NDR--for now. And fish!

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

Well-known member
Jeff Striper.jpgMy trusty old 14' aluminum with a 15 hp Yamaha two stroke saw significant issues with the transom (shot, in need of a full restoration), and the motor (damaged in an unfortunate unmarked rock event with an idiot (me) at the tiller and the end of the 2023 duck season. For the record, the call to your wife to pick up at a random place on private road you hiked to from the place you were able to pole the boat to shore close to a road you know is a bit uncomfortable, and raises questions about your sanity, advancing age, and judgement in boats.

My zest for transom and engine repair/replacement was alleviated when a friend offered me a Grumman Sportboat last spring, and that and the kindness of friends and strangers got me through last year's boat-related fishing and hunting.

I think I previously posted some GSB pictures, including perhaps this one of a one of the better striped bass to grace its "decks".Striper GSB.jpg
 
Photos above were different fish on the same day from the GSB's maiden voyage in the salty waters of Middle Bay--and she proved to be a lucky vessel in both fresh and salt water, though perhaps a bit of a Jonah on duck trips. Also, her speed, range, carrying capacity and comfort on even moderately exposed bays and lakes was less than desirable.

A search for a replacement engine--even if repairable, that old Yamaha had been abused before it got to me; it's days were numbered; and the quiet and low fuel consumption I noted as all my fishing and ducky friends upgraded to 4 stroke motors had me thinking about repowering--led me to a 14' boat with a 2020 Suzuki 4 Stroke 20 hp. The boat appeared to be sound; the motor had fewer than 15 hours on it; and boat motor and trailer were available for only a bit more than I expected to pay for the motor. So desperate to get back out on bigger water and snottier days when fish bite and ducks fly, I bought.

Unlike the GSB, this vessel's initial sea (and lake) trials did not indicate a fishy vessel. Two spring trolling expeditions to Maine's famed Rangeley Lake yielded a few smallish brook trout and salmon. A sunset cruise with my wife on a local lake was greeted with a biblical downpour that blotted out the sunset and thoroughly drenched the wife. A sturgeon leaping cruise on the Kennebec saw lots of sturgeon, but no striped bass were broght to hand. And initial salty striper trips were similarly fishless. I don't think the boat is at fault, but still, things were dire.

Sunday I took a friend out and finally broke the skunk (poor choice of metaphor, I know) with this fish, caught not more than 200 yards from the spot I took the two fish above last year. It was the only one we got in the boat, but I also broke off a larger fish on a poorly tied knot, and had an absolute pig follow a fly to the boat before turning away.Crow Striper.jpg
 
Nice fish Jeff! I love backwater striper fishing in the creeks off Delaware Bay near my hunting shack. As good light tackle fishing you will find.
 
Thanks, Greg. One sturgeon photo from the Kennebec. We have 2 species here, shortnose and Atlantic. The shortnose average 3-4 feet long as adults and are pretty impressive. The Atlantics are much larger--up to 14', some say--and commonly 6-8' fish can be seen. Both species come out of the water like missiles, straight in the air, then crash back on their sides with a huge splash. It is not uncommon for them to land in a boat, or across the front of someone's kayak. I have better video of the launch and splash if there is a way to post it, but this is the best still shot I have. Pretty sure that's an Atlantic in the 8' range. That night we probably saw this 50+ times in about an hour.
Sturgeon.jpg
 
Wow, those sturgeon are something. There are some sturgeon in the Delaware, and I believe both shortnose and Atlantic, but not in big numbers. That is quite a spectacle. Maine does it again!
 
greg setter said:
Wow, those sturgeon are something. There are some sturgeon in the Delaware, and I believe both shortnose and Atlantic, but not in big numbers. That is quite a spectacle. Maine does it again!
Click to expand...
The Kennebec population has definitely expanded a lot since Edwards Dam was removed and restored access to what we think is 100% of historic habitat. There is some uncertainty about whether sturgeon passed Ticonic Falls, the list of the Lockwood Dam in Waterville 17 miles upstream. Edwards came out 26 years ago. But at least in New England, we have also seen growing numbers in other rivers. Both species are migratory, and we know the fish that spawn in the Kennebec range as far as at least the Penobscot to the north and the Merrimack to the south from telemetry studies. But I am hoping we're seeing recovery of self-sustaining populations in the smaller rivers in between.
 
Very cool stuff all around, Jeff.
How do you like the new Suzuki so far?
The company i work for now is involved with dam removal projects all over the country, including many in New England. The effects on positive migratory fish are almost always immediate and dramatic.
 
I have new used Suzuki (2o hp, electric start) and new new Suzuki, 6 hp, pull start on the Sport Boat. Both have been flawless. Quiet, super efficient. They do seem to have a little less power than equivalent 2 strokes I've operated, but it's not like I care much about top-end speed in my two little boats. When I upgrade to the 24' center console with twin 150's I might worry a little. ;)
 
"When I upgrade to the 24' center console with twin 150's I might worry a little."

Hah, I'm never going back to a boat that big!
I'm actually considering just grabbing a good ole Johnson 9.9 2 stroke off facebook marketplace.
Tons of snow birds retire down here with boats and motors from up north they never end up using again, so they are plentiful and cheap.
Just need to get me a compression gage and spark testorer before I seriously start looking.
 
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