PECo

Get better at tying leaders.

There’s a sizable stretch of shoreline at the Sunnyside Boat Launch Facility in Shelton that’s well used by shore fishermen. A little further downriver, there’s Southbank Park, which is across the river from Wooster Island, and even further downriver, there’s Pine Rock Park, which is next to Sikorsky. Upriver, there’s O’Sullivan’s Island in Derby and, at night, you could fish from the rocks around the Derby Dam.

The manufacturer’s tag on my trailer says that I should inflate the tires to 50 PSI, which is the maximum pressure molded into the sidewalks of the tires. HOWEVER, your towing vehicle’s tires are different. They should never be inflated to the maximum pressure molded into the sidewalks of the tires. In recent model vehicles, the manufacturer’s cold tire pressure recommendations should appear on a sticker in the frame of the driver’s side door.

No, I haven’t had a chance to operate an Axiom, yet.

I have a buddy who has one. They’re pretty amazing. The RealVision™ 3D Sonar, in particular, provides a 3D picture of what’s underneath the boat. When you’re trying to stay on top of a school of stripers in a river, that picture is priceless. I have Humminbird Helix 10 G2 units on my bow and console. They’re much more susceptible to interference than the prior Humminbird units I had. If I were to do it over, I’d give the Axioms a shot.

Take a look at the Raymarine Axiom units, too.

I’d stick with a newer four stroke motor and have it checked out before I buy it. The motor’s computer will tell you how many hours and how hard it has run. I think that 100 hours a year would be a lot, but I’m pulling that number out of my butt.

A modified-vee would be much better for bass fishing than a deep-vee. As I mentioned, my first fishing boat was a 16-1/2 foot aluminum modified-vee. It worked great for bass fishing, but my usual fishing partner weighed north of 350 pounds and had vertigo, so my next boat was an 18-1/2 foot aluminum deep-vee. That worked well enough, but we fished tidal rivers and even Long Island Sound on occasion. After my buddy moved out of state, I finally went with an 18-1/2 foot glass bass boat. It was really nice, almost a relief, really, to go back to a bass fishing boat with less freeboard. I really hated hauling fish the long way up and over the rail in the deep-vee.

That Tracker looks almost too good to be true. Out here in Connecticut, the seller would get multiple offers on it. If I were looking for my first bass fishing boat on a budget, I’d be all over it. Don’t get caught up in the name-brand hype. Every boat maker you recognize makes a bad boat from time to time, but the vast majority are good. Look at each boat on its own merits.

Your batteries and fuel containers are even more likely to slide around when your boat is pitched by waves or wakes than while trailering. I haven’t been able to find any federal regulations regarding batteries and fuel containers on vessels propelled by outboard motors. The most frequently cited regulation is 33 CFR 183.401-460, but it states (in pertinent part)(emphasis added), “This subpart applies to all boats that have gasoline engines, except outboard engines. . . .” The website for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary has guidelines for an Online Virtual Vessel Safety Check: http://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=V-DEPT&category=virtual-safety-check The guidelines state, in pertinent part: The United States Coast Guard thinks that you should properly secure your batteries and fuel containers. And so do you, or you wouldn’t have posted this, right? Battery trays or boxes, battery terminal covers and straps for your fuel containers are easy to obtain and use. Better safe than burned alive.

I love the way Hank plugged the Minn Kota “Ultramax” trolling motor on his new boat.

I know plenty of guys with older Trackers and haven't seen any bad ones, although some of those older two-strokes can be a little bit fussy.

Alumacraft makes nice boats. It looks like the 165 Prowler and MV 1650 don’t have a lockable rod storage compartment. For that reason alone, I’d focus on the 175 Prowler and MV 1756.

My first boat was a 2006 G3 Eagle 165 with a Yamaha 60 four-stroke. It could and did take a licking, and is still on the water, today. If you plan to fish with a full load (i.e., a partner whose name has "Bob" in it and a full livewell), you'll need at least 60 horses, although I'd go with even more.

How far upriver? I've been trying to stay in tidal water, because I didn't want to buy a freshwater fishing license.

I used to take my 18-1/2 foot deep-vee out in six-foot swells. On those kind of days, I wouldn’t even leave the ramp in my 18-1/2 foot fiberglass bass boat. That said, I don’t understand the direction of this discussion. Pi$$ing contests are dumb. My ideal bass boat would have an aluminum hull in the shape of a good fiberglass bass boat hull. I like aluminum, because I think it has better characteristics for the way I use a boat. In other words, I tend to hit stuff. I was hoping Vexus would offer that, but am not sure it does.

I didn’t think a single-axle trailer would be an option for any bass boat much over 18 feet. It IS on the Z18 the OP mentioned, though. You gotta pick your poison.

I HAVE had a blowout on a single-axle boat trailer. Actually, it was worse than a blowout, because my hub failed. A buddy and I had to swap it out on the shoulder of the highway. However, I prefer to make decisions based on the 99.9 percent usage scenario. I’m a grown-up; I can deal with any problems as they occur.

Whatever you use, just make sure it can’t absorb water!

My Hurricane Santee 116 Sport weighs only 36 pounds. That's a tough, if not impossible, act to follow.

I’m not familiar with the Mustang, but my first non-inflatable kayak was a Pelican Pursuit 80 DLX. It wasn’t fancy and the seat was very, VERY uncomfortable, but it was very light and worked fine for me. I’m sure you wouldn’t have any real issues with the Mustang, as long as you could find a comfortable seating position. In kayaks with only molded-in seating, I’ve found that putting extra padding on the seat bottom helps a lot. I’ve used a foam gardener’s kneeling pad and a USCG-approved throwable flotation cushion, but now use a gel seat cushion from Purple:

My previous boat was an Xpress, so, yes, I’m familiar with them. Although the Hyperlift hulls are better than the rest of the modified vees out there, they’re definitely not shaped like a fiberglass bass boat hull. Nitro’s NVT hull is all curves. Xpress’ Hyperlift hull is all flat planes. I’d love to see the shape of the Vexus hull.

Safer? The illusion of it, perhaps. If your goal is to have a stable fishing platform for three, you really can’t beat a fiberglass bass boat. While a high gunnel might make you feel safer, it’s much easier to pull fish over the side of a boat with a lower gunnel. Your kids aren’t THAT clumsy, are they?

Ouch! I hate to read that. I hope that the outboard motor gods are kind to your wallet.

I was out on the Connecticut River in my buddy’s Nitro Z18, yesterday. The air temperature was in the high 30s and there was a steady 15 mile per hour wind raising breakers as it blew straight down the river, but the boat was solid and comfortable as we ran up and down the river. The Mercury 150 four-stroke sounds like a quiet diesel-electric locomotive, unlike my Mercury 115 Pro XS four-stroke, which always sounds like it’s working a lot harder, because, well, it does. The boat needs better rod straps and the trailer fenders are a little flimsy, but you won’t go wrong with the Z18 if you’re looking for an excellent fishing platform. Oh, although the redundancy of two axles might be great if you do a lot of trailering, it sucks every time you’re trying to maneuver the trailer in tight spaces. Plus, those fenders. . . . I’d go with the single-axle trailer. And Nitro offers the best front trailer step option I’ve seen on any boat trailer. Check it out.