Boat maintenance is crucial, especially fishing boat maintenance that helps you put yourself on some fish and get back to the dock. So, when we get to the halfway point of the season — when we’ve put some hours in and we’re ready to put more time in, too — it's an important time to check over some parts of the boat that should not be overlooked.
Read the article below or check out this video full of tips from Pro Angler Jeff Gustafson.
We all have buddies who don't do anything to their rigs — boats, motors, maintenance, anything like that. And it's all good…until stuff breaks. So when you’re halfway through the season, it’s a good time to tighten some bolts if we need to, clean stuff up, and just kinda make sure everything is good to go to get us through the second half of the season.
When it comes to fishing boat maintenance, I start here, back at the prop. I'm actually going to switch the prop out for the next event that I'm fishing, so I’m going to do a little more than just making sure the prop is tight. Either way, it's a good idea to check in behind here every once in a while just to make sure there's no fishing line or stuff in there that can damage the seals.
For an easier time switching out the prop, the Prop Master Prop Stop and the Prop Master Propeller Wrench never leave my boat — they stay in there all year round. So instead of carrying around a piece of wood that rots or can be awkward to work with, this is light and I can easily fit it in a compartment in the back of the boat. It makes taking the prop off pretty slick and easy.
To use the Prop Stop, you just follow these steps:
Additionally, if you take the prop off, it's always good to check the prop shaft every once in a while to make sure there's no fishing line or other stuff on there that can damage your seals. Just be sure to put your new prop on and put the fasteners on in the correct order, then use your Prop Stop and Prop wrench to tighten the prop.
Not only is this process is an important one for fishing boat maintenance, but it also applies when you're going between different types of water since it can be helpful to switch props for different lake conditions. For example, if you’re going from smaller lakes or rivers where you’ve been using a larger 3-blade prop, you may want to go to a smaller 4-blade prop. For me, this is going to be particularly important when going to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, where I’m going to need more lift instead of speed. Better lift is always better when you're going to rough water and you will need to keep the bow up better and give you a better hole shot.
The next thing I do is make sure all bolts are tight at the back of the boat. The most important ones are between your transom and the jack plate, but it also includes everything I have secured onto the transom. Over time, they can loosen a bit, so you want to make sure they stay nice and tight.
Here are some places to check with a couple of socket wrenches and the various sizes of sockets that you need.
I also do a bit of jack plate maintenance, but thankfully these Atlas Jack Plates really are pretty maintenance free. If you do anything with them, it’s recommended that you clean the black rods with a little dish soap and water with a soft towel. This helps keep them sliding and prevents any buildup from happening.
Next, hop inside your boat and check a few spots there, like loose screws in various spots. These may or may not be critical over time, but they're included on this fishing boat maintenance list because they'll definitely help you improve your ride.
Loose Screws: Over time you're going to get screws that loosen up and fly off in the boat. One of the tricks that I like to do, something I learned from one of the guys in the service trailers at tournaments, is to get a piece of a zip tie, then cut it in half (length-wise) so it's a little bit thinner. Then with any screw that's loosened off a bit, like one that I had coming loose on the floor, remove that screw and jam the zip tie into the hole where the screw goes. Then put the screw back into the hole that's now a little tighter with that zip tie tapering into there. When you have it nice and secure, take your snips and trim the excess zip tie at the head of the screw.
This will help keep it locked in longer and give it more of a physical hold (as opposed to using a liquid fastening solution that can be messy and provide less of a hold in certain circumstances, especially outdoor and marine environments).
Batteries and Electrical Connections: Also check around the batteries. Make sure the trays are mounted nice and tight, especially the tray fasteners themselves. Make sure straps are tight as those can loosen off a bit and then make sure all your connections are good and tight.
You don't want anything loose back here; keep everything with those electronics working properly and make sure you don't have any issues.
Finish things off at the front of the boat. Make sure all the bolts are tight: check your trolling motor, electronics mounts because you never want a graph to fly off in rough water. There are a lot of screws and stuff up at the bow. That extra security with fasteners, mounts, and gear will be your friend.
Finally, up at the front, with the trolling motor, you should check your factory trolling motor handle and cable to make sure it’s not wearing out and check your trolling motor prop. Make sure to routinely check your trolling motor prop every once in a while to make sure there's no debris like fishing line or grass that gets inside the prop and can cause mechanical inefficiency or damage the seal. If you have the G-Force Eliminator Prop Nut, you can pull that prop off really quickly and easily.
Prop Tip: When removing your prop nut, get the prop horizontal and then you'll be less likely to lose the little pin. If you're doing this over the water you want to be extra careful since that pin can come out.
In a few weeks, it's a good idea to check that again, or really whenever you suspect you may have stuff stuck in there. That's one of the nicest things about the prop nut — it makes pulling that on and off really easy. It also makes the trolling motor quieter.
With that, your boat's good to go for another few tournaments at least and it won't let you down. It’s always good to add more knowledge, tools, and experience, too. Then everything else seems to get a little bit easier and you can spend more time enjoying the water and maybe even bringing in some tournament wins!
