Howdy!



My boat is fixed! As it turns out the carburetor springs were bad. I noticed the weak springs when I cleaned the carburetor last month. Instead of replacing them I wound them up tighter. The probable cause for failure is weak springs that were wound too tight causing the springs to slip. It was just waiting for the right circumstances to fail. As luck would have it my brother was driving in reverse at the time it failed. I'm just glad no one was hurt. If it had failed in forward Charlie may have been severely injured as the boat slammed into the trailer and or shore. And Charlie was right about my trolling motor failure. It was the brand new battery. I returned the battery and got a new one in exchange no questions asked. And as far as Charlie breaking Jim's trolling motor release latch, as it turns out that was my fault as well. If I had fixed the carburetor springs instead of over winding them they wouldn't have failed while Charlie was driving the boat, putting Charlie into a state of mental trauma, causing him to break Jim's trolling motor! Jim, the part is on order and I expect delivery next week.



Now for a fishing report. Bass are spawning with some fish on the beds and others are off and moving into their summer patterns. Rubber presentations such as worms, lizards and jigs are doing the best. Yesterday I noticed a few bass exploding on shad or other bait fish near the surface in the mouth of a main channel cove. So keep one rod in the boat rigged with a swim bait.



Crappie fishing is slow to good. The crappie are in the middle of their spawn as well. Jigging while slow trolling in front of the weeds is working the best followed by casting a float and jig combination around brush and right up against the shore. The float should be set at 3 feet and use a medium retrieve pausing every so often. Red and chartreuse tube jigs are hard to beat and I'm sure minnows work as well.



Water conditions are unbelievably good. We've had rain every other day for the past 10 days and yet the water has cleared to the point that I could see a washer I dropped while working on a dock at 5 feet deep. It is raining as I'm writing.



Turkey hunting has moved into it's fifth and final season. My brother-in-law Chuck killed a nice tom this past Saturday and a good friend Mike (Arlen's son) killed his fourth tom with a bow on Sunday. So now I owe you 3 turkey stories. Hunting is over until dove season which opens September, 1.

Hey! I got another 24 foot single slip dock for sale!!! 4 foot plus decking all around!!! Brand new, never been in the water. Call or email me at 314-614-9290 or mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.For current water conditions click on the HOME button or http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/

Fish On! Sorry Charlie! (Mom made me apologize)
Mike O.
UBetcha Outdoors