crank right up.

We didn't fish much, but I did manage to drop one jug with five hooks full of Charlie's Catfish Soap. When we looked for it, it was gone, Teamgonzo is still out there, hopefully he will come back with my jug and atleast a catfish or two.

We did manage to learn a whole lot of things about his boat, and boating in general, that we didn't know.

Maybe next time we go, we will atleast have time to fish.

Momma didn't want me to go, and it looks like I put myself in hot water, but she'll get over it. I guess it's too early to go fishing, considering that my newborn is only three weeks old.

I'll post more on this later.

[flatcats]

Yep, the old girl just needed to stretch her legs some. I'll bet it runs great after just a trip or two. It's a darn good looking boat too.

I hope you find your jug. It's bad to think it might be loaded with fish and you never get the chance to even see 'em.

Steve

[Gentleben]

The more you use her the more you'll like her and get to know her.
Hot water? every time i go fishing i get in hot water and i been married 36 yrs :shock: to the same woman.
Women do not like to see a man enjoy himself thats why they close their eyes during very intimate moments. :oops:
Hang in there, it will get better :lol:

[dpiper]

Remember Al the Christmas jug we found 5-weeks later with a fish on it. Good luck.

[flatcats]

You found a jug five weeks later that still had the fish on!??

[dwaynez]

Glad you guys got to get the boat in the water, on a first trip something goes wrong that is just the way it works, but it worked out in the end and that is what matters. Glad you got the boat running good and each trip will get better and better.

[dwaynez]

That jug may just be taking a ride on the back of a big ol blue or flathead, you should find it soon and hopefully the big cat that ran off with it.

[dpiper]

Yes and the blue had been on there awhile. It had a sore lip and it was a little skinny for a blue.

[dwaynez]

I remember you posting that story piper, pretty cool to be able to find a fish that long after the jug was lost and it still be alive and kicking.

[algonzo]

I don't plan on making it out there any time soon, so I wil consider that jug lost. Besides it was set a couple hundred yards North of the restricted Dam area. With my luck that jug will be floating right there close to the drop off where I can't get to. Atleast we got to see the dam. Although I wanted to see the bottom of the drop off and not the top part.

Maybe I'll take my wife and son fishing and see the other end soon.

Atleast I got a chance to use Charlie's Soap... although it remains a mystery if we caught anything or not. For Steve's sake, let's just say that a monster catfish took the soap (Jug and All) under never to return. Maybe it was that same one that attempted to murder our dear friend Gentleben. We'll never know.

[dwaynez]

Hope you are able to recover that jug, At least you were able to get out on the water and explore the lake. More good times ahead now that you guys will be hitting the water

[TeamGonzo]

Well, let's just say that the only reason the day didn't turn out so good was because we couldn't find that jug. We looked and looked, but the water was too choppy and it must have been dragged over to the dam. All in all, I mainly wanted to get the boat out and stretch it's legs. If we caught anything, that would have been a plus. But, my main goal was to get the boat on the water and get everything working on it. Everything works fine now that we have a better battery to start her up. I'm gonna charge up the other battery and use it for all my accessories. Everything is totally legal on it, from the first aid kit to the fire extinguishers, so we're ready now!!! Algonzo, after talking to the in-laws, it sounds like they want to go out on March 6 for a family gathering there at Deussen, so we might be able to find that jug afterall. Maybe we can actually start catching some fish then, now that our boat is ready and willing!!! Here's a picture of her with some of the new gadgets, but maybe next time the water won't be so choppy so I can set up the depth finder properly. All I know is she ain't pretty or new, but she gets in the water and goes! I like the fact that she sits low so it doesn't take much to lean over to pick up a jug, either. She's got some flaws, but she'll work! Algonzo, all we need now are the hall passes and some FishingTX.com decals to slap on the sides!!!

[dwaynez]

Nice setup, all that really matters is that it floats and gives you a way to get to the fish.