Well, after 9 months and multiple full days wasted trying to piece the two motors together to make one good working one, I think I did it! It ran great in the drive way and now was time to do a shakedown trip to see if I fixed the problem.
I took down three bass rods and a handful of tackle in case it worked and I wanted to fish.
It was raining, but a well welcomed rain. The boat was working great as I ran it around the speed zone of the bay a bunch of times!
I decided to run out in the ocean and take a look. There was lot's of bait, but not many macks. I did manage a few dozen Spanish and a lone Chub over the next hour or two, so I went to my bass spot in 50-55' of water to look for bass or halibut. My bass rod is a little light for those big baits, but I set up a nice halibut rig to see what happens.
Rain on a flat ocean!
I get a bass bite, but lose it when it couldn't choke down that big bait. I started working the sand around a little structure when my rod doubles over! I was sure it was a big halibut, but it fought hard and didn't slide up like a halibut so I wasn't sure what it was. To my surprise, it was a big 11.8 pound Blue ling!
Damn rain drop hit the camera lens just before it took the picture... lol
I started slinging the Optimum swimbait with my other rod and got a nice rockfish.
I didn't go much longer as I was soaked and wanted to get home to clean the boat up. It ran like a champ the entire time and I couldn't be happier!
This is the last thing a Blacksmith saw...
Here is the big Blacksmith... lol
Well, it had nice blue meat and I couldn't have been happier. A great surprise fish for a great trip!
IT'S JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!