One problem all of us have run into, is the hassle of keeping the bilge clear of small pieces of line, leaves, pine needles, cracker crumbs, etc. The pieces of line can cause a catastrophic failure of our bilge pump(s) at the most un-opportune time.I found that if you take a stainless mesh stainer used for kitchen sink drains and place it under your floor drain(s) it will catch 99.9% of all small pieces of floor trash, but will not inhibit water draining from the floor. I clean mine out about every 6 months and have been surprised at the stuff it has kept from getting down into the bilge. It even caught a couple of small tungsten slip-sinkers I dropped.You can find the strainers at Lowes or Home Depot for around $3.00.And another tip (I saw on here at one time) is I keep a 1/4 bar of Lava soap down in the bilge to help keep it clean.Good luck to all in 2011 and may everyone catch a bunch of great ol big uns!Doug
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