fishinwrench

They aren't a boat you want to own....unless you are a guide. I'd much rather be a client in a drifter than a client in a Jon boat.

Leave the lid off and let the bugs go to work. Scrubbing just creates little grooves and pushes the funk into spots where the bugs can't lick it clean. Once the stink is pretty much gone then clean it with Fast Orange hand cleaner. Any remaining stain will eventually fade.

I dunno..... From a Jon boat I can do it for a mile or so, then I need a break. From the back of a drifter I can comfortably do it all day long. And I'm not constantly stepping on my line. One thing that nobody takes into consideration when flyfishing from a boat is the elevation of your feet. Flyfishing from a raised deck is a hindrance (unless you are on your knees). To do it "right" you really need your feet to be level or slightly below the water surface. There's a reason why the word "angle" is in the word Angler.

I love the back end of a drift boat while stripping streamers for Smallies. There's some magic in stripping cross-stream while moving slowly downstream. Just face rearward, hook a butt cheek on the brace and pound the bank.

It doesn't take much fuel pressure to keep 3 carb bowls full. If the primer bulb never gets hard then either the bulb is bad or there is a leak somewhere (hose, pump diaphragm, or needle valve). When priming an outboard always point the arrow on the bulb skyward to push any trapped air out of it. I actually have the fix for the typical hard starting cross-flow Johnson/Evinrudes, but it took me years to figure it out, and since not even the factory manuals describe a cure I've elected to keep it a secret and make money off of it.

Several things need to be checked. First verify that the engine has acceptable compression. Then verify that the timer base (under the flywheel) is moving freely throughout the throttle movement range. Check the throttle cam roller on the carb linkage to see if the outer sleeve of the roller has deteriorated and fell off. Once those three things are either fixed or determined to be "ok", start it up on a hose and do a "cylinder drop test". This is done by allowing the motor to warm up at idle speed, then with insulated pliers remove the spark plug leads and reattach them one a time and compare the running attitude of the engine as each lead is removed. If removing any one plug wire causes a different reaction.....or no reaction at all then that cylinder has an issue that needs to be addressed. Could be a fuel or an ignition problem. After you've done the above report back and we'll go from there.

That's cute.

Well the guys that have pinned down the deeper ledge fish and have planted brush are coming in with bigger bags consistently than I can scrape together in the shallows most days, but I'm not fishing for money I'm just fishing cuz I love to fish. I shoot for a 5 fish total of 15# when I go out, sometimes I do better but most times I fall a little short. Usually I can rack up 12-14# in 4-5 hours. I can't even remember the last time I put in a full 8 hour day of it.

If the deeper brushpiles bite is working and you're catching keepers then stay with it. We have had some rain and some cooler days though, so the backend fish will definitely be there, and they will eat if you can get a bait in their face without spooking them.

They are certainly more enjoyable for me to catch shallow. I burn out pretty quick when trying to locate and catch deep bass. If things don't start happening pretty quickly then I'll go to the calm quiet shallows and almost immediately get a confidence boost. You also don't have to fight big wakes, jet ski's, wind, ect. when you are in the backs of coves. The fish back there will get real finicky though if someone is back there walking around on a dock or doing yard work. I will turn around and avoid any backend that has any "human activity" going on, but usually it is pretty quiet in the backs.

Line control is a big deal when flyfishing from any kind of boat, that's why I build specific Jon boat rigs for flyfishing only. I can't flyfish from my bass boat....too many pedals, latches, switches, and cleats. If there is an edge or a corner anywhere then fly line will find it and ruin an otherwise perfect double haul. Also don't fool yourself by thinking that a stripping basket will work. They don't. All that said, if you can figure out a way to flyfish out of the yak I want you up here on the flats in October-November so I can watch some big Whites pull you around.

Well since I'm equipped for the task, let's start the bidding at 8.00 per cast.

Speaking of honeymoons..... On the first night of their honeymoon, the new bride tells her husband, "I have a confession to make. I'm not a virgin. I've been with one other guy." "Oh yeah? Who was the guy?" "Tiger Woods, the golfer." "Well, he's rich, famous and handsome. I can understand that." The couple then makes passionate love. When they finish, the husband gets up and walks to the telephone. "What are you doing?" asks the wife. "I'm hungry. I'm calling room service." "Tiger wouldn't do that." "Oh yeah? What would Tiger do?" "He'd come back to bed and do it a second time." The husband drops the phone and makes love to his wife a second time. When they finish, he goes back to the phone. "What are you doing now?" she asks. "I'm still hungry, so I'm going to ring room service for some food." "Tiger wouldn't do that." "Oh yeah? What would Tiger do?" "He'd come back to bed and do it one more time." The husband puts the phone down and heads back to bed. Exhausted after the third lovemaking session, he shuffles back to the phone and starts to dial. The wife asks, "Are you calling room service?" "No! I'm calling Tiger Woods to find out what's par for this hole!"

I've always suspected that old yarn was high in mythical value. Especially after learning how big of a PIA it was to stop and then restart a train's movement back in those days.

Yes and yes. Once you hit a few back ends you'll notice a specific location pattern. Basically I am treating every backend like an individual pond. Not fishing anything deeper than 5-6 ft. Some have wood cover, some have flooded grass, some have boat ramps, and they almost all have docks. Fish it all until you can pin them down, then start a milk run.

Anytime in the Summer when the deep bite seems slow I head to the backends of the coves. There are resident fish that stay there no matter how hot it gets, and for me they are way easier to locate than deeper fish that aren't on a good bite. The only downside is all the idling you have to do to get to the backs of every cove....Fish for 15-30 minutes... and then idle back out again, run to the next cove... and idle some more.

Well I do have a complete (and good) manual start assembly.

No, actually the manual start components are harder to get than the elect.start components....so you're better off with elect.start. It's pretty obvious that Merc is trying to just phase out all their older motors. I think they just want them to go away. Pretty s#itty thing to do, but that's the way they have chosen to do business. It blows me away that they have so many faithful followers. I don't mind working on Mercs at all.....but gimme some parts for crying out loud!

A guage at the 38-45 would IMO be the best. You'll know that anything further up than that will be dirtier and generally warmer.

In a pinch you can just use a 5 turn uni-knot. It isn't as pretty but it works fine. You can also (again, in a pinch) do an overhand knot at the end of the fly line and loop-to loop the leader. Doesn't come through the guides well....but you're still fishing.

All of mine lately have come from 12-18' dock brush, ledges with brush, and then suspended on the outside ends of docks. Haven't caught a biggun in a week or so though.

God I hate those things ! Nothing is funny that has a monkey involved in it. Well, except this....

I think I'd like the oarlocks behind the center line like that. Good design! Three is a crowd anyway.

I hear this all the time. Whipping a loop in a fly line is easier than putting your waders on. Just cut the line at an angle, glue the angle to the line (after a quick wipe of alcohol), and wrap about 1/4" with 6/0 tying thread. Cover with Sally Hansen's. The acetone in the SH causes the thread to sink in and creates a killer bond. The mistake everyone makes is wrapping too much thread, if you apply excessive thread wraps it will be stiff and might crack. It only takes 3/16-1/4", and only two layers thick. Here's one that's 2 years old If you think you can pull that loop out before breaking the leader you're high on crack. ?

Very nice! This lake is fishing large this year. I'm lovin' it. Can't wait to see what the Fall bite is like.