Quarry Man

I have a boat just like that and face similar problems. Here is what I have found: Use a drift sock properly to control your drift when the wind is faster than the current Avoid the main lake by fishing shallow cuts and coves Rotate the trolling motor handle 180* and fish backwards, transom forward Buy a motor like the Minn Kota Endura Maxx, which allows you to make finer adjustments to your speed Extend the wiring of your motor so that the battery os up front Extend the handle of your trolling motor and stand in the middle of the boat Buy a bow mount motor Get and anchor or push pole

Sam, You make several very good points! I will do my best to answer them in the following. Buying a Boat As previously stated, buying a boat is a very complicated process. I consider myself a smart consumer. I will only be buying a boat in full and if it is exactly what i want. I do not want to regret this purchase. If I do not have sufficient funds for the boat I want, I will not be getting one. Thanks to everyone here and their generosity, this process is much easier. Location I am very fortunate to have several homes. My primary residence is in Chester County, PA. I also have a lake house in the Pocono Mountains of PA. Lastly, my family sort of has a cabin in Eastern Massachusetts that we spend a lot of time in during the summer. I also have many family friends with access to different bodies of water, but Ill go in more depth later. At home, I have a few electric only lakes nearby. I also have the Delaware River nearby. I mostly just pond fish, so I am not really in my boat at home much, though I have fished the Delaware and it is a lot of fun. At my lake house, I am on a 75 acre electric only lake. My boat might be overkill on that, as half the lake is under 6' deep. There are however many smaller and a few larger lakes that would allow for a bigger boat. There are also HP restricted lakes too. I spend most of my time on a boat here. The abundance of decent lakes makes for a lot of fun. In MA, many of the lakes are deep open and very clear. I fish for bass, trout and walleye there. The lakes range from 100 acre "ponds" to 25,000 acre reservoirs. These lakes get rough when it is windy, but I am not there much and won't go out, because my current boat is too small for that. Several of the other lakes I plan to fish are: Lake Hortonia Lake Bomoseen Lake George Lake Champlain Table Rock Lake? Smith Mountain Susquhenna River Newfound Lake Lake Erie Lake Ontario Onondaga Lake Finger Lakes Oneida Lake As you can see, I want to fish a lot of bigger water, and will need a b9gger boat, but most of my time will be small trips to local lakes. Safety Safety is my utmost concern Thanks Again!

Ok, If you were closer, or East of it, I was going to ask if you wanted to fish sometime, because I am planning a visit next spring...

Do you live near Miami University of Ohio?

Thanks as always for the help. I would love you take you up on your offer. That would be an amazing learning experience for me! i was thinking of Just getting the basic needs to get me on the water "now" and maybe upgrading "later". Here is what I mean: Boat, best motor, trailer brakes, manual backplate, cover and retractable tie downs. I Want to add a better trolling motor, electronics, and a second console when I have the money. i am constantly scanning craigslist for great deals, so you are right on. What do you think about a manual jack plate? Is it necessary, not really sure what it does, but heard it helps. As far as graphs, I want to have a better one for vertical fishing for trout and walleye, which i do a lot up north. I have no clue if side imaging is worth it. Looking at the hds 7 by lowrance in the bow https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-ACCLOWRANCE.html?from=basres looking at the Garmin echo map for gps mainly at the console. I am not sure if you can do this, but adding a second console later? I think it is worth the money because my co angler will be more comfortable and it also looks very nice. thanks again!

I am pretty sure that I want to get a Ranger RT188. My friend and his dad have the 2015 model and they love it. They use it on the Delaware River with a 115 HP Mercury. I really like the design, the storage looks great, and it appears to be the perfect size, not too small for bigger water, and maybe a tiny bit big for my local lakes, but I can still get away with to just fine, or use my other boat. I only have a limited amount of tackle and rods, so It will hold everything just fine. The boat will also open up more opportunities to fish bigger water, and fish with others, like my grandfather more comfortably. Now, I have a few questions: 1 - What features/upgrades do I need/want? I am looking at trailer brakes, boat cover from ranger, trolling motor, graphs, tie downs, on board chargers, and all that stuff. I have no clue what to get. 2 - What motor? Although I would love the fastest and biggest motor, is it worth the money to get a 115? I could get a 90 0r 75 and save some money. Also do I need those extra MPH, I don't fish big tournaments yet, but will likely do so in college. 3 - How do I make $15k? in less than a year? Right now, I am focusing on school and wrestling. Come spring time, I am going to get a part-time job and save up. As of right now, I shovel snow, babysit, when possible. I also make apps for small companies, which pays well, but we are dealing with issues right now. I hope to have the boat by the summer, but I am prepared to work very hard and save all my income if I need to. I am fortunate enough that my grandfather also loves to fish. With our last boat, he was willing to pay for half of the boat. 4 - Are there similar boats that I should consider? Although I really like the Ranger, I would also like to see my other options 5 - How do I drive a bass boat? Is there any advice you have for me? 6 - When is the best time to buy? I am planning on buying from a local marine store, and getting it customized to my liking. I will have the money by late summer hopefully.

https://allentown.craigslist.org/boa/d/gbass-fishing-boat/6407776115.html what do you think? Not get ng this one, haven't even looked at it in person, but is this kind of what i want?

Here is another question for all of you: Popular belief is that the "ideal" rod for a spinnerbait, or any other random lure is a 7'0" MH Mod Fast. While both rods are the same length overall, one has a handle that is 6" Longer than the other. Should we really be describing rods as ideal when they have "X" feet of tip and "Y" feet of backbone? I feel like a 7' rod with a 24" handle would be used for different techniques than a 7' rod with a 6" handle. In a way, that is like using a 5' and a 6'6" rod. even if they were both considered 25/75 rods (25% tip, 75% backbone, those are two totally different rods. I hope that makes sense...

anyone want to fish one of the next couple of days?

Where is the best place to buy an aluminum boat? Also do I get a boat like the rt188 or a semi v?

I have family in lancaster, Hudson, and Marlbororough,likely more too.

Anyone want to fish the 28th - 30th in east ma near leominster, but willing to drive a little bit. Hopefully there will be open water...

Same, If idont have a boat ill be flying in. It's 1100 miles and 17 hours away...

Can i go if i don't have a boat?

well I'm back in business, so i now have a high paying job for a 16 year old, maybe this dream will be closer to coming true after all...

Where did you get the envy for 125$?

what if i use a gift card to buy a gift card?

makes sense, i need new snow gear, so ill probably ask for bibs and say i can use them for skiing. that will be better than freezing

what shoes do you wear with rain gear?

As some may know, I started fishing 2 years ago at the age of 14. i am now nearing 17 and have my license. I have learned so much over the years. My family has helped me to purchase a 14' Semi V with a bow mount and no graph or outboard. We also have a 10' Jon that I want to fix up this spring. I love to fish with my grandfather. We recently had an accident and realized that the 14' is too small for both of us. I am 5'10" 150 and he is 6'3" 200. In the coming year, I want to start fishing bigger water. I plan on getting a bigger boat sometime between next spring or fall. I am going to save up as much money as I can to afford it. What the of boat should I look at? Obviously a big glass boat would be awesome, but I likely can't afford one new. I was thinking of at least a 17 or 18' aluminum or glass boat. Max budget maybe 5k, but that number is subject to change. I have no idea if i will have more or less than that. I want something that is clean, reliable and can get me on bigger water safely.

I would love to fish with you. I am from PA, but have family near and in Hudson. Haven't been up in a while, but will be there after xmas.

what site other than tackle warehouse has a 25 days of savings?

My friend has an Ego Slider, and I have an Ego Kryptek. Mine is a medium clear and so is his I believe. We both prefer the slider, it is easier to store and has more leverage/reach when netting fish. I like the mesh because it gets tangled less often. I recently had a pike bite through my net though. luckily it fell onto my deck. The fish came of the lure when I boat flipped it into the net and landed head first with its mouth open and shredded the net. it was only 18". That is what I think happened. I always carry zip ties to fix the holes if it happens again. I also reccomend clear mesh, because if you use the proper technique, the fish will be more likely to swim right into the net, as compared to if it were black. Mesh extra zipties clear http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ego_S2_Slider_Net_With_Compact_18_Handle/descpage-ESNC.html

How do you like to fish Keitechs, looking to get a rod for them only

probably wood that is sealed not pressure treated, i want to keep this fairly inexpensive and simple. if i can find an old street sign, i will consider using that.