Ohio Archer

I used Nikon Fog Eliminator but it appears it is no longer available. I shoot a lot of archery and these wipes help a lot especially when walking thru the woods on hot, humid, no wind days. They last a while if you put them back into the protective wrapper.

Don't run thru a flock of Coots trying to take off from the water at 55 mph...don't ask me how i know that.

I caught about 10 of them one day while fishing off the jetties in Destin, FL (early '80s before all the damned condos went up and you could walk out to the jetties). I was using frozen cigar minnows for Redfish...cast them out, let them be pulled by the outgoing tide toward the sandbar outside the cut. That was the plan anyway. d**n birds would hit the minnow before it had a chance to sink, no matter how much weight I put on the line. One got a wing wrapped in the line, another got pulled in by its tongue. Most weren't hooked but wouldn't let go of the bait until I had reeled them all the way in. Some would catch the minnow in mid-air. On the last one (hadn't had one for about an hour or so) a mom was telling her kids and husband that some bad guy had been catching seagulls all morning. That is when I "caught" the last one by its tongue. Said something about it being 10 or 11 and "mom" got beat red, grabbed the kids and hightailed it off the rocks. Biggest Redfish I caught off the jetties was about 30 lbs and took about 45 minutes to drag it in from the sandbar (about 100 yds away) one very cold night. Big ol' fillets came off that one.

Nice looking boat. Have fun with it.

I just picked up an Ambassaduer C3 and C4 (both left hand) for throwing big baits with my Muskie rods. Been using my old Shimano bass reels but didn't think they would hold up to a larger fish. I liked the feel of the Ambassaduers as well as the price. Hopefully, I'll get to test them out this weekend.

I had a jon boat a few years ago that I had similar problems with spinning in the wind. I liked sitting up front vs in the back which raised the stern up a lot. I made a plywood rudder that I clamped unto the transom. Helped keep me from spinning around all the time and also helped the boat track straight. I lengthened the TM wiring so I could keep the battery in the back. Helped balance the boat somewhat.

Just about every time I run the outboard. It's connected to my life jacket. On my bass boat I may not have my jacket on when starting it the first time while it is still on the trailer. Been acting cold natured and have had to get up to pump the fuel ball a couple times. Once it fires the jacket with lanyard goes on.

We went down there from SW OH this past weekend but were musky fishing. Looks to be a great lake with a lot of different structure. I'd like to bass fish it one day. Long drive pulling a boat for 8 hours of fishing (left Sat afternoon, came back Sunday evening).

Only experience in YOUR boat will tell you how it will handle. A others have said, there is no way to tell how your passenger(s) will behave if you do a full throttle turn. I know my flat bottom bass boat will slide hard in the opposite direction of the turn. So if I were to turn hard to the right to avoid something I will slide to the left, probably right into what I was trying to avoid in the first place. How do I know this? By watching how it turns under similar but non-emergency circumstances. I do not yet know how my new boat will handle under a hard throttle turn but I do know that under moderate throttle it will stay level and try to push everyone, including the driver, to the outside of the turn. If it is to the left, the driver (me) is pushed into the right gunnel. But to the right it will try to push me toward the passenger seat and away from the throttle and wheel. That is in calm water. I do not yet know what it will do in rough water (chop, waves, etc.). That is something I need to find out in the near future. The last thing you want to do is find out how your boat handles in an emergency situation. It may not do what you expect it to do. My point is this...you need to figure out how your boat and you will react to a hard corner in all types of water conditions.

Make sure you know what is on the other side of the fiberglass, i.e. wiring, hull, etc.

My 17' bass boat is very shallow draft and almost no "v" but is very stable with people moving around the boat (88" beam). One of us can stand on the gunnel without worrying about tipping it. It bob's up and down more than roll when in the waves. My new v-hull (95" beam) has a bit more "roll" to it when someone is standing at the very edge. It also has a more pronounced roll in the waves but not to the extreme. My legs have had to adjust to different "feel" of the boat. IMO both boats are stable without worry of tipping or tossing you out.

The grease tube has two caps. One plastic on the end you slide into the grease gun. Take that cap off. The other is usually a pull tab. Take it off after you get the tube into the grease gun. Then screw the lever half on. I know this sounds very elementary but I've worked with techs in shops that didn't take the pull tab off then say they can't get any grease out. Usually takes about 5-10 pumps on my grease gun after changing cartridges to get the grease to flow.

I have Boat US on both my boats. With my new one I got a rider added for accidental damage to the lower unit. Added a few dollars (don't remember the amount) to the yearly premium. With the cost of lower units it was an easy decision. BTW, Boat US in underwritten by GEICO Marine.

Thanks. Spent some of Saturday and most of yesterday out on the water. Rides so much better, smother, dryer, than my other boat. Edit: Also, it fishes very well. I was a bit worried that I might not like how it "fished" compared to my low bass boat. Higher gunnel, windshield (only hit it once), sitting higher off the water. But I'm extremely pleased with it. The front deck has about the same area as my other boat. Same with the back deck with the addition of the fold down conversion deck. Wife likes the swim platform and the deck. A BIG plus! The windshield protects us well, almost too well on hot days. But I can keep it open for additional cross flow. The front livewell doubles as a large cooler (one less thing underfoot). My friend who has a 19' Targa was very impressed with the space and handling in the rougher water (ski boats, cabin cruisers, jet skis, speed boats and, oh yeah, the park rangers). I believe I made a great choice.

Bought the boat. Rides really nice, especially compared to my flat bottom bass boat. Hopefully, I can get the rest of my electronics installed today (Mother Nature interrupted and soaked me yesterday) and I can get it out on the water.

Spray your bunks with silicone after the boat is off the trailer. Makes them slick. Just don't unhook the strap until you've backed into the water or the boat may slide right off. Also, if the boat is sitting fully on the bunks and you're still short of the roller the roller may be set too high. I have the same problem with mine. If I winch it all the way up the front of the hull lifts off the bunks slightly. My roller is not adjustable so I leave it a bit short.

I hated catching them d**n things in south FL. The canals were full of them. They could tear up a lure in no time. Very slimy, too.

Is the lake water so stained or dirty that you can't see the stumps or are you so focused on fishing that you don't see them? I run up on them once in a while but have never been stuck to the point I had to use the outboard. Put the TM on high and go the opposite direction. I did get stuck between 4 or 5 rocks on Okeechobee one time. Took me about 30 minutes to figure a way out. The water was about 5-7' deep and I could not see more than 6" below the surface. And that was with a 17' Champion.

That really depends upon what type of water you fish, how heavy your loaded boat is, the type of TM you want (electric or cable steer) and how much money you're willing to spend. I upgraded from a cable steer 12v 54# MG to a electric steer 24v 80# MK. Don't regret that decision at all. The newer models are more efficient but also more expensive. My older TM is also a 2002 and it has many hours on it (as I'm sure yours does, too). It's on a 17'5" aluminum bassboat with a 75hp Merc, two batteries and all my gear (plus a partner from time to time). On a windy day I'd be on 5/high all day just to barely move forward. Now with the new TM (and three batteries) I'm generally below 5 (out of 10) unless I want to move to a different spot quickly. If you have the room then upgrade to a 24v system. If not, you don't have much choice than to go with a 55# 12v. Unlike outboards, I do not believe you can be overpowered with a TM, especially with the digital/variable speed systems. So go as big as you can afford. Even if you don't run at the higher speeds all the time it is nice to have all that extra power in reserve. Either way you go, budget enough $$ to upgrade your wiring to 6 ga. I'm sure your boat only came with 8 or 10 ga wiring. Why starve a new motor by using smaller diameter wiring?

UPDATE: Well, seems we will have a new addition to the family. Boat was very nice although very dirty. Looks to have been there a while. Lotsa room and storage. Much bigger. surprisingly so, than the 165 sitting right next to it. First time I've been able to see both side by side. Price was excellent and then added a military discount (thank you Lowe). Only thing it doesn't have is brakes (none of their smaller trailers had them, only the large pontoons and heavyglass boats) but I can install a kit later. Won't be ready until the 28th. Needs to be cleaned and rigging finished (batteries, clean out the livewells and carpet, prop the motor, etc). Then I go back to do a on the water test and acceptance inspection. Gonna be a long 2 weeks.

Things may have gotten accelerated a bit with deals popping up due to the '17s coming out. Taking a trip tomorrow to go look at a Lowe FM 1710. The price is good for all that has on it but the color (red) is not what I wanted. But my wife likes the color in the pictures so...off on a bike trip we go. Leaving the truck home to resist the temptation to hook it up and bring it home immediately. If we buy it I'll go back next week and pick it up. Has a couple things I don't want (TM and Lowrance depthfinder) but I can swap them out. Has everything I did want plus a couple of extra things I thought about but didn't include to keep the cost down. I know as soon as my wife sees the boat and gets to sit in it she will want to hook it to the bike (yes, the bike has a trailer hitch) and let it push us home. But this way it gives me some time (a day or two, maybe) to think about it. Already preapproved on a loan and have a nice down payment even without selling my current boat (which will be up for sale after I reinstall the older foot controlled TM and remove my HB wiring and transducer). Come on, Saturday...

We have a Ranger dealer not far from the house but the last time i was in there they didn't have a deep V model on the floor (just the $100K models). Ive got a Crestliner catalog on the way. I've been looking at the Fishhawk as well as the Lund and Lowe. Stopped by the local BPS just to take a look at the V-175 but they only had a Combo (fish and ski model). Not too bad with a lot of extras (couple of which I don't need). I did find out that the Lowe FM 1710 has enough space under the center deck for two 31-series batteries and a 3 bank charger (dealer has been really good at returning my emails), and I can get only the extras I want. That is a plus. Slightly more than the Tracker but less than the Lund. I'm planning on running a Merc 115 but the Lowe is rated at 150 (the others are 125 or 135 in the 17' versions). The Command Thrust lower unit may make the 115 a more fitting motor but I'll need to talk to someone about that. I'm finding that looking at boats right now is kinda difficult as many places don't have any in the showroom (deep V models...but tons of bass boats). Everyone is gearing up for the '17 lineup. But this is a long range (Dec-Jan) plan. Not something I'm going to just jump into without some research (did the same thing before I bought my Champion in '87). I plan on not buying another boat after this one, and it needs to suit both my fishing addiction (bass and now musky) and my wife's desire to cruise around without getting beat to death, drowned or both.

No, but looked at it this morning. Will look to see if Cabelas has one on the lot or a brochure to add to my collection. Internet comments say they are built by Tracker but who's to know for sure with all the JM buying going on across the industry. Have been some major complaints about quality but then again more people complain online than say good things. I like the big front deck but the front livewell is small and apparently doesn't connect to the deck...leaves a gap that water comes out of on to the floor. I'd probably only use the front livewell for a cooler anyway. Price point isn't too bad for this boat but I can't get an estimate online. Need to send a summary of my build and be contacted. I'd appreciate a ballpark answer before contacting anyone, though.

Unless the Lowe changes their battery storage for 2017 (fuel filter where the second TM battery would go) I'll be scratching them from the list. The 165 is too small anyway. Saw one on the lake yesterday, rode passed me. Smaller than what I have now. The Lunds are very nice but pricey. May give the Tracker a second look as they have changed things in the last couple years. A friend has a Targa that rides very nicely. Hull weight is higher with Tracker than the others (by a couple hundred pounds). Fuel capacity will also be a consideration. I don't need a tanker to fish out of but I also don't want to buy fuel from marinas if out on the river. I remember having to do that running a coupe times around Okeechobee in my Champion. Appreciate all the input. This is a long term plan...purchase Dec-Jan timeframe.

That is the main reason I'm looking at the V hulls...the ride and being drier than in a flat bass boat. My wife has started going with me an she is uncomfortable moving around on the back deck. There is maybe 1 1/2 -2" of gunnel and pretty flat bottom and we take a bath when there are a lot of other boats on the lakes around here. I've pretty much scratched the Lowes off the list as there is no room for a third battery in the boat size I want (much narrower as well). The Lund will carry 3. The closest dealer had a 1675 SS but not a Sport. Looks to be a very nice boat. Kinda looked at the Tracker V175 but there are too many horror stories about customer service from them. And I don't want to pay for equipment (TM and electronics) that I'm only going to remove the first day I get it home. I've wondered about the front deck space as my current boat is almost all deck. But I would gladly give some up for a better and drier ride. I fished up to Christmas Eve last year and the morning runs had tears freezing on my cheeks (or at least that is what it felt like).