I headed out to Smith Mountain Lake yesterday afternoon with my buddy Alfie Hammerstrom for some fishing and bowfishing.
My hope was to get a few carp to use for cut bait for an upcoming catfishing trip.
So we get my little johnboat in the water (at the Hardy public ramp) and the 15hp Yamaha 4-stroke fires up on the second pull. And I had to say, "Second pull. Gotta love it."
At which point the engine sputtered and died. And that was it. Nothing would get it going. I didn't have tools or spare plugs or anything so there wasn't much we could do except head out with the trolling motor and try the engine from time to time (to no avail).
Visibility was terrible. I'm not sure why as it hadn't rained lately and the river wasn't up. I wasn't seeing much except turtles and sunfish. On a bank that's never been that good for me I spotted this carp and it gave me what turned out to be my easiest shot of the evening. I stuck it in the spine and it didn't even flinch.
That was it. I got at least 20 more shots and didn't connect on any. I shot over some but shot under others. It was frustrating. I'm going to make a sunken target and do some practicing on the water because I haven't been able to hit squat for two years now.
Eventually I put down the bow and got out the 3-wt fly rod and started tossing a little popper up near the shore. Bluegills were crushing it. Unfortunately, most were about 3 inches long. Alfie was casting a worm for bass and had one good hit.
The weather started getting iffy and we headed the mile or so back to the ramp. Well, we started too late because we ended up having to fight a stiff wind for the last part of the trip. It started pouring just as we got to the ramp. (My new Cabela's Gore-Tex rain jacket, purchased after that soggy trip to Pa. a couple weeks ago, worked great, by the way.)
I'm frustrated by the motor issue. The thing is 4 years old but is pristine because I just haven't used it much. That's probably one reason it's been a bit finicky. I'm not a motor tinkerer. Never have been. But I'd like to try to get this fixed on my own if it's simple, which it seems it should be. Bad gas or plugs, maybe.
I'm not sure where my manual is so I figured I'd pull one up on the Yamaha Web site. Well, naturally, the manual I'm trying to download won't open up in my Web browser. Yamaha's site says they will happily sell me one -- but they're out of stock. So I guess I'll be digging through my junk tonight trying to find the manual.
One thing about my boat when I was a kid, it never broke down. And rowing it kept me in pretty good shape.
Comments
[June 3, 2008 8:46 AM]
BacklashRow row row your boat gently down a stream.
Mark it's not the catch it's the adventure you love of trying again regardless of the outcome.
Yet if a person start singing that song push them in providing they are wearing a life jacket. Because I am sure some dunked Eliphalet Oram Lyte a time or two.
Good Luck and cheers to the adventure.