For years I've been using an ancient Johnson 5hp SeaHorse.  Can you say 1953 model ???  The cork float has disolved and I've machined 2 and it still doesn't work right and leaks gas as the float doesn't turn off the metering valve.  I'll keep working on it till I die.

But I needed a new motor for my john boat.  So I sprung (I'm a tight German) for a new puttputt. 

GOD, they are expensive.

I got a 5 hp Mercury with F-N-R.  The dealer was the best service person I ever met.  He spent two hours showing me everything, from how to adjust the carb to how to winterize.  Great old guy.  He wouldn't let me take the motor until it ran for two hours in a shop tank and started 20 times on the first pull.

I can't wait for crappies.  yes.

BEAR

The old 5 hp motors were two cylinders and that made them run smooth even when trolling.

I tried to buy an old Evinrude or Johnson from 64-84 years.  But e-bay was selling them for 450 and up plus add 50-80 bucks shipping and WOW.  $500 for some thing 20-30 years old sold AS IS. 

I got a warranty on the new one that will be in effect long after I'm growing worm bait.

TTU if that "old" one works it will work for ever if you drain the gas (run it out at idle at the dock).  And be sure to use TWC oil and mix it 24:1.  change the lower grease/oil every year and check the lower seals (see if the oil in the lower unit goes white, that is from water leakage).

I'd have preferred an older unit (2 cylinders, water cooled).  But after looking for 2 years the new Merc will do.

Hey man, how is school???????  graduation getting any closer?????

BEAR

TTU,

I know the feeling.  Now, I don't want to spook you but!

I remember many of the tests that I took and thought I did bad...but turned out pretty good.  Then the opposite was true....I'd think I aced it and was on the bottom of the curve.  I guess the one thing that I learned was that I just tried to learn and learned how to learn.  My grades were not good but I turned out to have learned a lot.  From time to time I  lecture in a few Universities.  Seems funny to be on the other side of the podium.  I usually end by telling the students that they should be enjoying college, it is the best time of their lives.  It was for me.

BEAR

Good Luck.  hang in there ttu

BEAR

My father still has his 1963 Evinrude 5 hp.  Bought it for trolling for speckled trout down on the Alabama coast.  He had it overhalled a couple years ago.  Still runs like a top.

As we are talking about new outboards as I posted a few months ago, I bought a new 75 HP Mercury as a x-mas present.  I've had it out about 4 times so far in 2005.  I'll probably go out this weekend.  It runs great and tops out at 42 mph.

  42 MPH....Pretty fast troll there Moose!

I just talked to Little BEAR.  He is off to skydive the next 3 days......got to be crazy to jump out of a perfectly good plane!  What you guys doing down in Tenn.  The coons are taking over my kids house.   I suggested a Have-=a-Heart trap in the attic crawl-space followed by a 22 to the brain.

Can't you keep the wildlife under control in Tenn?  I might be going down to shoot coons later this month.

BEAR

2 stroke.  The four stroke models are much heavier.  With 4 stroke outboards you need to derate them 20-25 % to get comparable performance.  So a 4 stroke 7.5hp would be like a 5Hp 2- stroke.

California requires 4 stroke and most of the US will be forced to them because of environmental considerations.  Evinrudes new e-tech motors are 2 stroke and are suppose to be cleaner than 4 strokes. I figure that is something for young folks to figure out.  The future.

BEAR

Hey BEAR... at least all he has to worry about is coons.  I have skunks running around my neighborhood .

By the way, trolling at 42 mph is the only way to catch BIG FISH!!!  Of cousre at 42 mph, all of my plugs become topwaters.

dollars per horse power is not a reliable indicator.  My 5 hp listed for $1237, and I paid 1000 plus tax (6%).  That is $240 per HP.  But for $8000 I could get a 200 hp; that is $40 per horse power.

The more horses you buy the cheaper they are.

BEAR

BEAR wrote: But for $8000 I could get a 200 hp.

Now with that I'd be able to troll REAL FAST!!!!!

Congratulations TTU.

high dx/dt to you!

Brings back some old memories.  Hang in there, the rewards are worth it.  And remember the good feeling on the high grades....it helped me when I crashed to remember when I did good.

BEAR

TTU - Great job .  I remember taking calculus.  The teacher was SO BAD, that I ended up teaching myself.  I did such a good job teaching me, that I started tutoring calculus.  Just remember, calculus is just a bunch of tricks... it's the algebra you use in simplifying the equations that will screw you up every time.  That's probably what you missed on your exam wasn't it?  You did great on the actual calculus stuff, but the algebra screwed you.  Oh well...

I supposed it's 'bout time for you to move on to better things... differential equations here we come!!!!!

I have an old 15 hp Johnson workhorse and its never let me down. It would sit in the shed till fishing season and start right up after 2 or 3 pulls and then maybe 2 pulls tops the rest of the fishing season. Up here in B.C. theyve cracked down on boaters. We have to take a boat operators test right away if we have a watercraft thats less than 13 ft and anything over 13 ft you have to take the test by the year 2009 which in a way is good because i live in a tourist trap and on our large lake you get alot of yahoos out there that dont know what the hell theyre doing so the test is for everybodies safety. If you have any motor thats more than 9.5 hp then you have to register it with Canada customs. The R.C.M.P patrol the lake all summer long in a Zodiac and if you dont have youre operators card on you, they can fine you and seize your equipment.

Gary

Technollogy has really changed. If any of you are thinking about purchasing a larger outboard, I would recommend the Mercury Optimax.  I just purchased a 2002 135hp Merc Optimax this past weekend. Like anyone else, I get very nervous about making a purchase like that on an item that can break down one week later.  However, all I needed to do was to get the motor in front of an authorized Mercury technician.  Those motors can be connected to a lap top computer (supplied by Merc).  The lap top goes through a complete diagnostic check of just about every part in the motor. Then, it can tell you how many hours the motor operated at each RPM level. That way, you can tell whether the motor was abused. Finally, it gives an exact measurement as to the total hours. This made my decision to buy the boat/motor so much easier.

Welcome NJ Whaler,

You running a single 135 on a Whaler?  What you fishing for.

BEAR

TasunkaWitko (Mr F.), I will tell our mutual friend that you said hello.  He sends me e-mails every day. He did not do very well chasing the mule deer last fall.  Did he stop in to see you? I hope that you are doing well in Lewistown.

Bear, here in NJ, I am fishing for flounder (winter and summer fluke), Striped Bass, bluefish, small tuna, weakfish(speckled trout), and any other unfortunate creature that takes the bait.  I release everything except for keeper flounder or fluke since they are my favorite to eat.   Attached are pictures of the boat and motor.   http://photobucket.com/albums/y78/njwhaler/ - http://photobucket.com/albums/y78/njwhaler/

On another note, for those of you who think that NJ is just a pile of concrete.....I have been watching the deer and turkey eat from my corn feeder for the past two weeks. This morning, the turkey wandered around my yard for two hours.

Beautiful boat NJW.  They really know how to organize those Whalers.  Love the rear pop up seat.  I have a 23 foot all-fiberglass inside Thompson.  Boy getting bumped around running in choppy water makes for lots of bruises; that seat makes it a decent boat to take the wife in.

I figure that winter flounder should still be running good.  I use to live in the Philly area and would fish abound the Egg Harbor area for them.

BEAR 

Tasunka,

Thanks for the update and I hope that you had a nice Easter also.

Bear, ths flounder are just getting started.  Also, just heard word of the first Stripers of the season caught.  The water is still a little cold. If you want to keep tabs of what is happening in the Barnegat bay, you can check this site also...

http://www.bhweb.com/ - http://www.bhweb.com/

Nj,

Thanks for the link.  It is timely as a good buddy is planning a trip to NJ.  He wants to try some 'party boats'.  Can you recommend a good party boat?  he has never fished salt water, but bought himself a BIG rod.  A newbie who thinks that a big rod means a big fish.  So I told him he had better go out far.  heheheh

Unfortunately he is terminally ill.  I will probably drag my boat down to Cheseapeak Bay in June if his health will afford him the time.

BEAR

Thanks NJ.  He is retired so he can go at his whim.

Any head boats go out shark fishing????

BEAR

I don't know of any "head boats" that go shark fishing for the following reasons...

1. Too many people. One big shark, once hooked, can take hours to land and will cross all of the other lines in the process. 

2. The head boats are too big and too high off of the water.  How would you unhook a giant shark?

Charters are how the shark fishing is done.  Usually with a maximum of 6 people.

On a side note, if your friend goes out for bluefish at night, he has a chance to catch a small shark in the process.That can be done on a head boat.

He is not a salt water guy.  I think he just wants to try this as his time is limited.  Your suggestion to start with a night trip for blues is great.  Night on  a head boat can get you anything that swims.  If the boat chums for blues that will bring in some scavengers too.  If he uses a large dead bait and floats it far out in the chum line, he will have a decent chance to catch one of those big things that usually just strip line on the sorry head boat equipment.

Great suggesting NJ thanks a lot.

My boat is buried a mile under ground in a limestone mine for the winter.  I wish those companies wouldn't keep sending me those thick boating catalogs and discount coupons.  I'm getting  itchy to go out.  Still got another 8 weeks.

BEAR

Bear,

You are right which is why I suggested night fishing.  They always anchor and chum. With chum in the water you have a chance to catch a shark.  You never know what you are going to see in the water at night...especially if there is no wind and the water is calm.  I have seen a large school of squid (about a half mile long) swim by the boat.  With the spot lights shining on the water, they look like they are from another planet.  Also, I watched someone real in a skate (sting ray) that had a span of about 8 feet. All we could do was cut the line.  Most of all, once a school of bluefish gets a whif of the chum slick, it will be non-stop mayhem on that boat until the capt toots the horn to go home.  Tell him not to wear anything that he intends on keeping because when the fishing is hot, there will be blood everywhere.

NJ,

You keep bringing back fishing memories, and we got hit with 6 inches of wet Snow today.  Got up changed the clocks, drove over and picked up my 91 year old mom and took her to bkft and shopping. Got back, and started looking at my john boat in the back yard, covered with snow, I've got to go fishing...... itchy.  Drove to my summer place and worked on the boat lift.  Then painted green a pair of old wooden oars that I've been patching with fiberglass.  I swore I could smell an incoming tide.  I even saw some gulls circling some open water.

I usually use a piece of red surgical tubing for schools of blues.  A sharp 2/0 hook and a 3 foot piece of some 60# mono.  I just wish the big ones tasted better than they look.

Well it shouldn't be too long.  Two more weeks and I'll be fishing for crappies.  Seems like a year since I was fishing Florida (really only 3 weeks ago).

BEAR

I < =text/>_popupControl();