Elkins45

True, but it’s a short trip to the front for the loose stuff.

I just spent $500 to replace the cable steered MotorGuide on my V hull with a PowerDrive. It has the wired foot control but I can upgrade it to accept the fob. For myself I could never get used to the cable steer. I eventually worked out a method where I placed it horizontally between both feet and steered that way, but otherwise every time I hit a wave it would cause me to spin the motor around as my footing changed. I hated cable steering. I think I would have chosen a fob alone over cable steering. I think even hand steering would have been better for me.

I did not.

I hadn’t used the Jon until today this year, and today I went to a small local lake to do some bobber fishing. My 9.9 Evinrude started fine but ran terribly at full throttle. I figured it was bad fuel gumming up the carb, but when I got home and popped the cowl I found this mess: I hope I didn’t suck too much of this stuff down the intake. Next year I will remember to “look under the hood” before I pull the rope the first time.

My first modern baitcaster was a Daiwa PMA1000 that I bought in 1987. Even though it’s just about worn to dust I think it’s still my favorite reel.

Involuntary expense so far has been a new starting battery. What ended the season last year as a super cranking maniac with plenty of reserve capacity for a week-long trip turned into a completely dead lump with 0 volts. I think a cell must have shorted out because it went from hero to zero in less than a month. I’m also replacing the trailer lights on the Jon boat trailer. The wiring on the navigation lights has all cracked and needs replacing as well, but now that I have the G3 I don’t know if the Jon will ever be run at night again. Still, it’s always better to have it just in case. Voluntary expense has been a new Powerdrive trolling motor. The boat came with a cable steer unit and I just never was able to warm up to it. My old Astroglas from 1990 had a Minn Kota with electric steering and I really preferred that. Farm and Fleet had the 12v unit on sale for $479 online so I broke down and ordered it. It’s a Bluetooth capable motor so I could add copilot or I pilot if I want in the future.

That sounds like a really good idea. Are they on a separate circuit or tied in with your tail lights? Are they switchable?

For a small motor you can make a pretty decent homemade transom saver with some scrap lumber and a couple of bungee cords. It doesn't have to be a metal tube. Wood is pretty strong under compression.

I went last week. It was down several feet and nobody I spoke to was doing any good for bass. They were catching some crappie. I only boated one fish in two full days of fishing near Harrison Bay.

My old Johnson 85 was a cantankerous jerk of a motor that liked to overheat the starter at the worst possible moments. I got pretty good at pull starting it as the rain clouds were closing in. It definitely builds upper body strength. I made myself a two-handed pull rope so I could yank it through a full rotation.

The weight difference is the big thing. Aluminum is lighter so it is easier to pull on a trailer and doesn’t need as much HP to bring up to speed. It also has less draft so you can take it into shallower water. The downside is that Al isn’t as stable in the wind and tends to get blown around more on a windy day. Fiberglass, being heavier, tends to give a smoother ride and is more stable in the wind. The more expensive and fancier boats are almost always fiberglass. Generally speaking a fiberglass boat will accept more powerful motors and will give a better ride in rough water, although hull shape makes a big difference there as well. You’re not going to find many budget-minded boats in fiberglass.

Do you know if you have a preference between an aluminum or fiberglass boat? For overall value it's hard to beat the Classic package that Tracker (Bass Pro) is offering right now.

Mine was a 25HP four stroke from 2003.

When I added guides to my trailer I picked up some cheap LED lights from Amazon and added them to the uprights. They sure help when backing the empty trailer down a steep ramp because I can see the lights on top even when the rest of the trailer has dropped too low to see. They're also right up where someone following close can see the brake light come on. The dome lights on top are held in place with a big gob of JB Weld and the wires go through a hole cut with a hole saw.

Back where it belongs...

Does it have a flush fitting? My Yamaha had a thingie on the power head that could be screwed onto a garden hose to flush the head. That’s what I used to blow out the mud pack. Since you’ve pulled the lower you might consider sticking the hose nozzle up into the tube and give it a good blast. If it’s water soluble that might clear it. Of course if it’s not you run the risk of jamming it in even harder. That’s why I would backflush it if the motor is set up for it.

I would run it submerged and under load before I decided to start messing with it. Lots of rough idling problems go away once a little bit of fresh fuel goes thru the carbs.

Check for silly stuff like the controller being in gear or some other interlock switch being activated.

I had mud dauber wasps build a nest inside the intake on my 25hp Yamaha. You couldn’t see it from the outside but when I backflushed it came out the lower unit in big muddy chunks.

Honestly the reason for a stainless prop isn’t performance to me. It’s durability. A propellor is almost a consumable item to me because if there’s a gravel bar or submerged boulder within miles I will find it. In reverse...

I paid $600 for a silencer for my 30 caliber rifle. It’s basically just a fancy steel tube. How many silencers would a manufacturer have to move per day to make a decent living? You figure even a one man shop needs a couple hundred in clear profit per unit just to stay afloat. How many motors does a boat dealer sell in a day?

I snapped the neck on my trolling motor mounted transducer when I rammed it into the rocks this week. It's an older Lawrence unit that has the transducer and power cable together so buying a replacement would cost almost as much as just going to Walmart and buying the cheapest new Humminbird. I decided to try and salvage it, but I figured that just gluing it back together with JB Weld would only last until the next branch or rock. I scrounged around and found a bar of 1/2 wide Al. I drilled a small hole in the transducer neck and found the smallest machine screw in my parts drawer to go through it. I cut one piece for each side and added a big gob of JB Weld so it can't shift, then tightened up the nut. Once it hardens I can put it back into place and the repair might actually be stronger than the original neck was. I figure this saved at least $50 at the cost of maybe 1/2 hour of work.

Be advised those drawers only ride on a skinny plastic lip. If you put very much weight in them they will sag and no longer slide. We tried them in the kitchen for food and had to give up on them. I wouldn’t expect them to hold a lot of sinkers.

Thanks for all the replies. I was sent a link to glide baits on Tackle Warehouse and some of them are crazy expensive. I may try making one of my own.

I overheard a couple of guys talking at the ramp last year and one said he was having luck with a glide bait. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never heard of this bait type before in 40 years of bass fishing. What is a glide bait, what conditions are they useful in, and who makes the most common examples? If they are good producers then I probably need to have at least one...unless I already have one and just don’t know what it’s called.