Well with this winter white puke that has hit us and made my job miserable I have a situation. I have a thousand dollars in gill nets on the Ohio River. The river level two days ago was 14' today 19' and sunday going to 34'. There is three ramps within 10 miles of my home and all are covered with 3" of ice topped with 10" of snow. I am desperate to get these nets out of the water or they are going bye bye. Temperature is 20 degrees with very strong westerly wind. Nice roller waves.
So today I drove to my normal ramp which is about 80yrds down a grade and this sucker is slicker than snot. My buddy Gary is along for the lesson. Gary asked how are we gonna launch this boat and then how are we gonna get it out. I said we are gonna slide this sucker off the trailer, turn it around and sled it to the water. Now how we are gonna get it off the water? I have not figured that out yet.
So we push the 18x60 Polar Kraft off the trailer ,hitch it around and started pushing it with all our might. After about ten yards the boat starts sliding easier and after about thirty yards we are hopping in and sledding down the ramp. We hit the water wide open. Once out in the water I fired it up and we headed up river for our 7.5 mile ride to the dam. We pull the nets and have a bunch of asian bighead carp and about a hundred pound zebra mussel crusted log and one big rock. The current is rolling. We run back down river and pull some more nets with more asian carp and then I go back to the ramp. I dropped Gary off and he drives my truck and trailer to my buddys home on the river. I tie up the netboat to a big tree with 100' of rope and a big net anchor. Now my plan is on Sat when the water gets around 30' I gonna go back and see if I can tractor the boat trailer down to the waters edge and slip the boat back on the trailer. Stay tuned part two has yet to become a adventure.
When we were on the way home Gary said I have never seen that before and wish I would have taken some cell phone pics.
Just think what the GDSD would do on that slick ramp.
Randy

Hope you get your nets back and your boat don't wash away

where was the video camera

Hope all works out for ya, and dont forget the camera when you go get your boat! lol

Hopefully it thaws out for you... Kinda thawing out here, but im sure yall just got the tail end of the storm!

cool story Randy. Hope you get your boat out safely.

Back in the day we had a skid that would go into the trailer hitch. Kinda like a Ski. We used to drop boats off some crazy hills just to get at something. Take it off the bumper put skid on . Tie rope to tongue/skid. Back her down or pull it up

Hybrid - of first and last post...

We made friends with a guy whoose hous overlooked a nice bayou near a good duc hunting area - area was about 8 miles from nearest boat ramp - but house was easily accessable by land...

So we got to thinking - that was where we got in trouble - what if we rigged a way to just leave the boat here at Budda's house... A few beers and a few brain farts later we had a plan...

We would bring an old trailer which was about shot anyway - chain it to a tree - then just pull up winch the boat up on the trailer each hunt and walk up to the road with out guns an ducks... Oh I forgot to mention there was no was to drive from his driveway to the bayou - no way no how - NO PROBLEM..... We will just tie the boat down to the trailer like there was no tommorrow - launch the boat wit trailer still tied on and then just drive the whole combabulation to Bubb'a place 8 miles up stream...

Flawless plan - right - well first launch boat just follows the ramp angle till the transom goes under water - pull up and rethink - needs more floatation - no problem inflate big swim tube and tie it under trailer and boat... Back in and wala she floats - unhook trailer start backing in and nose of boat is sittin really low in the water wit the weight of the tongue... No problem - it floats - get in and bring the beer....

So we git goin at about 3 mph - all is well - more gas 6 mph - all is well for a while - about half way there we begin bumpin bottom - but the wheels are rolling - no problem... Sooner or later the swim tube gets ripped and bubbles start comin up around the boat... OH OH - what do we do - what else full throttle full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes...

Somehow we sorta get this nightmare close to a planing condition with the wheels bumpin the bottom wildly and occasionally hoppin a log or two... So whith the motor at full throttle and beer consumption at maximum to releave additional weight - yeah the beer went from the bottle to the belly but somehow that helped lighten the load...

Our guardian angels was workin overtime and somehow we made it to Bubba's alive without sinkin - chained the trailer to the tree and were basking in the glow of the brilliance of the plan - it's flawless execution - and our general good looks too....

Only problem - no truck - Bubba was gone for the weekend and we had no cell phone - dang that was a long walk but at least we brought good beer...

Randy, I am just sitting here thinking that I am sure you know what you are doing. But(there is always a but) how do you justify the trade off of possibly losing $1000 worth of nets to possibly losing several thousand $ worth of boat?

Just curious is all

damn boy

be careful

Be safe out there Randy

River I have thought of the risk/benefit but decided that the nets will wash away if not removed but the boat can float until I can get it out. The problem is the nets are in the boat My biggest concern today is barge traffic and bouncing it off the bank. I'm headed to check on it this morning as I go get some copper tubing to fix a broken water line that busted when our power was off for three days.
Kook, Gary and I was laughing about if we had taken our bow fishing gear and posted pics of shooting bighead carp in the winter. Just imagine how many guys would be out in the freezing cold trying to punch a 40 pound bighead not knowing the fish were caught in a gill net.
The river should be about 6' higher today so will see how the boat is doing.

Randy

I figured you had considered it.

Just found it interesting.

Randy, while I enjoy the genius of that plan and in case Joel hasn't already mentioned it...............you need an airboat! Could have ran that sucker up the ramp after getting nets NO PROBLEM!

I be tryin' to git a picture of all this !!!

All I can thank of is ....... Nets, BoatHulls, and Outboards can all be replaced ............ RandyMerta's are not very plentiful !!!!!!!

Be Careful out there Dawg !!!!!!!

Well the river is coming up hard but my boat is doing fine. I checked on it this morning and it is looking good. The down side is we are supposed to get another 2-3" of snow. The roads are in horrible condition so they are not spending any effort to clean the boat ramps. One ramp would be easy to launch with the snow and ice but there is a humongous tree across the road going to the ramp. Good news 45 degrees on Sunday. Its a wait and see now.
I would like to have a airboat right now so I could hook my boat up to it and pull it up the ramp to my trailer.
It will all work out.

Randy

Boat still doing good as of noon today. Hoping to get it out tomorrow. Maybe.
Randy

you are livin the life mr. merta hope it all works out for you

I was able to get my boat out on Sunday. I took my four wheeler and hooked my boat trailer up to it. I backed the trailer into the water and loaded the boat. Pulled it up to the incline to get out of the river bottoms and had trouble due to extreme snow and ice. My pard Gary tied a rope to his truck and to my four wheeler and he pulled the rig up the hill. Net boat now at home and in the barn waiting for the water to drop to get back out and soak some nets.
My new Turbo Hot Shot Stainless steel prop arrived today so making good use of my down time.

Randy

1000 dollars worth of gillnets doesn't seem like all that much to somebody who aint gotta stand there for days and hang it all in.prolly a million half-hitches involved too.
netman,i've never gillnetted in cold shit like you talkin'bout,but sometimes i come home with a sunburn on the back of my neck from the gamewarden's spotlight.
all we can legally fish down here is mullet,usually about a 10 week season.have you ever seen 10,750 pounds of fish in a 24 foot boat?you aint' runnin from nobody with a load like that.1.25 a pound = a good payday.last coupla' years been kinda'slow though.good luck to ya.

cajun outlaw I would love to see that much fish in a boat. What mesh are you using for mullet? I'm using 5" and 6" mono. 30 foot nets tied to 24 feet. 200 to 300 feet long. I have the same in multi but picking buggers out of multi gets old quick. We net in current/eddy lines during high water and catching trash is a everyday thing. Since we had the freezing rain all the tree limbs broke off from the weight of the ice and you can imagine what the nets look like with a river loaded with sticks and limbs.
A 200 foot gill net in a mesh bag is about a foot high and several pounds sitting in the boat ready for the water. The same net loaded with leaves,sticks,plastic wrappers and whatnot is about 3 foot plusj and one heavy mofo.
Right now with water temp at 35/36 degrees you can imagine nothing is moving too good.
Got any pics of that load? I would love to see. Good payday too!
Randy

i have pictures of several different loads like that,but they are not digital. a friend was telling me something about being able to scan them or something and then store them digitally,don't know how clear they will come out but i will try.i also have some crazy-ass kodak pictures from my snapper boat fishin' days.everybody knows that a fishin' story aint worth much without picture proof!
we use 3.75-4.25 inch mono for mullet.to be legal,it has to be multi-strand,no fishin at night,or weekends.400 yards per net,2 net max.only one net at a time.strike net only,no "set-netting".if you get busted,you loose your licence,they don't give new ones,they only take them away.a few years ago,there were only like 125 mullet permits on the whole gulf coast.
we do good at times with gar fish and drum fish too.you can get a hook and line lic.which allows you to sell as many as you catch but don't get caught with the nets!

netman, how's the market price down there? If I don't get dispatched by April I may have to start up again. VHS has really put a damper on things, I was helping a friend with raking/trapping willowcats a few years back made some good cash doing that.

The market where I live is based on how well you can catch'em and how well you can sell'em. I know of fish markets that buy fish out of the boat but its too far of a drive and and too much time spent on the road for me. I have customers that contact me for orders and I have a ad in the local paper to keep things freshened up. The area I live in was once saturated with comm fisherman and fish markets but since the river has been falsely proclaimed to be slimy and polluted the market is soft. Now once I hook someone up with some of my fish that is properly prepared and table ready they start placing orders. I converted a guy yesterday and taking him some fish today. Taking?? you ask well I sold the guy some fish and then he says 'can you use some of those old window weights'? Yes I can and so he has about fifty or so for me to haul off. I use them as weights for the bottom of my gill nets and they work perfectly.
There is a guy on the Wabash river near me that has done really well with net fishing. He has a outside restaurant where he fries fish that he has caught and cleaned. He is open on fri and sat only. He charges like 15 bucks a head for all you can eat. He has hyfin, cat filet's,buffalo ribs, and several sides. His place is called 'hard times', I laugh because he has a hard time counting the cash from all the customers that drive over my my area to have him fry fish. If anyone here came to my house and Hard Times was open I would take you there for lunch. Its good and kinda cool.
Right on the banks of the Wabash River. I go there to mow down the buffalo ribs.
I am going to do my best to start carrying my digital camera and take some action pics.
Mitch I hope I answered your question about the market. Mitch could you be more specific with what you refer to a raking/trapping willowcats. Every region has its own terms and slang and I would like to hear how you do it.
Cajun we set-net here and thats why its slow now. Too cold for fish to move. I look forward to seeing those pics if and when you get them scanned.
The state made a move to cut back on license here too. A couple years ago when I went to get the renewal they told me that if you did not comm fish last year you could not get a new license. I know guys who just net fish to fill the freezer and only buy a comm license every other year or so and got turned down. You have to fill out a daily log to and that clips a few guys each year for failing to do so.
If you guys want to see how things are/were done in and around my area there is a book you can buy/read called 'Flatheads and Spoonies' Fishing the Ohio River Valley. Lots of guys from my area mentioned in this book. All old timers now or deceased but a great reading book.
My plans are/were to retire from the Sheriffs Dept in a few years and then make my comm fishing business bigger and go full blown with it. However if you guys ever net fished before you will find that you have to go to another job just to rest. Will what and see about that one.

Randy

Randy

Randy, willow cats/mad toms are like mini bullheads. We would use a rake similar to a garden rake, but wider and pull vegetation up onto the bank or into the boat and start picking them out. You had to watch that you didn't take any bullhead fry tho. The traps where basically small wooden boxes 12in x 6in x 6in open on one end that we would tuck up into the milfoil and put a brick on top to keep it down creating a small cave environment for them to go into.

There was good money in it, sold them at 3-4 a dozen to the bait shops who then sold them for 6-8 a doz. The retired guy, I helped out made around $16,000 in 05 just doing this and he wasn't consistent.

Randy,
Your style of fishing amazes me.I have only heard of such thing .Stories from my uncles talking back when they were kids doing this with my Grandfather and Great Uncles in MS.If you get some picks of the nets with trash,debris,and fish .Post them up.It is very interesting just reading about it.In Texas it is all illegal.Hell we can't even use Yo-Yo's legally.Not allowed to shoot a game fish while bowfishing either.

gill nets are a blast! I do it alot in Texas. You should see the redfish we mop up on em. The gar just pizz me off. I get some huge specks too, real good stuff!

Mitch thanks for the info. I have never seen or heard of that. What species is the willow cat. I use smaller hoop nets for fiddlers[channel cats under 12"] Never seen the rake you mentioned. Have seen wooden slate traps but they were much bigger than the ones you mentioned.
Coastal will do on the pics. The river is on the drop so I should be back at it in a week or so.
It just amazes me how people fish just up or down the river. Cool beans thats for sure.

Randy

We have three species of them. The stone cat madtom, tad pole madtom and the slender madtom which is endangered. These only get around 3-4 inches long on average and to walleye their like candy.


Here are some pics.

http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/li ... e%20madtom