PotomacBassin

So when I was winterizing my boat I decided I wanted to take my trolling motor off for the winter. This was my first attempt at doing this since I just got the boat this year and I'm not sure how BPS or Tracker mounted this thing on there. I unscrewed the bolts, which seemed to be thread locked on there, and they would just move in the counterclockwise direction but they wouldn't come out. There was no give in the mount at all when putting a little bit of leverage on it at all. Any idea how they mounted this thing? And when I attempted to tighten them back up, they just turn and turn and turn but never fully tighten. There is no give at all still when I put any pressure on it. I just don't want to put this thing down and it come flying off. I've tested it pretty hard and it seems to still be on there pretty good. Any thoughts?

Another thing to consider is when the backlash is occurring. If your reel has two brakes on it, one tends to help at the start of the cast while the second helps slow it down more at the end. If it backlashes right from the get-go, I would engage a few more of the disc brakes inside of the reel. If it is backlashing towards the end of your cast, you will want to increase the side magnetic brake. As you practice more, you will be able to control the speed of your cast with your thumb and to use your thumb as a brake as well. In addition, as you get more confident, you'll be able to loosen your spool tension knob for increased distance. But keep it tighter as the one post above mentions. I also agree with the other post about heavier lures when first starting out. I had a heck of time when I started out casting a little Rapala jerk bait. Some things are left better with spinning gear.

Very good info in there... I suggest you check it out.

My money pit all nice, new and shiny. Will never see it like this again.

I literally just charged my batteries about 2 hours ago. I wouldn't say I'm a battery expert, but here's my two cents. I'm sure someone will get on me about the dangers and I'm not going to say whether to do it or not, but I do charge my batteries inside. I do this in our extra bathroom downstairs in the basement with the vent running. Since my batteries are pretty much fully charged, I only give them about 20 minutes at a 10 amp charge to get the juices moving on the inside of the batteries. Again... just my two cents.

I already have touch up paint. They only sell it in spray cans so I'm going to spray it on a piece of scrap and then use a brush to get the small scratches. The mount itself is not smooth metal; thus the scratches. When I remount it, I was going to place a skinny piece of pressure treated plywood (1/4-1/2") in between the mount and the trailer so the mount doesn't scratch the trailer again. Do you think this would work well? I should have done this to start with. I might as well spray the mount to match the trailer while I'm at it too...

Only a few more months!! I went to fish off the shore at Leesylvania yesterday (not expecting to catch anything.... and didn't). It was a great day just to get out, cast some lures, and test new equipment. I just wish I could have taken my boat out. I really need a heated garage so I don't have to worry about winterizing my boat. This way I can go out on warmer days. Anyways I'm getting sidetracked. Can't wait for the spawn.

Thanks Dude.

Ok thanks guys. I may end up just leaving it where I have it now since the metal from the tire mount scratched the crap out of the paint job when I mounted it by myself. If I move it, it would bug the crap out of me.

Ok Thanks. It does look like you moved it forward some. It looks like the pinstripes are missing where it used to be. I'll have to see what I can do.

With the drag issue aside. Let the rod pull them in rather than winching them in. I see so many people just reeling and reeling and reeling.... rather than just using the reel to reel in the slack after your rod has made some progress getting the fish closer.

You said you were going to shop for two hours before lunch.... If you're anything like me when you go in there.... what seems like 2 hours will actually be 4.5 hours so make sure you bring a watch. Time flies.

How did you do this and what mount did you use? I think our trailers are a little different, but basically the same.

I couldn't find any horizontal mounts for under the bow. This was my first choice. Thanks for the assurance on the starboard side mount. I noticed that I wouldn't be able to see the trailer tire for backing up, but I figured I would just use the spare as a frame of reference since they are about the same width. Didn't think about the smoke though.

Ok so I just mounted my spare tire on my Tracker PT 190. I should have asked on here before I mounted it but I think I found a good location for it. I bought one of those that mounts on the side of the trailer vertically (not like the nice ones that mount horizontally). I mounted it on the ride side, about 3 feet in front of the right tire. It has plenty of clearance, but I'm a little worried about when I'm driving the boat back on the trailer at the ramp if I'm coming in a little sidways due to current. I just don't want the boat the ram into this. I don't think it will happen. My other option would have been to put it closer to the front, near the winch. I just wanted the tire out of the way of the winch so I could walk on the trailer easily to keep dry. Any thoughts/suggestions?

I would make sure you're even allowed to park it in your parking lot. I know complexes have certain rules on what you can park there. I live in a townhouse community and fortunately we're allowed to park boats 'temporarily'. So I park my boat in our designated spots and run a cord from the front of my house. However, a lot of people complain to our Homeowner's Association and even took pictures. Luckily I'm in good with the President of the HOA so he tells me this stuff. He also tells those tattle tales that I'm allowed to park it there. Anyways... I would just make sure you're allowed to even do it and if you're allowed to run a cord out of your balcony. I normally park my boat at an RV/Boat storage place but they don't have charging stations. So going this route doesn't solve your charging problem.

I was wondering how you mount you cell phone car mount on your boat. I don't think the suction mounts will stay on my windwhield since it's not perfectly flat and it may fall when going over waves. I was thinking mounting some velcro on the side of my driver's console but even that may not hold with the waves. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I live in Northern Virginia and always winterized my boats. This year I did it the weekend after Halloween because freezing temperatures were in the forecast the week after. There were plenty of days in November that I could have been out fishing, but I was worried of any water freezing in the lines. I got a new boat and motor this year and eople may already know this, but the new 2 stroke Optimax motors aren't supposed to be fogged since they can damage the injectors. Mercury says to add an ounce of oil to each cylinder instead and then rotate the flywheel three times. It was tricky getting the oil in there. I'm not sure if other new 2 stroke direct injected motors have this same requirement or not.

Awesome, thanks. It definitely looks like you know the way. It is a light boat compared to a glass boat.

Thanks for the info and advice. Ford recommends changing at regular intervals, but I've heard what you said before that changing the fluid can cause additional problems.

Thanks guys. I will definitely plug the livewell from the inside from now on to keep that water out. For the water on the inside, I will have to plug each of the holes (intake, outake, and pumpout hole) one at a time each trip that I take out. Are these standard 1 inch holes like the bilge drain? If they are then I can just use my spare bilge plugs to block them up.

Thanks guys. But now you have me worried about 81. Ha. I really don't want to go down 95 even though I'm on the south side of DC where the traffic kind of lets up. 95 is almost two hours longer. It would be nice to take 81 since it's a straight shot down but it follows the mountain range down south which may mean more steep grades like mentioned above. I might be alright... I guess I'll just have to make a decision.

Thanks for the feedback. The condition of the vehicle is pretty good. I just had new tires put on and It has about 45k miles on it, so I'm probably going to replace the tranny fluid here pretty soon since I tow so much. I'll definitely be taking the overdrive off when the roads aren't flat to reduce heat in the transmission. I don't have a tow package so the radiator is standard, but I don't think I'm worried about it overheating. Also the trip will be in late March/Early April so the heat won't be an issue yet. The trailer itself is in great condition since it's a 2013 and I just bought a spare tire and mount for the trailer so that won't be an issue. The hubs will be freshly greased as well.

I was wondering all of your opinion on whether it's ok to pull by boat with the SUV that I have from Washington D.C. down to Lake Guntersville. My wife's friend is getting married in Alabama so I was going to take off a few days and fish while I'm down there. So I have a Bass Tracker 190 and I pull it with a 6 cylinder Mercury Mountaineer (equivalent to a Ford Explorer). It's rated to pull the boat and everything but I've never hauled it over 3 hours before. I always see the pros pulling with big V8 trucks, but I'm hoping for good feedback from others that pull with just SUVs over long distances... thoughts? The main thing I'm worried about is the tranny, obviously.