L.A.K.E. 2017 Fall Camp & Paddle

    Well, it is that time of the year again for my annual Fall Camp & Paddle with my local kayak group.

    This time we had it at Bolding Mill Camp Ground on the North end of the lake (Lanier). We had a great campsite and lots of the members showed up. If I had to complain, my only complaint would be dogs barking throughout the park while I was trying to sleep. This campground allows pets and I think just about every camper took advantage of it.

    I showed up around noon on Friday and stayed until Sunday morning. We had a camp meal on Saturday and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The main course was Chili provided by Jim and Mike. Thanks, guys!

    I got a lot of fishing in on Saturday but could not manage to catch any. That seems to be my standard for these outings LOL.  Completely my fault since I do not get up early and put the effort in. I can live with that LOL.

    I did manage some pictures and I hope to add more, once members post them up.

Here are some pics by Darian....

Here is a video by Louis

Pic by Brandon...

Range Time

     Well, I finally got to the range to try out my new P238. I purchased the SAS model a few years back and ended up selling it to put a new front end under a 50 Chevy. (I try to fund hobbies with hobbies). Well, I missed it from day 1. I went last week and replaced it. I did not get the SAS because I like to buy local if  I can and I could not find one. So, I went with one from Academy Sports with SIGLITE® Night Sights.

    Initially, the gun had feed problems with the first round out of the mag. My first one did this as well. I sent that one back to Sig and they polished the feed ramp and it ran fine after that. I polished this one myself (gently) and it seemed to clear it up with the factory mag. It still does it some with the off brand mag I purchased at Academy.

The other thing, the front sight was off to the right about half a post width. I protected the slide, put it in a vise, and adjusted it to close to center using a wood dowel and a hammer. This was easier than I expected and kept overshooting center but it worked.

Here are the results from an hour at the range....

I also took the New Agent and shot a few rounds down range....

Just Some Gun Stuff

I also use this blog for photo hosting. I still try to keep it outdoor related.

Gun Porn

Sig P238

Pic to post elsewhere.

Charleston On Lanier 9.18.17

    Now that the storms have finally calmed down I was itching to get back out on the water. I got with my buddy Jim and we put in at Charleston Park to hunt some Stripers. I actually brought my GoPro along on the trip but it was having some issues connecting with my remote so I missed some early morning topwater action. Throwing a small white Spook, I had one hit at it three times but I was messing with the camera and missed it, Grrrr. Jim had a topwater strike and miss as well. As the water temperature drops the action should pick up in the next 2-3 weeks.

    Not much luck on the downline or trolling. It could have something to do with the lake starting to turn over. Reports told me the bite would be tough right now. Here are a couple shots of bubbles from lake turnover....

    Water temps started around 76 early in the day and got up to 79 at times. We fished with Bluebacks and jigged on occasion with bucktails. We fished Six Mile, The Dam and Old Federal.

    We both managed a catfish though. Jim did not get a picture of his....

We had an awesome lunch at Pig Tales and dinner ended up being Gordons LOL Can't catch Em' Buy Em' LOL

More Kayak Trailer Work.

    Well, my annual Bear Island trip is coming up in October and I wanted to take the smaller trailer to haul my kayak.  My bud in NC also likes for me to haul his canoe so I decided to add an upper level to make this happen.

    Basically, I just notched the top lip of the trailer and welded in the 1-inch uprights. I also welded them at the bottom. Once those were in place I welded in 3/4-inch cross bars. I bought the cross bars at a different store and I thought I picked up the same size. I think they will work fine though. I may weld some support on if it gives me trouble. Most kayaks and canoes rarely break the 100-pound mark so this should work since that weight will be spread out to 4 locations on the bars.

    Once it was all together I primed and painted the whole set up. I also ordered tube caps for the 4 uprights to smooth off the top as well as prevent rain from getting in the tubes.

    I can't wait to see how it does on the trip up to NC. If it works out well I may decide not to sell it after all. As of now, it's still for sale (after I'm back from NC :)) )

G3 Odds & Ends

    So I added LEDs and a rod holder to the G3. I put a three-rod holder on the front deck face so that guest would have options for their rods. As it is now, my trolling rigs take up the T-Top holders and my casting rods usually use up the side holders. This left only the ledge on the side for laying their rods. This would put them at risk of being broken or sliding out the back!

    I put one on the YETI as well!

I also added two 16.5 strips of green LED lights under the gunwale on each side for night fishing. They were actually about a foot too long so I cut them and can reuse the two sections elsewhere. One will probably go under the console or I will light up the storage bins at the front.
 
    There were openings at each front corner to route the wires in and I used a tape to fish them over to the hole for the trolling motor plug. from there I ran a positive and negative through a conduit to the starboard storage bin. If you unscrew the bin and lift it out, you have access to the original interior light mounted to the front panel there. I unhooked that light and plugged the LED leads into that harness. This allowed me to use the interior light switch on the console to power the lights.

Here are links to the new toys....

3 Rod Holder

YETI Holster

LEDs