Ratherbfishing

Sending good Karma your way! Have a great time!

Thanks! I'll work on it tonight and see what I can see!

The prop on my bow mounted trolling motor (Motorguide) is getting pretty long in the tooth however the motor is pretty old (probably made in the early 80s) and I'm not sure I can even find a model number on it (it was given to me). Anyway, I ALSO have a transom mounted Motorguide which came with a spare ("weedless") prop. It seems to me that with a plastic sleeve or spacer, I can adapt this spare prop for use with my other motor. The prop itself looks to be slighter larger in diameter but the sleeve fits over the motor pretty neatly. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of (such as ruining the motor) before attempting this project?

I bought a grease gun a while ago and I'll be %^&$#ed if I can figure out how to use it! I'm exasperated and before long I'll be curling up into a fetal position and sucking my thumb. It did not come with instructions. Before I place the grease cartridge into the tube I assume the "plunger" is supposed to be pulled out as far as it will go (and will go down as grease is used up). But SOMEHOW, the plunger manages to go down the entire tube-seemingly defying physics. How is this possible unless grease is somehow bypassing the plunger? In any event, I cannot get it to apply grease. I've gone online and not found anything useful. WHAT am I doing wrong?!!!!!!!!

I have a buddy who fishes about twice a year. He leaves his gear in a hot/cold garage all summer/winter and by the time he uses it again, it's grimy and dusty. An expensive ANYTHING would be lost on him. If, however, you have the budget for it and really appreciate a well-designed/machined piece of equipment, by all means go for it. Personally, a well maintained Pflueger President spinning reel is about as nice as I desire.

Wow! After reading this, I'm glad I had someone ELSE replace my impeller. My motor has other similar woes to yours which still have to be addressed. I, too, am not very happy with how things have gone with my motor. If I were just made of money, I'd just go out and buy a new (larger) 4-stroke and be done with it.

Some baits (such as in-line spinners and spoons) often benefit from a snap/swivel while for others it's either unnecessary or extra hardware that impairs the action of the lure. IF I use one or the other (or both) (which is rare unless I'm trolling), I use quality ball bearing swivels and the smallest size I can reasonably get away with.

Fish it the same relative way you would anywhere else. Bass don't know the difference.

It probably didn't help that the work day prior was bad but they say a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work. I wouldn't go THAT far but anyhow-better luck next time!

Sigh...until recently, my motor would start that easily. One tap of the starter button was all it used to take. Every time you discharge from a battery, it taxes it a little bit. Between that and wear and tear on the starter, personally, I'd just let the motor run. It'll help keep the battery charged, too.

25-horse Evinrude. Normally aspirated (carburetor). Not priming or choking it-except at the beginning of the day. I will try to give it a little throttle if it acts like it won't start and sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn't. It is not, IMO, a bad idea to have a spare bulb and fuel line around anyway so I'm going to try that first. I just have a "feeling" that this (particularly the bulb) is the culprit.

I brought my boat to have it serviced (including replacing the impeller) a few weeks ago (boy was that an ordeal) and last weekend I brought it to the closest reservoir to check on it. IF/WHEN it starts, it generally runs fine and there is no issue so long as the throttle is kept "up". However, if I let it idle for very long or if I run it at too few RPM's (which I did for slow trolling), it often dies. And then it refuses to start again for a considerable amount of time-enough to where I was getting concerned about stressing the starter and battery power (would it start before I ran out of juice?). Again, as long as the throttle is up, it runs fine. Also, If I shut it off myself-without waiting for it to die, it will usually start right back up again-so long as I don't wait too long. Though i'm no expert, my guess is that the check valve in the squeeze bulb is not closing property and is starving the fuel line and carburetor of fuel. Assuming this is the case, it's a relatively cheap/easy fix (buy a new bulb and fuel line) but does this seem to be a logical conclusion? Thanks for any help/advice you might provide!

Chances are pretty good since it is a Jeep.

The plus side to the summer is that a fish's metabolism increases and therefore they have to feed more often. The bad news, however, is that their food source is also more readily available and bass are more likely to feed at night and/or will move to locations harder for you to find or to fish. Shore fishing (especially from larger impoundments) can be rather limiting in this regard. But some bass will remain relatively shallow-which is good for you. If you absolutely have to feed when the sun is higher, find weed edges and shaded areas where bass are more likely to hold. Put away your fast moving baits for now. Slow down and fish soft plastics (worms, crawdads, lizards) methodically. If you can reach matted vegetation or moss, cast out to it with a hollow bodied frog or mouse-but be sure to use a stout rod and heavy line as pulling the fish through the stuff is three quarters of the battle. If you haven't had so much as a bite, though, catching may be less critical than just getting bit. Summer fishing is a challenge for most fishermen but especially for bank fishermen. Between the heat/humidity/bugs/stinging nettle, poison ivy, etc. it can be maddening. Determination is good but not if it means a case of heat stroke and not if it means throwing out the baby with the bathwater if it isn't working out. Maybe it's time to put up your gear for awhile. Find another hobby.

How about "shrinky dink"?

Clearance rack question aside, I recommend you call them. If you can't talk to someone on the phone about something so benign as this, you're going to have REAL difficulties down the road. Social phobias are no laughing matter and I don't mean to minimize them BUT you've gotta start somewhere.

Man, that stinks!!!!! Nothing worse than back and nerve pain! And to miss out on a fishing excursion just adds insult to injury! I hope you are on your feet and feeling your old (or new) self soon!

So....it MIGHT still be gremlins?

You need a larger amp fuse. Or you need heavier gauge wire. Or you have a poor connection. Or there are gremlins in your boat. Was I right?

Carp.

You could always run into the one excessively anal retentive game warden out there but otherwise, I wouldn't worry excessively about running the outboard for such an occasion as you described. You gotta do what you gotta do. I once slid up onto a submerged tree and if I hadn't used my (forbidden to run) larger outboard to pull it off, I'd STILL be stuck on that lake (this was 5 years ago). I'd be more concerned about pulling the TM mount off your boat deck. On another occasion, I got my trolling motor wedged so tight in a submerged tree root and couldn't get it out. The wind was bad that day and the waves ripped the mount clean off the deck of my boat. I imagine using an outboard could wreak similar havoc if you aren't careful.

Some may frown on this but as long as it isn't done too often or too severely, I think it works fine: Tie your line to a tree or post. Walk about 30 yards and gently pull the line a few times to straighten it out. Don't pull so hard that you stress the line, however. Anyway, this will pull out most of the coil/memory. NOTE: This not a substitute for periodic replacement of line. Sunshine, heat, stretching, nicks, contaminants, etc. will eventually degrade your line to where, if it isn't replaced, headaches and/or heartbreak is inevitable.

all in good fun.

In the age of Social media (of which this site is one example), people (and especially youth) have somehow come to believe that the world hangs on their every word and action. Maybe (spoiler alert) its' like telling a child their is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny but, sorry, we really don't care. We're too busy finding Pokeman.

I haven't heard of a 13 volt battery but what do I know(?). I've had a Shumacher charger poop out in less than two years and I've had one that lasted numerous years. It seems to be a crap shoot.