MontanaWalleye.com
with pro Dale Gilbert
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Time to go fishing - Are you ready?
By DALE GILBERT
Montana walleye pro
Spring has come and with it is the urge to get on the water and pursue the mighty walleye. With ice coming off many of the rivers and reservoirs in the northern states, it is one of the best times of the year to get out and potentially catch some of the biggest fish of the year. If you are lucky enough to hit the right spot at the right time, the fishing can be incredible. Since walleyes are heading to their spawning areas, this time of the year concentrates larger numbers of fish in areas and provides for some great fishing - if you're ready.
My purpose here is to help you make sure you are ready to go and don't end up just going for a pleasure drive (or an unpleasant drive) your first trip out. Like, have you ever loaded up your boat and all your gear, with bait, gas, etc. and then when you got to the ramp, the boat motor won't start? Or worse yet, you never got to the ramp because you forgot to check tires, had a flat with no air in the spare? So what follows is a checklist of sorts, things you may want to review and do before you make that first trip of the year.
Most of us have probably spent countless hours leafing through the various catalogs, maybe ordering some new lures or line, watching fishing shows or videos, and reading fishing magazines for the last several months. It has been a little cold to go out and work on the boat so it has sat there all winter long.
However, if you did a good job winterizing your boat last fall, odds are your first trip will go just fine. Each fall, when I decide to put the boat away till spring, I will make sure to top off the fuel tank to keep it full so there is less chance for condensation of moisture in the tank. When the tank has been empty, with temperature extremes we typically see, moisture can condense in your tank and potentially cause problems in the spring. I also, would have put some fuel stabilizer in the tank such as OMC 2+4 or STA-BIL, available at your marine dealer or an auto parts store. After adding stabilizer to the tank, I run my outboard motor to make sure I get fuel that has the stabilizer into the motor. Then, I generally don't have to worry about the old fuel gumming up the system. I would have also fogged the motor by spraying fogging oil into the carburetors while the motor was running and if fuel injected, I would have taken the spark plugs out and sprayed the oil into each of the cylinders. The last thing I would have done was to change the lower unit gear lube so that there was no moisture in the gear case over the winter to cause rust and potential problems. At the same time, I would have checked to see that there wasn't any fishing line wound around the seals behind the propeller. Typically, if your lower unit oil is milky white you have a problem and should get the seal replaced.
In some years, I would have removed my batteries from the boat to store them in my basement. This is a good time for checking fluid and cleaning the connections. For the last few years I have left them in the boat and occasionally checked them and recharged them to make sure they didn't lose their charge and freeze and bust.
So, with all that done and said, what do you need to do in the spring?
Well, if you're lucky, not anything. But to make sure you don't end up at the lake without something working - and of course it would be a beautiful day with fish biting like crazy, do the following things:
1. I would first check carefully wherever the boat was parked to make sure I don't see any oil leaks. If you notice some you probably have a bad seal and need to get it checked out.
2. I would suggest taking your spark plugs out, and cranking the motor over to blow out any excess fogging oil from the cylinders. This also lets you check the plugs and decide if they look too fouled and want to put a new set of plugs in. Note: I would pull my kill switch before cranking the motor over. Just make sure when you get it all back together, the kill switch is hooked back up or your motor will not start. (Trust me, I have tried it the other way and it doesn't work - fortunately, I figured it out after about 45 minutes one year and before I went back to the marine dealer to chew on them, boy would I have been embarrassed)
3. I would check my batteries and electrical connections. If a battery is dead, obviously you probably have a problem. If the battery has held its charge then it is probably OK and I would just plug in the charger to make sure it has a full charge. If the connections are corroded, then it is worth cleaning them with a solution of baking soda and water. This neutralizes the acid and lets you get them cleaned up. After doing this, I would go ahead and coat them with some petroleum jelly or spray on electrical lubricant you can get from an auto parts store. Just be very careful and follow directions. Believe me, when it says some of it is extremely flammable, it is. I once sprayed some on and didn't let it dry and tried to hook my battery cables back up. It sparked because something wasn't turned off and started a fire. Fortunately, I was able to get it out before anything was damaged, but I sure learned a lesson.
4. With the fuel system stabilized, you shouldn't have to do much except check to see if any of the hoses are getting cracked or hard and brittle. If they are hard and brittle, you might be well advised to replace them. I like to squeeze my primer bulb and make sure it primes correctly. If you didn't fill your tanks and stabilize the system last fall, I would sure recommend putting some in when you fill it up this spring and hoping for the best.
5. I always check the air pressure in my tires, including my spare. Sometimes after sitting all winter, the air pressure will drop. I generally run close to the maximum air pressure (psi) for the maximum load carrying capacity - it is stamped on the sidewall of your tires. It's also a good time to check and see what your tire wear and tread looks like. If you have significant wear on the inside edge of both tires, you probably have a bent axle and need someone to work on it. I generally like the best trailer tires I can get. A caution to you is that all tires are not the same. Trailer tires are generally specially made to have less sidewall flex and are designated with a "ST" for a special trailer tire.
6. Checking the bearings on the trailer axles is also a good idea. Most trailers anymore come with bearing buddies that allow you to keep them greased and generally they don't need much maintenance. Just make sure you haven't overdone it. Some people always think that more is better and with re-greasing your bearing buddies, often put too much grease in them. All you really need and should do, is just add grease to make the spring move out a little bit. If you fill them to the maximum, you'll end up with the extra grease all over the wheel and tire on your next trip. Also, if they have been filled to the maximum, you may have ruined the inner seal on the axle and will need to replace the seals. This should be obvious from excess grease on the inside of your wheel or if you take the bearing buddy off and see that moisture has gotten into the grease. Always use marine grade wheel bearing grease and it is recommended that you don't mix types.
Some people go to the extent of repacking and adjusting their bearings each year. That is good as long as it has been done correctly, but it probably isn't required on an annual basis like it used to be. I generally jack up the trailer and check for excessive play in the bearings. If I need to adjust them, then I'll check to see what the grease looks like before deciding to repack them.
7. It is also a good time to check your lights on the trailer. Brake lights and turn
signals that work can help you avoid a wreck literally, and also let you spend more time fishing that talking with your friendly highway patrol officer.
Depending on your state's boat and trailer registration requirements, don't forget to have a current license for the boat or trailer, and I know none of you would ever forget to have a current fishing license - right? Oh well, not more than once because the license is cheaper than a fine.
8. You should also check your brakes if your trailer has them. You can do this, but you will need some help. With the trailer jacked up someone can spin the wheel while you activate the brake. Most boat trailers with brakes have surge brakes that use hydraulic pressure to apply the brakes. Under the coupler is a lever that can be used to apply pressure to see if the brakes work without moving. If it doesn't stop the wheel, you need to adjust them. In most cases, this might be something you should have a professional do.
9. Finally last but not least, don't forget to put the plug in the boat. I've tried this a time or two and the boat doesn't work quite as well as it does with the plug in it - trust me.
Unless you are comfortable with all of the above things, you might want to take the boat down and have your local marine dealer or mechanic to check it out. The above items probably won't cover everything you might face, but will probably at least get you on the water fishing your first trip out.
Hopefully, your first trip out goes without a hitch and you have a great day of fishing. I hope you think about the future and don't abuse the privilege of being able to get out this time of year on a pre-spawn bite. Practice some selective harvest, put the females back to complete their spawn and keep a few of the 16"- 18" males to eat - they're the best eaters anyways. If you catch a trophy consider some pictures and a graphite mount and let her go to be caught another day.
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Dale R. Gilbert
44 Foxtail Lane
Ulm, MT 59485
Phone: 406-866-3304
Cell: 406-788-3824
E-mail Dale
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© Copyright, 2007-10, Dale Gilbert
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