fishinwrench

IMO the Royalex caliber of paddlecraft is for guys that are Canoeists first, fishermen second. Fishermen don't need featherlight canoes designed for speed. Most will do better in slower heavier boats with more initial stability. The poly-link rigs are perfectly sufficient until you cross that line of wanting to be a precision paddling wizard.

Yeah whoever started that crap needs to be kicked in the nads. I often have guys hit me up with this "I'll pay extra to get done quicker" thing. To me that's a slap in the face to the others waiting. The fact that some big-money jackoff (sorry but if the shoe fits...) could wheel in and immediately take control of the sequence around here, just doesn't feel right to me. I don't play that crap, but it's blatantly obvious that it has worked for them in the past. If you pull in here today it will be obvious by the number of boats in the yard that it's gonna be several days before I can start on you. Some Marina's will only have 2 boats waiting.....But they'll tell customers that they are 3 weeks behind. Gimme a break!

The fact that you said "mechanics" (plural) is interesting. More than one? The things you mentioned are not "Outboard Mechanic Tricks".....They are fraud, theft, and criminal behavior. We get paid well, so there's no need for pulling shinanigans. ?

It's hilarious ! ? That prop swap deal is brilliant. Why didn't I think of that ? ? I have seen some crazy stuff. A few times I was too scared to ask "who did this" because I was afraid it might be someone I thought highly of. My biggest pet peeve is noticing something on a motor and being afraid to let it leave my shop like that because later they might take it somewhere else and the new tech will see it and hear that I was the one who worked on it last. So please don't bring one to me for a quick water pump service and a change of gear lube if the starter is held on with baling wire. Yes I know it starts fine everytime....but ------- I have a reputation to uphold !!! ?

Ok. Nope I don't have one.

Told ya!!!! ? The whole "sending off injectors for cleaning" thing is a scam. They pop out the screens, hook a 9 volt transistor battery to each one, and blow some carb cleaner and compressed air through them. Once removed you can do all 6 yourself for about 5.00 worth of carb cleaner. They don't have any special injector cleaning potion that you can't buy yourself in a spray can at O'Riellys.

Sure. What motor is it? (Year/Make/HP). I may have a fresh one I can just swap you out with.

Off the trailer test running is usually unnecessary if they know what they are doing. You can tell alot more about how a outboard is functioning when you can stand next to it. I can't diagnose anything when I am driving the boat at speed. That is why we have test equipment and testing procedures. What motor are we talking about here?(year/make/HP?) It sounds like you've lost spark or adequate fuel supply to one or more cylinders.

Big ol' Bass! Nice! I've still never caught an 8+ here.

If you have been inside electric motors before....You got this! Usually just a good cleaning with a wire brush, some 400 grit sandpaper, and compressed air will restore it to full power again, but if it has overheated repeatedly it might need some fresh components. If it has gotten hot be sure to check that the magnets are still in their place and secure.

Correct on the side you want to remove material from. You'll want to remove the impeller, put it in a vise and use an angle grinder. Doing it with a file would take you all week and make you hate life.

That Lil'George Clouser aint so good for Whites, but early Walleye (if they are around) will eat it good. Around here the Walleye show up before the Whites do.

Pull the kill switch so the motor will not start. Watch your voltmeter as you crank the motor for 10 seconds. Do that twice. If voltage falls below 10.5v while cranking then you need a better battery. If voltage remains above 10.5v and the starter is still dragging or cranking too slowly then you either have a bad solenoid, a loose connection, or the starter needs servicing.

Everybody always thinks that tournaments have to start at the asscrack of dawn. It's one of the main reasons why I don't miss competing. That's what you get when everyone in the event is operating in the darkness on 2-3 hours of sleep.

Here ya go.... First measure the amount of material missing from the end of a blade, and take that x3. If it adds up to more than 1 3/4" then you can go ahead and trim as shown above and continue to use it..... But it is time to buy a new one soon.

Good point. As much as I think Bowfishing is a really cool sport I'm not too wild about the ethics of it. As long as they stay focused on Buffalo, Carp, and Gar, and don't kill them ALL I guess it's ok. Those species do need some thinning from time to time. As the sport gets more and more popular though I can see it going in a bad direction. When the carp/buffalo/gar start getting scarce....Those guys are going to get anxious to stick something. You know it's true. And for whatever reason most of them aren't interested in Asian carp at all.

What are some other reasons to gig ?

I was perfectly content with the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 until I tried the Luck-E-Strike RC2 Series 3 and downsized the belly hook. (#4 on the back/#6 on the front). There is some magic going on with that one.

Game fish get gigged all the time. It's a fact that even dedicated gigging guru's don't deny. Seeing a gigging boat puts a bad taste in my mouth even when I am making easy money working on it. I can't help it, that's just the way I am, and I got that way for a reason. I don't hate crackheads just because they are crackheads (like everyone else who has never been done wrong by a crackhead does)....so I don't think I'm a general unreasonable profiler.

How come you give THEM more credit than you give ME ? Everytime I open my mouth you find some bad in it. Yet everytime someone gigs a fish they failed to identify properly you see nothing but good intentions. You be trolling me homey? ?

I knew you'd be here in defense mode. I believe the right thing to do if you can't positively identify the fish would be to NOT stick it. Do you shoot meadowlarks when dove hunting? As a waterfowler I'd expect you to be one in favor of positive identification before the kill.

When Suckers can't be found then anything that swims is gonna get poked. Deny it if you want, but it happens all the time.

Oh no doubt they'll eat some. And for some folks ONE is too many.

A striper is going to have a much easier life cruising the lake and gulping shad than he is chasing down rainbows in the river. I don't expect the trout population will take too hard of a hit.

With no substantial rain in the foreseeable future I expect to loose another 6-8" before they stop generation entirely. I also expect to see them keep it low until mid-late May.