WaskaCrank12

Last summer (summer of 24') I had a bogging issue with my 92' Evinrude V4 90hp...the symptoms sound very similar to yours (bogging down, alarm going off, ect...) @Way2slow helped me out significantly -- As @WRB-2.0 has suggested I would connect with him - he is very knowledgeable For my motor the fix was deleting/removing the VRO, replacing the fuel pump and all of the fuel lines (under the cowling and from the tank to the motor) - the most difficult part for me to source was the fuel rail as it is configured differently from the one used when the VRO is in use....I also changed the plugs and plug wires. I believe I got the fuel rail from a salvage yard in FL, I would have to check again and see. Prior to this fix (and replacing the water pump, which was complicated due to a broken bolt) I had never in my life done anything like this - I am medium at best with mechanical aptitude - yet with the help of @Way2slow , buying a manual for the motor (I highly suggest that if you do not already have one) and a whole lot of grit and determination I did it and this year the motor has run very well (but it's an Evinrude so it still does not like to start, nor does it like to idle, but it loves to GO !) I wish you all the best with your fix !

Big wind and rough/choppy water - caught a few Brown Bass despite getting tossed around

A very windy day with strong gusts - water was really choppy so I only stayed out for about 4 hours - caught 3 Smallies (pictured below), 1 Pike, 1 LMB, 1 Crappie - my hope is the wind will settle down a bit as I have tomorrow (Friday) off from work and would like to log a full day on the water.

@A-Jay - I just did the same thing - I thought I was the only crazy that did things like this (hip waders are a good tool to have) - it was 48 degrees and 20 plus winds with drizzle today - docks have been taken out, and that complicates things/launching/landing - this video is a testament to keeping fit/strong/lean - I am in a few years younger than you yet also from New England (Now in MN) - I encourage everyone to keep fit/strong/lean, keep your agility - then you can get out when others cannot - speaking of that, not sure I can get out tomorrow as winds will be 20 plus with 30 mph gusts - 20 mph or less is ok - once it goes plus 20 mph with plus 30 mph gusts I feel it gets a bit dicey - I believe I am a strong navigator/boat operator yet there are limits where it becomes un-safe or just miserable to be on the water

@Munkin - thank you for the info - if it were just another lure I probably would toss this one and buy another one - but this was a lure purchased from Japan, a rare color pattern (Black Tiger) that was made in limited quantities (and this particular lure/color has been a killer for me with small mouth bass) - and so far my search for another one has not been successful - here in MN we only have about 2 weeks of open water left - so I will take the winter and see if I can come up with one or I may at the very least order the bills with split rings from Jann's Netcraft and give the fix a try (it will either work or it will not work) - or perhaps I will take a different MB Griffon and attempt to paint it in a similar pattern (although I know intellectually that the movement/shape of the lure is more important than the color, once you catch fish and build confidence with a lure you want to keep using it)

Congrats on the PB ! Wonderful that you were able to share the experience with family !!

I was out on the water and caught 3 fish on 6 casts with this Megabass Griffon SR-X (pictured below) - as I was tossing out cast number 7 a wake boat went by and due to the wake/waves it produced I got off balance -- and as I swung to cast the lure clipped the side frame of the windshield on my boat - the lure flew out in to the water -- yet thankfully it is a floating lure so I was able to troll over and pick it up in the net. With all of that said my question is - Is this lure realistically repairable ? It has been a fish catching machine for me, so I am motivated to see if I can repair it. I believe I read somewhere in the forums that @Munkin may have some experience repairing cracked/broken bills. Thank you in advance for any/all suggestions.

@Standard - nice fish ! I am going to try and get out on the water today (Saturday) - but with winds forecast to be 20mph with big gusts on top of that I am not sure that will happen. Tomorrow (Sunday) is supposed to be even windier and include rain - so that looks doubtful. The DNR has already taken the docks out of two of my local lakes (which makes it very tricky to launch and load --- and with big winds it can be a major struggle). @gim I will have Thurs/Fri of this coming week off so I am hopeful the weather will be fishing friendly on those days --- I hope the entire week will be good weather for you. I winterize the boat myself and store it in the yard under cover (not fully enclosed) so I will try and keep the boat ready to fish for as long as possible -- but as mentioned the days of being on the water are now numbered.

This fishing season the following three lures fit this category for me - --RAID Japan Libero (5g and 7g size) --Megabass Griffon MR-X/SR-X (BFS) --RAID Japan Egu Chunk (Craw - 3 in./3.5in) I have one or more of them tied on at all times now.

@F14A-B @Dog I purchased the Abu Garcia Veritas TE (7'6", spinning) - This past weekend I was able to take it out on the water - I have it paired with a Shimano Ultegra - as has been mentioned is has more of a ML+ feel to it - I like that is has a bit of a slower/more moderate action - I threw some chatter/bladed lures, some jigs and spy-baits on it - with the 7'6" length you can certainly chuck the lures a considerable distance - I landed three LMB, I think the slower/more moderate action (it is listed as a fast action rod) helped with keeping them pinned - I have a 7'6" Okuma (Ultra-Light/X-fast) and a 7'6" iROD (Heavy/Moderate) and now this 7'6" Abu Garcia (Medium/Fast, but as mentioned a bit more moderate) which covers most of the lures I am looking to use a rod of that length with - I feel for the $89 price point it was a solid purchase and a rod I will use and enjoy

@gim - I have the mouth at the bump board -- and when I look at the picture on the computer it is in the correct orientation, yet when I post the pics on here they come out upside down or vertical instead of horizontal - not sure why ? - any tips/suggestions are welcome - Thank you !

@Mrpike - it certainly was windy yesterday (Saturday) - I had to keep tucked in hard to the shoreline/tree line, otherwise I was being pushed all over the place with the strong wind gusts (they said gusts were about 30 mph and it certainly felt like it) - I caught one good fish (17 inch Smallie, I will look to post a pic later), a handful of decent fish (15/16 inch LMB/SMB), and a handful of smaller sized fish (12 to 14 inches LMB) -- I rode my bike to the lake this morning to check it out and the winds were very strong - waves/white caps all around - they are calling for 25 mph wind with up to 40 mph gusts -- so I will not go out today

Some pics from the weekend - wind was strong and really limited where I could get to and stay (without getting bounced all over the place) - caught 16 fish across the two days - they ranged from 12 inches to just shy of 18 inches plus an inadvertent Perch catch (picture attached)

I ordered the Abu Garcia 7'6" Veritas Tournament spinning rod from Sierra - it arrived today - when I came home and saw it leaning against the front porch, with a pretty good bend to the tube, I thought "Oh, boy" --- there was some damage to the tube (similar to some of the pictures that were shown on this thread) --- but thankfully that was all exterior/surface damage --- the rod was, thankfully, protected by the inner triangular cardboard, a fair amount of packing paper, some zip ties and a plastic cover --- I inspected the rod pretty closely and all the guides look good, no visible signs of cracks/scratches/ect anywhere on the rod --- I look forward to getting a reel on it (I have a Shimano Ultegra I am not currently using so i will try that) and giving it a try this weekend !

@10,000 lakes Bassin I would say that the forage (looking like they are 2 to 4 inches in length) are around submerged grass/weeds/vegetation (quite a bit of it is dying off, my guess is they are in and around the grass/weeds to try and hide) - they are schooled near the top of the water and can clearly be seen - this is one of the reasons I chose to use the DriftFry lure, as it is 4 inches and flashes a bit when retrieved - the forage are in probably 4 to 6 feet of water - interestingly the forage are further out from the shoreline than most of the fish I have caught - when I read/watch videos they often talk about SMB/LMB "pushing the forage against the shoreline/shallows and trapping them there" - which does not seem to be the case right now - in some of my catches there is forage around but they are actually out further from the shoreline than the fish I have caught (ie, let's say I have caught a fish 10 yards out from the shoreline, the forage may be 15 to 20 yards out from the shoreline) Right now it does not seem that a school of forage will mean a school of SMB/LMB is right near by - as my catches have been one or two fish in an area and that is it, I have to keep moving and covering water to find another fish

I have had some success with an Egu Chunk Craw (Raid Japan, Green Pumpkin, 3 inch size) on just an EWG hook (so it falls pretty slowly).....a Dera Break (it is a small chatter bait, about the size of a SK Bitsy Bug jig, using a Egu Bug as a trailer).....a DriftFry (Jackall, Silver/Ayu, 4inch, it looks like a lot of the bait fish in the lake). I would say the fish I am catching are 20 yards or closer to the shoreline, but in areas that have shade and also have a drop off (it might be 1 to 2 feet at the shoreline yet it will drop off to 6/8 feet as you head away from the shoreline - my best guess is most of the fish are in the 3 to 6 foot depth). SMB have been in rocky/sandy areas - LMB in the weedier areas. I too would say it has been 1 or 2 decent sized fish in an area with maybe a few 10 to 12 inchers hanging around - but I have not come across any schooling LMB/SMB (I have seen some pods of Carp, with 10 plus of them, some super sized ones) - I have had to keep moving and cover water to catch fish. Not sure if that helps you at all.

I got out on the local lake for a bit on Sunday - a beautiful day to be on the water (and rare calm wind day) - it was a bit slow from a fish catching perspective - yet did catch a 17" SMB and a 16" LMB

A rare low wind day (Sunday) on the local lake - it was beautiful to be on the water, yet a slow fish catching day - here are the two largest - a 17" SMB and a 16" LMB ** @Swamp Girl and @gim - I took your prompt and placed the fish mouth toward the bump board :)))))

Hello @ElGuapo928 @FloridaFishinFool @Susky River Rat @Reel Thank you for all of the information and time you took to respond to my trolling motor issue. I took the wiring route first (moved from 6 gauge to 4 gauge) - and it seems to have resolved the issue for now (ie, trolling motor would cut off when trying to move it to any speed higher than 5). There were several "crimp" connectors and several round battery terminal/post connections (that were not connected well to the old wires) that were in the old wiring - which seem to have contributed to the issue I was having. The batteries (new as of May 25, DuraCell AGM series 27) are near the front of the boat so the length of wiring required was relatively short. I gave it a test on the water and it ran well (ie, it ran at speed one, up to speed 10) - yet it was a rare calm day on the lake so the trolling motor was not put under significant load. The true test to see if this is a long-term fix will be when I am on the water in wind/waves to see if it will run at speeds above speed 5 when under stress. The boat is old (93') so a re-do of all the wires/connectors/ect....is probably something I should do. I will have to read/learn/ask questions as this is not something I have ever done (but I am up for the challenge). Thank you again for your time/effort/information !

@Eric 26- I ordered one of the 7'6" Abu Garcia spinning rods from Sierra - my hope is that it arrives whole and not in pieces ! I will post once I receive it

@Swamp Girl and @gim - Thank you for the FYI - I have just been randomly allowing the fish to dictate how they are on the measuring board, if they flop and the head is near the bump board end then I take the picture/measurement that way - if the head is toward the open end I snap the picture that way - but now I will take a moment and make sure I have the head at the bump board as it makes sense to do that for the most accurate measure - I just have to do it enough times to make it stick/make it a habit ! Thank you !!

I do not have experience with their spinnerbaits - but oddly enough I bought a bag of tackle at a yard sale and in it there was a pack of Jewel Bait Co. - "Spider Jigs" - the package says they were made in Bakersfield, MO - I think from the late 80's/early 90's - the jigs have worked well for me (I know that doesn't help you with the spinnerbait questions)

Similar to @RRocket and @Columbia Craw I have found a moderate action rod works best for me in regard to positive landing the fish rates with bladed lures I have a Medium/Moderate rod that I use for the smaller bladed lures and a Heavy/Moderate that I have used for larger bladed lures Similar to yourself I was losing fish - when I switched from fast action to moderate action I have found a positive increase in getting the fish into the boat

I have attached a picture of a lure (Nishine Lure Works - Spybait) that has been very effective for me in catching Small Mouth Bass - yet it has also caused issues (as you can see by the blood on the measuring board) - the fish typically inhale it so the back trebles (or terrible hooks as I sometimes refer to them as) are cutting up the fishes gills or throat, and there is probably some additional damage from the back prop - the back hooks are then very difficult to remove from the fish, especially fish with a smaller mouth --- Has anyone else encountered this ? Do you think crushing the back barbs would be a decent idea ? Maybe taking the back treble off completely ?