fishinwrench

Ok, I'm back on track now. Sorry. I haven't decided on any fishing goals, but I'm doing some things to improve my health and fitness (like dropping 15-20 lbs. and cutting back on the smokes)which should inhance my fishing performance. and I'm sure looking forward to Spring.

Maybe I shouldn't touch this, but I can't resist. A goal oriented guy, named Donna ?

The hydrilla and milfoil beds don't withstand the Winter drawdown well enough to sustain themselves. The stain in the water prevents weed growth past 5-6 feet now, so when they draw the lake down during the Winter it exposes, freezes and kills any aquatic vegetation that might be getting a start. In years past when they didn't draw it down as much the milfoil started making a comeback in the Gravois, Northshore, and upper Glaize area....Of course dock owners complained and cussed the weeds. And some threw out pellets around their docks to kill them.

AmeronUE has the answer, and the ability to make it happen, without loosing a dime themselves (except for the dock permit fees)..... Drop the normal pool to 644.0, reclaim the shoreline, and put 70% of those septic systems into "second tier" status. Not sure what they are waiting for, I wish they'd just do it. Property owners can piss and moan all they want but they can't cry too loudly, cuz they have all been in violation for decades. We don't need new laws, fresh legislation just stalls things, the laws we already have standing are fine if acted upon. People don't need to store thier boats in docks on hoists, they can store them on trailers or in boathouses where they can recieve better service, and result in safer watercraft that lasts longer. The local media around the lake is terribly sidestepping and minimizing the truth around here. And yeah, "the Banker" quotes were an obvious inflammation tweek, STLToday knew that everyone would get a charge out of that....but at least they aren't afraid to print an article that guides folks to the REAL condition of things around here. After all, what have THEY got to loose. The truth hurts people here, and yes it hurts ME personally....but people caused this, myself included. It is way past time to sacrifice some convenience for a cleaner, healthier lake. If you can afford to own 2-3 homes, multiple vehicles, and 200,000.00 worth of water toys, they you have more money than you deserve in the first place. DEAL WITH IT !

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/7D1B3946BAAD216786257693001493B2?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor

Several things in there immediately jump out at me, I'll steer clear of the controversial ones since I'm not in the mood to start a rhetorical debate that I'm sure we've had before, more than once. But there are two easy things I'm curious about that someone here probably can answer.... 1. Why do you think Meramec Springs has a steadily declining number of "tags sold" ? I know My reasons for not going there very often, but I'm curious what other peoples reasons are for routinely bypassing it. 2. How was the data from pages 30-34 compiled ? Was there an angler survey mailed out to Tag holders, and did anyone else here get to participate in the survey ? I apparently missed out on it somehow.

I have yet to catch a spot anywhere above Tunnel Dam on the Niangua. I have not caught a spot between Black Ford and Competition on the Gasconade, but did catch one near Beaver cr. above Competition, ONCE, and it became coon food. The Little Niangua has considerably fewer numbers of spots in the lower stretch than it does in the middle. And I have never caught a spot in the far upper (Mule Shoe) area of Lil'N. But from Green ford to Bannister I'd say that it is 30% Spots, 30% LM, and 40% Smallies. The lower stretch from Bannister down past Fiery fork to the low water crossing at Sulpher Spring the smallies are holding their own and I'd rate it 10% spots, 15% LM, 75% SM. (makes no sense but that's my experience). Gravois creek is 40% LM, 30% spots, 30% smallmouth from the bedrock slab under 5 hiway down to TT bridge (the lake). There are no spots above 5 hwy.(yet), and nothing but smallies and very few LM from McCaslin bridge on up to the gravel raping area in the headwaters. The big bedrock slabs might be a barrier that spots don't like to cross, maybe because of the increased current and long stretch of shallow fast water (calf deep or less for 100 yards). The Whites and Gar don't cross it either, during their spawning runs, FWIW.

Water Shed..... and what ever you do don't sniff it !

Rgardless, you should be able to run 2 LCR's constantly and an intermittant livewell pump (50/50) for 6-8 hours and still have plenty if juice to light up the outboard. When the stator was replaced did they test the rectifier/regulator afterwards to make sure it didn't burn up when the stator did ? If not you're eventually going to be buying another stator, and batterys will either not recieve charging amps,,,or too much and boil dry.

That is a 35+amp water cooled charging system, and one of the best in the world I might add. But that engine does require a battery rated at 900 MCA or better. The Exide Nautilus 1000 (or equivalent) is the perfect igniter for that outboard. You should not be having the problems you are experiencing unless something is amiss. Hard to diagnose over the message board though. You definately need to make sure the charging system is performing properly, because rectifier/regulator meltdowns are pretty common when problems are ignored...and they will melt everything on top of the powerhead (pack, timer base, stator, and regulator). I just recently repaired the results of a DOUBLE meltdown on twin 200's after the battery switch was shut off while underway at 3500 rpm.....Very costly !

Powerheads were manufactured by Yamaha, but ignition and fuel systems are Merc/Tillotson all the way. I'm not aware of any Mariner models with Mikuni carbs, or Hitachi ignition systems, like a true Yamaha has. Merc and Yamaha fell out terribly in a legal battle quite awhile back, and that is where the all to frequent part locating difficulty is blamed. Merc is well known to play that game themselves without a scapegoat excuse, but they really serve it to ya raw where Mariner and Force engines are concerned. Hey, you asked I'm tellin'....FWIW

Do both of those units take the same 5A fuse ? If so the difference has nothing to do with the LCR's I suspect you are going by the voltage indicators within the units themselves, and not by a seperate digital VOM or dash voltmeter. The charging system of your outboard should keep your cranking battery up enough to compensate for LCR demands, even if you only make short 3-5 mile runs.

ok sorry, the way the original post was worded threw me off. Now i'm thinking that your engine rectifier/regulator, or stator may be at fault. You should be able to run 2 depthfinders, and a livewell pump for 7-8 hours and still fire up a V6 outboard. So your battery should not be going dead. If you have a voltmeter on the dash keep an eye on it while you are running down the lake/river, voltage should steadily climb after starting and level off between 12.5 - 14.5 volts while running. The rect/reg. also supplys voltage pulse signal to the tach, so usually a rect./reg. failure is accompanied by obviously inaccurate tachometer readings. What motor are we working with here ?

Turn everything off and disconnect the battery.... When you hook it back up does it spark at the terminal ? If so, something is drawing current. Or, Put a digital voltmeter on the battery and one by one disconnect the power cables to each circuit (including the TM) while watching the voltage reading. When you interrupt the circuit that is drawing juice you should see the voltage change slightly. A poor connection in the TM harness may be what is causing the loss of performance after a short period of use, since low voltage creates heat which gets worse the more it is used. Does any of your wiring or the TM power plug get hot, or overly warm ? Clean the plug contacts and make sure they fit together tightly and inspect all splices and terminal connections for signs of corrosion or overheating. Make sure everything is clean and tight. I have seen electric motors develop an arc to ground inside the windings, which can pull the battery voltage down fast. Operating the motor with a digital VM hooked to the battery will show this as a momentary reversed polarity reading (- 12.4 for example) for just a split second when you first press the switch. Other than the above... I'm out of ideas:) I'm assuming that you've already checked to be sure there isn't a wad of fishing line or something behind the prop.

What method are you using to "test" the battery(s) ? If you are going by a percentage of charge meter the batteries can still be bad, the meter is simply telling you that the battery is at it's full capacity...which doesn't indicate that the "capacity" is up to snuff. The best test is to put the battery under a heavy amp load and watch how the voltage drops. If it drops much below 10 volts under a load when charged to full capacity then the battery is definately weak.

Congrats on the big Smallie. But I gotta ask.... Why would you fish a #8 crawdad on 7x ?

Before purchasing I would check to see what parts are still available for it. Alot of Mariner ignition, fuel pump, carb parts (and kits), rewind starter components, and even gearcase seals are NLA (no longer available). So a 9.00 seal, a 4.00 needle valve, or a 16.00 rewind spring can render the motor completely worthless. A stunt that Mercury Marine is famous for.

If you were to put an ad in the Lake Sun Leader...your phone would ring off the hook I'm sure. How much of it are you wanting ? The dock companys have acres of it. Just pick the one closest to you and call them.

I only require 5 hours. I don't fall into an 8-10 hour coma like the majority of the world. LOL

Drew, Tryon's book alone is worth the cost of membership. Sounds like a darn site more incentive than Trout Unlimited, and certainly on par with FFF or any other fishing related organization I know of. We are talking less than the cost of 2 spools of tippet material here. C'mon man, don't nitpick. They are looking into a SWMO chapter which I'm sure will address any different western native strains you might be specifically concerned about. Have you considered joining a Stream Team, or anything else in the area of your concern ? The MSA is the only group doing ANYTHING as far as Smallmouth preservation....that I'm aware of. I plan to join ASAP.

Drew, The state vehicle inspection centers don't check to see if your car is equipped with seatbelts, and that they are in good working condition, either.

That is definately a reasonable assumption. A major increase in money spent on enforcement would likely go unnoticed as far as end results are concerned. Even if the extra funds WERE used as directed.

Are you finding enough down there, John ? There isn't a single back yard around L.O. here that doesn't have a healthy stack of it. It is against regs to burn it, bury it, or throw it in a landfill, and it cost like hell to have it hauled off. So people are coming up with creative ways to utilize it. (dog houses, wrestling mats, worm farms, garden borders...you name it). The move to incapsulated floats was a good thing...but it moved the mess from water to Land. This stuff will never...go away ! LOL Wrench

TH has always had "cycles" of good Winter Crappie fishing. If last year was good then you have a 50/50 shot at some really good slabs. It has been years since I fished it, but I used to live closer and fished it regularly. Typically there would be a year or two of awesome average size in the warm water arm, then a couple years of nothing but dinks. If you hit it right it is outstanding. There isn't much cover in the arm, unless someone has planted some...so you gotta keep moving and searching out the loose groups of fish. When it is slow it can get down right boring and pointless, casting and cranking to featureless water. a Kalin 2" grub on a 1/16 ball head (chart./wht.) is really hard to beat. Hope that helps, good luck

Hi Kathy, Excellent ! Glad to see you're still on the mission. Glen