Further North

Jeez...if'n you'se guys go and use all that science an' stuff....you take all the fun outta things. It's about all about how it feelz, not about how it is...

I was just over near Osceola last Monday - not fishing though. Looked good, would love to hear how you do.

Made me think of this:

I'm a simple guy: With a gal that pretty, it's whatever she wants it to be.

I get a lot of questions about my boat - there aren't a lot of them out there - and I'm happy to talk about it, even let folks take a close look...if they ask. Do it without asking, and that's gonna result in a fanny chewing, probably some exploration of ancestry and personal habits, maybe even some suggestions for committing some improbable acts upon themselves...depending on the response to the initial pointed comment. I'll happily share info at the dock, or out on the lake...particularly if it looks like folks are new to fishing or are struggling. It hasn't been too long that I can't recall being there myself...and I enjoy helping people. I've let people look at a rod & reel, shown them a bait and how I rig it...no problem. It's part of the fun for me. Arrogant, pushy people are another story...and they'll either get ignored...or they'll get some info that's close enough to sound like it'll work, but just wrong enough to keep them out of fish...it all depends on how I'm feeling that day. Not long ago, I told one pushy guy in a Ranger that I'd caught all my fish on big streamers with a fly rod (there were two on my boat) when everything I'd caught that day had come on soft plastics fished low and slow...even offered to show him how I worked the purple baitfish fly I had rigged on one rod...

My brother would love to find a smaller (smaller than 20') deck boat. He fishes maybe twice a year but loves dawdling around the lake. Anyone know of any makers?

Watch your water temps...slow down your presentations as it it gets colder.

Trackers are good boats to start off with - relatively cheap to get into so you can begin the process of figuring out what you like and what you don't like. Nailed it, IMO. I had no idea what I wanted when I started buying boats. shallow-V vs. deep-V; multipecies vs. bass; single console vs. dual console vs. full windshield; raised rear deck vs. bigger passenger area; tackle boxes on deck vs. storage space for gear; side rod storage vs. center rod locker 2-stroke vs. 4-stroke Humminbird vs. Lowrance Minn Kota vs. Motorguide I'm sure others can add a lot. I also must be a rare critter as I've only lost money on one boat so far...

Dogs go with me all the time. Here is one of mine holding down the back of the boat: Seriously: If the primary purpose of the boat is for fishing, get a boat that at least partially dedicated to that task. Fishing from a pontoon will be OK on the best day and a complete PITA a lot of the rest of the time. I can see that as being tough...easy to lose track of the little buggers.

If you're fishing many times more than you'll be dragging the family out...why is this even a question? I have no problem pulling skiers behind my Crestliner...

4 bank, Minn Kota or Dual Pro for all the reasons above. I run Minn Kota, couldn't be happier.

I use red hooks a lot on soft plastics...I have no objective data to prove they work better...but since they catch fish...

I do a similar thing all the time fishing rivers. I'll chuck a fly or a lure upstream of overhanging brush or an undercut bank and let it drift through. It works quite often.

I fish until I can't break the ice enough to launch my boat on the lake...and then sometimes I go find a river that's still open. I've fished the Mississippi as late as December 19th, and trout streams as early as January 1st...some of my favorite fishing is the WI early trout season. Sometimes the catching isn't great...but late season and early season are among my favorites...you often have the water to yourself, it's dead quiet...except maybe the wind... Where there's a will, there's a way...

Man...I'd be HUGE...

There's nothing wrong with them...but tapered leaders are really meant for finesse presentations...like softly setting a wispy blue wing olive fly on a trout stream. For bass (and for me, pike and musky) I want that fly to look like it fell off a cliff most of the time. We're not dealing with a trout that's going to run from a poor presented fly, we're dealing with aggressive predators that will most often turn towards something that falls on the water. I fly fish for bass, pike and musky a lot...I usually have at least two fly rods in my boat in case the opportunity arises...or if I think what I can do with a fly might entice a fish to bite...and sometimes it's what they want on a given day. I use 6, 7 and 8 wt. rods for bass, 8, 9 and 10 wt. rods for pike and musky. I'm not creating a handicap at all compared to spinning or casting gear...in fact there's a good chance I've got an advantage as I've got a lot more direct connection to the fish if I'm stripping it in...that line is in my hand...not attached to a reel. Good site - I bookmarked it...

Do you make your own, or buy them? Agree - and I often don't bother with a taper - just straight line.

Thanks - good stuff...nice bass off your right elbow at 4:19...

I have similar experiences with St. Croix and Temple Forks. Both know how to treat a customer.

I don't buy the "notorious" description...but no, that's not it. As I said, I owned this motor for 4 years, it was not making noise at the beginning of the summer. If you watch the video, you can hear the noise happens when the prop shaft is turning.

A friend is having problems with a Terrova 101. It's an older motor, about 5 seasons at this point, one I had for 4 years before selling it to him. His boat sat for a quite a while late summer, and he took it out about a week and a half ago...TM sounded awful, but ran OK. He called me today, trying to diagnose the problem...first thing I told him was to get the prop off, make sure there was nothing he's run through that was wrapped 'round the shaft that was giving him grief...and to make sure he hadn't bent the shaft. Both check out OK. Video linked below, any ideas? http://vid189.photobucket.com/albums/z239/groznak/Misc boat stuff/20161001_180649_zpsvnvzundj.mp4

That's where I've landed. As I noted on another topc, Garmin Panoptix has me looking though. It potentially combines the forward looking ability of Humminird 360° with fish ID out in front of the boat.

IMO, there is no "Best". There are things I like, and things I can afford (or perhaps am willing to pay for.) In every manufacturer's product line are ever increasing levels of features and prices...I have to decide if I like what they offer and want to pay the price for it. In some cases (Humminbird/Minn Kota as an example) there are extra features available when they are integrated...and additional "bonus" if the features are ones you want. The first thing I have to do when I'm looking for electronics is go and see if I like how they work, if their menu structures make sense to me, if they have the features I want...then out comes the calculator and I figure out if I can (or want to) pay the price for those features. So far, that has put me squarely in the Humminbird/Minn Kota basket, but I can see why others prefer other brands. I need to stay abreast of what's going on in the industry, and decide if a move is warranted. Garmin's Panoptix has me looking...

Scott, you must have thinner water than we do... My trolling motor is on pretty much all day, at low speed. The 55 couldn't handle that for all of one day, much less two. I don't drift or anchor, so someone who used those tactics would get longer life from a charge. Were it me, if it were a financial consideration, I'd go 55. If not, no way. Others will make different choices, and that's great...but to for me, most boats are underpowered with the trolling motors they have.

Good description above... ...just curious, what size boat are you thinking about putting a 55 lb. thrust Terrova on? I had one on Bass Tracker V-14...little boat...and I frequently was very low on power after a few hours on the water. Tried it with 2 batteries...helped a little....not enough. A friend ignored advice to go to an 80 on a 16 ft. Alumacraft, hates the 55.