TrapperJ

Well my first event on grand was a tough one, had a pretty good boater. He fishes grand lake regularly and he just finished 5th on the Nichols Marine Trail last week. but today was another story he tried to find us some fish it was just one of those days working for tough bites. So for my first outing I did not earn the right to walk across the stage, not yet at least. I'd say I had about 4 bites all day and nothing to show for it. My boater was able to at least land 4 small ones for about 7lbs. Even though it was a tough day it was still pretty dang cool! They run these events and really makes you feel like the big times. As someone who was hesitant about doing the co-angler thing, I'm really glad I did, my boater was friendly he worked to try and find us some fish. And if your on the fence about trying this do it, it's worth the experience. My next event is a little closer to home on Tenkiller with the BWS march 23rd.

Can hardly sleep but know I need to. From the talks today sounds like the bite was tough during pre-fishing and the weather at least later in the afternoon not going to be the best condition. But staying positive just looking forward to having some fun and maybe netting some keepers. Meet my boater to, seems like a nice guy, so far. I'm pretty sure he said Legend Boat. But dang I'm 29 and he looks younger than me! Oh well all I hope for is he can find them! Off to try to attempt to sleep.

My very first boat before my new tracker was a used 20' fiberglass Port Star with a 150 HP, just remember not all boats are as perfect as the seller claims. I had to have some work done on my engine, but not terrible it could have been much worse. Plus when i was your age i had more spare time, so i was able to work and upgrade small things i could do my self. Cleaning it up, added new seats, installed new carpet. I was able to fish out of it like it was but when i wasnt fishing i wanted to improve my new toy best i knew how. I seriously considered buy another used boat before purchasing my new 175 tracker, but remember sometimes buying used means buying someone elses problems, so do your research and investigate on that used boat like you were Sherlock Holmes. This is what pushed me to by new was that with a wife and kid, my free time will be spent fishing, instead of working on a boat. I like the 165 cause at that point you get a lockable rod box, but for $500 more you might as well go up to the 170 and get 6" more boat, and on that note i dont understand why they have the two models 165 and 170 that are really that similar. You get a 40HP engine which runs and estimated 34-36. That size of boat I'm not a Trolling motor expert but I'd bet you would be fine with the 12 volt 45lb thrust. Plus they give a $500 giftcard and you could use that to either upgrade the trolling motor or put a nicer fish finder on the bow. Again though thats a $13,000+ purchase, when i have seen some decent boats out there on the used market for $3000-5000 that would be bigger. Lots of options to weigh for yourself. But going used for your first boat is really a great idea, cause when you ding, scuff or scrap that used boat it wont hurt near as bad. hehe Look at dealers selling used boats too, at least "I think" they are supposed to have mechanics that give them a good once over job to fix and repair what needs to be done. Just remember they got to make money too so they might not be the cheapest price out there on used.

Yeah we found it in the manual during the walkthrough, the optimax just had and 1 hour break in on keeping at 3000-4000 rpm for the first hour, then after then you could run full throttle but only in 10 sec burst or something i'll have to look again about the 2nd part of the break in period.

man i use to only fish 6' rods and had one 6'6" when i got back into fishing and got a hold of my first 7' rod after watching shows and tournaments on TV and seeing this is the new norm, i havn't looked back. I have one old 6' rod left im holding on to as a backup/buddy rod man does it look dinky next to those 7' and 7'6" rods. Nothing under 7' for me anymore.

Exactly what i saw when looking, same boat from another dealer but rated for 90HP, i had heard the Tracker 175 used to be rated for a 90HP, no idea why they changed. But i bet it flys with that 75 on there I should have called in sick today to take it out... kind of hard though when you work for your old man and he knows you just bought a boat! ha

haha first thing the old man said when he saw it was "Dang son did you get a big enough motor?" Heck no! Let me put a 90HP on there!

Im excited to take her out! but i gotta do some manual reading as well, plus the whole running the motor at only like 3000-4000 rpms for the first hour, that break in period. I told my dad to be ready for our first tourney next month April 20th and then we got some pre-fishing to do!

Thanks man, the red looks pretty sweet with the black jeep and being Aluminum pretty easy to tow as well. I probably been reading and lurking in boat forums for a months. About what to upgrade on this boat to make a happy fisherman on the water. One thing i know for sure I wanted out the gate was a fish finder with Side Imaging. Then of course a number of people were saying they quickly upgraded the trolling motor later on to a 24 volt, and most said the 60HP was nice but if you could swing it max it out at the 75HP. I always try to do extensive research before pulling the trigger on something like this, i always want to hear what people wish they would have done different or complaints about this and that, which lead to getting the upgrades. I looked at others like the G3 and Stratos etc especially at the boat show back in late Jan. but the starting price coupled with the perks BPS throws in $500 Giftcard, rewards pts, and the 2 year VIP discount that gets you 10% and 20% off items at BPS its pretty hard to ignore. Research, saving, and making those savings grow with smart investments is where it counts. Invest in what you know.

Thank you! I am excited, when i was little my dad had a boat and we always went fishing to the lakes around here, so I'm looking forward to dragging him around now! Even got good timing with the boat, mercury just added an extra 2 year warranty to their standard 3 years for the month of March.

Well just picked up my new boat last night! Its been a long time since I had one. I used to have an old fiberglass 20' I bought used and currently been fishing out of an old little two man boat for the last few years, But thanks to some good investments over the summer in $TTWO stock, I sold some of the shares to help purchase my new fishin machine, and get back on the water for some serious fishing! I been working on this deal for a while and keeping it on the down low, I wanted to surprise my dad especially so we can start entering some local two man team tourney's around here in OK. His face was priceless last night when i lured him outside to look at a new rod and he sees a boat sitting in the driveway! ha Tracker 175 TXW Maxed out the motor to 75HP Optimax Upgraded the Trolling motor to 24 Volt 70lbs Thrust Maxxum Added a Humminbird 798ci hd si So now all we gotta do is go have some fun! Then someone told my wife about a his/her league and she itching to team up for that, so we should be pretty busy this year on the water.

man i been missing out then i'll set the DVR to add, thanks!

What channel is Timmy Horton and Fishing commandos on? That fishing commandos sounds pretty cool.

nice! heck of a gift good luck out there!

After seeing him on the tv footage in the boat and catching fish, it looks like he actually has a personality, i like him a little more. I was watching it with my wife and she still can't stand him though. ha

those are some great pics!

anyone tried those lithium batteries? They weigh less than 20 pounds, but i hear they are major expensive, but will last longer, and take less time to charge. Just curious

I hate Mono myself, when fishing in trees/brush and it just frays the line so bad. I switched exclusively to Power Pro Braid for everything i like braid (Good Braid) cause it takes a lick'n and keeps on tick'n, fish wraps you up in a tree? no sweat! trees are no longer the razor sharp knifes i remember them to be when i fished mono. I use no leaders. Works great for topwater, it floats! I quickly trained myself to just wait that extra second before setting the hook. I have read read the debate on leader vs no leader, one post and im not sure where it came from but it has stuck with me, if you think the fish can see the line, what makes you think he cant see the hooks? There are no hooks hanging off shads/baitfish or what about all those wires on the A-Rig? Now last year was the first time i really started to use Fluro, cause i liked the action i got better when fishing weightless Caffeine Shads, since the line helps the bait sink a little better and stay down in the water, now this year i find myself putting about half my reels with braid and the other half with Fluro.

Agree on fishing university, but i enjoy it every week. Charlie and Ray always get a laugh or two out of me but in a way i kinda like the one kind of lure only format. Then i feel after the show i gotta have that lure too. I like to see how many times Ray can crack a joke about sabotaging Charlies boat, or doing those "little" things Charlie doesn't know about to get those few extra MPH over him.

All this talk on jigs and the positive feedback from NorthStar got me to try a few, i just ordered New Gill Simply Watermelon Alimony PB&J Can't wait to give them a test run!

Yup that was me Heck yes you know mike had to be about ready to jump out of his boat. It surprises me that spectators on the water are allowed the more i think about, just being a safety issue alone in the sue-happy nature of today's times should be enough to end something like that and some of them seemed like they were right on top of the pros.

Thanks man i credit my dad and my grandfather for my love for fishing, they really got back into it heavy last year after a trip to El Salto in Jan 2012, with my Grandpa and Dad. It was my Grandpa's last big trip before he passed this last October. I have many good memories of my Grandpa taking me fishing, I sure do miss him, and i know he would be excited to hear about me competing, just to be able to listen to the stories.

honestly i think they need to do away with spectators on the water, like Mike Ike was saying sometimes you got 60+ boats and it takes a few extra mins to get everyone out of the way so you can leave. And firing up all those motors at once can't help either. Now i never have experienced the thrill of following your favorite angler on water it has never appealed to me, but im guessing some people live for that and would probably be upset if they banned it. But i get the feeling this is why some years some people win, or it gives them a bit of an edge cause they dont have the following of say KVD. But i still say especially for the classic do away with on the water followers, BUT give us live coverage especially for the classic. Why do we have to wait a week to see who we already know is going to win? heck throw it on ESPN 8: The Ocho if ESPN is so worried about it taking up their precious programming time, i mean its FEB all that is going on really is basketball.

I got my first BFL tourney Saturday on Grand, and i have my "secret weapons" packed megastrike and JJ's maybe they will be the difference maker. Honestly I'm just hoping for my first co-angler appearance I have some fish in my weigh-in bag. 14" Minimum length all species.

i guess this fishing thing is pretty popular