Nitro 882

I'm seriously ticked. The stupidity exibited by our elected officials is mind boggleing and insulting on a personal level. As I understand it, the EPA itself declared that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a ban on lead terminal tackle. Mass department of wildlife itself published an attempted explanation of the "lead ban" in which they declared that there were 32 nesting pairs of loons in the state.(The whole freakin state.) Over 2/3's of those were in either the Quabbin or Wachusetts reservoirs. They explain that a nesting pair of loons requires 1000 acres of water and very little human contact to take up residence and successfully reproduce. I don't know about you but, most if not all the lakes I fish in Mass are less than 600 acres. Not big enough for any of the 64 freakin Mass loons to consider, according to the Mass studies ,so lead should not be a problem for the loons in these lakes since THERE ARE NO FREAKIN LOONS AROUND ANYWAY. In the states explanation, they claim that this ban should not be a big problem as "there are many ready alternative to lead being offered by tackle suppliers/manufacturers." Well, lets forget for a moment that , by my recent inventory of my tackle, I will have to throw away well over $600 in lead terminal tackle. I could ,single handedly, wipe out the entire population of loons ,yes all 64, in Mass. Talk about "shock and awe". I have looked on line and just today visited Bass Pro Shops and there is basically nothing available to replace my lead gear. Enough from me---what say you.

My son and I stayed at Camp Mack 2 years ago and the accomodations were first rate. We fished the Kissimmee River, Lake "Hatch" and Lake Kissimmee. The waters were new to us, but we still managed to trick a bunch of good fish the week we were there. The weather sucked that year mid Feb. while we were there, with a persistent cold front, but we found fish by punchin' through heavy mats along the shoreline. The boy caught his personal best 10.25# and that alone made the trip a success. We considered making the run up to Toho but we were doing OK we thought and didn't want to "leave fish to go find fish". Have fun where ever you end up.

I'm going to go to a local tackle shop, go to the salt water fishing section, and pick up one of the smaller "umbrella rigs" I used to use for stripers and bluefish. About $5 or $6 and essentially the same thing.

It has been my experience that Humminbird does have much better customer service. My Nitro came with 2 small Lowrance units. I replaced the console unit with a Humminbird GPS/Sonar combo and will be replacing the front unit next spring with another Humminbird.

Thanks FishinDaddy. Those seats look great and about half the price I was quoted for reupholstering my old ones. By the way, I'll be fishin' your Lake in February so catch what you can before I get there.

My boat seats have a number of small rips/tears from a variety of mishaps, some even related to landing fish believe it or not. One of my winter projects, besides replacing a transducer, is to try to repair this situation without breaking the bank. One auto reupholsterer quoted me $500-$600 for the job. Those little rips don't bother me that friggin much. Kinda adds character to the boat (I tell myself.) Anyone got a less expensive option. I'm not looking for "showroom" condition, just neatly patch 'em up so they don't snag and rip more. Thanks

Hey guys' Thanks for the help. The "ducer", as you neatly call it, is 6 or 7 years old and the unit has about 3000 hours on it based on its' internal timer. Seems like time for a replacement. Maybe Santa??????????? Happy Holidays

It was a recommended marine epoxy.

Hey Jigfisherman, Here's a good example I just remembered. My son and I were dropshotting smallmouth on Lake Champlain. The fish were chasing bait up and down a steep drop-off just offshore in 20'-25' of water. I was on the trolling motor and as soon as the front unit would cloud up with baitfish we would get bit for about 5 minutes and the school would move by only to come back thru in 10-15 minutes. This went on for a couple hours and it was fast action when they went through. My son was in the back of the boat and I leave the console unit on for him to view as he fishes. I would see the bait show up on my screen and say "here we go". His screen would show bait occasionally but most times not. By the way, the console unit seems to show depth accurately but not anything suspended in the water column. I've screwed with sensitivity settings and the like with no noticeable improvement. I just feel the transducer is the problem but I'm only guessing. Thanks

Hey guys, I have a $700 depth finder/gps unit mounted at the console that has the transducer mounted in the recommended place to "shoot thru" the hull of my 19" fiberglass bass boat. I won't mention the brand because I don't want to spend a lot of time with suggestions that I buy the"other" brand which, of course, is much better than what I have now. I only mention the price to indicate that it is a fairly good unit. When idling around searching for cover or structure, I leave my trolling motor down and my bow mounted unit, many times, will show things that my console unit doesn't pick up. (The front unit, by the way, is the "other" brand but only a $200 unit.) Questions: 1. Do transducers wear out and should I replace it with another "shoot thru". 2. If so, what is a good way to remove the existing unit without putting a hole in the boat.(I'm kinda clumsy.) 3. Would I be better served with a transom mounted transducer that would eliminate the barrier created by the hull and result in a clearer signal? Thanks in advance for any suggestions and Happy Holidays. Tom

Check out "Tackleunderground". Good Luck.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I thought something was out of wack, but it helps to have your confirmation. I'm planning a trip to Fla.in Feb (3000 mi. round trip) and I'll be sure to have this taken care of before I leave. Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good bite. : (I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

I have a 2005 Nitro NX 882 w/150merc. I can get about 2500/3000 miles on a set of good tires before they are almost worn through on the very inside of the tire.The outside looks like new and I can reverse and remount them and get another 2500/3000 miles out of them. They just look like hell with the worn part showing and everyone at the ramp telling me I need new tires. I keep a close watch on wheel bearings, packing once a season and replacing when needed. I also adjust the crown nut as needed to minimize play in the wheel as the bearings seat. This wear started about 2 years after I got the rig and I'm thinking that the axle has gotten bent somehow and needs replacing. What do you guys think?

I live in the Northeast and I hate to give up for the winter. I winterize my boat but as soon as the temperature approaches 40 degrees, I'm goin fishin'. I have 16 rod/reel outfits in the locker and ,of course, a bunch of tackle bags and 3710's full of stuff I may need some day, but so far haven't, and it's a pain in the butt moving this gear back and forth throughout the winter. What do you guys think about just leaving my gear in the storage compartments of my boat instead of moving it into my unheated garage for the winter?

Fishing in the wind requires more time on the trolling motor whether your in a fiberglass boat or an aluminum boat. Obviously, the wind affects the lighter boat more but fiberglass is not immune to the wind. I had a 17ft.tracker for 18yrs until 2005 when I bought my 18+ft. Nitro so I've had the opportunity to be blown around in both. My son now has the old tracker and got to where he wouldn't go out on a real windy day. I bought a new trolling motor for the nitro and put the old nitro 70# thrust 24volt on the tracker. Your still going be affected by the wind but the stronger motor and the 24volt system will allow you to react to it better and you can stand on her all day with battery power to spare. Just don't let the wind keep you from fishin'.

By the way, you can go on" You Tube " and see videos showing just how easy this critical maintenance is to perform. I'm so angry with myself for paying the prices the thieves at the boat shops charged me in the past. Good luck.

Please, take it from me, don't wait for "signs to replace bearings." I spent 11 hours broken down on the highway and $1075 to get back on the road because of a blown bearing last spring on my Florida fishing trip. It's amazingly simple , but messy, maintenance and may result in only having to clean and repack the existing bearings. You will have to replace the seals as they will be destroyed when removing them to gain access to the inner bearings. This won't cost $10. If you must replace the bearings, races, and seals the kit I buy (1 3/8 x 1 1/16) costs $12.50 x 2 wheels =$25.00. About 1 1/2 hrs labor. A d**n sight short of $1075 and 11hrs broken down on a Fla. highway.

Having a spare hub assembly complete with bearings is a great idea. I bought one and was real proud of myself until I had to use it. I didn't consider that my trailer had brakes and I required a hub assembly with a built in rotor or brake disc. Easy mistake to make. I just thought I'd mention it and hopefully prevent someone else from having the same thing happen.

I have a 2005 NX882 with a 150hp XR6 Merc which I paid $23K for new.(just for a point of reference0 I absolutely love my boat as it suits me and my style of fishing to "T". I live in the No. East and primarily fish natural lakes of about 500 acres on avg. The "big motor" doesn't get much of a workout on these small waters so it should have greater value to someone that bought it from me used. If your guy lived on the north end of Kentucky Lake and his "fishin hole" was on the south end, he'd put more hours on in a month than my boat has seen in its life. The only time I feel my boat is inadequate is when I go to Lake Champlain or Lake Winnipesaukee in Vt. or N..H. If I fished these big potentially rough waters all the time I would buy a 20' plus rig. Bottom line--- the boat could be worth the money if its in reasonable condition but its worthless if it doesn't meet your requirements or style of fishing. Best of luck with your decision.

I have a 2005 Nitro 882 w/a Merc XR6 150hp. I usually put $20 worth of 89 octane gas in her and fish often enough so that fuel is used up in a week or less. Because the fuel doesn't hang around long, I don't make a habit of adding fuel stabilizers. Once in a while I feel guilty and add stabilizer in the proper amount recommended on the container. Every time I do, the motor runs rough at low end and smokes upon start up. It occurs to me as I'm writing this that the stuff I'm now using is Startron. (I don't recall having this issue with Stabil.) Anyone else having a similar issue or does my motor need attention? (I just changed plugs.) Thanks in advance.

Someone smarter than me said "Most fisherman fish their entire lives and never realize it wasn't the fish they were after."

Since KVD won the classic using lipless cranks tricked out with up-sized Mustad short shanked treble hooks I started replacing the hooks on all my cranks lipped and lipless. Great idea with way fewer fish throwing the bait. Apparently all you guys are doin' the same thing cause I'll be danged if I can find the in stock anywhere. No luck again today at BPS (no surprise) with empty pegs even where the Gammy's are supposed to be. Whats up?

I'll tell you what, get some 12# Yozuri hung in a brush pile and try to break it.

Ditto, I have a 7' medium action which has all the backbone you will need. I've pulled big bass (4-5lbs) out of the pads with this rod and 20# braid. I think you'll find the med/heavy too stiff. Just my 2 cents.