Making lemonade out of a lemon situation...

Thursday "squeezed" in a trip before starting a home water softener install, behind me now & online[emoji108]. Went back to a first luv= Long- lining a local lake. Motor out to a 1st spot & the depth finder is showing 3 vertical bars & nothing else. This Lowrance unit was replaced after it's 1st yr of service & in yr 2 looks like the same issue. So used a phone app to track speed, however, had no info of the depth they were holding. So in initial troubleshooting check power & only have 1 of 4 battery symbols showing, so decide to idle motor & charge system while trolling. 2 1/2 hrs of this & a few good fish come aboard in the morning fog....then things take a turn & the motor dies, easy diagnosis, NO GAS![emoji51]. So about this time most of the fog lifts & I'm on the further side of the lake from the ramp & know the river current will expend more power in the final stretch, but tilt the motor for less drag & start the 2 hr journey back. 7 more specks lifts the sprits & overall many throwbacks for the day makes things tolerable. Get through the lake entrance current & couple fellas ask if they can help tow, thank them & know I'm within 3/4 mile of the ramp & still haven't switched to the 3rd battery, so forward & onward @ snail pace wanting to see if any river bank activity is happening, which turns out to show fruit, but the mercury reminds the senses to wrap things up & call it a day. All is well that ends well, back to the ramp. Turns out had a false power reading due to positive wire that had came loose from connector @ post, but have things wired in parallel so didn't fully effect all accessories. Things also came to light that motor maintenance schedule is do & all necessary items are on order. Take time to run down your check list is the moral of the story.....Btw do have sea tow on insurance, but sure they wouldn't have beat the 2 hr window. Pics of the morning....Attachment 420209Attachment 420210Attachment 420211Attachment 420212

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Those are some nice fish. I try to hit the water with a full tank of gas regardless of how far I plan to go. I had a fuel pump go out on a 25hp motor when I was a ways from the ramp. I could prime the bulb. Pull the rope, start the motor and move about 100 yards. That was a 6 miles back to the ramp. I had one heck of a sore shoulder. No telling how many times I had to pull start that motor. :Rofl

glad that all turned out well. Nice mess of fish.

Glad it all worked out.
Beautiful fish


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Glad it turned out well. Congratulations

Wow, I guess all’s well that ends well. Good job keeping up a great attitude and staying on the bite. Thanks for sharing.


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Hey Jeff,

Sounds like everything in the book was thrown atcha, and you still had the knowledge and patience to catch a good mess. You and Anchorman amaze me with your catching abilities. Great job and thanks for sharing. [emoji106]


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Great catch Jeff. Glad to hear it was just an electrical problem and not your depth finder. I carry a old hand held gps in my dry bag just in case the depth finder craps out on me. Got my new starter in and replacement heading sensor installed so I’m back in business for now.
No gas??? Thank goodness for the trolling motor!!!

Good job facing down all the gremlins bud. Kinda like golf,not as much how good you play but how well you recover. Glad you ended without a major failure. Little stuff piles up and the show begins. And still catching fish even broken down, that’s great. Great looking cooler shot. Looks like your usual too many to clean.

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Originally Posted by Crappieday

Great catch Jeff. Glad to hear it was just an electrical problem and not your depth finder. I carry a old hand held gps in my dry bag just in case the depth finder craps out on me. Got my new starter in and replacement heading sensor installed so I’m back in business for now.
No gas??? Thank goodness for the trolling motor!!!

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Glad your back in business Andy, unfortunately my depth finder is toast, appears to be the same problem it was replaced for last yr....the wire issue was giving a false battery strength signal, which means I didn't really have to use motor idle & recharge & in turn, run out of gas[emoji2959]

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Hate to hear that my Lowrance is about 17 years old still working but the screen started pulsing but readable. I guess Lowrance has gone to crap too. Now I’m not sure what unit to get next.

Sorry to hear about your problems but you kept a positive head about you and things worked out. Nice mess of fish and great pictures. Thanks for sharing with us.

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I have a lowrance on the Jon but one of many birds I’ve had on the skiff. They’ve always been good to me. I’d have a better resolution, newer model bird but my budget just laughs when I suggest it. Champagne taste and iced tea budget.