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To heck with the old spiral cut ham and scalloped potatoes for Easter dinner we’re going with real tradition, blackened blackmouth and smoked salmon deviled eggs. Well, not really tradition but it happens often enough that it should be our tradition.

After our disappointing showing in the Everett Blackmouth Derby last weekend Tony (Bassplayer17) and I decided to hit Elger bay again and take a shot at redeeming ourselves. With the nice weather forecast we launched at Camano Island State Park and after a very brief run went gear down on the south side of Lowell Point. My plan was to hunt for bait balls and then try to stay with the bait ball and aggressively chase meter marks. Upon further review and the fact that we were having a very difficult time finding bait, we settled into covering as much water as possible while dragging our gear just off the bottom. We were catching a number of shakers, sand-dabs and had managed to scratch up a juvenile halibut. The halibut was maybe 15 or 16” long and really weird, the eyes were still on both sides of its head. The eyes should have migrated when the fish was 1” long. Anyway, so much for my knowledge of fish biology let’s get back to fishing. We were on one of our many loops along the north edge of Elger Bay when SLAM-O, a freight train headed west, the opposite direction of our east bound boat grabbed one of the rods and was headed out of town. Tony being the guest fisherman was first up in the rotation and after a number of extended runs Tony skillfully guided the first fish of the day into the net. A good start, pictures taken, the first fish on ice and punched so we got back to business. We worked the area for a few more hours releasing a number of shakers, a very nice resident coho and another blackmouth that could have taken a ride in our fishbox but we were looking for larger fish when we decided to move up to Onamac Point. Gear stowed, I hit the throttle and apparently we were not going anywhere. The motor would not rev under load so we settled into back into out trolling routine to finish out the day (more on the motor woes later…).

Knowing that we were not going far from the ramp we decided to fish the run from the south corner of the bar at Lowell Point up to the north edge of Camano Island State Park. Same general plan as before; hunt for bait balls, covering as much water as possible while dragging our gear just off the bottom. While we had been running two rods; one with a Red Racer flasher/3.5” Herring Aid spoon and the other a Red Racer flasher/Herring Aide Coho Killer off the downwnriggers we switched things up a bit. We changed the Red Racer flasher/Herring Aide Coho Killer combo out for a Purple Haze flasher/Irish Cream spoon. A short while later the Purple Haze flasher/Irish Cream clip pops and it was my turn. As Tony stood there with the shaker release hook my this is not a shaker fish was up on the surface putting on a great show for the beach goers. After multiple long runs and an aerial display Tony puts the release hook aside and we put the biggest fish of the day in the net. Pictures and business matters attended to, the Purple Haze flasher/Irish Cream combo was back down doing it’s magic. A a short while later we had another brutal take down and we were into out 3rd larger fish of the day. The fish was a stubborn beast but eventually we won the battle and we dropped our third blackmouth of the day in the box. We looked for number 4 for another hour or so but couldn’t get it done. Knowing that we had released a couple legal fish earlier in the day we were content with the 3 blackmouth we already had on ice and called it a day.

Our basic blackmouth drill is to run the gear off the downriggers with a 20’ setback. When we saw them we chased meter marks in 80-140’ of water. Otherwise we just chugged along at 2.1-3.0 MPH and enjoyed a beautiful day on the water. Our big fish was short but a fatty, it weighed in right at 13 pounds and the other two were 5 or 6 pounds. Aside from my continuing motor issues the day was a blast and Tony and I always seem to have something to talk about.

All though a great day on the water, my motor continues to be a PIA. Where I thought that I had a water in the fuel problem and that the water in the fuel sensor was kicking in and limiting the engine RPM I seem to have a different problem. I did install a separate fuel water separator, drained the entire fuel system, dumped the fuel in the tank and basically started over but my problem continues. Starts the day out OK, idles and trolls to 1,200 RPM all day without a hitch then when I need to make a run it only wants to walk. It acts like it is starving for fuel, coughs and sputters until I back the throttle off when it runs normal again. I need to sort this on out soon, lots of places to go with no “plane” to get there…

Toni

3/27/2016 2:52:00 PM

Great day (except motor problems) and thank you for sharing it

ptfletcher

3/27/2016 3:11:00 PM

Not sure if it is the same thing, but I had a similar problem. Most of the time, the engine would perform as expected. But now and then, after starting normally, it would not accelerate on opening the throttle. It would operate correctly after a restart or two. Then there were times while running wide open, that the engine would rev up while decelerating for a few moments, then load up and return to full power. It was kind of like it had a clutch that was slipping. It was a propeller assembly problem. A new prop and things are fine.

afk

3/27/2016 4:41:00 PM

Hey Randy, congrats on the fish redemption. " places to go with no “plane” to get there…" I'm thinking you need a new fishin' partner and your motor problems will be resolved! LOL I do hope you find the cure for whatever it is. Looking forward to seeing the 2 of you at Chelan.
Thanks for the report. Andy

bruceka49

3/27/2016 5:26:00 PM

If you're not running non ethanol I would start there. My 4 stroke Yamaha 50 used to stall out when I'd try a "hole shot". I started running mid grade non-ethanol and it improved greatly.

Good luck.

Steelheadin360

3/28/2016 10:05:00 AM

Sounds like the low pressure fuel pump

cobrar543

3/28/2016 10:20:00 AM

I had a the same problem and it was injector clog. my Motor had three and one was fine but two was clogged. so three never opened .

romanfishing

3/28/2016 12:12:00 PM

I would clean injectors and the small fuel filter installed on the evaporator. I think you got some water/ethanol inside of the chamber already and have to drain it.
Great report! Good luck on your future trips.

BARCHASER10

3/28/2016 12:19:00 PM

I've been using E0 for three years now. I launch mostly at Everett and sometimes moor at Everett. There is a non Ethanol gas station on Broadway in Everett and the marina also has E0. You should use 87 octane.. Engine seems to run better on E0 and I don't have to fret about engine damage. This website has E0 locations http://pure-gas.org/

I went out with ptfletcher in his boat last Friday. We fished Elger and the Racetrack, no keepers but it was an interesting day!

rseas

3/28/2016 12:25:00 PM

Interesting day?

romanfishing

3/28/2016 12:30:00 PM

Were you fishing incoming or outgoing tide?

Let's_Go_Fishing!

3/29/2016 4:57:00 AM

Sea Foam motor treatment works well in cars and outboards.

Let's_Go_Fishing!

3/29/2016 5:02:00 AM

Important article about possible salmon fishery closures :(
http://201-DHWebVarnish.newscyclecloud.com/article/20160329/OPINION01/160328989

Fish Dawg

3/29/2016 10:42:00 PM

Had same problems with my Yamaha 40 LEHA a couple of seasons. Odd thing was if I stopped the motor and tilted it to the up position and put it back down it would run at top end again (at least for a while). I also assumed water was my problem and went through the same process of installing the fuel separating filter and purging my whole system and it didn't fix the issue for me either. Have been trouble free for all of last season and this season by filling with E0 high test at my local Cenex station (only has E0 in the 92 octane pumps) and adding Sea Foam each time I fill the tank more than 1/2. Thankfully was a much easier fix than tearing the whole works apart or paying a marine mechanic ransom to do it for me! I use the pure gas app on my smartphone when I'm on the road to locate E0 stations to refill. Good luck with the troubleshooting!

salmonbarry

3/31/2016 9:40:00 PM

Great report as always Randy and good to see Tony out there with you! Good luck with your motor issues~ I've had my share over the years but I will say that ever since I switched to non-ethanol gas I have had very few after that! Look forward to seeing you end of next month if not sooner!

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