Pete Collin

Cornelius, Just letting you know that today I finally got everything back together. It seems to work, but I have to bring it to Silver Lake and drive around to be sure. Thanks for all your coaching. Like most projects I tackle, it was tougher than I thought it would be!

Hello All, So this project began last November. With no mechanic experience, I redid the seals on my lower unit, and did the water pump while I was in there. now that I'm ready to reattach everything, I am stymied by how to re-attach the coupling for the shifter rod. I had to pull off a bunch of stuff to detach it, but now i find I just can't get in there to fit the pieces back together. Here is a picture of the space I have to work in. I imagine I have to remove the carburetor that is in my way? Was hoping I don't have to , for fear of buggering that up (the linkage for the choke valve looks delicate). None of the youtube videos I watched had this tight a space to work in. Pete

Thanks, Cornelius. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yes

Hello All, Last fall I used the last warm day to attempt removing the lower unit of my 1995 70 hp Joohnson 2 cycle. I hit a snag when, after detaching the linkage and removing every bolt, I found that the lower unit wouldn't budge. Not wiggle, not even crack a line in the paint at the joint. I got a suggestion from rolmops to heat it up, and I waited for a nice warm spring day to try that. Using a heat gun, I went around the joint and tapped it with a wooden mallet. Won't budge. At this point I'm stymied. I defy anybody to locate a fastener that I overlooked! The only thing I can think of is that there is a crust of a limestone-like mineral on the trolling plate and at the edges of the joint. Does the hard water that we typically fish in get in there and cement everything together? There isn't any shop in western NY who will take it. Pete

That sounds almost too easy! I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll wait for the next warm day to work on it!

I believe it is a '91. I monkeyed around all afternoon, removing the cowling and spent an hour turning one stubborn nut that I thought would release everything. When I went to drop the lower unit, it wouldn't go, so there must be a pin I can't see or get to. Fun fun fun.

On mine, the starting motor isn't anywhere near the shifter linkage.

Hello All, I am using this warm day to take apart my boat motor. I need to drop the lower unit. The shifter rod is buried in there pretty good. It looks like the carburetor is in the way. Removing it looks like a fair bit of business. Is this a normal thing, to remove the carb to get at the shifter rod release? The how-to videos I watched weren't my exact motor. (Johnson 70 horse)

For the most part, lakers can not hide from your sonar. Once the thermocline is set up, look in depths from 70-130 feet. If they are there, you will see the blips.

Nice going Isaac. And congratulations.

Great boating conditions we have had this week! I have been talking with Doug since last spring about getting him out to try the vertical approach. The fish are plentiful but not as bitey as they could be. Luckily Doug got his first fish within the first half hour. A nice, fat, hard-fighting 29 incher. He was ecstatic. I told him trolling was a more productive Plan B if they wouldn't take our jigs, but after that first battle he was convinced that light tackle is the way to go. We had little spurts of activity throughout the day that kept things lively in between the pauses. Total of 5 fish for the boat that got reported to 2 DEC guys at the mouth of the creek coming in. They said nobody else was catching much, so I guess we did OK!

I've used a Rattle Snakie! Had one back when I first learned how to jig lakers in the Fingers. Must have broken it off at some point, I think I bought it at Gander Mountain and never could find them locally again.

A 2 oz Hopkins spoon.

Yes, a couple. Look for my YouTube channel under my name.

I had set out to make a much longer, much better video. But the camera died at an inopportune moment! Here's the lemonade I edited from my lemon.

Sorry to hear about your woes, Brian. I was annoyed Saturday because I lost a drift bag from a frayed knot, pretty minor stuff in comparison!

Hello All, Anybody know why they took away the long gangplank at the Sandy Creek launch? I have been away a while. It is so much more congested at the ramp now because you can't move out of the way while you park! At least the fish were where they were supposed to be. They weren't in much of a mood to play but I jigged up a dandy 31 inches