Friday, September 18, 2009

Beating The Monsters, Susquehanna River 09/18/09

I had one major task to do this morning before going fishing and that was to "Beat the Monsters" that had invaded the Southern End of Lancaster County!

I knew that the TMI Generators were heading out from their resting spot around 7:00 a.m. I had spoken to a road crew manager yesterday and made sure I asked. :D

So, I was up and moving by 5:00 a.m. I quickly made a small lunch and readied the boat for towing. My first stop was the gas station to put some much needed gasoline into my truck and boat. Then it was time to head to George's Restaurant for a healthy breakfast to get a good start on the day.

I was back on the road at 6:30 a.m. and the traveling road crew already had Rt. 272 S closed just south of Kendig Square Shopping Center. I made some quick road adjustments and I was on my way. I spoke to smallieman later in the morning and he told me that his milk run was all messed up by the road closings and he had to detour pass my home to avoid the whole mess.

Here are some pics of the TMI Replacement Generators. I believe it was reported that each weighed in at 78 tons and rode on a trailer train with 104 tires!! These generator units were built in France and have traveled up the Susquehanna River on barges to Port Deposit, Md. Their land journey began in America at this point and has been traveling at 3 mph until they reached Willow Street, Pa. this morning. Someone told us yesterday that the convoy had a slight delay at Buck, Pa. due to a computer glitch.

Many smaller bridges could not support the weight of these generators and a bridge crew built several strong rock bridges to aid in the generators' travel to TMI. One of those bridges is very near my home.

There were 17 PA. State Trooper cruisers and one Pa. State Police van at last night's resting spot. These troopers stood guard and assisted people in crossing the highway to see this once in a lifetime sight. The traffic control was very well run and the traffic ran rather smoothly past the site.

Here is my youngest son, Zach, with the No. 1 Generator in the background
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Same angle, but you can get a better understanding of the generator's size
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Generator No. 1 with Pa. State Police Protection
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The two men standing on and near the trailer were Frenchmen who have traveled with the units. Much of the writing on the side of the units is in French.
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Generator No. 2
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From Lancaster County, Pa.Horse Power to TMI Nuclear Power
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Fishing Trip


I had a fantastic day fishing. Well over 25 bass came to hand with most being in the 14" range. I had 7 bass that measured 15 inches or more. One measured in at 17" and the very next fish was this beautiful 18.25".

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I had one blow up on a buzzbait. A couple came on a LC Pointer 100 in slack
water behind boulders. I used three different style crankbaits today and each caught fish. The Super Spot in Chrome and Black Back, The 3/8th oz. Big O in Firetiger, and a Bandit 100 in Chart.Black Back. I had doctored the Bandit up with little black "eye" markings on the rear sides.

I also threw a Tiny Torpedo, Pop'R, and a variety soft plastics. I failed to catch anything on them. The only time I used the soft plastics was to follow up on surface rolls that were nearby.

The water temp was 67 degrees and I had overcast skies all morning long with a few sprinkles. The sun didn't break out until 12:00 noon.

The air temp was 57 degrees at launching and rose to 72 degrees by 1:00 p.m.

I scared the eagle out of it's tree as I ran north along the shoreline. I usually see the two eagles in this general vicinity each and every day I fish this location. On a normal day, quite a few Great Blue Heron spook out from along the shoreline. Today was no exception.

dadTB