New West Coast 215

[jergofish]

Just back from the dealer with a new spring in my step. (Probably because my wallet is so much lighter!) and looking for delivery of my new 215 about the third week of May. I've gone with the Suzuki 175 as a power plant. Now that I've REALLY made the commitment I'll be bugging everyone on the list for installation tips for various goodies.

The "NO Nonsense" will look a little different from the majority of 215's, no T-Top and no bow rail. She'll be used for fishing in the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta waterway, Monterey Bay and two months in Baja in the summer, fishing out of Muluge. All fly fishing.

If she gets here on time, I'll have three weeks or so to hang all the goodies on her and put 20 hours on the engine before the 900 mile drive to Baja for the summer.

They say that this is one of the two happiest days in one's life, (the second being the day you sell what was once your pride and joy) but I've not found that to be true. I've owned four boats and I had a hard time selling three of them, the only exception being a 63 foot, 40 ton ketch.

The second saying about boats will definitely be true in the coming months as I outfit her. "A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into!"

Jergo,

Congrats on your new ride.

[Jman]

Jerry I fished Freeport,Garcia bend last year with my 210 did really good 13 Salmon hooked 11 landed... and ONE over forty pounds first time fishing jigs for salmon use to fish Isleton Trowling I'm definatley hooked on jiggin! Jman

[jergofish]

Jman, I'm not a salmon fisherman but it sounds fun. Isleton is only a twenty minute drive. I usually launch on the Mokelumne and can head south into the San Joaquin/Franks Tract or north up the river.

Almost all of my fishing is done with a fly rod, stripers and black bass in the delta. However I do own some conventional stuff and have a bunch of buddies that would love to spend a day on the 215 when it gets here.

The salmon run usually starts in July but I plan to be in Muluge, Baja Sur until August 15th. If it's a good run this year, (and it should be a record setter with the closure of the commercial season) lets see if we can hook up in the fall for a day and you can teach me what you know and I know nothing of.

After mid October you're welcome to come and do some fly fishing for stripers on the delta with me. If you've never fly fished, probably better that you just meet me at my boat and we go out together.

Let's keep in touch for the fall.

[jergofish]

Oh, and I forgot, I DO like eating halibut and with that picture, it looks like you could teach me a bunch about that!

[Genelie]

con grats on the new ride. What part of bajs fo you plan to head too?? I want to plan a trip one day with my ride.

[jergofish]

Genelie, Mulege is in Baja Sur on the Sea of Cortez. It's about 500 miles south of the border on Hwy 1. The drive is rather exhausting in that Hwy. 1 is more like a two lane county road with no shoulders for a large portion of the way and with erosion, sometimes has a 6" to 1' step off the blacktop so you can't hang a wheel over the edge without alot of scraping and some danger of loosing it! The road surface itself is usually in pretty good repair depending on the spring's rains. Since it's the only road south it gets a lot of traffic by heavy vehicles as well as autos, pickups and RV's. Most tractor trailer rigs in Baja are single so at least that's not a problem.

[Jman]

Jerry, I'm not a big Salmon eater my family and I perfer whitefish....Ilove to fish the Delta because of the differant species of fish,hey fly fishing for striper sounds like a blast! Jman

[Katsuo]

Congrats! I do a lot of saltwater flyfishing too, and have a 195CC about to be delivered. I also have no T-top, but I will have bow rails. I hadn't thought that they would interfere with fly fishing. Why did you decide against them?

I also just joined a trailer-boat club called Vagabundos del Mar, and intend to trailer my Triumph into Baja with them this coming summer. This is my first real fishing craft, and you can ask my wife if I seem more happy about this than getting married, etc... On second thought, please don't - it's kinda a sore subject.

[jergofish]

On the bowrail thing. I had originally decided on the 195. I really like the lines and it seems the perfect boat for both the delta and Baja but my wife comes into the equation and she really likes the 215, soooooo we ended up with the 215. How can I object to buying a bigger boat than I wanted!

I also will be guiding on the delta for stripers, black bass, and American shad (fly fishing, catch and release) and the 215 has a lot more storage than the 195 so in that way it's a little better for guiding. You'd be amazed how much, "junk" two fly fishers can show up with and expect you to load on the boat! The 215 has a very deep forward area, so deep that if you were casting with a fly rod you'd slam the rod down on the bow rail, not good for $650 rods! Even when standing on the front seat you're well inside the boat. The final reason for not ordering the bow rail is that the boat will be equipped with a Minnkota Riptide 70AP and the bowrail would just get in the way. Of the three reasons, the first, the rail being a casting obstruction is the main reason.

On the 195, when standing on the seats or on the platform insert, you're much higher and the bow rail would not be a problem. It MIGHT still get in the way for a trolling motor but I think the Minnkota AP series with the grip release can work around the rail.

Smart move to join us Vags. Make sure you get insurance on both vehicle and boat before heading down, boat license and fishing licenses as well. In theory you can have your boat confiscated if you do not have a boat permit or a fishing license.

I have a number of years experience fishing in Baja so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

If you're coming as far south as Mulege look us up if possible. We should arrive in Mulege about the 15th of June and stay through the end of July at least. My boat is the "No Nonsense". We still have to find a house to rent but you can leave a message at Las Casitas with Javier or just drive along the river road from town to the La Serenadad and look for a Triumph 215 on a trailer in the late afternoon.