Bush Mechanics

When Princeton University graduates Robert Thomas and Hobart Betts invented the trusty cable-tie in 1957, they never envisioned that these simple fasteners would one day be considered essential bassing kit. “This would be far easier if I had all of my tools,” exclaimed good friend Tyron Mortimer while attempting not to plunge headfirst off the back of his 19ft Stratos into Loskop Dam, one hand grasping the outboard and pliers in the other. A clip holding the throttle coupling on his 200 EFI had disintegrated. “Time for some bush mechanics,” he suggested while pulling out the last 3 cable-ties from his emergency kit to secure the throttle in place. I sure was glad we didn’t need four because we were about 8km from the launch and the sun had already started setting. He fashioned a makeshift harness in minutes, paying extra attention to clip the tag ends, “you don’t want one of these getting jammed, then we’re really going to be in trouble” he noted. Firing up the outboard I moved the throttle ever so slightly, the grunt of the motor in response was a good sign, two thumbs up for the mechanic. Tyron made light work of getting the cowling refitted. “Let’s see if this things holds”, he commented as he took over the driver’s seat. It was the first afternoon of a three-day big bass expedition and the nearest boat shop was 85km away in Witbank. He gently eased down the throttle, the rev counter responded in unison until it read 3000, 4000 and for a brief second hit the 5000rpm mark. “Looks like its holding, should we stop for a last cast?” I asked. We both shook our heads with our better judgment reigning supreme. Back at Marulani, he pulled the cowling off the motor to inspect his handy work. “That’s solid, but if they don’t hold I’ve just found a whole pack of them in my bag,” he chuckled. The next day the big Merc performed flawlessly, even at wide-open throttle, and we fished the rest of our stay without even the slightest interruption on our trophy quest. Driving back from Loskop the whole incident reminded me of a trip to Driekoppies back in 2010 “BBB” (before boat buckles). The review boat we were fishing on was fitted with turnbuckles on the trailer and somehow we’d lost a bolt. Problem? What problem? A couple of heavy-duty cable-ties secured it for the 400-plus kilometers back to Pretoria, with not even a single tooth budging. I’ve seen the same solution used on faulty winches to tie the nose down, keeping trailer cables and chains in place, and even our GM, Werner Lubbe re-attached the hydraulic steering on our Yamaha using cable-ties to safely get back to shore. Certain US pros suggest using “Zip Ties” as they call them as alternatives to O-rings on wacky rigs or to secure buzzbait and jig skirts in place, for which I’m almost certain they’ll work. A week later I checked in with Tyron. “How’s the motor running, have you installed the new parts?” I enquired. He paused mid-conversation, remarking “let me just grab this fish quick.” The parts had yet to arrive but the fishing on Loskop was too good and the repair too solid to keep him off the water! Cable-ties triumph yet again - if I’d been keeping score how many times Thomas & Betts’ invention had saved my bacon over the past 10 years it would read something like this: Team Cable Ties 15, Day Ruining events 3. Can anyone really afford to go fishing with out them?