Make Lemonade

Capt. James Vadas

The Snook and Redfish bite inshore has been really good but finding live bait has been kinda tough. The grouper, mangrove and American Red Snapper being caught offshore have been really good too, in over 100 feet of water.

The hot and stormy weather on Anna Maria Island has been one of the biggest challenges for Old Captain James this past month. I have been working on boats in the rain and dodging storms while on the water. My lower unit went out, but I was able to have it replaced under warranty by SEI in Oldsmar, which was a blessing, but they informed me that because I use my boat commercially they could not warranty the lower unit again. I’m glad they did but I decided to sell the Evinrude Etec 250. I listed it on Facebook and a guy from Clermont came out to sea trial it. He liked it and decided to buy it. He also left his boat with me to remove his engine and install the Etec. I removed it and installed it on his boat with the help of my buddy Captain Phil and the big tree in his front yard. Before I sea trialed his boat, I decided to plug a laptop, equipped with diagnostic software, into the Etec engine computer and discovered that one of the fuel injectors was going bad. I called him and told him I would fix it before he picked it up and he gladly paid for the injector. It’s all fixed and running great. He shared some videos of his kids tubing behind it. Little did he or I know that Evinrude engines would discontinue manufacturing because of the financial impact of covid-19. I only owned the E-Tec for 6 months, but the fly-by-wire feature is what I liked best about it. They say that once you drive a boat with fly-by-wire you will never want to go back to cable shift controls. Especially when you have a tower or two stations. I decided to repower with a Suzuki 300. This engine also has fly-by-wire controls, but compared to Etec would be like Mac vs Windows, completely different system but a great learning experience that included a few trips to Precision Marine in Largo. “Rocko” has all the Suzuki precision controls components you need for rigging in stock. He is also very knowledgeable and has great customer service. I’m very happy with the C10 multifunction gauges; they give me all the pertinent engine and fuel data. I’m very happy with the Suzuki 300. The performance is great, engine is quiet and fast. I want to thank God and all of my friends and family for supporting me through this. I’m really excited to get back on the water. I have another charter scheduled with Pastor Mark and I can’t wait to show him the new Suzuki! Tight lines and God bless, Yours Truly Captain James

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