pure spoonplugging

[John Bales]

Ted Walter made this batch of Spoonplugger Ale back in 2003. It has the exact depth and speed for a nice afternoon catch. John

[Garry B]

Way cool !!!

[John Bales]

Guess I shouldn't have drank it before my son and I went out for a while on my lake. John

[Sonny]

Nice double. Yikes!





Sonny

[TN Dave]

John,

Share your technique for removing both hooks from your fingers!!

Thanks

TN Dave

[John Bales]

How are you David? By the way, the Ranger is still doing me well and with a new 60HP Tahatsu. Ok...…….. I carry a pair of small cutters that will cut a good size musky hook very easy. I couldn't work on either side with both hooks together so I cut the middle finger hook as close as I could where they are adjoined. I didn't do anything till the ointment a dentist gave me made me have no feeling when moving the hooks around. Trust me, I am not that tough just to run a hook back through my skin without some help. I ran the middle finger hook point through the skin and made a new exit hole and just pulled it out. The other one looked like it may be close to a tendon so I turned it a bit to avoid that area and made an exit hole more to the side. Then cut off the barb and done. I had a big musky hook in me one day and had to go to the hospital. The man nurse had a bad time trying to back the thing out so they called in another doctor off of the golf course. He chewed that other doctor out for not doing an x ray before hand to make sure the barb was not around a tendon. He actually ran him out of the room. He ended up numbing it and made a new hole but he ended up pushing on the barb and when he saw where it was going to come out, he used a sharp blade to cut a small spot for the hook to come out. He asked me what kind of fish was I fishing for that I needed a hook that big. Actually I was trolling a big Ernie for northerns with wire on a 36 ft breakline that day and caught nothing but big bass. I was having a great day till that happened. Getting a hook in you happens so fast. Even when you try to be as careful as you can, it still happens. We carry a first aid kit all the time and try to be as prepared as we can. Take Care David. I have some great memories fishing with you. John

[John Bales]

Here you go David

[TN Dave]

John,

Thanks for the details on the hook removal!
Good information for all of us and having a set of quality wire cutters in the boat is essential.

Good looking Tohatsu. Four cycle?? I have always thought a 60 HP outboard would work the best on the Ranger; especially getting the boat on plane. Let us know how well the new engine performs.

Take Care and Good Fishing,

TN Dave

[GDS]

Just put a 60 HP Merc "Command Thrust" on my Ranger, just what the doctor ordered, no pun intended John!

[TN Dave]

Gary

Let us know how the new Merc works out. A Real World on the water test for Spoonpluggers; not the YouTube infomercial hot air which is worthless to those of us looking for a smooth running outboard for all day trolling.

Good Fishing

TN Dave

[GDS]

Hey David, how have y'all been doing?

So far, I really like the Merc. It has the "Big Tiller", with the gear shift right behind the throttle, power trim is in the end of the handle. Your not reaching behind you to steer, right beside you! Beings how it is fuel injected, constant slow speeds are no problem. it is the "Command Trust" version, believe the lower unit is the same as a 150 hp Merc. On my Ranger, on the Ranger Trail trailer, I can not put the motor completely down, it will hit the ground. Over my old 50 Honda, it comes out of the hole much faster and I gained about 10 mph, top speed is 30mph.
Only issue and not a big deal is, there is a friction lever to adjust the amount of tension for left/right turning. I can loosen it up and have very little tension while trolling or give it a little tension when running at higher speeds. If the tension is low at high speeds there is some torque, better be hanging on!

This lever is under the tiller arm, it has a course adjustment nut, but also has the lever that slides left and right to fine adjust, pretty handy. The problem is, left turns tighten the tension, but rights don't loosen it. I need to talk to Mercury about that issue!

[TN Dave]

Gary,

I doing fine. Missing you at the meeting at Wally’s.

Thanks for the very thorough Spoonplugger Test of the new Merc. Excellent information to have for reference should we have to invest in a new outboard engine.

When we need advice on reliable equipment for our fishing needs nothing beats recommendations from a Real Spoonplugger!!

Thanks Again and Good Fishing.

TN Dave

[GDS]

David,

I do miss the meetings, but with the EST to CST issue and a hour plus drive, I always had to leave work early. It always was a good learning experience!

[TN Dave]

Gary,
I understand completely, same situation for me although I do have a shorter drive.

Keep us updated on the new 60 Merc.

Good Fishing ( in all that deep clear water)

TN Dave

[TN Dave]

Gary,
I understand completely, same situation for me although I do have a shorter drive.

Keep us updated on the new 60 Merc.

Good Fishing ( in all that deep clear water)

TN Dave