Midwest FISHWHIP build - Now w/ Fishporn

One of these days I’m going to get around to a comprehensive write up on completely re-wiring my bed & cap. For now, my mistake that took me down that road in the first place…


TIP: if you’re having a cap dealer install your cap, even if they seem very nice, knowledgeable and highly rated, inspect some of their prior work on somebody else’s truck BEFORE you let them touch your whip!

The first sign of a problem was when I picked it up and found the power locking rear glass was wired to the drivers door. We specifically discussed passenger, and I even gave them wire colors and locations for the door sil wire bundle AND the OEM tailgate lock I had installed the week prior. Oh well, not a huge deal.

The truck also picked up its first scratch while in their care, but it’s minor and about the only thing I’m not disappointed about.

A few days later I noticed this gem…


Yep, that’s an unprotected 12v power wire in the front drivers wheel well. They even removed and discarded a frame plug to make the job easier.

No way that wire was going to hold up to road debris long term. Sure enough, about a year later the coating was damaged nearly completely thru from 20k miles of highway and gravel roads.

So I came up with a plan to “do it right”. Ordered up the needed stuff, and then started ripping out the dealers wiring from back to front…

That’s when I encountered this sweet OEM-spec cable management…


And then this little gem…


Yes, they literally spent the extra time to drill a hole in the floorboard vs running thru the rubber grommet an inch away. Probably not that much extra time since they didn’t bother to put primer on the metal they drilled, but definitely not faster than doing it the right way.

Upside: I got my money’s worth on the undercoating, because this hole was the only speck of rust on the whip after its first MI winter.

So, I definitely learned a lesson the hard way, and hopefully the tip helps someone else avoid the same.

Not enough fishing lately for fresh fishporn, so I’ll leave one from prior seasons summer brook trout mission.

canoe-porn?​

 

I just got done salmon fishing for a week.

Light tackle for the win!

 

Over-complicating stuff is the opposite of convenience. At least that's what I had to remind myself of as I was going down a rabbit-hole trying to come up with a good solution to closing the cap/tailgate from inside the cap...

After to many "complex solutions", 2mm Dynema continuous loops and existing screw/bolt locations did the trick.



One up top and another on the tailgate corner. A detachable paracord pull-handle I whipped together allows you to lift the gate from the inside. The gate is free of snags and obstructions when not in use.

Cost: Maybe $2.00 worth of zing-it and paracord I had on hand.
Benefit: Way easier to get back to sleep after a 3am bio-break.

In other news, the Whip went fishing, so here's some obligatory fish-porn:

(Actually, the Whip got a scenic 1,400 mile round trip, but had to sit out the week in a marina parking lot. Sorry Whip!)​

(Fumbling Fontinalis. Best retirement+birthday party ever...)​

(I was hunting for a giant, but pretty happy settling for this dude. By the looks of him, he could stand to eat a few more sculpin.)​

 

Put some trailer upgrades (courtesy of TW's talented fabricator @koditten) thru their paces this weekend...


Kirk, happy to report that they turned out awesome, and that many trout were sore-mouthed but not mortally wounded in the testing. Thanks so much! Going to seriously stress test it this weekend on "definitely NOT even vaguely boat launches" in Ontario, and confident they'll hold up great.

In other news, I think I've nearly perfected a tailgate version of Five Brothers Two's cafe con leche that cooks up in 135 seconds and zero wash-up. Pre-grinding the coffee (blasphemy), a move to evaporated milk (in tetra pack) cut with pre-boil warm water, and some vigorous stirring+shaking while the coffee brews makes it work. Just need to boil water and enjoy...

(A taste of the lower Key's in the North Woods)​

Sorry, no giant troouts this weekend, so no fresh fish-porn. I'll try harder next time!

Best,

B

 

Awesome, Brian! I was hoping for some updates.

Thanks!

 

Worked great at 37, Gleason’s, Bowman’s, and Mac. I’ll punish the hell out of it this weekend, but expecting it to do great.

Unexpectedly, trailered FS roads empty a bit better. Not sure if it was the new shoes or slightly added weight (probably both), but definitely spent way less time in the air.

Thanks Kirk! You rock!!!

B

 

Well, the WHIP just went on another excellent fishing adventure to the North Woods. Catching was a little sub-par, but the scenery, company, and visual fish eats were spectacular….

Started by converting the “barely a boat launch” I dug 2 years ago into a proper take out… Hard work, but much easier with shoes and proper tools this time.

(just has to be 1” wider than a drift boat trailer. Keep digging!)​

While it’s barely acceptable to wear Crocs in camp or around the house, it’s a hell of a way to learn your fishing bud of 25 years is a raging Swifty.


Afternoon sesh kind of sucked as they had the water raging. A 30kt upstream wind wasn’t much fun either.. so we made camp early in hopes they’d draw the flows down.

(Limited mature trees on the section we hoped to camp on, so I took the 25-ish year old bivy sac out of retirement. Surprisingly comfortable sleep.)​

They didn’t drop the water out late in the afternoon, so went on a hike around camp. I’ve seen a bunch of wolves in the general region, but never come across this…

(Savage canine.. )​

Solid nights sleep, and awoke to find they finally dropped the water out!

(Pitter Patter!)​

River Fritters! Breakfast of champions…

(A good straw hat is summer fishing clutch.)

I LOVE watching fish being coaxed into making bad decisions. Night time mousing for trout is a riot, but decided to commit to getting a good daylight eat. It’s a grind, but perseverance sometimes pays off…

(Epic daylight mouse eat from a chunky fella. Probably comes in at #4 best visual eat of (my) all time, but those are stories for another day.)​

When you crack the code, it’s always better to share with your friends…

(Sweet eat bud! A bit more practice and you’ll get one as big as mine! Smartass.)​

To celebrate, a proper shore lunch was in order… while we cooked, they cranked the water back up and that was about the end of the campaign. On to river two!

(Tony C’s for the win.)​

Pulled off the river under a proper rain storm, then ran the logistics to get on the second river assault.

(Ontario graffiti artists have their f-ing priorities straight!)​

For a second time they had the water raging, so we made camp pretty quick in hopes of them dropping the water out that evening and getting in some good fishing.

(What a terrible view! Bonus, this river is heavily wooded so I was back in the hammock for the night. Ahhhhh… relax.)

They definitely didn’t drop the water out that evening, but we made the best of it none the less.

(We’re from a cheap town. We eat hot dogs… Dinner inspired by N.Q.)

They DEFINITELY dropped the water out overnight…

(Game on! After we drag the boat 40 feet that is…)​

Apparently I slept thru TWO major thunderstorms that evening. Hammock camping is awesome!

(Def. weren’t lying… I slept thru the both of them like a baby.)​

We hadn’t even finished brewing the morning coffee when “Spoon Man C” went tight into a very fine N. Shore summer run! Promising start to the day boys!

(Kids destine to become a sniper, just like his old man!)​

Honestly, the rest of the day was uneventful. I’d love to chalk that up to my insistence on the low probability of swinging a mouse all day for summer runs, but the rest of the crew didn’t do much either…

Since we were having a hell of a time forecasting dam releases over a long Canadian holiday weekend, decided to chill and somehow we were able to grab a Lake Superior facing camp spot last minute.

(Brook trout burritos and Two Hearted. Hemingway would approve!)​

Trip came to an end all two quickly. Catch ratios pretty much sucked vs our historic averages. Wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world… Never regret time spent in the North woods with friends!

B

 

Excellent writing and pictures, Brian! Thanks for taking the time to document those experiences!

'Later

Kirk