Dark Clouds Have Silver Linings

As the 2012 bass fishing season will be soon upon us, I can’t help but to look back on that dreadful day on Lake Erie, when eight minutes into blast-off in the 2^nd tournament of the year I blew the Power Head on my 2003 Evinrude 250 DI. I had joined the ranks with other fellow tournament anglers and leisure boat owners with the disbelief of what had just happened. Team BaitMe thanks the fishing Gods of Lake Erie for relatively calm waters, and keeping that ugly approaching storm well south of us that day. After three hours we were able to get back to shore safely not touched by rain or better yet lightning. The Team BaitMe 2011 fishing season was finished just as fast as it started.

After the initial shock of this sickening reality I wondered what was I to do! How was I going to explain this to my favourite and greatest fan, my wife? At the end of the day, who has an “Ooops I just blew my motor account”? Fixing the old motor with a rebuilt power head with only one year warranty was not cost effective in my opinion, and brand new motors have full warranties. Although all the incentives to buy are great, they can come with a very large price tag! Finding a motor couple of years old, with low hours was definitely an option to pursue, however these kinds of deals are scooped up quickly by other boaters and anglers looking to up grade or repower.

It’s been said that dark clouds have a silver lining. It was time to get the ball moving. With a lot of internet surfing, e-mailing, and texting within North America, I had finally tracked down and found my own golden nugget, a 2011 Evinrude E-tec 250 HO. This baby had everything I was looking for including a full Warranty, a short Shaft, blue in colour, and extremely low hours. Does ZERO hrs sound good? That’s right ZERO hrs! The best part was the price which was awesome. Everything was turning around for BaitME. It was time to face the final battle, getting approval from the Royal Grand Pooh-bah. After explaining all options and applying a small puppy eyed look to my face, she had agreed and granted me authority to buy it. I think that she felt sympathetic to my situation and that my passion for tournament fishing was too great to be left with a boat and no motor! Things always get better no matter how dark they may seem at the time.