Need the Rain

I hate saying it considering how wet it was during the latter part of May and most of June but we really need rain.

My wife and Abby decided to go fishing with me on Saturday. I think they felt sorry for me because I couldn't find anyone to fish with me on Friday (or Saturday morning).

Against better judgment (due to it being hot) I decided to head to Bruin Lake. Usually, during this time of year, it is impossible to get on the water. Not to mention all the "special Needs" captains that have no clue where they are going and what they are doing.

There is one particular Ranger on the park that I really like. We came in around 6:30 pm and, although the sign said the lot was full, he let me go ahead as he had just been down to the waters edge and notice a few parking spots.

Launching was no issue although I had to back her up a little deeper. We dodged three Kayaks, two waverunners, and a water skiing boat that couldn't seem to get their skier up while heading to the channel that goes to Watson lake.

Ahead of me was a pontoon. As I round the corner I notice he is basically on the bank. I assume he is hung up. My judgment was to go around this idiot as I had no clue what he was doing. The good guy in me however decided to stay back and not seem like a complete A--hole for passing him. As I get closer, I realize that he has gotton over to the far side to let another pontoon pass from the opposite direction. I was angry. Two boats can pass though this channel at the same time.

As luck would have it, I was forced over to the edge. At this point in time, I got hung on the bottom, my motor sucked up enough silt and sand to plug the pee-hole. I managed to get out however I was not happy.

I stopped on the waters edge, removed my pants and got into the water to possibly unplug the water suction leading to the impeller. No joy. I pulled the flush plug on the top of the motor and saw plenty of water getting to the head. This told me the pee hole was plugged and the water was cycling though the lower unit holes. I was able to slow motor without cause for concern to my fishing spot.

I managed to lose one crappie and miss 7 other bites before my anger ruined the trip and I returned to the dock.

I got home, connected my garden hose to the flush port and proceeded to flush water for 10 minutes. I put the muffs on and started it up. Pee hole still plugged.

Suzuki has a feature on their pee holes that allows you to angle the stream of water so you can see it from the helm. I popped off this plug, put my sprayer up to the port and blew water through it for 5 minutes until I got a good flow coming out of the induction port. Hooked everything back up, started her up and everything was fine.

On our way back in, I did notice that the entire channel was low. Really low. My boat was dragging bottom. We need rain to get the water level up. Until then, I wouldn't take my boat through that channel unless I was on trolling motor only.

There should be no issues in the fall. But I have not seen the water this low here. Next time, I will launch out of Halfmoon lake and use the other channel. .

keep a toothpick handy, a lot of times if that pee hole gets plugged, just a quick jab with a toothpick will take care of it, friend of mine had a Honda that we had to do this often.
your story is just another reason I hardly ever fish in the summer... :(
hit em hard in the spring, and maybe get a few fall trips in before deer hunting gets going strong

Getting a good storm here now with a pretty good downpour.

I have a 12" length of brazing wire that I have used in the past.

Weed whacker string.

Toothpick Idea wouldn't have worked. She was plugged up a littler further than a toothpick would reach. Nice part about the Suzuki is the end actually pops off so you can clean it out.

Funny thing was I was looking for some brazing wire in the shop that night and couldn't find any (go figure). I'm sure I will find a roll of it the next time I go out there.

Thanks for the suggestion on weed whacker string "D". That is a great idea. I have a ton of that stuff considering that I refuse to utilize a weed whacker! That stuff would coil up nice and you can store it about anyplace.

We need a thread called "redneck Tools"!