Page 3 - Crappie NOW - July 2018

Opening Cast

First boats are memorable. My
first was a simple johnboat, 12-feet long
July 2018 EDITOR/ SR. WRITER with a 32-inch bottom and extremely
low sides. My partner, James, and I
went halves on everything. The boat
IN MEMORIAM was $40 and had a few dings due to
being carried 200 yards in a tornado. It
had character.
WRITERS We bought and rebuilt a used trailer. Added a 5 hp
Darl Black Eska motor. It had no reverse but it would swivel 360
Vic Attardo degrees. The shear pins were a problem in the stumps.
Ron Presley Later, a neighbor loaned us a 6 hp Johnson that we loved,
Vernon Summerlin but soon learned it was stolen since he wouldn’t sell due
John Phillips to no paperwork. It didn’t stop us from using it, but it was
Greg McCain a worry until our next upgrade to a 7.5 Chrysler.
John Felsher Our boat was severely overloaded, but that was no
Ron Wong issue because we weren’t experienced or smart enough

to realize the danger. What bothered us was the boat’s
ultra-thin aluminum. We carried five-minute epoxy for
repairs at the lake. Quality repairs were made at home,
at night, with the boat flipped over and a light underneath
it. Every place we could see light got a coating of epoxy,
so a fourth of the bottom was coated by the time we sold
it.
We splurged on a new Minn Kota, but only after
I fell through the ceiling in my house while repairing a
leak. A payoff from the insurance company, and a few
shortcuts on house repairs, provided enough money to
buy the trolling motor.
There were a few close calls. We were hung up on
stumps in the middle of Lake Conway while fishing at

© Copyright 2018 night. We bounced, did circles, pushed and pulled to get
off stump after stump. More than once we thought we
were sinking. A bass tournament takeoff at Lake DeGray
nearly put us under, too. The list goes on.
James liked to drive his truck 80-plus mph on
Tip of the Month....28 interstate; still does. Not a big deal, except for the
revolutions-per-minute of our little 8-inch trailer tires. We
expected a “Call your buddy because he’s never seen a
Photo Contest....30
Cover Photo: wreck like this” moment, but there were no catastrophes.
Barry Morrow and Chad Maupin I’m old now. I won’t get into a boat that isn’t safe.
won the Crappie Masters One- However, I’ll always cherish the fun and memories with
Pole Ultimate Challenge at my fishing partner and our first boat.
Truman Lake, MO
Crappie Calendar....37 Tim Huffman photo Good fishin’ & God Bless,
Tim Huffman, Editor/Sr. Writer

3 Crappie NOW July 2018