Further North

I was gonna say that...but it seems to make some people crabby when I do that. I buy my boats with OPM, to fish out of. I don't worry about resale value...

Rick, you'll be fine as is. Don't sweat the folks who worry too much, and just remember to get the TM out of the water before you try to get up on plane. If you keep your head in the game you'll be fine. I've run hours like this....never had a problem.

It's not about being lazy...not even a little bit. ...but you can't go 6 - 7 MPH...if you're lucky, you can go maybe a little over half that. My 36 volt TM pulls my boat about 3.5 MPH maxed out...and who wants to run at max output for an extended period? Leave the motor up, run about 6 - 7 MPH and get 2X the scanning done... ...or like I do, get 18 ft. warning when a rock the size of small building comes up out of 30 ft. of water on a a Canadian lake...

Even though I think the Impacts I have been in with the 150s were "better" than the one with the 115...and that's what I'd get were money not a factor...I tend to agree with WRB on his last point. But money is a factor...it's not infinite...and I, personally, am loathe to give any to the bank that I don't have a good reason for...and NHBull's original point about using the four grand for electronics sounds like a decent choice. If the 115 will push the boat around at 30+ and that's OK with NHBull...that'll work just fine. Lots of us who fish smaller lakes don't need to 60 MPH to go from spot to spot 1/4 mile down the lake. For the folks who argue about resale value*...take the four grand you don't have to borrow and give it to someone who is good with money. Let's say you keep the boat five years. Your $4K will be worth somewhere in the $6K - $7K range unless your guy is really bad...or really good. There is no way the difference in resale value 5 years down the road is $6K - $7K more with the 150...not a chance. My CMV with the 140 works just fine not maxed out. I have a friend with a G3 V-Hull with a 115...his works just fine too, as does Impact I've fished from with the 115. Not gonna set any speed records, and it takes a little while longer to get on plane...but I buy boats to fish out of and there's a lot more to fishing than going fast. ...and yes, were I going to buy an new Impact, I'd get the 150...but my electronics are already paid for, so they are not a factor...I still fish with the guy running a 115 on his...we still catch a lot of fish... Hope that helps a little... *Yeah, I know it hasn't come up yet...but I can see it just over the horizon...

I do it frequently, when: I want to move a little further and a little faster than trolling motor will move me. I am less likely to do this since I installed an Ulterra. If I want to be extra cautious moving (slowly, at idle or just above) into water that has the potential to quickly come up from safe depth to lower unit damaging depths. Think Canadian Shield lakes and upstream in rivers. 18 ft. is plenty to knock the big motor out of gear to avoid prop damage.

Not legally....

Boat & wading. My boat has been called a floating tackle shop and I'm a multi-species fisherman...so the answer to what tackle I bring is, "All of it." When I wade I'm usually chucking flies, I bring what's appropriate to what I'm chasing: I have a trout slingpack, a bass slingpack and a pike/musky slingpack.

...I keep seeing that, never experienced it...my boat costs way less than my cars do to maintain.

I figured it was something like that. I have fat fingers too, and the 3 is right below the 6...

Mick...we had some tail nippers up on Lake of the Woods back in July, and adding a trailer hook worked...but one of my goals for these flies was to be able to drag them through weeds...as soon as you add the trailer you turn a fly that you could drag though spinning barbed wire without getting caught into one that could be used to clear weeds around a dock... What I do is keep some pre-tied trailers on hand and if I need 'em I'll use 'em...but I try like heck to avoid them.

I use 30 lb. lime green Suffix 832 to a 6 ft. piece of hybrid line that's tied to a 1/0 or 2/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, that's rigged on a finesse baitcaster...and like the others, I watch the line, keep one finger under the line as it comes out of the reel and keep the slack to a minimum.

I forgot to add something: My '05 CMV has a Johnzuki 140 4S...the boat is rated for a 150...but that's how mine was set up by the guy who bought it new...and virtually never used it. If I'd had a choice between identical boats like mine and one had a 150 and the other my 140 and the price was the same...I'd take the 150...but that's not gonna happen...and it works just fine with the 140. I can't quite go 50...I'll get over it, and giggle all the way to the bank...

We might have a decimal in the wrong place, I get >$100,000 ...but it's sound advice none the less. ...particularly when you begin to add in about 10% of your wages about the time you turn 23...

Of the three Impacts I have been in, two had 150s, one had the 115. I'd get the 150. The 115 worked...but the 150 worked better. Up on plane better, ran at reasonable speeds (call it round 30 MPH) at a noticeably lower RPM...seemed less..."stressed" for lack of a better word.

I've been de-barbing my hooks for years. I can live with the couple of fish a year I might* lose because of it. Better for me if I get stuck, better for the fish. *I doubt I'm losing any, but allow room for error. I'd have to have it proven to me and I don't see a way to do that...

I tied all of those to be able to throw them on an 8 wt. They are very light (hollow ties) and because of the synthetic materials, shed water well. You can bump up to a 9 wt. or a 10 wt. but with the exception of blue/purple/pink one (I got a little heavy handed with material on that one) there isn't any real benefit other than possibly more distance...not something I feel like you need with fish big enough to eat 14" flies. I have a Scott that I use a lot to throw the smaller ones, works fine. I use a TFO Axiom for the bigger flies, but that has more to do with the line I have on each rod.

Been there, done that...have a 4 stroke now...but learned to have a gallon of 2 stroke oil on hand at all times back when I had them...

Think of idle as slow speed trolling, or no-wake zones.

For new motors, there's little difference, IMO. ...in fact a good case could be made that a motor like a 2-stroke E-Tec that "self fogs" would be an advantage. All of the new motors are great, don't get wrapped up in the hair-splitting details.

Unused outboards still need to be maintained... ...stuff that sits unused can go to crap much faster than you'd expect.

Depends on the motor and how comfortable you are with doing it yourself. I live in NW Wisconsin, but fish until there's ice on the lake and get back on the water as soon as it's gone...so most years, less than 4 months...so I don't bother with winterizing... But I'm a nut about maintenance, kinda counterbalances....

Interesting topic...I sidetracked myself, as I began thinking: There's nothing in the gear world that compares to stripping in a fly...the line is in your hand...you can feel everything...

I'd go with SI, DI and regular imaging...but I'm 55 and have a relatively unlimited budget...at your age I'd focus on the basics and learning techniques so that you could be 10x where I am in 35 years... Good plan. Your money and time is best spent in other areas right now, IMO.

Some variations on a theme...some of these, obviously, are not meant for smallies... This is the one that had the musky tickling it's nose with the tail fibers a week ago... ...the top three, and the 2nd up from the bottom, have already caught fish...thought you'se guys might like to see them.

Good...the insane rush (IMO) to go fast and get to the next spot .03976 seconds before the other guy is over-rated...but I'm not a tournament fisherman, never will be...and no, I don't have a problem with tournament fishermen, they have contributed more knowledge to our sport than just about everyone else since about 1980. Speed, for me, is mostly a way to spend money on gas that'd be better applied to baits and gear...