Goby

You should NOT be running ethanol in that engine... The internal components are not designed to handle the alcohol... Get recreational fuel.

Food for thought, I change my own oil, do all my own maintenance, BUT in doing so, I and anyone else that does so, voids your outboards warranty. You have to take it to a certified tech to "sign off" on every scheduled maintenance or warranty is voided. I do it myself not to save money, but because any dealer is just going to use bulk oil and bulk gear lube, I use my boat in extreme cold so depending on time of year, I run different oil and gear lube, you don't get that option with basically any dealers... Despite the fact the manufacturers suggest such things.... Most techs at dealers nowadays are not what I consider "skilled mechanics" so it's not much of a gamble to me... I am sure there is some Mom & Pop places with a good mechanic that has been doing it forever, but I have yet to find such a thing. Not to mention, the last time I did take a boat to a certified tech, was D&R Sports in Kzoo, they misdiagnosed the issue and they wrecked my boat "and several others", literally. Somehow the guy that moved boats around for them in their lot, ran one boat into another and a domino effect occurred and damaged a bunch of boats in their lot, including mine. Accidents happen, but I ended up having to make an insurance claim on my own policy to have the hull repaired from impact, sucked. Was a brand new boat that had a missing component to the fuel system that never ran right from day one, brand new from the factory, the sad part was, Yamaha techs couldn't even figure it out after taking it to multiple places, in the end it was me that finally got frustrated enough to just inspect it myself and found the issue in less than an hour... All one had to do was look at the schematic and you could see there was this big missing part of the fuel system, LOL I was a full-time guide at that point of my life and the whole debacle almost bankrupt me, everything I had was invested in that new boat... had to cancel lots of trips while it was fixed, etc.... I have a buddy that runs charters, a dealer up here in Traverse City "Walstrom Marine" told him he needed two new Yamaha F200 motors a couple weeks back, the head gasket went in one which is why it was taken there, the other just had low compression when they tested it upon his request but ran perfectly fine, we ran some "ring-free" in the one with low compression, fixed the issue and brought the entire motor back up over 180 psi in minutes, saved him 20k, they told him the other motor was not logically repairable as he would have to get a new powerhead, etc... due to water in oil from head gasket issue, we replaced the head gasket, motor runs fine, caught it in time. He had checked the oil 3 weeks prior to discovering water in the oil and there was none so it happened in a 3 week window, ironically no warning buzzers or anything ever warned him of an issue with the engine despite the fact it had roughly double the amount of liquid it should of had in it when you combined the amount of water and oil that drained out of it. The so called certified techs just wanted him to drop 40k on two new motors, his motors only had 1400 hours on them.... They were not even interested in attempting to fix the engines... This is what you get in 2025 from so called "certified techs".... P.S. Yamaha recommends regular treatments with "ring free" in their 4 stroke outboards if you troll a lot at ultra low RPM's. What my buddy was experiencing with a drop in compression on a low hour motor is seemingly a fairly common issue. Something a simple Google search prompted that the Yamaha techs must not be aware of, he went from 150 psi to 180psi in just a couple minutes once the ring free treatment was added...

I have spoken with some members of the NRC, I am of the opinion they want this looked into more before any action would be taken based on their comments, that being said, everyone should be writing them as this would most certainly fluctuate a LOT of additional pressure onto surrounding lakes, it would basically be the NRC picking winners & losers in the tourism department as well which is not what our Government should be doing. Another issue is this, historically, when it comes down to enforcing the law, to make anything really stick, you have to close it to all species, not just one as lets face, good luck proving you are Bass fishing, a LEO will know your lying, but that doesn't correlate to being able to prosecute, what it really does is do away with the possibility of tournaments... They attempted to close a small portion of flowage between some lakes in Northern Michigan a few years back to Muskie fishing for a few weeks during the spawn, when it came time to write the law, the powers that be stated plain as day, we cannot shut it down to just Muskies, we have to shut it all down or we will never be able to prosecute, so they closed it to everything, people went off the rails over it and now, it's wide open to fishing, no protection for Muskies, because the courts and lawyers... Nobody had an issue with it being closed for Muskie fishing either, that's the ridiculous part...

I am sure this has been rather difficult for all these companies, at the end of the day, all I as a consumer would expect is a simple note at checkout or on the site stating the scenario, they no longer shipped from the USA and you might get a extra fee out of their control, that's all I would expect on their end to give me the choice to take a risk or not. In the future, I will just buy from USA based dealers, problem solved. I really only ordered from the main site as they had everything I wanted in one place, otherwise would have had to order from a couple different dealers to get everything. There is also the possibility they had a couple guys get dinged early before they adjusted to the regs or whatever and it was totally out of their control and moving forward, nobody will be charged, myself included. That would be commendable. Hooks are really nice, so if I don't get billed some obscene amount of money in the next week or two, will consider it a good experience.

So even on a motor vehicle, they cannot shut down power unless the individual is posing an immediate danger to those around him and even then, they run the risk of lawsuits. The single greatest thing Florida could do is get entities like Humminbird, Garmin, etc... on board to attempt to monitor Manatee locations like they do say buoy, but then you would have to ensure there was a connection to the unit at all times from the Mother Ship via satellites, etc... The other option, no wake laws where Manatees roam for any prop driven vessels...

So just a bit more info on this, I have yet to receive a bill, not sure if I will, but here is the experience another Gentleman had with Mustad... https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/903095-ordered-from-mustad-hit-with-big-import-fee-from-ups/

The order was delivered, as of yet, no charges, but lots of stories out there right now of folks not being billed until days after delivery. It's a strange time, I don't want to be so skeptical lol, a little heads up goes a long way though and historically, when you ordered off that site, the stuff shipped to you from the states, so to change with no mention is odd, considering the current goings ons...

Update: I had to sit on hold for over an hour to speak to someone at UPS, but after speaking to them, they stated there are no import fees for this particular package, they could not tell me anymore other than there are no fees associated with this package. There are boatloads of stories right now with folks getting hit with large fees many days after packages have been delivered, especially with UPS, so time will tell if this holds true. Don't want to be unfair to Mustad here either, but still not what you expect when you order from an entity that is said to be based out of Florida.

The difference between a motor vehicle and a boat are insurmountable, for starters, cutting power on a boat can literally become a dangerous scenario for the boat, depending on wave trains, conditions, etc... obviously for anything that is jet drive, when you cut power, you also cut steering... As someone that has literally designed boats, trained Deputies how to operate them and understands the nuances of legalities that manufacturers must deal with, you will never see this tech mandatory on boats, ever. A warning system on fish finders for the location of Manatees would be a much more logical endeavor, but good luck getting it enforced for everyone. There is a difference between the charges stating there were clear weather conditions for vision and there being a screen placed in the way to see, they are simply pointing out that fog nor any weather conditions were to blame, nothing more, nothing less.

While obviously hitting Manatees is a very bad thing, the tech you are describing would present a boatload of liability issues that nobody will likely ever want to touch. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your actions, if there is a threat of danger by running at speed somewhere, to include hitting Manatees, then you should be operating at a no wake speed. If you cannot help from hitting something, to include sub-surface objects, you are by definition, operating at unsafe speeds and operating recklessly. All that is needed is to have the laws already on the books, enforced. The boat was set up improperly in the sense the drivers view was hindered by screens, everyone from the guy that rigged the boat to the guy that operated it and the MLF that allowed him to take part in their tournament with the boat rigged as it was, will likely end up paying to some degree. Right or wrong, etc...

Just a warning to anyone that may make the same mistake that I did the other day...Mustad has been promoting a 25% off discount on their website lately with free shipping, I was in need of some streamer hooks and wanted to try some of their newer offerings. Placed an order for several packs of hooks, received shipping notification in short order, etc... all was good. Then this morning I receive a notification from UPS that the package has cleared customs, what? It would seem that despite the fact that all the email addresses on the Mustad site direct to folks at "Mustad America's" their distributor is not actually in, America. The hooks shipped to me from the Dominican Republic, sure it's much cheaper to have their warehouse there than in the USA... At this point, not sure what the additional costs will be on my end, but they make it quite clear on their website they are based in Florida, which is not accurate. Assume this isn't legal, but good luck getting anyone to care, sure seems like "bait & switch" to me... At the least, it's predatory and misleading, would have never ordered had I known they were shipping from an International location... Below is a quote right off their website, stating the website and the services you are purchasing off said website, ship from, Florida. I believe the current Tariff for the Dominican Republic is 25%, making the so called "discount" they advertised, a moot point... "Additional Terms Geographic Scope While this Website may be viewed internationally and may contain references to Services not available in all countries, you agree that: (i) the Service shall be deemed solely based in Florida; and (ii) the Service shall be deemed a passive website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than Florida. We may in our sole discretion limit, deny or create different level of access to and use of any Services (or any features within the Services) with respect to different members."

I often use the 110 Special for topwaters. Great rod for it. I use the Daemos for larger topwaters, but normal stuff I toss on the 110...

They are experiencing issues with the UPS hub in Atlanta, has caused hiccups in shipping, they have begun to utilize Fed-Ex some as a result, had several issues as of late on 2nd day air shipments not arriving on time, which they always made it right by refunding the cost of the expedited shipping. The issues have seemingly not been TW's fault, never had an issue until the past few months... Apparently UPS has staffing issues, obviously that is a mega hub for them there in Atlanta... The packages get picked up and then sit at the UPS hub for an extended period of time before even being scanned into the system... so it seems like TW has not shipped them, but they have... Read somewhere not too long ago UPS was making staffing cuts, no idea if this is their new norm, but 4 out of the last 5 orders with 2nd day air shipments did not arrive on time for me... after years of never having an issue one time. I have no local tackle shops and am a bit of a tackle junkie so I place a lot of orders through TW. I have had several instances with ALF not actually having what you order, despite it not showing clearly as a backorder item on their website. It may be worth a call as you may find what you ordered wont be shipping anytime soon. They have never made an attempt to inform me, I always had to call... The last time they stated they had a new system for inventory, but needed to find the time to do an inventory to implement it. Always had great luck with Omnia, The Hook Up and TW other than recent UPS issues with TW.

It's a love/hate relationship LOL Fish love it! There are some port towns I fish with lots of rip rap banks comprised of broken up concrete, likely once sidewalks they tore apart, etc... In several days of using these jigs there now, have only lost one to a snag and have not been careful where I threw them at all. The Strike King Ned Craw makes a great trailer, not cheap trailers but so far they are really durable so last for several fish, sometimes all day.

I am going to take you up on that, I have a Clackacraft Skiff these days, much better boat for that water than the big jet I took down there before. I have tried and tried to get Friends to go down there and they all have young Families, etc... can't get away. Talk soon!

I once fished what they call the Holston "proper" in East Tennessee, it was a warmwater section of river, was not the Trout water portion of the Holston. I will never forget running back up river in my power drifter, and having to stop as standing in the river, making it impossible to continue upstream were all these cows. LOL Was a boney section of river, not very easy to get around in a jet, but doable if you didn't mind a little rub here and there. I had to hop out of the boat and walk it up river through the Cows to get back to the ramp LOL Was a cool fishery, don't remember exactly where I was, a buddy that owns a fly shop in North Carolina gave me the directions and told me where to go... Was many years ago, would love to get back down there someday sooner than later and float a river or two.

I have really come to like fishing the Siebert's "Mini Jig" as of late, have fished it in some chunk concrete/rip rap areas and it did really well... Seems to be a great size for Smallies too...

That orange life jacket may be part of your problem LOL For what it's worth, I wear bibs as much as I can stand, nothing baggy to catch on anything around my waist. When it's cold, I wear a Simms Extreme Pullover, nice and tight in all the right areas, warm as can be, also works extremely well with waders/bibs... Pricey, but I am on my second year with mine and still in great shape, despite a lot of use. https://www.simmsfishing.com/products/mens-exstream-pull-over-hoody?srsltid=AfmBOopCAxbz69T3JH9F75wVSqVY9z9asdkBcr7tnDeUGLgtokDyfs0g

Sunline FX2 is the best braid I have ever used for sloppy conditions and topwater presentations. It's also by far the best braid I have ever used for Muskie fishing... It will not dig in the spool, very durable, retains color well, etc... I wouldn't want braid for a buzzbait though... I do better in Michigan with more compact Buzzbaits than the Jamaica Boa... Too many Pike to toss $16 Frogs... Pretty sure you can buy one, get one half off at the Hook Up right now, speaking of Frogs... I just fish SPRO Frogs... Prefer the Jr size...

Happy to see this cold snap, water temps have been skyrocketing up here over the past week.

You could say I wear a lot of fishing clothing, but it has a real purpose and I wear it while fishing, if I am not fishing though it's typically some Levi pants and a Carhartt t-shirt with a pocket in the chest... I wear the Simms "Buzz Off" light weight hoodies a lot, they actually work. I spend a lot of time on rivers in the middle of nowhere, into the twilight hours so have a wardrobe of sorts of clothing treated with that Insect Shield stuff has been a worthwhile investment. I don't wear it for anything but fishing though... By the time you buy "cheaper" clothing and send it in to be treated, it's the same price to just buy the Simms stuff that is already treated, so I bite the bullet and pay the premium cost... I wear a Simms hat too, but that is mostly due to the fact I have a giant melon with a very tall crown and finding hats other than cheap foam truckers that fit my head properly, is tough. So a couple years back I found this one particular Simms hat that fit my head perfectly and bought a couple of them LOL

What do you mean you can't fish in Iowa in the Winter? LOL Ice fishing my man! haha

About an 8" fly this Bass decided to eat, you would be surprised how big of a bait Smallies will take, catch a lot of them while Muskie fishing.

For open water walking baits and poppers, last year I tried the "Topwater" specific line from P-Line and really liked it... Sunline Super Natural is nice too... I prefer mono over braid for those types of baits, especially on baitcasting rigs which is primarily what I use for those endeavors... Frogs and frogging, Sunline FX2 braid...

Finally put down the jerkbait rod and fished some of those @Siebert Outdoors "Lil Man" and "Mini Jigs" yesterday afternoon. Cannot say thank you enough for turning me on to these jigs, Mike is a super nice guy and will make them any way you want them. Few of the "funner" ones from yesterday...