fishinwrench

Yeah it's probably best if you just leave the temperate bass alone, and let the REAL MEN chase 'em. 😉 Actually where I fish mostly, Stripers are a by-catch. On this lake they mingle with the Whites, Hybrids, and Mutts, and they eat the same lures/flys. I'd be willing to bet that the ones on Norfork do likewise. On Lanier the bigger stripers love 10" rainbow trout, so the guys that seek the bigguns spend all of their time on the Chattahoochee arm.....where the trout are.

You've never noticed fish learning anything, and retaining that information? Never owned an aquarium ? Never visited a carp dock, or catfish pond ? You don't think they return to the same areas, repeatedly, triggered by various things ? Oh c'mon now 😊 Where's our local temperate bass expert Bill Butts ? Surely he can weigh-in on this one 🤔

Yeah, arguing with a lawyer or a prosecutor.....about MECHANICAL THINGS.....would be kinda fun, actually. 😅

Good point ☝️

Well maybe we've began an advocacy program. 👌

They figured it out awhile back...... assuming that they've been in that lake for a year or more. "Thousands of years of programming" is what sends them up the tributaries every spring. And every single time one of those tribs flood..... regardless of the season. The Stripers in Lanier don't succumb to a "die off" every summer. I know that for a fact.

I hope the Water Patrol begins testing for that, as diligently as they do for drug/alcohol impairment. It's probably rampant.

Not too sure that I buy that. Stripers are more migratory than any other species in the lake, therefore if conditions aren't good they'll likely keep moving until they find a more suitable environment. They are a temperate species, which means the #1 priority to them is that temperature and oxygen are sufficient. They aren't going to hang out anywhere (en mass) that those conditions aren't satisfactory. Those fish could easily fin up the NFOW to find a cooler oxygenated environment.

Who ya gonna sue ? Likely the greatest cause of the ignition of excess vapor are battery connections that aren't clean & tight. I say that because 98% of boats that come to my shop have crusty, dirty, or loose battery connections. There is battery draw even when the key is OFF and all the switches are OFF. You cannot disconnect/connect a battery on most boats (or automobiles) without there being a spark. And a loose battery connection is sparking all the time. Wing nuts on a battery must be FLOAT TESTED before using them, on ANY boat. Toss them in the lake.....and if they FLOAT then you can safely use them. Why some battery manufacturers still provide them is a mystery to me. Only use a 1/2" or 9/16" nut.....and tighten it securely with a WRENCH !

Fuel vapors always linger down low in a bilge area. "Opening the hatch" on newly designed I/O boats requires activating an electric/hydraulic lift pump that is situated GUESS WHERE ? (Right under the hatch where all the vapor can accumulate). Any electric motor (hatch lift pump, starter, bilge pump, and yes A BLOWER MOTOR) .....are prone to creating a spark. And when fuel vapor is present a SPARK is all it takes to blow the whole SOB up. Whether the hatch is open or not. Since COVID I don't notice hints of leaky fuel smell like I used to. And I'm always extra careful because of that. In the area of a gas dock EVERYTHING, including the money you paid for your gas with, smells like fuel.....So not noticing fuel smell from down in the bilge area of your boat.....is understandable. So in essence, "VENTING " just spreads the vapor to a larger area and makes for a bigger explosion.

Straight inboards have a centrally located engine. The engine is housed separately from the battery and the fuel system, and there is no Tilt/Trim system, and steering is done via a mechanical rudder. Stern Drive (I/O) have the engine, out-drive, batteries, and fuel tank, all situated at the stern. The idea/theory is to keep all the weight rearward for greater speed and better rough-water handling. There is also the addition of power steering and Tilt/trim circuitry.

My kids get invited out with their friends families to go boating, tubing, ect all the time........But I have pounded it into their brain, since birth, to NEVER step onboard an I/O regardless of how bad they wanna join in on the "fun".

It's ENGINEERED STUPIDITY! You can't take a complete combustion engine, a battery (or 3), and 40-60 gallons of fuel, and cram it all into the bilge area of a boat......then bury it all tightly under upholstery, with a piddly venting system......and expect it not to eventually explode. Especially in a craft that sits for months at a time with anything less than constant impeccable maintenance. Noone short of a qualified marine technician has any business owning/operating a I/O

How many I/O's have to explode before people (and design engineers) wise up ? 9 of them burst into flames last week, on this lake alone.

I share that sentiment. I'm ashamed to admit it, but every time I hear that a tornado has touched down there......I smile inside. 😅

So it just needs some lyrics added....... Maybe something about wading all the way across the river, then the horn blows. 😉

My girls were making songs through ChatGBT, or something, earlier this summer. Pretty amazing! Kinda made me wonder if ALL song writing isn't done that way now. 🤔

If my wife ever serves you a bowl of her delicious potato soup.....Sneak up on it !!! The center of those chunks of taters hold heat like nothing I've ever seen.

We did a lot of fuel experiments when I was attending MMI. There's nothing that you can put in gasoline, short of very old diesel fuel, or powder paint (the kind used for jigheads), that will cause it to "jell up".

I have customers bring their boats in all the time saying "I ALWAYS get non-ethanol fuel"....... I test the fuel in the tank, and guess what ? 8-12% every single time. 😅

The only issue I see with ethanol blended fuel is that it has an expiration date. After 10 weeks it has noticably degraded, and motors will not perform well on it. Even if kept in a sealed container. In vented tanks I'd say about half that amount of time.

I love it when that happens. 😊

Y'all

Oh I'm sure. My answering machine app converts voice to text.....and reading some of those messages is a genuine comedy show. A Mercury Lower Unit is a "mercy lariat". And the customers name is "Willow on ballsack". Possibly an Indian ? 😅 Nevertheless, Willow on Ballsack was looking to buy 200 Mercy Lariat's ! 😳 That's a lot of lariats for one Ballsack. But guess what?..... I just happened to be a cowboy that could hook him up 🤙

Let me just say that while it's all interesting, and kinda fun to know when you're in a riffle looking at the bottoms of rocks...... it's also basically useless information when it truly comes to choosing and tying flys, & catching fish. Having that education can actually be detrimental, in the sense that you'll often try to overthink many situations.