Sunday, May 19, 2024
Michael Acosta
HOOD OUTDOORS
As a licensed professional fishing guide, Michael Acosta shows you how to find them. A Granbury resident of more than 35 years, he has been fishing all of his life, and has been a licensed guide since 1998.
If you have batteries and chargers, sooner or later they will either get old or fail. The time to find out is not on the water, but many times the trolling motor battery or the charger has an issue and you do find out when you are on the water. On the cranking battery you can turn the key before you head out to make sure that battery is OK, but the trolling motor batteries or the charger not functioning may not be as easy to catch before you head out.
Checking the trolling motor batteries/charger before you head out is possible if your charger indicates OK, but even then you may not know for sure. Pulling out the voltmeter may be an option, but a battery that is not fully charged or an old battery may look good before you head out but may die prematurely. Best policy is to check them periodically, so you know the general condition.
A small load bank tester and a voltmeter can be your friend. The load bank puts the battery on a load that will tell you its ability to perform under load. Make sure you fully charge the battery before you use the load bank tester so that you get a valid test.
Checking the output of the charger with a voltmeter will let you know if the charger is working. If you have 13 to 15 volts on charge, the charger is working. If you have a multi-bank charger all banks should be putting out relatively equal voltages during charging. If you have one that is lower, you may have a battery issue on that bank.
The on-board charger will and can fail on occasion. Usually one bank will fail, but I have lost all three banks on one occasion. Sometimes a fuse replacement will solve the issue and sometimes not. A spare charger can come in handy when this occurs until you can get it repaired or replaced. I actually have a spare three-bank charger just in case. Having a spare battery may also be a consideration as sometimes you need that battery immediately. I have two boats with nine batteries, not to mention vehicles and other equipment, so having a spare may be prudent.
The newer marine chargers are made for different styles of batteries like lead-acid/deep cycle and Lithium so if you do have to buy a new charger that should be a consideration. If you decide to go the newer style Lithium battery make sure you have one that can do either. The lithium batteries have different voltage requirements for proper charging.
There are a variety of battery chargers on the market and most will charge your batteries. Most chargers come with some kind of instrumentation that gives you some indication of the battery or the charger. There are also remote battery charger status panels that can be mounted on your dashboard for easy viewing.
One thing to check periodically on batteries includes water levels, and poor/loose or dirty connections on the battery. For those batteries that require water, remember to only add water to the upper level after you fully charge your batteries. During charging, water levels will rise in the battery and you don’t want an acid spill. The only time you should add water before charging is if the water level had fallen below the top of the internal plates. In this case, add enough water to cover the plates but do not fill to the upper level until after the recharge is complete.
Many of the newer battery chargers are safe to leave connected as they will go to a safe trickle charge. Some of the older chargers can over charge and potentially boil the water and life out of a lead acid battery.
One more thing, if you are plugged in to an outdoor receptacle that is GFI protected, the breaker may trip during a storm or rain. You don’t want to find out that your batteries did not charge when you wake up to go fishing.
HOOD COUNTY FISHING REPORT
Lake Granbury water levels continue to be about 2 feet low. We did not get sufficient run-off from the recent rains. Despite the lake level, fishing is excellent. Water temperatures are in the 70s and rising. Striped bass to 15 pounds is possible on live bait on the lower ends. Sand bass action is fair to good on slabs from Indian Harbor to the DeCordova subdivision. Largemouth bass are good on variety of baits worked near main lake points and creek entrances. Crankbaits, spinner baits and soft plastics will all put black bass in the boat. Large yellow and blue catfish continue to be caught on cut bait from the 377 bridge north to Hunter Park. Crappie action is good on submerged timber and deeper docks on small jigs/minnows.
Other reservoirs in the vicinity are reporting great fishing. Lake Whitney striped bass limits continue to be the norm and are best on live shiners and shad. Lake Proctor catfish, hybrids and crappies are reported as excellent. Possum Kingdom striped bass continue to be good on live bait fished on the lower ends. Benbrook crappie fishing is reported as excellent as well.
michael.acosta@att.net | 254-396-4855
