12/17---The last outing for 2017

[Red Childress]

We cancelled Saturday's trip due to weather but chased muskies on Sunday. We covered 14 miles of river and started before sunrise. The outcome was zilch. No follows as the net stayed dry. We did catch a 15 pound rock which gave us a little false hope for 15 seconds or so.

It was the toughest winter (musky) fishing I think I have seen in 25 years. Not sure why it has been so tough but it is what it is, I guess.

The boat has been placed in her final resting spot for the next 8-10 weeks.

[Pescatore]

Red,
What do you do to winterize your inboard jet? I ended up purchasing a Thunder Jet with a Chevy/Kodiak 5.7 liter 350 engine. I can seem to locate any drain valves other than the one for the sand trap.

Thanks,
Jason

[Red Childress]

No winterization required. The jets are self-draining. No lower unit to hold water. I add 'Stabil Storage' to the fuel tank and that is it.


Also, You may want to consider pushing the throttle handle all the way forward (if you do not already) when trailering the boat. This will cut down on vibration within the bucket bushings. Take it from someone who just dropped 2000.00 last August getting all that stuff replaced due to 1,084 hours of run time on the original parts. Granted, I am putting about 110 hours on my boat each year but I probably should have gotten more time out of the original parts. Wiegel told me about the little throttle forward trick to help extend the life of the bushings.

[Pescatore]

OK. That's what I thought, but I was told that you should drain the exhaust manifolds and I can't find a drain on them. Nice tip on the bushings. Thanks

[Red Childress]

Interesting. I haven’t heard of that before.