First, I had planned on taking my new to me CraigCat to try in the bay this weekend, but my 13 year old gave in to her female herding instinct and invited a friend. I had already committed to taking my wife's vehicle, which meant no hauling the Ol'Pro. So I get my wide 14' jon ready...or so I thought. First I get the trolling motor mount fixed and a seat mount installed on the front deck. Second, I empty all of the old gas out of the tank, refill with new and run the engine in the tank. I've got a Rude 15 for this boat and it cranked on the 2nd pull. Go by to see Heafus Thursday and load up with my call in order from this big sale. Pull out of his parking lot and my little princess decides she and her friend want to eat at Chucky Cheese in Tallahassee. I don't know what the health score is for that place, but the heart burn score is OFF the charts. Off we go, what can I say, she's got me wrapped. The girls decided they wanted to fish in the afternoon rather than the morning, so about 3PM we head to Presnell's where they load the boat with drinks and snacks. We are about to pull away from the dock when I ask about the ice, which was the real reason I sent them into the little store. Nope, but Fred's son delivers a bag to the boat. My daughter's friend has been regaling me with tales of the horror trips she has had in boats and I assure her that I haven't lost a crew member in nearly 2 months
Motor cranks on the 2nd pull and we ease out of the canal. Turn the throttle and the little jon hops on plane. We get to the last marker and suddenly the motor dies like it has no gas. Check the line, check the tank vent, check to see if it is peeing...everything fine. Shift in and out of gear, but still only a bear idle speed. We idle back into the marina, put it back on the trailer and take it down the road a 1/2 mile to the Rude dealer. They called me at 6PM and said it was fixed and ready, that some doo hickey on the carb had lost a screw and come undone. Gonna get it in a few and maybe start back out to see if there are any fish in PSJ. If we have problems today, I'm gonna take my daughter's friend to Church tomorrow and ask the preacher to say the Jonah prayer over her
