A thin envelope with BRP Customer Service listed in the return address appeared in our mailbox. "This can't be good . . ." we told the wife, and sure enough, a recall letter was inside. It turns out it's not as bad as it could be. . .it is a voluntary recall (meaning the Coast Guard is not making them do it, they are doing it on their own) to replace the fuel filter under the cowling. Apparently the fuel systems on a few 40 - 90 HP units with serial numbers below 5166490 were QA tested at too high a pressure, which might have damaged the filter, causing it to leak.

BRP is instructing owners not to use the motors until a dealer can replace the filter and check the system for leaks. Back to Sunset Marine. . .

We also finished installing our replacement trim tab actuators and the tab position indicator switch. Look for a short feature aricle on the replacement in a bit...

After our last trip, we decided to do something about the fogging issue with our Raymarine DS600X. A quick search of the Internet indicated that our fogging problem was not unusual, and in fact, several Raymarine models seemed to be having the same problem.

We boxed up the unit, sent it to Raymarine 3rd day UPS, then called in to check up on the unit after it arrived.

Raymarine turned the unit around in two business days, and returned it to us via 2nd day DHL. Turns out 2nd day DHL is available for all warranty repairs AT NO CHARGE, if you ask.

Fishing for Dorado (Mahi-mahi) has been incredible for local SoCal waters this year. I don't think I've ever seen the fish counts this big. The fish shown in the left photo is typical for the fish being caught.

Yellowtail, jumbo bonito, mako shark and marlin fishing has also been pretty good this year, but unfortunately it looks like Mexican seiners have intercepted almost all the tuna. Albacore, bluefin and yellowfin tuna have been almost nonexistent compared to years past. As of today, there are reports of a few small yellowfin tuna being caught, but nothing big.

We've been mostly busy with the site changes, and working on our upcoming saltwater flyfishing site, but we did manage a couple of trips. No records, but some memorable fish!

TB2 has been running generally well, but our Lenco trim tabs, which had served well up to this point, froze up in July. We decided to replace them with new Lencos, and also added their controls with the LED position indicators. Turns out these controls also have an auto-retract feature. We'll cover the repair in a future article.

Fortunately (or maybe not?) the tabs froze in the "Up" position, so we could run the boat and adjust trim using the motor as if the tabs weren't there. We made a trip before the repair, and discovered why both trim tabs and motor trim are a good idea in a boat.

With the boat fully loaded, without trim tabs, we were unable to properly trim the boat with just the motor without pushing the boat too fast for water conditions. It's not that the E-TEC 90 didn't have the horsepower needed - it's that even with the motor trimmed fully in, the boat ran too bow up unless we ran faster than water conditions would allow. Our fuel mileage also suffered as a result, dropping down to around 3.7 MPG average for the trip.

Our Raymarine DS600X also has some problems with fogging. We thougth we had done something to the unit, but a subsequent search of the Internet revealed that a number of people are having problems with fogging or leaks in the DS600X case. The smaller units (DS400X and DS500X) do not seem to be affected as badly. The unit has been sent in to Raymarine for repair

What about our Low Oil Alarm? Prior to this trip, Sunset Marine replaced the oil tank assembly under warranty. During their testing, they couldn't find anything obviously wrong. BUT the alarm still sounded a few times on this trip. We talked to them after the trip, and they suspect an electrical problem with the boat wiring, rather than a problem with the motor. We'll go over everything before the next trip.

Sport Fishing Magazine's Editor,  Doug Olander, had a great article on Spectra knots in their August 2006 issue. Titled "At the Breaking Point", he did a lot of quantitative testing of base tensile strength on a number of Spectra fishing lines, then did a lot of comparison testing of different knots for connecting Spectra to mono leaders, Spectra to terminal tackle, etc. The IGFA's testing equipment was used to make the measurements.

You'll have to read the article to get the details, but here are some of the more interesting points:

• A 12-turn (not 20) Bimini Twist turned out to the be best way to create a double line. As most people know, Spectra does not have good knot strength even though it is extremely strong, so a double line winds up being a requirement in a lot of situations. Note that Doug confirmed that all Spectra lines over-test, ostensibly because of poor knot strength.
  
  
• The best way to connect a heavy mono leader to the Spectra is to use a Yucatan (AKA "No Name" or "Bristol") knot to the Bimini Twist
  
  
• A Double Palomar knot was the strongest knot for connecting Spectra directly to terminal tackle.
  

This article sparked considerable debate in a couple of different forums, because past testing by several people indicate that a 70 - 100 turn Bimini is the only way you can get close to 100% knot strength. Doug's testing indicated high-turn Bimini Twists are weaker than the the 12 Turn Bimini

GripTwists® Ever need to bundle something together securely, but didn't have a strap or want the hassle of tying it with rope? These items are called "GripTwists®". They are a fairly stiff, but bendable, carbon steel cable encased in a non-marring soft foam cover. Wrap a GripTwist® around something, twist the ends together like a trash-bag twist tie (three times or more), and fold the ends over for maximum security. We've been snaking them around rods to bundle them for carrying, as well as tying things down in the boat or on roof racks. Available in various lengths and colors. For more info, click HERE for the GripTwist® website.

Are you having trouble getting your switch bait away from a fish? Try enclosing the bait in a sleeve made from a heavyweight clear polyethylene bag, such as a Ziploc® before stitching it up. The sleeve allows the bait to slide out of a fish's mouth a bit easier.

This tip comes from Captain Brad Philipps in Iztapa, Guatemala, via the May 2006 issue of Marlin Magazine