Friday, April 19, 2024
ON FISHING
Prepare your boat before it gets cold
MICHAEL ACOSTA
As a licensed professional fishing guide, Michael Acosta shows you how to find them. He has been a licensed guide since 1998. michael.acosta@att.net
Fall has arrived and many folks have already put up their pleasure boats. Others, mostly anglers, continue to use their boats during the winter season. Either way it is a good idea to get that maintenance done, especially before it freezes. You still have some time before our first freeze.
First thing on the list is make sure your batteries are fully charged and the water level is normal. A fully charged battery should not freeze. The summer sun and repetitive charging can “boil” the water out of the battery’s cell. That leads to an undercharged battery and loss of life. A battery that is not fully charged can also freeze, which may destroy it.
The next item on my maintenance list is the lower unit. This is a good time to change the lower unit oil and look for any water in the oil. If you have water in the oil, you may have a bad seal. You definitely don’t want water in your lower unit when it gets cold enough to freeze. Major damage can occur with water freezing in the lower unit. This is also a good time to check the tilt/trim and hydraulic steering for proper fluid levels.
Inboards and inboard/outboards need to have the remaining water drained. Again, water freezing in these engines could cause serious damage. These type engines require a little more than the outboards to store for the winter.
The newer four-stroke engines typically require a periodic oil change. If you are going to do the maintenance, now may be a good time right before the winter, whether you are using it through the winter or putting it up for the winter. I like to get my four-stroke serviced before it gets too cold to work on it.
Periodically it is recommended that you remove your prop and see if any fishing line is wrapped on the shaft. Fishing line can damage lower unit seals, which would lead to water in the lower unit, which was just mentioned. It is also a good idea to put grease on the shaft before you put the prop back on.
Other items that should be looked at include the “bulb” on the fuel line. This is an inexpensive item that can prevent fuel from getting to your engine. All rubber hoses should be checked periodically as well.
A fuel stabilizer is cheap insurance in the gas tank, especially if you are to let your boat sit for a while.
One item that is not mentioned much, but it a good idea to check the tightness of all hardware. Start with the biggest hardware including those bolts holding the engine to the transom or jack plate. Over time these can loosen for a variety of reasons. The same applies to your trailer.
Check steering cables and lubricate as necessary. A previous boat of mine would get water in the cables, and on those really cold mornings would not move when the water froze. Not a good thing when you are trying to get on the water.
Speaking of trailers, it is also a good time to check bearings and seals. Look for pitting in the bearings and replace seals regularly as the rubber can deteriorate with time.
These are just a few items to check. Other items such as bilge and livewell pumps and hoses including thru-hull fittings should be checked. Make sure all of the lights are functional on the boat and on the trailer.
Best advice is to do a little maintenance up front and hopefully you will prevent many of the breakdowns that can happen before the winter does set in.
FISHING REPORT
Turnover is occurring on most area lakes including Lake Granbury. Days are shorter and cooler and the surface water temperatures are falling some. Lake Granbury best action continues to be crappie fishing near submerged timber and near bridge pilings. Small jigs and minnows have been putting nice stringers in the boat. Largemouth bass continue to be good in numbers, and an occasional bigger fish to 7 pounds is possible. Look for topwater early and soft plastics later in the morning. White bass and small striped bass are schooling early on some days near Indian Harbor and near DeCordova. Keeper striped bass are slow-to-fair on live shad. Catfish continues to be good to excellent on cut bait mainly fished in the evenings.
Squaw Creek was just reopened and largemouth bass catches upwards to 60 fish a day are possible on crankbaits and soft plastics. Channel catfish numbers are also reported as good to excellent on cut and prepared baits. Squaw Creek is open Thursdays through Sunday and you should call to reserve your spot.
