Anglers have a lot of expensive equipment that we count on for the fishing season. That equipment will last longer and not let us down with a little preventative maintenance each spring. Here are a few things I do each spring keep me on the water and having fun in summer.

Don’t take your boat for granted; it’s the most important—and expensive—piece of equipment for many anglers! I use the following tips to keep my boat and motor on the water and making me a better angler.

A good cleaning of the inside and outside is a must, especially if you didn’t clean the boat away before putting it away last fall. Regularly vacuuming a boat’s carpeting can keep it not only clean-looking but fluffed up and clean-feeling as well. A preseason wash and waxing of the exterior will protect your paint/gelcoat, in addition to making it look nice.

Keeping your livewell clean reduces the chance of damage to your pump and reduces contamination from invasives. Speaking of invasives, flood the bilge with a garden hose from time-to-time with the boat elevated and the plug out to help fight the spread of invasive species.

Check your batteries before heading out on the water the first time each season. There’s nothing more frustrating, embarrassing, and inconvenient to fellow boaters than sitting at the dock, blocking the ramp, with a boat that won’t start.

An electric trolling motor that won’t run can ruin the first day out on the water as well, so don’t forget about those batteries. With wet cell batteries, check to see if water needs to be added to any cells. Be sure to use distilled water. Put a good maintenance charger on all batteries in the boat before that first day out to make sure they are all at full charge.

Once your batteries are charged, turn on sonar units in demo mode to make sure they are working and test out your trolling motor(s). If it turns out that you need to replace a battery, think about going to lithium. They are more expensive, but they last a lot longer, produce more power, and weigh much less than traditional lead-acid batteries. I have been running Amped Outdoors lithium-ion batteries for my trolling motor for a couple seasons now, and I don’t know how I ever got along without them.

Hook up a garden hose with muffs to your engine(s) and start it up before your first time out on the water. If your engine was winterized with a stabilizer, run it with the hose for a while to burn off the stabilizer; don’t wait to do that at the boat ramp while others are waiting. In four-stroke engines, make sure the oil was changed since the last season; and be sure to fill the oil reservoir for two-stroke engines. Also, be sure that the lower unit lube was changed after the previous season. If you took your boat to a shop to winterize it, this was likely all done as a package.

Finally, but no less important, check out your trailer. Hubs should be re-greased each season to keep the bearings lubed and prevent an un-intended stop at the side of the road. This stop can also be prevented by checking tire tread and air pressure. Hauling an expensive boat around on bare or low tires can lead to disaster.

Make sure your winch is working correctly, and your tie-down straps are intact. Don’t skimp on or skip carrying a spare tire. It should be there and be good enough to get you home if you have a flat.

Finally, make sure your registration is up to date on your boat, and if you don’t have a lifetime license on your trailer, make sure you update your tabs.

I am a firm believer in being proactive rather than reactive. A little preventative maintenance in spring will save you having to miss fishing time for maintenance later. I can’t count the number of times I have heard someone at a boat launch on opening day saying, “It ran last year” as their engine won’t start. Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you.

Get better results from the time you spend fishing. Use information from the pros found in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.