MSUFisherBear

Well, the one on the boat is the true OEM part. I was just trying to find a look a like to compare (as, in researching, there was a crapton of control boxes out there it seemed). Mercury did finally come back w/ the replacement part # and schematics this morning for disassembly. Going to review and see if this is out of my wheelhouse or not.

Duly noted. That's the way I was leaning, too, but wanted to be sure. Thanks again!

Yep. That one in the link is a dead ringer for the one on the boat currently. I'm still basically set on that being the problem child. I plan on trying to get the switch at the cowl unplugged tomorrow if I can make it home with some daylight to spare (just to see if I can coax the crazy thing to do it one more time while I'm there). But like I said, I'm almost dead positive it's in that throttle control. I guess I did have one other question for @fishinwrench... Is it pretty much a dead set point that I need to replace the switch at this point? Or can this be resolved with disassembly, cleaning and reassembly? I sent an email to Mercury but their response was, we'll say, slightly south of helpful. Not sure what I should be asking for/looking for once I get it in. I've seen a little of both in trying to research this issue. Again, lots of thanks to the sage advice on this board.

OK. Well - makes me at least feel better about what may have caused it. Thanks for the details on this one!

Thanks, Wrench! I had that suspicion and was 99.99% sure that was the next move. I had done a lot of reading on that last night that kind of alluded to the same (but some said a "sticky" rocker could cause it, thus the QD move). I could only find a few, somewhat shoddy details on other forums with deconstruct for actually checking the switch/connections (which is the part that scares the bejeezus out of me being that it's at the throttle control). Making an appointment asap to get it back in and hopefully get it resolved. Another question... can these draw moisture even when covered? I almost always have the boat covered except when in use. For future reference, should I be doing something else to help? Thanks for answering all the questions!

Hey all... Long time, no post (sadly... no recent fishing to be posting about). I've ran in to a maddening problem that I can't seem to figure out. Here's the deal... my Xpress has a 2016 Mercury 90hp 4 stroke on it. I'm having an issue where the tilt/trim is kicking on by itself and trimming the motor up. Luckily, I think I caught it fairly quickly (at least the actuator hadn't went up in a cloud of smoke). Today, I decided I was going to dig in to this some. I unplugged the tilt/trim switch at the front of the boat and left unplugged. Hooked up the battery and nothing, or so I thought. About an hour later the thing kicks on again. This time I check the switch on the motor itself. Doesn't seem to have any condensation issues that I can visibly see, but I couldn't figure out how to actually unplug the switch (still looking for diagrams now; was a little nervous to screw something up). I also decided to take a look at the switch on the throttle. It seemed like it may be sticking a bit so I thought I might try cleaning it up. But, for the love of all things good, I can't figure out how to access the switch itself to clean and check the connections (short of taking the whole throttle control assembly apart). Here's an idea of what it looks like: https://www.vevor.com/products/vevor-side-mount-remote-control-box-881170a15-mercury-console-premium-8-pi?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3-yQBhD3ARIsAHuHT67QSTaP4sAHRSRamJ7pCPnSWXq3eT_x29gEhqK7iPPnCKcfVWPPOaAaAhyFEALw_wcB. So... spray the rocker switch on the throttle down with some QD electrical cleaner. Hook up the battery. For about an hour, all is well. Then... the blasted thing goes fill trim in (completely opposite of EVERY time I've had the issue so far). That makes me think that the issue is at that spot. So asking those with far more marine knowledge than I a few (probably dumb) questions: What's more likely? The issue is at the switch/rocker in the throttle assembly, the motor, or the relays? If in the throttle assembly, is there some magic way to access the switch/rocker? Is there a better way of cleaning this up? Any other places on these that I should be checking? Sorry - still pretty new to the boating game, especially beyond the basic maintenance topics. Thanks in advance!

Hot dog! Thanks, Paco!

Thanks, @James! I figured that was likely the case.

Anyone over in Forsyth or who’s been over the bridge that can tell me if the River Run side is open yet with the water dropping?

I put in at Rockaway, too. Saw several there around the ramp and the mouth of bull there. Tossed a little of everything… Ned, senko, spinnerbait, chatter bait, swimbait… nothing. I even got wild and threw a buzzbait hoping I might just make one angry (but I figured I was just burning calories at that point, 😆)

Tuesday, I was coming home from Springfield and saw a very nice, albeit very large ski boat that was flipped on the ramp from James river to 65 southbound. Brand spanking new… looked like it had never seen water. It made me sick for the guy at first knowing that was probably several thousand dollars on its side. But then I got to questioning why the heck he wanted to even bring it down to begin with. Not sure if the exact size but it had to be pushing 30’ (I thought it was a camper at first). It’s getting wild what people can a) blow their money in and b) want to even put on this lake.

Warm day yesterday. Got away from the house much later than anticipated. Was going to head to Aunts Creek but with very limited time decided to take the closer to home option to maximize water time. Fishing was SLOW for the warm water species. There many of the regular items with very little in the way of even a sniff. Had taken a can of earthworms to possibly dunk for some trout and decided to throw at some bedding salad plate sized gills. Caught about a dozen of those but still slower than I would of thought. The crazy thing is that I could see lots of fish. Usually that bodes well but I struggled. Could it be all the cold water? Bass fishing was a non-starter. Trout fishing was pretty good, though.

I've done both. From the kayaking perspective, I agree that I for one wouldn't want to be out in busier traffic lanes. There are so many new boaters that I just don't even feel comfortable at times in the 'yak out on bodies of water that receive much boat traffic. Just the other day I was out in the boat, fishing a fairly skinny creek when two guys came blasting up the creek, full tilt. Had there been a kayak in that water way, I'm not sure the guys would have been able to slow down as fast as they were going and taken reasonable evasive action. It made me a little sick knowing how many times I've watched kayaks and smaller boats frequent that area. On the flip side, having finally been able to purchase a boat, I also understand the perspective of folks who don't want all that traffic. I try to obey all the rules of the road when out in mine. Kayaks being out in the main channels on busy waterways can make it difficult to navigate if you are in a skinny section of water. I personally haven't ran in to this scenario yet, but I can see how that would happen. Bottom line is, we all play a part in each other's safety. Kayakers need to be aware of their surroundings and take appropriate safety precautions. Boaters need to be observant, too. Disclaimer: I know... I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys in the 'yaks. I was tethered to one because it's all I could afford as a broke college kid. Just remember that before we talk down on them too hard; it's the same generation we are constantly saying needs to be outside doing this sport...

Haven't been down in a while, but my guess is that you'd probably have to launch from the road right now. I was there back on the 26th and the ramp was usable then but the water was hitting it a little high on the ramp. It's about 14' higher than it was then, so my gut says it'd be completely sunk and back up to the road by now. If you try it, I'd love to hear a report. Been itching to get back out but between the nasty weather and to-do lists, I haven't been out as much as I'd like.

x2. I love a good mess of crappie, catfish, bluegill, (insert panfish name) but only every once in a while. I also agree - it's a royal pain in the butt to clean them some days. It might be lazy, but cleaning a fish is one part of that particular game that I never look forward to. So - catch and keep most of the time, but toss 'em back more often than not!

@BilletHead @Dutch - This worked like a charm! Popped in a new 8 GB SDHC and she fired right up. Thank you both for your help with this!

As sad as it is, I tried calling. Beyond confirming the updates needed, they weren’t a tremendous help. And to confirm suspicion/understanding, chip = SD card (poor terminology on my part). @BilletHead - thank you to you and your friend for the site. I’m thinking the SS card (well, really micro SD card) doesn’t have the processing speed needed. Gonna try to pick up a new one and see how it goes. I appreciate everyone’s help! If I can figure out what gets it to tick, I’ll be sure to update!

Hey all! Well, after just getting through the excitement of fishing out of the boat last fall, I'm finally getting to a spot where I'm really trying to work on and upgrade the old gal. One thing I know I need to do is update my Humminbird Helix units. I don't have the scratch to upgrade to a nice new forward-facing sonar, so for now, I'm trying to be frugal and use what I got. So here's the deal... I have a Helix 7 at the helm. I'm focused on getting this one updated first, because the best I can tell, I can't load saved waypoints (aside from creating them myself on the unit using GPS coordinates) without doing so. The bottom of my unit has a tag that says "HELIX 7 MSI GPS G3N". The best I can tell from Humminbird's site is that I need this update (well, actually I need this one, but I gotta do the other first if the instructions are to be believed). Here's the problem - I cleared the factory presets, installed the chip and am getting no where. The site says the unit should prompt the install but nothing. Does anyone have a Helix 7 and, if so, have you tried this update? Did it work? If you ran into this problem, could you resolve it (and how)? Thanks, everyone!

I haven't fished this end of the lake a ton, so better not take my words for gospel, but what little bit I have had the opportunity to do, I seem to do well dragging a jig in the usual natural craw colors and throwing a swimbait. I seem to catch more LM on the swimbait and SM on the jig. Again, take this advice sparingly, because of the limited experience, but I also seem to do better along hard bottoms (chunk rock, gravel, etc.) than soft bottoms. With the water being a bit higher right now, you might check along any newly flooded bushes, too. Good luck! Would love to see a report and to see how you guys did.

Well... apologies for the late report. This week was kind of a blur. Did end up getting out last Friday for the afternoon. We put in at River Run at about 11:30a and fished until just about 5:00p. Stayed mainly around the Swan Creek area. As advised above, the whites sure kept us entertained (and darn do I appreciate the advice). Dad and I fished a couple of wind-swept flats. It wasn't hot and heavy, but we'd pick up one here or one there (though we did seem to get in to a fairly consistent pattern from about 2-3p). A variety of baits were working for the pattern and nothing seemed to be a "go to". We found a few on swimbaits (3" in silver or white), a few on Shad Rap style baits, and a few on lipless baits. Honestly, I think you probably could have thrown any shad imitating bait in a somewhat smaller size and found a few. The trick was just staying after it - you were going to go a little while between getting bit, but when they did hit, they hit with authority. I was kind of amazed at how many folks were there, and maybe more so, just how close they'd get to you while fishing. I know it's a public lake, but man some boats would be on TOP of you if you caught one or two. And don't get me wrong - this was just a couple. Most guys who were in and around that area that day were super cordial, but whew... Though I did have a good chuckle on a couple times. Once, a guy came in within casting distance (so much so he was about 3' from hitting the gunwale of my boat). He stayed pretty close to us, but I'm 99.9% sure he never caught anything. What made it funny, though, was Dad and I doubling a few times while they were setting right there. Always fun to rub it in a tad. Also had a moment where a couple of folks kind of cut in between where we were fishing and the bank. It was pretty obvious they weren't fishing for whites based on what they were throwing. Dad and I agreed to let it cool off for a second and drift a little further down the bank (from where these two had just come from). I proceeded to break out the Ned and catch a little largemouth (what I imagine they were looking for)... Just a hoot to have that opportunity when someone kind of invades the space. Anyway - good luck to everyone! I have a feeling the whites should really be running this week (and based on the other post looks like they are)!

Yeah - that definitely does sound pretty deep. And I agree with you @aarchdale@coresleep.com - getting on a White Bass run the last couple of years has been tough. My gut said high water, too.

Thanks @Royal Blue. Hoping this rain really gets some movement going. I noticed that some weather sites are starting to call for highs in the upper 50s all week next week, so it could be a darn good weekend for the whites. Last year was kind of a dud for me (as most of the good weekends I had to go we had stuff going on) so I'm kind of itching for that, too. Funny - get a boat and will probably still be fishing some of the same water I was in the kayak 😅

Hey all! Getting ready for the first trip of the Spring. Dad will be coming down the weekend of the 20th and of course, we're hoping to get in a day or two of fishing. Right now, I've got a few spots in mind, but seeing how crazy busy Table Rock and Taneycomo were last weekend, I'm thinking I better have one more trick up the sleeve (just in case). We're going to be pretty well constrained to the area of Powersite down to K-Dock due to time. We'll mainly be looking for bass, crappie, or whites. Any early season tips that anyone can share for that area? I've fished Swan and Beaver creek a bunch from the kayak, but this will be from the boat (so pretty new water for me). Thanks!

Made it out for just a bit. Ended up changing plans just a tad and took the brother in law and wife out. Took everyone’s advice and worked fairly well. Like others said, plenty of shorts today with Kentucky’s being the primary result. When the sun got up a bit the top water bite died off. We didn’t see much in the way of chasing, either. Switched to the Ned and found a few more. We only had a couple of hours to fish but it was picture perfect for a boat ride and to enjoy the day at least.

That's awful and prayers out to the families involved.