Ellesar

The Navionics website should tell you which lakes are included. Are you getting the detail information for other lakes in the area and just not SML? Or are you not getting it at all. With most Navionics cards you have to select them in the 520C so that it will use the card instead of the built in mapping.

I see far more Skeeters than I see Nitro's down here in the south. I also see a lot of Basscats and Champions.

Probably a good idea to get a keel protector if you are planning in fishing in water that skinny.

I got the Navionics Platinum Southeast and am really impressed. Its very detailed and very accurate. I've used other cards in the past with different GPS systems and have noticed that the maps are sometimes off a bit when I'm trying to find structure and features while on the water. I haven't had that problem with the Navionics.

Not necessarily true anymore . The 75hp EFI Merc 4 stroke weighs 399 lbs, the two stroke Opti weighs 375 lbs. Not sure about torque, but the weights have gotten down to the point that it's not really an issue anymore.

I would seriously but the biggest motor you could get. Last year I bought a boat and I settled for what I thought I "needed" or "could get away with" and it didn't take long for me to regret that. So I bought a new bought this year and that means that I had to eat the depreciation. You might not think you really need a larger motor and that some smaller motor will give you what you want, but if you change your mind you may end up stuck with a boat that really doesn't suit your needs. I don't know if you have a boat now, but if not, you might end up like me. I thought I knew what my needs were going to be last year when I bought my first boat, but it didn't take many fishing trips for me to see everything I had overlooked. BTW you don't have to mix oil, they are stored in different tanks. But you do need to consider the cost. The 2-stroke oil I have to use for my ProXS is about $85.00 for 2.5 gallons. The dealer has said that should last for a few tanks of gas. With the 4 stroke I had on the boat I bought last year, all I had to worry about was the cost of gas. The ironic thing is that I get about the same MPG now with a 175 HP motor onmy Triton that I got on my 60 hp tin boat. The tin boat I ran WOT most of the time. My triton I can cruise at an RPM range that gives me similar efficiency and I'm still going 15-20 mph faster than I was going in my tin boat at WOT.

yeah, you don't have to back to the dealer.

My new boat came with the Motorguide digital tour edition. Its certainly a world better than the motor guide that was on my old boat. It was a new model, just not digital. The pedal is easy to use, and I really like the variable speed settings that you get with digital over the 5 speed selection my old one had. I've never used a minnkota so I can't compare the two. BUt, thus far, I have no complaints regarding the motorguide. But to be honest, if I had to choose, I think I would go with the minnkota. I don't really know why I would choose that, but I think that's what I would choose. The minnkota pedal looks more substantial (for a lack of a better word) than the motorguide.

I've had it up to 65.9 on my gps. I think I can get a 2 or 3 more out of it once I get used to the chinewalk and let her get fully broken in. I just past the 10 hour mark so I can start opening her up and see how she does.

Finally got my pics to a computer where I could post them. I picked her up a few weeks ago. She's a Triton 18 X2 with a Mercury 175 ProXS. Her name is Bianca. She's a bit faster than the Fisher 1710 I bought last year. She fishes like a dream and running up and down Lake Guntersville is a lot easier now that it doesn't take nearly as long!

Here's my new baby. 2008 Triton 18 X2 with Mercury 175 Pro XS. Lowrance 520c in the dash with X135 in the bow. Currently had her up to 70.0 and that was quite different than the 36 I was used to going in my old boat.

I've seen a number of folks use the Blue Water LED products to add lights to their rigs. They have a rod locker key that sells for around $49.00 that is supposed to be easy to add using the existing wiring for the lights in your rod lockers. They also have a variety of other kits for lighting up your boat and truck.

Its a 2 stroke, its gonna smoke occasionally because there's oil in the gas. Every 2 stroke I've ever had smokes a little now and again. I would expect to see it during the break in period since its getting more oil than usual and the engine is breaking in and the parts are getting the polish rubbed off of them. When you come to a stop, its not trim that will prevent the wake from coming over the back of the boat, goose the throttle a little as the wave closes on the back fo the boat. In time this will be one of the things that you do without even realizing you are doing it.

I've heard that Quicksilver is a good alternative. I think the most important thing is that it is TC-W3 rated. I know my manual says don't dare use something that's not, but that the premium oil is better than some off brand that is TC-W3. Given that these are high performance engines I wouldn't take a chance with just any TC-W3 rated oil. But from what I've read, Quicksilver is good.

I wouldn't let it get too low, to the point that when you go to get on plane that the pickup can't get the oil. I was told that 3 gallons would probably last 3 or 4 tanks of gas ( I have a 37 gal tank ). They also said to check it after every trip to make sure its not too low. My oil tank has marks on it showing where "too low" is. Keep in mind, if your motor is still in the break-in period, the computer is adding more oil to the mix than it usually will use. As for the type, use the manufacturers recommended oil. I use Mercury Optimax/DFI 2 Cycle oil in my ProXS DFI motor. You can usually pick it up at any Mercury authorized dealer and even some places like Gander Mountain. Its not cheap, but then again neither is your outboard. Would also recommend some fuel additive like SeaFoam or Quickleen, especially if you are using gas with ethanol in it.

I bought a boat last year and within about 400 miles the tires were worn like you said. I had them replaced under warranty. They measured everything they could find on the trailer and sent the results to the manufacturer. My thought was that the trailer was out of alignment. But they came back and said everything was as it should be and that it was just a bad set of tires. I was skeptical but after ~200 miles there was no abnormal wear starting to show up. So it might just be the tires. I would definately have it looked at though.

For me, when I'm fishing with artificial bait I'm moving too often to mix both together.

I like the 520c and its external antenna. I can shut the unit off on the console and leave the anternna powered up through a switch. Sometimes having the console unit on interferes with the bow unit sonar. Then when I'm ready to move, I can just turn the console unit back on and it will find my position almost instantly without having to wait for it to find all the satellites.

I don't think I'm patient enough to fish with live bait. I can cover a lot more water with artificial baits, and most of the places I need to cover a good bit of water.

I agree 100%. I went out yesterday and drop shotted with some trick sticks in watermelon with chartreuse tails and that worked well. When I was up shallow I rigged some wacky and those were getting hit. I even had success with the 10" worm. I've got my soft plastics case almost completely full of stuff from ***, great quality, price, and best of all they catch fish!

I bought a 17'5 foot Fisher last year that had a Mercury 60hp 4-stroke. It topped out at about 36 mph. I bought the boat because I was getting back into fishing and didn't really know what I wanted or needed. It turns out that I regretted buying that boat. There was nothing wrong with the boat really, it just didn't fit my needs, or atleast what I thought my needs were. I kept telling myself that it was perfect for what I needed, but the voidce in the back of my head kept looking at other boats and saying it wasn't. So I went this year and bought a brand new Triton 18 X2 with a Mercury 175 ProXS because that's what I should've bought in the first place. But I had to eat the depreciation because I sold the other one after less than a year. So my advice would be to consider what you really want\need and make sure that you are nbeing completely honest with yourself. Personally I would go for something bigger, but then I now know what it is that I want\need. You might be perfectly content with the Tracker. But if you aren't, you are likely going to be stuck with it for a while unless you want to eat the depreciation yourself like I had to. Those boats don't hold their value very well as I can give a first hand accounting of. Another consideration you might consider is looking around at area boat dealers. Many are carrying inventory that is a couple of years old but are still new. You can get some good deals on those boats.

Not sure if the this is the right forum for this, so please excuse me if its not. For anyone out there that has an iPhone, there are a couple of neat applications in the app store that I've found to be helpful. Oneis called iFishNet : you can record your catches by taking pictures it keeps track of where you caught them and shows the location on Google maps. You can also share your catches with your friends. Its kind of neat because it can help you see where you are catching fish over time. It also has the ability to estimate weight/size by comparing the picture to other things it knows the size of, like a dollar bill. Another is called FishCal : It shows the prime fishing times based on the sun and moon. The last I like is called KnotGuide : It has a bunch of knots in it and shows you step by step how to tie them. I've found it useful for the knots I don't tie that often and to discover and try new knots.

5" *** in watermelon chartail! While senko's have produced for me, they just don't last long enough for me. I've found the *** gets just as many hits and it lasts a whole lot longer. I like the Yum Dinger, but the trick stick is a better deal IMO.

Lake Guntersville has been pretty good this year. Most folks are saying that it's some of the best fishing they've seen in years. I know that I've had some pretty good luck this year. There are a number of guides that I would recommend. Spinnerbait Kid is good. http://www.spinnerbaitkid.com/ Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service http://www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com/ Tim Chandlers Guide Service http://www.mildrillafishing.com/ I've never used any of these guys, but I've heard lots about them and its all been good.

I've been having lots of luck with topwater action this year. Most of the guides on Lake Guntersville have been saying that the topwater bite is better than they've seen it in a while.