Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 22 February 2022 08:28

New boat owners
By Mike Gerry

It is the time of year that many of us venture into the world of owning a new boat, we take our shot at investing in a lot of fun, and it is!
The problem may be that many of the new boat owners have never backed a boat down a ramp or driven it on a busy lake full of tournament anglers speeding the lake and running around you as if you do not even exist on the water.

Believe me when I tell you it can be scary! You pull up to a ramp and feel the pressure of the folks in line behind wanting to get their boat in the water only to find out when it is your turn, you are not ready. You have zero experience backing the boat in and people are upset behind you because it is taking you too long to get in the water. The pressure mounts and you make a mistake and suddenly you have lost your boat, truck, and trailer into the water at the ramp and the day of fun turns into a day of disaster. I have seen it happen, it can happen to anyone, and it has already happened this year locally.

What can you do to avoid this from happening to you? Well, there are many things. Practice before you ever get to the ramp and/or the water. Learn to develop a routine of getting your boat safely in the water. Yes, practice makes perfect, and if you spend time and practice you can avoid most of the issues; a word of advice though, this also happens to experienced boaters so there is always a chance, but if practice sometimes dose not makes perfect, at least it will help.

I also can help you; I teach people to use their boat, from start to finish. From getting in line to dropping your boat in the water. I teach the how to, the routines, the safest way to make it easy and uneventful. I teach on the water boating, from understanding the rules of the road on the water to reading the buoys on the lake; yes, you may have taken a test and gotten a boating license but that is only the start to safe boating. Call me at 256.759.2270 and let me help you become more experienced.
Captain Mike