Monday, October 18, 2010

Decisions to be made once again

I think it's time to end pike fishing season in the northern archipelago as all the murky waters of the river delta flow through it and make the fishing too difficult. Also it's a pain in the ass to move there by boat as all the underwater rocks are invisible now. This also renders a great deal of excellent pike fishing grounds further north totally useless. Luckily the western and southern coast will still produce some nice pike fishing as soon as the water gets clear after the last week's gale. But the jerkbaits won't be used this season anymore, as I only used them once this year and the only reason why I used them was the murky waters and one lure maniac in the boat on our last trip.

On the other issue that has been on my mind for more than a year now: I need a new boat. I have little rowboat by a little river in the middle of wilderness where it suits very well. On a trailer, I have a strange looking 4.5m long combination boat that was originally intended for both sailing and motor use. It has a full length, 30cm deep keel and it has some weight as a ballast. It has some nice features, it's very sturdy for its size and one could stand  on the side without excessive roll at all. It's also very good when letting it drift in the wind and the sides are not too high for pike fishing when behind some protecting archipelago.

On the other hand, it's very slow so I need to use a lot of time when travelling longer distances and it is way too small and low sided for the windy days and open seas. Also it is rather heavy for its size and the keel makes it run quite deep.

I've been looking for a center console boat in about 5 meter class with a 40-70 hp outboard motor. It seems that used boat market is way out of balance as the offering of such boats suitable for fly fishing is minimal compared to the demands. The prices are sky high and when a suitable boat comes on sale, it will be sold instantly if the price is somewhat right.

It seems that the boats larger than 5 meters are much less wanted. For normal pike fishing, a boat of 5.5-6 meters might feel like a little overkill and it will be difficult to maneuver when in the middle of rocks. Also the trailing will be difficult, as I need to change my car also. But on the other hand, there is no boat big enough when travelling to outermost seatrout islands through the cross currents and those bigger boats are available at very decent prices. It really makes me think.

Oh no, it's far too complicated once again. And it's getting expensive for todays engineer salaries. A boat, a car, my god.......

And now I'm gonna take a phone call for one 5.6 meter boat with a 70 hp motor. Good bye dear money, see you again in 10 years...

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