A Vacation Gone "Holey" Wrong

This is Jim Bauer, a man who loves his bass fishin' as much as anyone possibly can. Most of the time, he is content to scour the nooks and crannies of West Neck Creek on a weekly basis in search of largemouth. And while there are some seasoned anglers who undoubtedly have equal knowledge about the creek, I feel it safe to say that very few probably know it any better, especially those stretches above the bridge.

Every once in a while, though, this retired Navyman and retired postal employee likes to get away from the local scene and sample other water. He used to spend a week or so each year on both Lake Anna and Lake Gaston. Nowadays, however, he is content just to visit Lake Gaston--usually in weekly increments, about three times a year.

Some time back, Jim got hooked up with a Lake Gaston homeowner who rents her place on Pea Hill Creek year-round, and what a sweet deal it is. The place comes fully furnished, so all Jim has to do is stroke a check, then pack up what food he wants, hook up the boat, and go. When he gets there, he has full access to everything in the house (and I'm here to tell you that this lady spares nothing--I've seen it firsthand), as well as a covered slip for his boat. What more could you ask for?

Anyway, Jim recently had gone to Lake Gaston for his first vacation week of 2013, and things weren't going too well. To start with, there had been a problem with one of the homeowner's neighbors helping himself to use of the covered boat slip for one of his boats. There also was the matter of bad weather. Suffice it to say, "...and the rains came."

Then, just as it looked like everything was getting right--the neighbor had moved his boat, the rain had stopped, and Jim had gotten to fish a whole day--disaster struck. He was running Pea Hill Creek when, all of a sudden, there arose such a clatter, he had no choice but to pull back on the throttle to see what was the matter. There was no denying it. He knew that the 200-h.p. HPDI Yamaha on the transom of his Skeeter just had given up the ghost, and his vacation just had gone bust.

This picture shows what the old Yamaha head looked like the other day when Jim went to the shop to pick up his boat, which is ready to run again. He said he also picked up the old piston and wrist pin, which were melted.

As Jim told me in an email, the service technicians put the replaced head through an on-the-water test before turning the keys over to him. They let him know they had opened it up to nearly 80 mph, and it hadn't missed a beat. My advice to Jim upon hearing that bit of info was that he'd better use a little more wax on his handlebar mustache before he "lets it rip" the first time, or there'll probably be a lot less curl at the ends when he gets back to the dock.

All kidding aside, here's wishing you well, Shipmate. Tight Lines!, too, on that complimentary week to Gaston that the homeowner has tossed your way. Catch a big 'un for me while you're at it.