Wormy

I have a 14ft Ouachita aluminum boat that has been in the family for years and it is time to go over some things as well. My brother works for the local Highway and Trans Dept and as we talked about refurbishing the old boat he mentioned using old Highway sign which if they aren't reused by the state are chunked in a pile and sold as scrap. Just so happens we are going to try and get our hands on some. Be a lot cheaper than buying aluminum sheets from a metal company and a lot thicker too. Big brother came up with that one so I can't take credit for it. Excellent idea though.

He is probably picking up interference from something else electrical within the boat. Or his transducer might be out of whack. Unless he has the money to buy a new one, it may be worth sending back to the factory to be tested. I have two Garmin 250's on my boat and the one at the console took a little tweaking at the transducer from the factory to get it to work at speed. Something to consider...

I guess I am confused. Why would you want to know the difference if you are applying this to bass fishing? I would think the quiter the better. Unless you are fishing a river or something that has a lot of current in it.

Good article... It's a shame that some do look at non-boat owners this way. We have quite a few like what was mentioned in my area and they always bring the same old arrogance with them wherever they are, even in the tackle stores.

Fishingtvn, I just went through the same thing you are going through and trust me I feel your pain. I recently bought a new boat and it has taken me 3 years to decide on what I wanted so hopefully that will give you an idea of how meticulous I am with making a purchase of this nature and how I have based my opinion. To begin, I was looking at a performance style aluminum bass rig like yourself and whittled my selection down to two different boats. The Xpress line and the G3's. I live in Arkansas so the Xpress factory is basically right around the corner for me and truth be told, they make a hell of a boat. I personally went to the factory and got the five star walk through. They have five knee braces supporting their transoms, all aluminum, all welded, etc... And after many conversations and talking to mostly dealers outside of my state I decided to go with the G3. Not merely based on the fact that it was better built or it came with a larger outbaord but because they are backed by Yamaha and the company is well funded. Almost every dealer that I talked too told me that they have warranted items they thought they would have never seen by other boat companies. Personally this tells me a lot. One dealer told me that he had a customers Xpress in for warranty work for over a month and hadn't even heard from them. This tells me even more. I came down to the final two based on similar issues that you have as well, price and functionality. Fisher has a nice boat, nice build but wooden casting decks for the one I was looking at. Triton, BREAK OUT YOUR CHECKBOOK!!! Wow what a price and not all that appealing to my eye. I didn't even look at BassTracker although their avalanche looks really good. Alumacraft and Lowe just didn't have what I wanted so that left me with Xpress and G3. I had an opportunity this year to do an actual side by side comparison and the G3 won hands down as far as finish, welds being very detailed and it all around looks, in my opinion. I upgraded my trolling motor to a MK Maxxum 80, added a bow mount garmin 250 and have one at the console and opted for the Yamaha F115 4-stroke, alumnium wheel and goodyear spare, Promariner Tournament 100 onboard charger and a couple of complimentary hats from the dealer for 19500. And the extra money it cost me for the 4 stroke motor was well worth it. Not only does it hall hiney but it is extremely quite and after putting over 3 hours of solid driving to break it in, still have 3/4 of a tank of fuel. Not sure if this helps you any but it takes chop pretty well too. One of the things I really had to consider was the type lakes I would be fishing. And for me most of them are fairly small and that is why I opted for the 17 footer which is actually 17'4" for the G3. There is no doubt that glass takes rough water better but for what I do, my choice seems perfect and I could have probably made it with a little less motor. I wish you luck on your decision because it was a big one for me and my family.

Too cool... Those are some nice catches.

You bet!!! I do this for my daughter quite a bit. Except I use a hotspot or rattletrap and vary my speed as to how deep the fish are hanging in the channels.Very productive way of catching white bass in the spring before there spawning run on big lakes.

Probably 75 to 100 times a year. Weather being the most important factor. New boat for me this year so it may go up!!!

I would ask your bud to let you come up front with him. Most boats even the 17' ers have enough room for two up front to pitch and flip or cast. I agree, it isn't much fun to have the guy in the front beat you up in the back of the boat. A buddy of mine did that to me one day crappie fishing. We were tied up to the only limb in the lake and the wind had me pushed away from the hole. Honestly, I nearly broke the tip of my spinning rod when I hit him in the top of the head trying to cast over him. Bet he won't do that again even though we both laughed about it afterwards...

I don't know of anyone that doesn't like some type of music but I think it has it's place in life. For me, fishing isn't one of those times. I think you would miss out on the overall experience.

I would have to agree with most everyone here. A 10lb fish is like harvesting a monster buck and they are kinda rare in most places. I would assume that we all have places we can go and simply catch a lot of dinks, but those big ones don't get big by being stupid. I would say that a replica of a 10lber would look nice to my others on the wall.

I was wondering how many of you really watch the weather and even go as far as buying a GPS that gives accurate weather data? If I remember correctly, high pressure makes fish sluggish and inactive where as low pressure makes them more active. Someone please correct me if I am wrong with that statement. I know a lot of times here in the South we have the ability to see weather patterns build which has personally helped my fishing efforts but I don't have the experience it takes to catch fish on a consistent basis when the weather isn't cooperating. Don't get me wrong, I am successful most outings but on a clear bluebird sky day, bites are few and far between. Any thoughts????

Wow, Funny you all are talking about this. I just finished reading the article in the February Bassmasters magazine about "The Quest for the World Record" and don't really know what to think. I guess first off, More power to the guy or gal who catches a largemouth this big in a lake whether it is natural or not. So, I guess I am leaning more towards the side to where it should count in the record books. I see the point though and it is valid but what a can of worms it opens up. Secondly, if you managed to read a little further you would have seen the article about creating the Superbass. What are your thoughts on that subject? The biologists intent is making the fastest growing, like Florida strain, mixed with a very aggressive northern bass in hopes of making a large fish that is easy to catch. Personally, I like it!!!! Guess what, so would tournament fisherman. Yeah, in all, I think California has got the rest of us beat, but you know what, from what I have read about this in other books. THose guys go for days without even getting a bite sometimes. I like catching all fish, big and small, and that is why it means so much to me when I catch one over 5 or 6 pounds. Its merely a bonus.