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Top 5 Easy Outboard Motor Fixes

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So, your outboard motor won’t start? Before you take it in to the shop, try these 5 simple fixes…

These are simple, often easy solutions but sometimes it’s hard to think clearly and remember even the most obvious fixes when you and your motor that won’t run are clogging up the boat ramp on a busy day or drifting downstream towards the rapids.

FLOODED

If you can get the outboard to start and you start smelling fuel or seeing it in the water, chances are the engine is flooded. A simple fix is to disconnect the gas line where it attaches to the motor and keep trying to start it. Eventually, you’ll run the extra gas out of there and you’ll hear it fire. As soon as it does, reconnect the fuel line and then go for a boat ride before you stop again.

KILL SWITCH

You know the old saying about appliances when they don’t work — well, did you check and see if it was plugged in? As dumb as that sounds, most of us have done that. Same with outboard motors — I limped several miles home on my kicker motor one day with clients years ago when I thought my big motor was dead. Turned out I had somehow knocked the kill switch out. Without it, of course, the motor will never fire.

So, if the boat will crank and crank but wont turn over, check to see if the little red kill switch is attached. If it’s not, don’t tell anybody and then make it look like you are doing something really difficult under the cowling and then sneak it back on when nobody’s looking and tell them you had to adjust the Flux Capacitor.

FUEL VENT

There’s usually a twist knob on the top of the fuel cap. Notice how the can is caving in…

Ever had your motor start running rough all of a sudden? It will start to sputter and sound like it’s about to die…and eventually will quit. If you are lucky, it could be the easiest fix of all — opening the fuel vent on your gas tank.

Those red portable tanks that come with most small outboards have a little vent knob (usually on the cap) that lets air in. If you forget to loosen that knob before you start boating, it will cause the motor to quit eventually.

You may even notice this starting to happen before the engine starts running poorly — the walls and top of the gas tank will start getting sucked inward.

Simply loosen the vent and you’ll be on your way! Just remember to tighten it down once you get the boat back on the trailer.

PLUGGED UP

Most new and larger outboards have overheat alarms on them that will beep if the motor is getting too hot. Lower horsepower and older models don’t always have an alarm, but if you notice the motor sputtering, along with a burning smell, there’s a good chance it’s getting overheated. Hot to the touch is another obvious sign that there’s a problem.

A lot of these situations can be avoided — or at least caught in the early stages — by simply checking to see if the motor is “peeing” out the back. These engines are water cooled…water is drawn in through a screen in the lower unit and the run up through the motor to keep everything running cool. Whenever you start the engine, simply look at the motor to see if you notice a stream of water being expelled. Some models eject the water straight out the back but most I’ve owned shoot in out at an angle from just below the cowling.

If you see that she’s not spraying water, immediately shut the motor down and let it cool. Take the cowling off and look for a (usually black) hose that attaches to the exit port. Pull it off the nipple on the inside of the motor and check for debris. Sometimes all you need to do it blow into the tube. More pesky clogs may require a small wire. Also tile the motor up and see if the intake screens are blocked with weeds or a small piece of plastic.

If you can’t find the clog and the motor wont spray, use an auxiliary motor to get home if you have one. If not, make sure its cool and then run it a short distance and then let it cool off again. Repeat that as necessary until you get back to the ramp.

SOFT BALL

When you go to start your outboard and it won’t kick over — or it will just run for a few seconds and then dies — check the hardness of the squeeze ball in the fuel line. If it is soft, squeeze it several times until it gets solid. Sometimes you just don’t have enough gas  in the line to get the thing to fire but pumping some more into the motor you will be up in running in no time.

There are several other little fixes that I have learned over the years but these are the most common and easy ones. Maybe in the future, I’ll do a column on some of the other troubleshooting methods for outboards.

Hot Jigging Tips for Fresh and Salt Water

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Spooning (aka: “jigging”) is one deadly technique for ocean salmon, halibut, yellowtail and rockfish, along with trout, landlocked salmon, striped bass and walleye in freshwater.

While it’s a super easy technique to learn, there are some little twists and tweaks that can help you take your jigging to the next level. If you’re game, read on!

RIGGING UP & THE BIG SECRET
For spooning, you want a rod that’s got some oomph in the lower two thirds – so you can muscle fish out of deep water and also move the spoon. But it should also have some give in the tip so that a fish can suck down your spoon and not feel too much resistance. Casting gear is the only way to go, as it’s really hard to make subtle adjustments with spinning tackle.

Inhaled! Stripers and rockfish love the P-Line Laser Minnow!

I like a baitcaster with a high-speed retrieve (above 7:1) if I’m working deep water, or a lower speed, more torquey model when trying to wench big fish out of the rocks. When it comes to line, keep this in mind: braid…braid…braid. There’s no other choice for jigging. Braided line has a slim profile so it is less subject to current drag, has no stretch (great for deep water), and is super durable and very sensitive.

Now, here’s the super top secret rigging tip I can throw at you to make your jigging much more effective: Run a heavy mono leader – the heaviest you can get away with without spooking the fish. For example, I’ll run a 10- to 15-foot section of 40-pound when jigging mackinaw. The lakers rarely get over 15 pounds where I fish, so it’s not the strength of the line I’m looking for but the thick diameter. The heavy line acts almost like a parachute for the lure, slowing it’s fall and thus making it flutter more enticingly. You’d be amazed how much of a difference this makes!

If you’re trout fishing in a lake, 20-pound seems to do the trick and I’ve gone as heavy as 60 plus when in the ocean.

SPOONS
When it comes to choosing a spoon, there are several things to consider. What does the natural forage in the area look like? In most cases, I try to “match the hatch” as much as possible and use the jig that best matches the profile and color of the local baitfish. When deep bodied fish like shad or sardines are the main menu items, I’ll go with a spoon like the Revenge or a Blade Runner Spoon. The Livingston EBS Spoon with Electronic Baitfish Sound is a good one at times, too.

But if narrow baitfish are what the fish are dining on, a slender jig like a [easyazon_link identifier=”B003D93PVG” locale=”US” tag=”fiwijd-20″]P-Line Laser Minnow[/easyazon_link] or [easyazon_link identifier=”B000LF03QU” locale=”US” tag=”fiwijd-20″]Hopkins Spoon[/easyazon_link] will get the job done.

Silver or white are great all-around colors as most baitfish have some sort of shiny hue to them. However, when I’m bouncing rock piles for rockfish and lings, I’ll often switch to a darker lure – something brown, dark green or black – to match the myriad of juvenile rockfish that inhabit these areas.

In freshwater, the same concepts apply. I’ll go with a wider-bodied spoon when threadfin shad are the primary baitfish and then use a more streamlined model when the fish are eating pond smelt. Kokanee are a bit of a wild card and they seem to prefer spoons with bright fluorescent finishes like hot pink, flame red and chartreuse.

As far as weight goes, you want to use the lightest lure you can get away with. It’s pretty simple: the lighter the lure, the more flutter you get. And of course, the more your spoon is flashing like a wounded fish, the better!

Swap the Hooks!
The majority of all jigging spoons come standard with treble hooks but I’ve never been all that fond of them. Taking a tip from the tropical saltwater guys, I started testing [easyazon_link identifier=”B000B5A5ZE” locale=”US” tag=”fiwijd-20″]assist hooks[/easyazon_link] out and have gone all in with them. If you’ve never heard of assist hooks, let me explain. They’re a single hook attached to a short length of cord that is fastened to the top eye of the spoon (yes, the top!). Some folks run two hooks up there but I’ve found one works great. I have to admit that a jig looks strange with the treble removed and the hook at the top, but they are deadly.

Assist Hooks look funny but they work!

Assist hooks are also much easier on the fish and are usually buried right in the corner of the jaw – not down in the gills. They’ve also been a godsend for me when jigging deep like I do for mackinaw at places like Lake Tahoe. So many times I’ve dropped a jig all the way down to 120 feet, only to have the lure flip and the treble wrap around the line just above the knot. Talk about frustrating! But that never happens with assist hooks!

Technique
One basic concept to keep in mind when spooning is: use your wrists, not your elbows or shoulders. Most of the time the best jigging motion is, with the rod tip angled towards the water, a quick upward snap of the wrist and then you allow the tip to fall back towards the water. There’s a fine line here – the lure will have the most action as it falls on a slack line. However, most strikes come as the lure is on the drop, so if you have too much slack in your line, you will miss a lot of bites.

The best way to describe it is, let your lure drop on a “controlled” fall in which you keep a little tension on the line. That’s where trouble comes in when the elbows and shoulders get involved – too high an upward stroke and you’ll almost assuredly have loose coils of line on the water, which translates into a lot of undetected strikes.

Yellowtail on light jigging tackle are a blast!

Bites can be slight “ticks” to outright arm yankers, but most are fairly subtle. For that reason, it’s a good idea to also watch your line where it enters the water. If you notice any slight hesitation or direction change, set the hook immediately!

One final note on technique: Try to keep your presentation as vertical as possible. The lures work best when presented straight up and down over the fish and you’re less prone to snags that way. If the current or wind is pushing the boat along so quickly that you have a pretty good line angle going, either reel up and drop again or try a heavier lure.

Spring Crappie Fishing Tips

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Crappie fishing is a total blast. Add to the mix the fact that they are absolutely delicious and you have a pretty cool target species!

While you can catch them off docks, the best way for consistent success is to fish from a boat. If you are not familiar with a lake, there are a few things you can look for.

Where to Look

First off, in the spring, crappie will move out of their deep water winter haunts and head for old creek channels in the river arms of lakes. A good graph with built in contour mapping is essential for finding these creek beds.

This time of year, I’ll look in 15-40 feet of water. Crappie will usually be using the channels like highways to migrate to and from spawning areas. Watch your meter closely for marks near or slightly suspended off the bottom — also be on the lookout for schools of shad.

Often crappie schools — at least the ones that are dense enough to fish on — will show up as many blobs or arches that make a Christmas tree type of shape. You can catch the odd fish on scattered schools but the best action comes from the bunched up ones.

While looking around in the creek channels, watch for submerged trees or brush piles. There will be a lot of good cover that’s been growing above water during the drought that’s now well below the surface. Crappie love structure and if you locate some cover in a channel, chances are you’ll find the fish.

If no brush or trees are present, pay close attention to the edges of the channel — where the bottom starts shallowing up. Crappie love those transitions as well.

When you discover a good spot that’s full of holding fish, be sure to first mark it with your GPS. Old school marker buoys work well too.

How to Catch ‘Em

Now, it’s time to fish! I like 1/32 to 1/16 ounce jig heads outfitted with 1- to 2-inch plastic grub tails, tubes or jerk shad. Crappie seem to like white, chartreuse, hot pink and red/white lures best.

There are times when they like a vertical presentation — get directly over the fish and drop your jigs down to them. Other days the fish want a more horizontal presentation. To get that, cast out just beyond where the fish are holding, let your lure sink down to the right depth and then slowly retrieve it through them.

If you pay attention, the crappie will tell you what they want on a given day.

Great Eats

Crappie are truly one of the best eating fish in freshwater! They have slightly sweet, delicate white fillets that are absolutely delicious!

If you are keeping fish for a fry, be sure to bleed each one immediately and put it directly onto ice. My favorite way to cook them is panfried with brown butter. Here’s how to do it: I do this with halibut but it works great on all white-fleshed fish! Brown Butter Recipe YUM!

Give crappie fishing a try this spring…you’ll love it!