first time out nightmare

[fishinrookie]

well guys here is my story of a day on the lake.after i fixed the trailer lights and filled up with gas i was off to lake weir out side of belleview fl.
i all most for got to put the plug in but rememberd at the last sec. but that was only the begining.
i went with my son hes 15 so i wasent alone i had some one to give me a hand for what was about to happen.got the boat off the trailer pretty easy (not as hard as i thought)so there i was ready to fire up the motor
and she fired right up. so i continued to back up and then i only went about 300 yards from the dock to a grassy shore.(the motor ran great)
but dint even get a nibble thats because i was in 2 feet of water.
(you can start laughing now)so i fired it up to move to deeper water
witch was just out to the middle of the lake not far from the dock it
started to cloud up so i was getting a little nervous but it look like it was passing over so we went on fishing with no luck at all so we moved farther out to this point i could see from from the boat not far still aint taking the dock out of my sight well i fired up the motor and started out to the point
but the motor was not running right and the wind was picking up alot
i tryed to keep the motor running but it would start but then die like it was starving for gas.so then im like the wind is blowing us to the other end of the lake (im freekin now) so the motor is dead she wont run
so i thought i will try the trolling motor well that will only work if you have a PROP i lost it some were in the lake. so now in realy freekin out so i got the ores out to ore to the dock and get this nightmare over. but by that time the wind was blowing about 25 mph and it was blowing out so no chance to ore to the dock. so now i had to get it to shore so i jump out of the boat in about 4 foot of water grabed the anker rope and draged it to shore got it up on the muddy sand tied it off to a big tree and walk back to the dock though some very heavy brush and trees took us about a hour to get back to the dock. long swampy walk then i had to talk to mr sheriff to tow my boat in. when we were talking he told me about a 9 foot
mama gator that live over there and he pointed to the spot.WOW i was realy lucky i walk right by that spot. well i got my boat back now it will be setting for a while i dont want to go though that again and to finish it off we dint even get one nibble the hole time we was fishing.i tryed every lure in my box and tryed the old fashion way with worms maybe i needed shinners. the hole day was a nightmare well i hope you get a laugh out of this my wife did when i told her (trolling motor for sale cheap - one prop)
all i can do is laugh about it now but i wasent laughing saturday

(it will get better wont it?) ya buy a dependable motor not one from 1970

may your fishing trip be better than mine

[bamabassman]

sounds to me like you had a typical first time out on the water. i had a similiar first outing myself, lol. don't get discouraged, get even, hahaha. you'll get the hang of it friend. you can fix the troller. and the outboard. baitmonkey is your problem right now, you HAVE to pay him before you can enjoy boating. relax......kidding. but don't give up. keep on going, you'll get the hang of it. good luck.

[Buzz Wing]

Same has happened to us too. One day on the Detroit River, I decided to go downriver since it was spring and the warm-water discharge was down there. After catching nothing, the motor ceased to start and we had to row one mile up the eight mile per hour current. Finally somebody decided to tow us when we were only 100 yds from the dock!

-Buzz

[WTL]

You lost the prop to the tm in the lake?

I think I would have gone in at the point, karma was just not with ya that day.

2 feet is plenty deep for florida fishing. I caught my personal best in a florida lake in 2 feet of water mid summer, the water temp was hovering around 89.

The outboard problem could be the carb. I'd of run a can of seafoam through it for the sake of it.

I wouldn't give up. Its a great hobby and you live in a location most people on here wish they lived in.

[jasonfish320]

That's a rough day...sorry to hear that..engine sounds like the fuel pump may not be working (cheap fix). Always bring a spare trolling prop..I keep 2 extras in the boat at all times..takes about 3 mins to change one out

[bcklash]

We've all had days like that. Believe me that is just the first of many great memories that you will have on the water. Just smile and keep diggin.

[carolina-rig-01]

it'll get better, and one day you will look back and laugh about it!

[fishinrookie]

thanks guys for the vote of confidence i dont think its the fule pump just put a new one on not to long ago and it was the first time the boat has bin out on the water. some one said it could be to much oil but it wasent smoking that bad to be to much oil. i think im going to tare it down to find the problem.it will start right up but wont stay running it will rev up only for a sec then peter out it does sound like fule pump but likr i said its bran new.well off to work you know early bird gets the worm

thanks again guys i was ready to stick to the shore on dry land lol
but i aint giving up that easy this dam boat aint going to beat me

[WTL]

Rook,
just so you know that stuff really does happen to everyone. Happened to me today in fact. My motor started coughing and I couldn't get it to stay going. I think in my case its a fuel hose that I know was sucking air next the the pump. (I could hear it wheeze after shutting the engine down it was so bad, but didn't have any elect ties or small band clamps to tighten it). The point is your gonna have to get your hands dirty, but it very well could be something small.

I'll use another nasty example. My 95 Dodge Ram shook like hell around 40 mph. After listening to my Dad's pessimistic views, I finally decided to swap it for a rebuilt Jasper engine.

Problem is it ended up doing the same exact thing with that one too.


I worked on everything, trying to find the problem. Finally I took the intake manifold off, and as I picked up the fuel rail some gas poured out of it - the gas was red.

Gas aint normally red. The fuel rail had rust in it, which was in turn clogging the tops of the injectors. A little bit of rust caused me to trade in what was probably a decent 318 as a core. When we did the swap the rail was put back on as it was and nobody noticed. It was one of the tiniest things in the world, and it made about a 3K$ difference. So take a look. Get your hands dirty. Don't panic and dont quit.

[bassdaddy]

hang in there rookie,,it gets better,,check that fuel filter,or the bulb,hope ya get it running and have a better time of it next time out,,glad the gator didn't get ya

[WTL]

Yea thats right. If it is a problem with the fuel pump itself, pumping on the gas line bulb should cause the trouble to smooth out - it is after all a hand pump.

[bamabassman]

i won't say it wtl, i swear i won't hehehe. i'll get my mind outa the gutter. hahahahaha. (hand pump) go again man it WILL get better.

[fishinrookie]

thanks guys i tryed the fuel line bulb when i was on the lake and it was rock hard plenty of gas presure i replaced the fuel pump. and i cant find the fuel filter. i tryed to start it up monday after work filed up my bucket hit the switch after choking it a little she fired right up and set there running pretty smooth. it kicked and poped a couple of times but after that smooth running.should it kick up so much water setting there running in nutral?
with out the prop turning why does it kick up so much water? and is that normal?
it was peeing in three places one out of the exaust and 2 spots right behind the motor down by the prop is that right? hope it aint to much trouble helping a rookie out
thanks again guys

out board looks pretty complecated

[jasonfish320]

The water sounds normal, I had an older engine once that had two tiny pin-holes in the casing of the lower unit that were for water drainage...it almost sounds like the air/fuel mixture might be off..have you checked the plugs..are they fouled..if so you either have a compression issue or your carbs need to be tuned...just my opinion though..check with 1fstlaser he's better at this kind of thing

[bamabassman]

ditto to what jason said, also ask the zook.

[BassAddict]

Man dude I've been in your shoes before.

My brother and I had our first tourney of the year last season and made a 60 mile run to a place we were catching them. We had a limit when the tide went out and left the creek to run up river until the tide started to come back in. Around 11:00 we decided to run back to the creek to whack the BIG fish! My brother went to fire up the big motor and it wouldn't start for nothing. We screwed around with it for 45 minutes and couldn't get it to fire. No chance of the trolling motor making it for 60 miles back to the landing. Luckily my dad was in that part of the river and he picked me up and I put our fish in his boat to go weigh in. We left my brother in the boat. Luckily too, was that the boat was near a marina. After the 60 mile ride back to weigh the fish I had to take the truck and trailer about the same to go get my brother and the boat then go back to the landing to get my truck. What an expensive day. Not to mention our 12 lbs. of fish didn't make a check either!

The problem ended up being the fuel line. Guy at the shop said that Ethynol in the gas will eat up the fuel line. After he replaced it the motor ran fine. You may check out the fuel line! Good luck!

[keithdog]

I can relate to your story rookie. This past saturday was my first day out this year after a long hard winter. It was without a doubt my worst "first day out" by a mile. A four inch gouge in my leg, numerous backlashes, very unusual for me. A tree branch that wacked me in the head after trying to climb out of a pile of brush that I got my lure snaged deep inside of. Oh, and how after I unhooked that lure from the snag, the butt of the rod fell to the bottom of the boat sending that lure into the tree branches overhead. The way the wind just whipped my johnboat all over. And to top it off, not a single strike all day for me or anyone else on the lake that day that I talked to. I felt like a true beginner who had never fished a day in his life. But I know that days like that will happen. Next time will be better. Just keep telling yourself that.