Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

I recently purchased a 12' flat bottom jon boat that I am currently storing at Spruce Run and plan to take it out for her maiden voyage this Friday. The weather is looking good, light winds, partly sunny in the afternoon. Was wondering if anyone had some tips for me since I have never fished Spruce Run (either from the Bank or a boat). I am also somewhat new to boating in general so I plan to stick somewhat close to the launch for the first trip (just in case the motor conks out). The boat is equipped with a bow-mounted foot controlled trolling motor (24v, 65 lbs thrust - Minn Kota All Terrain). Unfortunately the directional indicator on the top of the motor is not working so that could prove challenging.

Eventually I would like to take the boat out for some night missions and target Hybrids, but for now I am just going to stick to what I know - Large & Smallmouth Bass. I do have a fishfinder (Hummingbird Piranha) and also the Navionics App which I can use for GPS. Any suggestions as to what depths I should be targeting? Points and coves? I realize there is no substitute for practice and time on the water, but any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I will probably be out there again Sat. morning and then going to head to one of the Shed lakes in the afternoon, so if anyone else plans to fish SR either of those days or the 'Sheds on Sat. send me a PM and maybe we can meet up.

Wish me luck!

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Nice Boat!

Be careful with the 24v TM at > 70% thrust....it could easily throw you out of the boat especially if your slightly off balance...

Is the indicator missing or broken? replacements are cheap...
regardless you will get the hang of it pretty quick..i don't even look at the indicator any more... with the pedal flat and parallel to the deck the motor will be facing straight ahead, press with your toes and you go right, with the heal it goes left....

With such a light boat the TM batteries will last you all day and then some...i have an 80# 24V with group 29 batteries and have yet to run out of juice pulling around a 17' deep vee loaded with all my crap and 2 fishing buddies....

sounds like you have the necessary gadgets to find the structure...i would try and cover as much water as you can and focus on transition areas....cant go wrong with swim baits....

Oh and wear your PFD!!

Good luck

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Have an awesome time! Beautiful new boat on a beautiful body of water. Enjoy it!

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Herring under slip floats

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Sent you PM

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

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Nice boat. Good luck with it.

I see a lot of sail boats stored at SR, but I assumed it was members of their sailing club. I didn't realize they offered storage of regular boats to the general public.

I have no useful advice since I fish from a kayak. It appears most of the boats are slow trolling live herring.

Watch out for those ghetto rental boats at SR. Most of those boat-renters have no idea that they are doing. Eventually somebody is going to get hurt.

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Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Wish I could give you good info on where the fish are, but I haven't been out yet this year. When I do get out, I'm better at fishing than catching. However, I am only about 10 mins from my driveway to the ramp, so if you have any teething issues with the boat or need any tools I could swing by and give you a hand.

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

indicator is easy to fix on those motors. i think the bass are on beds this time of year, and the window for night hybrids is rapidly closing, u got about 2 weeks left. If ur a bass fisherman just fish like u normall would from shore just the opposite way. As said that motor will flip u if you juice it and its turned hard in that little boat. I would make sure those batteries are holding a charge for long term power as thats your only form of propulsion? SR is kinda big and u gotta search usually to find fish so make sure the motor and boat are sound before you go too far. Id get a 12v cheap trolling motor for backup in case or a cheap gas motor, and 5 or 6 hp will push you over 7mph in that thing and if you look you can find one under 500. just wear your pdf and take your time getting used to it, the smaller the boat the more it lists and the less stable it is

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

Bring everything you'd need in case of an "oh sh*t" situation. Some essential tools, zip ties, maybe a tube of JB Waterweld, some extra wire/electrical fittings, duct tape, flashlights , batteries and a first aid kit. I too am a new boat owner, but despite having plenty of buddies with boats that I could call for a tow if needed, it's better to have the stuff with you than be screwed out there!

Re: Spruce Run - Maiden Voyage on New Boat this Friday - Advice Welcome
 

So I headed out to SR last night to check on the boat (I dropped it off there almost 3 weeks ago and wanted to make sure it was still in one piece and nothing stolen). The boat has an onboard charger (which is a pain since there is no place to charge it at the Spruce Run Storage lot) and it was fully charged when I brought it to the lake but I still wanted to check and make sure the charge had held. The boat had faired all the storms we have had ok, just a little bit of water easily drained through the plug. I dropped the motor and turned it on and it seemed fine, but it is hard to tell with an electric motor not in the water. To make a long story short, I couldn't help myself and despite it being 11 pm I decided to take her out for a midnight spin. The water was smooth as glass and air temp was about 55. This was my first time launching a boat so I was happy no one was around but I managed ok. As soon as I got the boat out though I noticed the motor seemed very very weak. I had it cranked up to five and was barely moving. It took me a while to get used to the foot pedal control but once I did it was great, sitting up in the captain's seat controlling everything with my foot. My fishfinder is a piece of junk but it managed to provide depth, water temp, and marked lots of fish in the 25' range. Topwater blowups were everywhere. I stayed pretty close to the launch because I really didn't trust the motor and sure enough, it conked out completely around 2 am (as did my headlamp). Thankfully I brought my kayak paddle with me and had a lantern as backup so I paddled back to the launch (not to difficult since the boat is so light).

I am praying that the batteries had just lost their charge during the 3 weeks or so the boat was sitting idle. It could also be the connections which I am going to clean this weekend since they are all pretty corroded. I don't think it is the motor itself (at least I hope) but my fear is that both batteries may need to be replaced as they are god knows how old. Any suggestions on decent priced marine batteries? Minn Kota suggests 2 12V deep cycle marine batteries with at least a 105 AH rating, which based on my research seem to be pretty pricey.

I also had about 2 inches of water in the boat by the time I got it back to the storage spot. It drained easily out the plug but I was wondering if this is something I should be worried about? I was out for a solid 3 hours so I would think a cheap bilge pump could solve the problem since it doesn't seem to be a serious leak. Otherwise I guess I would need to try and seal any leaks? As you can tell, I am clueless when it comes to boats so any guidance greatly appreciated.

I think it goes without saying I got skunked. I was fiddling with boat so much though that I don't feel like I even really had a chance to fish.

Thanks for all the great suggestions/pointers everyone, much appreciated!