RCL Adventures

[Waz]

Curious to hear how the boats held up in Lake Erie. Was at Green Bay last year and saw some boats and people punished by mother nature. Any stories from Erie? Who's the driest who's the wettest? Cracked windshields? Swamped boats? Lost or Damaged equipment? Any recommendations for running on big water in nasty conditions? Personally I'm a chicken. Anyone kiss shore when the got back. That's what I do after I'm done hurling.

[Co-angler]

One of them new Crestliners almost went down but I hear it was driver error. Tooks a couple of waves in the boat. It did not help that the bilge pumps supposely failed also.

Another Crestliner messed up its hull the last day of prefishing. This was not one of the newer models. He ripped the aluminum sheeting right off the strats(sp.) The rivots came right through. I was impressed that the Crestliner team actually got the boat fixed and in the water the next day. The bilges failed on this boat also the next day and they were in by noon.

Overall I was impressed with all of the boats and how they handled the water on day one. I was fishing in 6-7ft seas in a Ranger 620. For the most part, it was very dry. Very little water spashed into the boat.

[Juls_WI]

The first day was pretty neat. Let me just say that more than once I was singing the theme song to Hawaii Five O! Heheh
We had some decent 6 and 7's following us at times. For the most part though the first day was a 3 to 5 day. Not to bad. My pro, Chris Bahl, was driving a Ranger 620, and we had a nice ride. Not to wet for the most part, but there were times when you just couldn't get out of the cross chop and the waves would hit the boat just right, and splash us. That is to be expected though. No big deal. The only thing that would have made the ride better, would have been to have some Glyde Rydes in the boat, but heck, you can't have everything! ;-)
We did lose our GPS the first day, while out about 20 miles. We didn't have a back up compass or handheld either. We couldn't see land, due to fog, and we didn't have any other boats in sight. We just kept our heads and remembered that the wind had switched in the late morning, and was coming from the Southeast (home). We headed into the waves and eventually found a boat that was headed in. We were prepared the second time out though. I brought the handheld and Chris had purchased a new compass that evening. It could have been worse. Had Chris panicked and made me panick, in a worst case senerio, we could have been a headline in the local paper the next day..LOL He made me feel safe at all times, and I thank him for that. Job well done Chris!

Let me just say before you start bashing him for not having all the right equipment on his boat....
His rig was not ready yet, and we had to fish out of his sponsor's corporate boat. His boat would have had two gps's on it, and all the other goodies we were missing, like a kicker motor! Anyway, we made it, and we caught fish. That's all that matters. We had a good time fishing together. I hope to someday have the pleasure of fishing with him again someday!

Juls

[FJH1]

Hilariuos. ROTFLMAO! :-)

[Bahl]

Thanks for sticking up for me Juls!!!! I had a great time fishing with you and I would like everyone to know you are definitely one of the best fishing partners I have had the pleasure of fishing with. You have learned well and are well on your way to "stepping up" to the next level. You are very professional, present yourself well, and have a great head on your shoulders!!! I am looking forward to seeing you in LaCrosse. I hope that we can fish again in the future.

By the way, thank you for turning me on to this great site. I will probably be a "regular" from now on. For everyone else, the RCL is for real and I believe they have done a tremendous job. Please let the people at Wal-Mart, Genmar, and all the other sponsors, you appreciate them supporting your sport. Our sport was in desperate need of a "Bill France" and think we may have found our chance. I hope that everyone supports the RCL and its future success. If you have any questions about the circuit or are interested in fishing it, please e-mail me at teamstizo@home.com!!

Keep it up JULS!!!!!!!!! You are a true ambassador of our sport. Thank You!

[Juls_WI]

I'm glad to see you finally found us Chris! Thanks for the kind words partner. That means a lot to me.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed to draw you at LaCrosse! We can go catch some more "pounders" (said in Wisconsinese..heheh)

I will email you my cell number, so we can hook up at LaCrosse. I want to see that new rig of yours. I'm hoping you have it by then..;-)
You know, I'm still hearing your "get psyched up" music you played before we hit the launch...I got a kick out of you and Josh! Too cool. You made it a very memorable experience for me, one that I won't soon forget. Thanks so much!

Juls

[Bahl]

Thanks!!! You have to your gameface on before gametime!! I called today and made sure they hooked up both GPS'. I will also make sure I put that new compass of mine in the Stizo rig. I will look for your e-mail.