Now into Week 4 of recovery from quadruple bypass surgery and I’m slowly getting some energy back. My appetite is also returning after losing close to 20 pounds. Quality, deep rem sleep is hard to come by, but the anxiety issues are getting better.
Enough about all that, let’s talk about things to do during the dog days of summer. While health wise, I’m still a few weeks away from dropping my boat in the water and getting back to serious fishing, now is a great time to head into my fishing man cave and reorganize, clean and respool a few reels for some good fall use.
After a busy spring tournament schedule my fishing man cave is a disaster. Bags of baits that should be on pegs are laying everywhere. I’ve got tackle boxes scattered all over the room that also need to be placed on a shelf.
Some of my crankbait boxes need to be gone through to consider certain baits that might need to be replaced. It’s also a great time to check the hooks and replace those old treble hooks with new ones. This is one area anglers can sometimes overlook until they lose a few fish, and it costs them a high finish.
Outside the fishing man cave, another thing anglers have to be conscious of this time of year, with temperatures reaching the mid to upper 90’s, is leaving soft plastic baits in your boat. Point being, high temperatures will melt soft plastic lures making not only a mess but costing you money.
Hopefully you’re fortunate enough to park your boat under a carport or inside your garage. But even in the garage, temperatures can reach extreme highs. I have a large fan that I run daily in my garage to help keep the temperature down.
If I know that I won’t be fishing for quite a while during those hot summer days, I’ll remove the soft plastic baits from my boat and store them in my air-conditioned fishing man cave.
After reorganizing the man cave, next I’ll take a look at the fishing reels that I have used most of the spring; clean each one as well as drop a little oil on the gears and moving parts. High dollar fishing reels only act like high dollar reels if you take good care of them.
Once your fishing man cave is in order, now is the time to get into your boat and clean it out. I take everything out of my boat so I can clean all the lockers. It’s also the time to take my spring tackle out and put my fall tackle in.
And while you’re at it, why not clean any major carpet stains? The best thing I have found to bring your boat carpet back to looking new is shaving crème. Take a small section at a time and apply the shaving crème then scrub with a soft brush or rag.
Let it sit for about 10 minutes, then rise with water and you’ll be amazed at how good your carpet will look. It’s also great for the new marine deck foam flooring that has become so popular.
These are just a few things to add to your summer to-do list in order to make sure you’re ready for some great fall fishing. ‘Til next time, stay cool and avoid the summer heat.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com