Stan Fagerstrom
09-14-2003, 10:36 AM
“This ‘Guy’ Is Happy With His Honda”
By Stan Fagerstrom
Guy Eaker is one of the country’s best known professional bass fishermen.
If you doubt that, consider how many bass fishermen you know who have had a day set aside for a city-wide celebration in their honor That’s exactly what the folks in Cherryville, North Carolina did. A couple of years ago they had a special “Guy Eaker Day” observance to honor the exploits of their community’s plug pitching pro.
I’ve crossed trails with Eaker often in my own travels around this country. Some of the time that has been when I’ve participated as an observer in past Bassmasters Classics. On other occasions it has been when Guy and I have been invited to participate in one or another of the country’s major outdoor shows.
It happened the last time when Guy and I were in Biloxi, Mississippi. We were both on hand for a national meeting of Honda Marine dealers. The highlight of that Mississippi session was the introduction of Honda’s brand new BF225 h.p. four-stroke outboard motor.
Now if you know outboard motors from your bellybutton you’re also aware that four-stroke motors are nothing new where Honda is concerned. They’re new to some other manufacturers, but not Honda. The Honda folks introduced their first four-stroke motor in this country decades ago.
If you’ve used one of Honda’s four-stroke motors, and that’s what I’ve been doing myself for the past several years, you know they’re something special. They’re not only cat-quiet in their operation, but they also provide increased fuel efficiency and low maintenance. What the Honda engineers have managed to do is come up with a motor that even the most dedicated environmentalist is happy about. They are sufficiently clean and efficient that they already exceed EPA 2006 standards.
http://www.ifish.net/sfranger1.jpg
Ifish columnist Stan Fagerstrom uses a 90 h.p. Honda outboard to power his Ranger Cherokee bass rig.
But boaters, including fishermen, often wanted a motor with more horsepower than the Honda four-strokers used to provide. And that’s what the Mississippi dealer show was all about. Honda dealers and their guests got a look at the new Honda BF225 V6 at the Biloxi confab.
So what’s my friend Guy Eaker got to do with Honda outboard motors? I can tell you. Guy, you see, is one of the fishermen Honda asked to run one of these big new motors before it came to market. His experience with the 225 h.p. job is exactly what mine has been with the two 90 h.p. four-stroke Hondas I’ve had on my own bass boats in recent years. I know because I asked Guy how he felt about the new big one.
“I helped test that motor,” Eaker said. “I like a quiet approach in my professional bass fishing. The Honda is quiet. I find I can even get into relatively shallow water without spooking fish unduly.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfhondah.jpg
Here's a side view if the 225 h.p. Honda outboard motor pros like North Carolina's Guy Eaker are using.
Eaker’s comment about their quietness of operation reminds me of what a Honda dealer told me several years ago. “Stan,” he said, “I always have to warn somebody who is running one of our motors for the first time to listen carefully when they turn to the key to fire up their Honda outboard. Our four-stroke motors are so quiet sometimes it’s difficult to tell they are running.”
Quiet running is just one of the things North Carolina professional was enthusiastic about with his Honda outboard. Another was fuel economy. “Sometimes in tournaments I have to run a long way to get to where the fish are,” he says. “In the past, before I was running a Honda, that often meant I had to stop for refueling. That took time away from having a bait in the water. Now I can run 80 to 90 miles without having to stop for more gasoline.”
As Eaker points out, his Honda engine also saves where oil is concerned. “I have savings on oil costs as well as gasoline,” Eaker says. “I only have to change oil every 100 hours. I just don’t have two worry about it.”
Like other veteran bass pros, Eaker has used a variety of equipment over the years, including different outboard motors. Catching fish for a living in competitive angling contests might look like an easy way to earn the beans to buy your bacon. It’s not. It’s an intense, physically demanding profession that few manage to handle successfully.
That’s undoubtedly why Eaker kept mentioning the confidence he has in his Honda motor’s performance. He maintains it gives him a peace of mind when he’s out there competing that he hasn’t always had in the past. “Now when I take off in the morning I know I’m going to get back,” he says. “I know my outboard motor isn’t going to blow up on me.”
Reliability is of extreme importance to pros like the North Carolina expert. Anglers who cast-for-cash know going into a tournament that the bass they are after won’t be biting all over the lake. Chances are about 10 per cent of the lake’s area will hold 90 per cent of the fish they’re after. The pros have to depend on their motors to get them where the fish are. Let a motor break down when a pro is way down the lake somewhere and he’s up that well-known tributary with no means of propulsion. Just one such day might ruin his chances for the year’s point totals.
I was curious what kind of speed Eaker had experienced with his Honda BF225. “I’ve been running mine on a 21-foot bass boat,” he said. “We tried about 200 different props during our testing of the new motor to be sure we had the right one. At top speed we’re now running from 72 to 74 miles per hour.”
Speed, like dependable performance, is also of great importance to the bass pro. You want to get to the best spots before the other guy does. You’re also going to want to stay out there casting as long as you possibly can. You can only do that if you’re certain your rig will have sufficient speed to get you back within the contest deadline.
http://www.ifish.net/slhonda.jpg
Another view of the Honda 225.
“I didn’t think we’d get the kind of speed we’ve reached with the new Honda,” Eaker said. “I’ve also found that the more you run one of these engines, the faster it gets. They picked up speed during the break-in process.”
Honda Marine also introduced another new motor at the Biloxi meeting. It was the four-stroke Honda BF200 V6. That one shares the same characteristics of its big brother. At this year’s Bassmaster’s Classic Honda also showed for the first time its brand new 150 h.p. outboard. I’ve not seen that one yet.
Guy Eaker has qualified for the Bassmasters Classic, an event often referred to as the “World Series of Bass Fishing” a total of 10 times. That’s a bunch, as any experienced tournament plug pitcher will tell you. He’s been at his chosen profession for years. You’ve got to listen when he talks about the products that have been a factor in success.
Watch the contestants as they come back in for the weigh-ins at a major Bass Anglers Society tournament this year and you’ll see Guy running the motor I’m talking about. To say he’s enthusiastic about his new Honda BF225 is an understatement.
Eaker’s enthusiasm really didn’t surprise me. Having owned and operated a variety of Honda products from riding lawnmowers to automobiles to outboard motors myself in recent years I know where he is coming from. Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer. I learned at the Mississippi sessions that the company builds more than 11 million engines of one kind or another each year.
You’d expect a company with that kind of experience and expertise to lead the pack where outboard motors are concerned. Guy Eaker says Honda does. I think he’s right.
By Stan Fagerstrom
Guy Eaker is one of the country’s best known professional bass fishermen.
If you doubt that, consider how many bass fishermen you know who have had a day set aside for a city-wide celebration in their honor That’s exactly what the folks in Cherryville, North Carolina did. A couple of years ago they had a special “Guy Eaker Day” observance to honor the exploits of their community’s plug pitching pro.
I’ve crossed trails with Eaker often in my own travels around this country. Some of the time that has been when I’ve participated as an observer in past Bassmasters Classics. On other occasions it has been when Guy and I have been invited to participate in one or another of the country’s major outdoor shows.
It happened the last time when Guy and I were in Biloxi, Mississippi. We were both on hand for a national meeting of Honda Marine dealers. The highlight of that Mississippi session was the introduction of Honda’s brand new BF225 h.p. four-stroke outboard motor.
Now if you know outboard motors from your bellybutton you’re also aware that four-stroke motors are nothing new where Honda is concerned. They’re new to some other manufacturers, but not Honda. The Honda folks introduced their first four-stroke motor in this country decades ago.
If you’ve used one of Honda’s four-stroke motors, and that’s what I’ve been doing myself for the past several years, you know they’re something special. They’re not only cat-quiet in their operation, but they also provide increased fuel efficiency and low maintenance. What the Honda engineers have managed to do is come up with a motor that even the most dedicated environmentalist is happy about. They are sufficiently clean and efficient that they already exceed EPA 2006 standards.
http://www.ifish.net/sfranger1.jpg
Ifish columnist Stan Fagerstrom uses a 90 h.p. Honda outboard to power his Ranger Cherokee bass rig.
But boaters, including fishermen, often wanted a motor with more horsepower than the Honda four-strokers used to provide. And that’s what the Mississippi dealer show was all about. Honda dealers and their guests got a look at the new Honda BF225 V6 at the Biloxi confab.
So what’s my friend Guy Eaker got to do with Honda outboard motors? I can tell you. Guy, you see, is one of the fishermen Honda asked to run one of these big new motors before it came to market. His experience with the 225 h.p. job is exactly what mine has been with the two 90 h.p. four-stroke Hondas I’ve had on my own bass boats in recent years. I know because I asked Guy how he felt about the new big one.
“I helped test that motor,” Eaker said. “I like a quiet approach in my professional bass fishing. The Honda is quiet. I find I can even get into relatively shallow water without spooking fish unduly.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfhondah.jpg
Here's a side view if the 225 h.p. Honda outboard motor pros like North Carolina's Guy Eaker are using.
Eaker’s comment about their quietness of operation reminds me of what a Honda dealer told me several years ago. “Stan,” he said, “I always have to warn somebody who is running one of our motors for the first time to listen carefully when they turn to the key to fire up their Honda outboard. Our four-stroke motors are so quiet sometimes it’s difficult to tell they are running.”
Quiet running is just one of the things North Carolina professional was enthusiastic about with his Honda outboard. Another was fuel economy. “Sometimes in tournaments I have to run a long way to get to where the fish are,” he says. “In the past, before I was running a Honda, that often meant I had to stop for refueling. That took time away from having a bait in the water. Now I can run 80 to 90 miles without having to stop for more gasoline.”
As Eaker points out, his Honda engine also saves where oil is concerned. “I have savings on oil costs as well as gasoline,” Eaker says. “I only have to change oil every 100 hours. I just don’t have two worry about it.”
Like other veteran bass pros, Eaker has used a variety of equipment over the years, including different outboard motors. Catching fish for a living in competitive angling contests might look like an easy way to earn the beans to buy your bacon. It’s not. It’s an intense, physically demanding profession that few manage to handle successfully.
That’s undoubtedly why Eaker kept mentioning the confidence he has in his Honda motor’s performance. He maintains it gives him a peace of mind when he’s out there competing that he hasn’t always had in the past. “Now when I take off in the morning I know I’m going to get back,” he says. “I know my outboard motor isn’t going to blow up on me.”
Reliability is of extreme importance to pros like the North Carolina expert. Anglers who cast-for-cash know going into a tournament that the bass they are after won’t be biting all over the lake. Chances are about 10 per cent of the lake’s area will hold 90 per cent of the fish they’re after. The pros have to depend on their motors to get them where the fish are. Let a motor break down when a pro is way down the lake somewhere and he’s up that well-known tributary with no means of propulsion. Just one such day might ruin his chances for the year’s point totals.
I was curious what kind of speed Eaker had experienced with his Honda BF225. “I’ve been running mine on a 21-foot bass boat,” he said. “We tried about 200 different props during our testing of the new motor to be sure we had the right one. At top speed we’re now running from 72 to 74 miles per hour.”
Speed, like dependable performance, is also of great importance to the bass pro. You want to get to the best spots before the other guy does. You’re also going to want to stay out there casting as long as you possibly can. You can only do that if you’re certain your rig will have sufficient speed to get you back within the contest deadline.
http://www.ifish.net/slhonda.jpg
Another view of the Honda 225.
“I didn’t think we’d get the kind of speed we’ve reached with the new Honda,” Eaker said. “I’ve also found that the more you run one of these engines, the faster it gets. They picked up speed during the break-in process.”
Honda Marine also introduced another new motor at the Biloxi meeting. It was the four-stroke Honda BF200 V6. That one shares the same characteristics of its big brother. At this year’s Bassmaster’s Classic Honda also showed for the first time its brand new 150 h.p. outboard. I’ve not seen that one yet.
Guy Eaker has qualified for the Bassmasters Classic, an event often referred to as the “World Series of Bass Fishing” a total of 10 times. That’s a bunch, as any experienced tournament plug pitcher will tell you. He’s been at his chosen profession for years. You’ve got to listen when he talks about the products that have been a factor in success.
Watch the contestants as they come back in for the weigh-ins at a major Bass Anglers Society tournament this year and you’ll see Guy running the motor I’m talking about. To say he’s enthusiastic about his new Honda BF225 is an understatement.
Eaker’s enthusiasm really didn’t surprise me. Having owned and operated a variety of Honda products from riding lawnmowers to automobiles to outboard motors myself in recent years I know where he is coming from. Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer. I learned at the Mississippi sessions that the company builds more than 11 million engines of one kind or another each year.
You’d expect a company with that kind of experience and expertise to lead the pack where outboard motors are concerned. Guy Eaker says Honda does. I think he’s right.