My son has been bugging me to take him fishing, so I decided to take him yesterday.
We loaded up and headed to the bait shop where we picked up some mud minnows, drinks, and lots of snacks. We rolled on up to the landing, launched, and were on our way to the spot.
We got some bait in the water and sat down to eat lunch. We finished our sandwiches and were munching on some chips when his rod bent over and started zipping drag. I jumped up, grabbed the rod, and put it in his hands. I helped him hold the rod and coached him as he reeled in his first flounder!
We sat anchored in that spot for a little while longer. I had cut mullet on one rod and mud minnows on two rods soaking while I switched back and forth throwing a Badonk-A-Donk and a gold spoon.
Eventually the snacks ran out and boredom began setting in, so I decided to troll around for a little while before it was time to leave. I got three strikes the whole time, but couldn’t get a solid hook-up.
We saw TONS of mullet swimming around in the creeks.
After a while of trolling around boredom set in for my son. It was time to head back. We made our way out of the creek and were enjoying a nice, easy boat ride on the river when we saw a guy having some motor trouble. Well I’ve been in that situation lots of times, so we stopped to help. I gave him a tow back to the landing. We weren’t really in a hurry anyway.
It’s about 17 miles from Shutes Folly to the landing at Bushy Park. That’s a pretty long ride. I used to put in at Duncan’s and run down the Ashley to the harbor to fish, though. I always enjoyed making those runs down the river with the sunrise. Good stuff.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
Great post Hoof. I have many fond memories of fishing with my boy when he was that age. You are doing it right, which is keeping it FUN for him. Great job Dad! Ralph Phillips tells a story about when his kids were little he had a Whaler and would pull the plug and let it fill with about 4 inches of water. When he would catch a keeper trout he would drop it in the boat and the kids were entertained all day long! One day Ben Moise (legendary game warden) came by, saw what he was doing, and just shook his head and laughed. Great stuff
By the way, I have that same motor on my Sea Pro. Is yours also hard to start when cold?
Yes. That seems to be pretty common with Yamaha 2-strokes. I had another boat with the same engine a few years ago, and it was the exact same way. They are really reliable engines though, and once they warm up they’re no problem. Yesterday every time I touched the key it fired up instantly.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
Ah! I spoke to another person with the same motor and he asked me, “is yours a PIA to start cold?” …YES! You are right though, once its running it will fire right up when shut off. It’s never not started though (knock on wood) but it has taken an awful long time to get going sometimes. Pure gas helps immensely.
Yamaha prime start. If you pump the primer bubble up tight before you crank it the first time it helps immensely. I’m not sure if the 115’s had prime start or not, but I think so. I know the 40-90’s did.
Yamaha prime start. If you pump the primer bubble up tight before you crank it the first time it helps immensely. I’m not sure if the 115’s had prime start or not, but I think so. I know the 40-90’s did.
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
Awesome job, Hoof! I bet you’re prouder of that flounder than any fish you’ve ever caught!
“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”
