Struck Out Again On Hartwell

[Tugaloo]

I was able to get some brush piles put in at Hartwell this weekend. On Friday I put in 2 pieces of a dead peach tree and 6 gallon jug bamboo condos. I put these last in 2 places, 3 jugs in a cluster at each place. I also fished for a while with jigs and also minnows but no luck.

On Saturday I put in a Christmas tree & a final piece of the peach tree. I fished on Saturday with jigs, a "Crappie Thunder" and minnows. I did catch a largemouth, about 1 1/2 pounds, on the Crappie Thunder. A fellow showed me about 12 - 15 crappie he had caught that morning & told me where he caught them. I went there, found some brush piles, fished with jigs, Crappie Thunder, and minnows but caught nothing.

I caught the largemouth by casting the Crappie Thunder, letting it sink to the bottom & then slowly jigging it in. I also tried a slow retrieve at different depths, but no luck. Same with the jigs. I was tightlining the minnows at different depths.

When I got back to the boat ramp, I stopped the motor in Forward & then it wouldn't go into neutral. It's a Johnson 20 hp. One that you control from the back of the boat. Motorcycle-type throttle on a handle on the side of the motor. When I got it home, I found that the lever that puts it in either Forward, Neutral, or Reverse is connected inside the motor to a rod that moves up & down inside a spring. The top of this rod was hitting a piece of metal connected to a gold-colored ring that goes nearly all the way around the motor. I realized that the motor couldn't go into Neutral with that rod hitting the metal piece. It would move back and forth some, but not enough. On the other side of the motor, I saw a pivot point on a couple of pieces of metal. I used a screw driver & pulled that pivot point outward and the large metal ring moved enough for the rod to go up without hitting the metal piece it had been hitting. So now it will go into Neutral. But I didn't try to start the motor at that point. I wonder if it's going to work the next time I take it out, or if I need to take it in for repairs. I thought it might just need some grease on it. Does this sound like something any of you might know about? What are your suggestions?

Tugaloo

[papasage]

http://www.themarinedoctor.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl/YaBB.pl. try this site for outboar repair info

[papasage]

you can try this one http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ul...opic;f=20;t=00

[Darryl Morris]

Not much knowledge when it comes to boat motor repairs. So, I can't help much there. As for the crappie, hang in there and don't give up. When I first started crappie fishing I couldn't catch one if my life depended upon it. Found out that my problem was detecting the bite. I was fishing with this guy who kept making fun of me and asking me if I was going to set the hook on that crappie. He could see the bite in the line and I couldn't see or feel it. Guess I was too used to catfishing with a heavy hand. Finally he told me to sit down, relax and shut my eyes. After I did that and caught my first one, I knew what the bite was like and been boating them ever since.

[lovetofish]

Not much knowledge when it comes to boat motor repairs. So, I can't help much there. As for the crappie, hang in there and don't give up. When I first started crappie fishing I couldn't catch one if my life depended upon it. Found out that my problem was detecting the bite. I was fishing with this guy who kept making fun of me and asking me if I was going to set the hook on that crappie. He could see the bite in the line and I couldn't see or feel it. Guess I was too used to catfishing with a heavy hand. Finally he told me to sit down, relax and shut my eyes. After I did that and caught my first one, I knew what the bite was like and been boating them ever since.

Darry, I fished this past weekend with a friend on mine that had never crappie fished tighlining. All he had ever done was fish with shiners. That same thing happen to him right off Sat. morning. I was catching fish left and right -mostly small ones - but he said I am not getting any bites. I started watching his pole and would tell him before he knew it by watching the line or twitch in the pole. I told him the same thing you said. Close your eyes and relax and concentrate on the feel. After a minute or two he got the hang of it. Thought I never would get him off the lake. Ain't fishing fun?????

[JimA]

Tug - have you tried below the dam yet? I found the river easier to fish than the big lake - Hartwell is just huge, deep, clear, cold water. I know the fish are there but hard for a newbie to locate. There is a ramp just below the dam - may be on the SC side, but your lake map will show it. As you work your way down the river fish back up in the creeks, coves, ditches, etc. The river is as big as a lake there. When the whites and hybreds start running you will hit them also around the sandbars and creek mouths. You might try asking the locals when the fish start running. Make sure your motor is running !! Thing about going downriver is you've got to return against the current ! JimA