Arthur Saturday 8/19 - launch woes and bass tourneys

Headed for the launch Saturday around 2pm.  As we came under the bridge we saw two odd things.  First was the PAFC boat sitting out between the Bear Run launch and the swimming beach.  Haven't seen that boat on the lake in years.  Second there were a half dozen boats 100 feet from the launch whipping the water with lures.  I didn't pick up on the whole bass tourney thing until I saw the weigh in table set up.  The wardens must have only been "working" because of the tourney.  They came in close behind us and didn't check a single boat or cooler that we saw.  Three of them hung out by the weigh in area doing... ?  
 
Two other things of note.  First was me failing badly to trailer my boat.  Pulled the boat in the middle of 90 bass boats trying to come in.  Boat looked wrong but I pulled away anyway.  Turns out one of the bottom strakes (aluminum fin deals are strakes right?) was sitting ON the bunk instead of along side it.  SIGH.  Drove back to the launch, put in far enough to float the back end, pushed it over off the bunk.  Pulled the boat and drove off without making sure it was right.  And it wasn't.  SIGH!  Never had this happen in several years with this boat and had it happen twice Saturday.  I was over it.  Drove back to the launch through the same 90 bass ****s for a third time.  Bonus this time was some b**** who was prepping his boat right AT THE LAUNCH.  Idiot.  Third time was the charm and we got out of there finally.  I'd have expected one of the wardens to notice us doing that three times and maybe see if we were drunk or high or something but they weren't fussed with any wardening.  
 
Did see some impressive bass in bags headed for weigh in.  Impressive for a big dumb sunfish anyway.  I didn't weigh the one in my cooler that ate a fathead.  :)  
 
Moral of the story: sometimes the idiot at the launch is YOU, so cut people some slack.  Unless they are a bass guy parked in the middle of everything because they are a selfish Dbag.  

Wanna hear a good one? The oldest son and I put his Lund in at Buffalo Creek in Freeport amidst an entire launch full of trucks, trailers, boats, and individual vehicles taking up truck/trailer parking. We finally launch, I put the Jeep and trailer on the grass 'cause the morons have taken up the parking, we fire the big 90, and down the creek we go to the river. Get out on the river, turn downstream a 100 yds. or so, and we start fishin'. 15 minutes later, we're down the river a half mile from the creek, and Roger looks down at his feet and says, "where's all this water comin' from"? Had taken the plug out the week before, told himself not to walk away from it, (but he did), and didn't put it back in. All that storage and carpeting is under water. No problem, tilt the big motor all the way up, and he's able to get the plug back in. Snap on the bilge pump. No pump. Said it worked the week before. I said check the fuse. He pulls the fuse plug out of the panel, and the fuse panel breaks. He says, "what'a we do now"? I says we need to get back to the ramp and get the boat back on the trailer, and though we had to wait for two other boats, we got 'er back on and pulled the plug. The ramp at Freeport on the creek is pretty steep, and 15 or 20 minutes later, (and probably between 75 and 100 gallons of water, we rolled 'er back in and went fishin' for 4 hours. Nothin' to write home about. Stupid fish! And so....
Sunday a week ago, Roger and I go up and launch at Cowanshanock Creek, which puts us on pool #7 on the Allegheny. We're fishin' an hour or two, and my youngest, (Scott) calls us and says he's comin' up with my truck and boat. Told him to call us again when he got to the launch and we'd help him. Didn't hear from him for a long time, so we motored back down to the launch to find him sittin' on ramp with the plug out of my boat and the bilge pump runnin', and gallons and gallons of water drainin' from my recently rebuilt boat. By the time he'd parked the Ram and trailer and got back down there, it was sittin' on the semi-tilted motor skeg. Two meatheads were about to trailer two jetskis, and he asked if he could quickly get back in and trailer the boat, but they say NO!, and go ahead and load their skis. So when they got outta the way, he had quite a time pushin' the boat out deeper with the skeg draggin', but was able to get it back on the trailer and drained, whereupon I said, "put your stuff in here, (Roger's boat), and I'll use my own boat to finish out the day. Hope both of them learned their lesson about checkin' the ****ed equipment before ya go fishin'! Is the bilge pump and fuse fixed in the Lund yet. Nope. Not three weeks later. Don't wanta spend the time; he'd rather be fishin'.

Wow.  I'm so happy that my boat is bone dry and I ~NEVER~ pull the plug.  I don't even want to pull it to clean the boat, because of that kind of thing.  Last boat we drug down to NC and moored it at a marina.  Around day 3 or 4 we're putting out of the marina and some water sloshes in the back corner.  I look under the floor and it is FULL of water.  Try the bilge, doesn't work.    Fished, left it in the marina, drove back to the rental.  My dad says "it is starting to rain... that boat will sink!"  Ten minute drive back and the boat has enough water in it that I was sketchy getting in (I'm hippo sized on a good day).  Dad bailed the boat with a minnow bucket.  SIGH!  

While you have your boat trailored in the driveway and as level as possible, just add water.

There is an alarm, built in, called wet feet. However fishing with wet feet don't necessarily mean there's water coming in the boat. 😋

Zelie,

I have actually seen the PAFC boat there every weekend since mid May between bear run and the 528 bridge, even seen them pull a few people over and rescue a sunken sail boat this year.

Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you guys, originally my boat had a Rule bilge pump. It was riveted to the keel to transom brace, and it was tight to the floor. My new pump is a Johnson, which mounts differently. I had to mount it to a L shaped aluminum bracket. The closest to the floor I could get it leaves about 5/8" under the pump, so I pull the plug to drain that last 1/2 gallon or so. The nice thing about the Johnson is that if the pump fails, you just disconnect the wires, trip a little detent, turn the pump a quarter turn to remove it and toss it. The pump and motor is a cartridge. Slap a new one in and plug it in, and you're good.

I once launched my boat at buffalo creek ramp in freeport.  After fishing we pulled in and I tied the boat up.  Went up to the truck and backed down to see my boat going down the creek.  Luckily I had a rod in my truck with a heavy lure.  I threw out and hooked the boat and slowly pulled it back.  This was early season 50ish degree water so I'm glad that worked out.  Would have been a cold swim.