zachb34

I now see why you asked how my 15 HP does on the 1542. The 25 HP is about $600 more than the 20 HP I believe. The 25 isn't carburated and is the max power for the 1542. Personally, if I wanted to repower, I would go with a 25 HP. I don't think the 20 would perform much better than the 15 I have and I've heard of getting around 32-33 mph with the 25. Maybe you could find a used motor with some warranty left if you're waiting until next season.

Well, I'm 165 pounds, my partners are usually 180-210, with a full load of us and all the gear I mentioned prior, I get anywhere between 22.5-25 on a good day. It all depends on the load, wind, and water conditions.

Im looking to put together a cheap pond set up that I can keep at my dad's house. I recently came across a minn kota Endura c2 30# at a garage sale. I brought it home, and it doesn't work. I opened it up and all terminals on the switch are getting power from the battery except the battery negative terminal. The wire was burnt, and there's rust in that plastic encasing, although I don't see anything rusted. There was a TON of line in the prop. I cut the burnt wire and jumped it with an alligator clip and still no power. My question is, do you guys think the motor is fried or the switch is fried?

I have a 1542 with a 15 HP 4 stroke on the back. Loaded down with two guys, battery, cooler, gas, gear, etc. I have a 12 volt 55# thrust on the bow that moves pretty well. Probably 3 or 4 MPH. If it's your only source of power, I'd get a 24 volt atleast 55# but lean more towards the biggest you can afford. I dealt I'd have a 24 volt in the back, and a small 30# thrust on the front.

If you can afford it, why not? As long as your boat is rated for it and the money won't bother you too much I'd guess that 40 would feel night and day over the 20.

I also disagree with not only 2 strokes being poorly designed, but the "few more minutes" in regards to travel. I'm always making 10 mile and longer runs in my jon boat. I don't know what I'd do without it.

I guess to be fair, we may have slightly different measurements. I dint actually have a Bass Raider. Its a Colman Perch which has now been rebranded to a su dolphon sportsman I believe. It was in the bed of an older late 90s ranger, I think. It didn't fit and had to be put in at a slant. Sure it handled it fine, but for someone buying a truck with their little boat in mind, the full size pickup gives a little more ease to the process of loading and unloading.

That's a good deal and they're good boats. They're the same thing as a basstender. If you want more info in those, do a search on the forum I've given a lot of advice and feedback about my old 11.3 basstender which I highly recommend. Dont plan on keeping anything alive in that live well its best used for storage. I've actually never heard or seen an 8 footer. They're usually 9.4, 10.2, or 11.3

I know my boat didn't like my friend's ranger at all so full size is the way to go.

For ultimate convenience, Roland Martin's is hard to beat. They have a motel on the property, tiki bar/restaurant, etc. The only downside would be the cost of the guide if you go multiple days. If you plan on Florida I really don't think you can beat Okeechobee. I would suggest taking a road trip with your boat, take a day with the guide and figure the rest out yourself. That's without taking your location into account.

As stated above, I've never had a gator get close to my 8 footer. I regularly fish my 1542 with 2 guys, in gator infested water, during mating season. Still have had no issues. With two people, I would say 14' would be my minimum and I dint find my 42" wide boat to have stability issues so I'll go with that number for width. I've seen decked 1032s, so I guess it depends on your size and balance.

Long bed versus short bed isn't a big deal on a full size pick-up. My short bed isn't any harder to load and unload than a long bed and the boat is still in between the wheel wells. If you want a long bed, by all means go for it. Just don't think you need it for this type of boat.

$300, 2-3 anglers, and no trailer. You're going to have to give up one of those things. Really a 42-48" wide jon would suit you pretty well, but they'll be too heavy without a trailer. Especially the 48 wide models since they're usually thicker and welded. for a first boat, I'd suggest a Bass raider. 8' will do, but the 10' will be better if you want to bring a friend. For safety and legal reasons, 3 people will also be a no for those boats. The bass raiders are really safe, durable, and easy to use. In my opinion, they're a great first boat. For what it's worth, I own a 1542 jon boat. No way on this earth would I fish 3 people out of it. The only way I'd take 3 is if it's just for a ride.

On one electric only lake near me, the Torqueedo is common. I've even seen a Minn Kota E-Drive. All are extremely expensive (more than a new 15 HP gasser), but would be great for a "dedicated" rig. The Minn Kota is advertised for 5 mph on a full size pontoon. My jon boat with a 15 out ran a pontoon with a 60 so I'd say you could expect quite a bit more than 5 MPH

I thought that was just a teenager thing. Guess I'll hear the same thing the rest of my life lol

As said above, there's been 2 or 3 topics on this forum, but I don't think any members have actually made the purchase. Guinea pig maybe?

post a wanted ad in the flea market. If you have facebook, there's a ton of pages to buy and sell bass fishing gear, that's where I got mine. You are right though, they're hard to find and I've been looking for another for awhile.

Rod buckle has retractable straps they make a housing adapter too that'll be easy to mount.

E series curados and maybe the citica. Green is heavy for more braking, redish color is typical amd I believe there's also a grey color that's lighter

I also have a 1542 I got from Bass Pro and it came on a Continental trailer. $2,200 put the door taxes amd everything without a motor. In all honestly, I'd go lightly used and put the money you saved towards a nicer motor or electronics. There isn't much to go wrong with a 240 pound hunk of tin lol. Lots of things to go wrong with an outboard.

They don't paddle very well. If weeds are your problem, a push pole is a better option. Grass emerging to the surface leaves me a good guess that the water is shallow enough for this. Its not hard and can actually move you along nicely once you get used to it.

Someone on this forum did a review of those Chinese outboards maybe 3 years ago? I have no clue how it held up, but besides the user manual and some of the instructions being a little mixed in translation, he was happy. Personally, if its safe for your vessel, I'd stay away from the off brands and get a known brand. I hear Tohatsu is a good alternative for small outboards.

I'm from florida, we don't have any cold weather but from common sense, I'd make sure there's no water inside both the boat and trolling motor. They boats have 2 piece hulls and sometimes water can get stuck in between the two layers. The trolling motor could have water in the prop area, or possibly the head, depending on how it's been stored. As far as a trailer goes, I've seen people use Jet ski trailers and even 4x8 utility trailers.

I agree with the OP. As far as them striking above the "sight line" yes, it happens but most of these cases I would say they came from below, and were already locked in on the bait. In other words, the fish below the "sight line" came to the bait in the "sight line" with tunnel vision basically. I don't think I get many bites from fish that have already seen me. I've also heard fish see more of the outside world from deeper water than shallow water. At a further distance from the surface, they get more of an angle to have a wider view. So I guess the two theories conflict in this case.

Not a mechanic or an expert by any means, but from my knowledge, all the 20 HP motors from the factory arr propped the same. The factory didn't know if it's going on a jon boat or a bigger heavier boat like yours. So in that case I would say you need a different prop, but since it's new go with having someone certified with Mercury to check everything else first, and make a judgement for your prop while it's on for your routine service anyway. Being a certified Mercury tech is crucial in case you ever need warranty repairs done later.