Fishing alone

[I Fish Therefore I Am]

thanks Guys. Marty, I worry about that as well. Thanks again to all.

[mrwalleye5]

Once fall fishing starts, I fish alone quite a bit. With the cool temperatures it weeds out the recreational fisher people. In their place are more hardcore fisher people that I find are more understanding and patient when someone is loading and unloading by themselves. Of course there are some places you have to avoid, but I'm sure you will know which they are. I traded up from a 17 foot aluminum to a 20 foot aluminum... Always a tiller. I'm not a spring chicken but I'm not a crippled up old cout either ( yet!) No different getting the boat in or out. Get a system and stick with the one that works.

[Rapscallion]

I tie a rope to a front cleat and to the winch post on the trailer, back the boat down till it floats off, pull up a bit so i don't get my feet soaked, untie from trailer and tie-off to dock, park truck.
When pulling out, I park boat, retrieve truck/trailer and back in, drive boat onto trailer (power loading is ok at ramps I use), climb out front of boat onto trailer tongue, winch it up tight and pull out. My Triton's bunk trailer is about as idiot proof as they come for getting the boat centered - a big help.

PS Always wear my life jacket when fishing alone.

[I Fish Therefore I Am]

Thanks for all the responses. On the life vest, I always wear one. Thanks again.

[B-man]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion

I tie a rope to a front cleat and to the winch post on the trailer, back the boat down till it floats off, pull up a bit so i don't get my feet soaked, untie from trailer and tie-off to dock, park truck.
When pulling out, I park boat, retrieve truck/trailer and back in, drive boat onto trailer (power loading is ok at ramps I use), climb out front of boat onto trailer tongue, winch it up tight and pull out. My Triton's bunk trailer is about as idiot proof as they come for getting the boat centered - a big help.

PS Always wear my life jacket when fishing alone.

This is the exact same process I use. Powerloading is illegal in most areas I fish, but I know where the trailer has to be and run onto the trailer at idle speed. Most times I will only need to winch the boat up 6".

My Warrior bunk trailer makes it virtually impossible to not be centered just like your Triton trailer.

[ChuckD]

I launch my 18+ Skeeter alone a lot. On some lakes, especially if the wind is blowing into the launch and I need to walk far away to park, I'll use the I-Pilot w/ spot lock mode and let the trolling motor keep the boat far away from the access. Then, it picks me up at the dock and off we go.. (I definitely get looks and comments, but it works. lol) I leave the remote on shore somewhere...

[Burr]

Originally Posted by shorthairsrus

my .02 -- -bigger the boat the easier it is to load / unload. Wind has less of a factor pushing boat from side to side --- I guess I would like to hear from you who disagree and why?

I agree, maybe it is also because my 20' boat is also my first boat with bunks.

I've never understood the comments that big boats are hard to load/unload as compared to smaller boats. Exact opposite in my mind.

Yes, it is slower, but that is only because I beach the boat, get truck, back it in, get back in the boat, drive it onto the trailer, get out of boat, get back in truck, pull it out. With 2 people it's more than twice as fast, but it's not hard by any stretch of the imagination.