Sorry guys, this is a late post, but you'll understand.
MY TALE OF WOE
Bartlett Saturday 9/5
On the water around 5:30am off around 1pm.
Weather : Overcast & Cloudy with a lite sprinkle of rain in the am. Some Wind coming in gusts on certain parts of the lake (Bartlett Flats & the Dam area)
Temp: 75deg, water temp 81+deg
water: Calm and murky - 5-7ft clarity upriver and 5 - 10 in deeper water.
Got to Bartlett at about 5:30am, we launched a little afterwards. Noticed after I launched, that I lost one of my bearing buddies & wheel bearings on the way in. I didn't know how long it had been gone but it was there when I left my house. The hub was crazy hot, causing steam to rise off of the axle when I pulled out of the launch. Since I was already there I decided to stay and fish.
I had an awesome day at Bart! I caught fish everywhere I went, except for the River area. I don't know if it was the clouds or what, but the fish were incredibly aggressive. I caught almost all of my fish on a crankbait. But due to a weak set of hooks on my plug and an inexperienced friend in the boat who just wasn't fast enough with the net, I lost almost as many fish as I caught either right at the gunwale or I ended up launching them over the bow and right back into the water. I bounced a couple of them off of the bow before they shook loose. I caught a couple more on creatures fished on main lake points and jigs fished by the dam. It was getting late and I was still catching fish, but we had other things to worry about, like the drive home.
I made the decision NOT to leave my boat at the lake but to make a play for Carefree or even my in-laws house near cave creek.This was one of the times I was actually grateful that the road outta Bart is paved. I cruised at the speedy pace of 20mph max. I had one eye on the wheel and one on the road. Apparently one eye wasn't enough.
As we approached Carefree, the trailer began to list badly. I knew it was ony a matter of time before the rest of the hub gave away and that wheel began its lonely drive into the desert. With one eye on the rear view mirror and my head out the window listening for the inevitable creak then the slam of my axle hitting the pavement I California Stop a Stop sign. The first stop sign into Carefree, and the only one with a police officer watching it. As he pulls me over I notice my car it getting a chemical burning smell, it was the bearing cooking in a half empty hub of burnt grease. My impatience freaked out the cop and my friend. I should have been more patient, I would have avoided the following pat down and search. Oh well, shit happens. After he figures out I am legal, and my truck and trailer are legal, he proceeds to write me a ticket for failure to stop. That's when he finds out my Driver License has been cancelled Shit!. After a quiz about where I went to school he double checks the info. Turns out someone attempted to aquire a State ID in my name, and the DMV cancelled it. I have never applied for an State ID card so I wonder who exactly applied for one. The cop didn't care, he gave me the ticket, read me the riot act for driving like that in his town and left.
We continue on but it has become apparent that we are not going to make it home. We make it as far a Tom Darlington/Scottsdale Road when I decide to park it. As I pull into the Bashas, the rest of my hub disintigrates, the front bearing race falls out and I hear the rest of the wheel parts on that side of the trailer give way. Lost and dejected I post on the Zone for some help.
My help was answered first by Lower Unit (my mechanic) trying to talk me down off the ledge, then by my good friend the RIG who gave me a bunch of numbers to call ( and made a few on my behalf). Then Just J, R61, On the Fly and all the rest of this site came alive and I got calls from zoners at every corner of the city offering thier assistance. If you guys didn't read my "help me" post, thanks again for all your effort. Even if I didn't call your tow guys or heed all your advice, it was sure nice knowing someone knew that I was there and in trouble. After an hour of advice and calling tow companies that were either closed or out of business, I call TOWS R US (one of the few companies to answer their phones on a holiday weekend) and they come out an hour later to take my sorry ass home and take $232 of my hard earned cash. General consensus right now is that my axle isn't bent but everything else is FUBAR, but my hub is modular, so I just have to remove the last bolt that didn't wobble out and make the repair.
I am going to be removing all the stuff tonight and will have a better idea of how bad it is. My main worry right now is getting the axle bolt off since alot of it ground down on the inside of the hub. Anyone know where I can find and buy Axle/HUb/Wheel Bearing parts for a boat trailer?
All in all it was a good day of fishing, with 6 fish in the boat biggest being 2.5lbs caught at the dam caught on a Jig, most were 1.5 - 1.75lbs clones caught on a crankbait and creatures, and 5 more that could have been in the boat if my friend was quicker and more adept with the net. I also lost another 4 or 5 due to hook failure at the hookset with my crankbait. Unfortuneately my friend blanked, but it was his first time throwing artificial baits, and he was still getting the hang of casting with some sort of accuracy.
BUt the main question is, was it worth the $232 for the tow, the blown HUb and wheelbearings, and the $165 stop sign ticket?
F**k yeah, it was worth it. It always is.......
What I Learned:
Smoking Axle Grease can smell like Meth or Crack to a cop (I guess) if they don't know you are having mechanical problems. I guess any odd smell they can't put their finger on will send up a red flag. Still it's good to see actual cops on the roads an not another stupid camera.
Never CA Stop or speed in Carefree. You'd think I would have learned after all these years.
It's easier to change your pattern and hunt for bigger fish when you are slamming them with the pattern you are on.
I NEED TO CHANGE MY DAMN CRANKBAIT HOOKS! I lost more fish than I caught on a single crankbait. It also happened to me at Alamo a couple of weeks ago. You would think I would have learned by now. Anyone reccommend any good manufacturers? I normally use Gamakatsu for my plastics.
The AZ Basszone is full of really good honest people. You guys are all cool, I don't care what everyone else says about you guys. I gives me a warm fuzzy.
You can teach a newbie to fish with plastics but only experience teaches them how to wiggle the worm.
Netting fish is harder for some people than others.
Turkey Vultures DO PLAY in the wind. They aren't always looking for food. Nothing beats a bird with a 8ft wingspan flying 10 feet over your head. Deer are Not afraid of crankbaits.
Go Get Em!!!!!!!!
*BTW, IF anyone needs numbers to Valley Tow companies that will tow a boat AND A trailer, PM me and I will give them to you. It definitely will give you peace of mind knowing you don't have to try to find one when you are in an emergency.
