NorthernBasser

For clear water, I'm also a big fan of "ghost" (see thru) cranks/jerkbaits.

That's what I heard from my buddy who lives up north. I'm more southeastern WI. All our lakes have been open for a while now. Like I said, it's gonna be a looooong 2 months.

Also, and I'm sure most know this, a good way to see if you have any nicks in your guides is to take a Q-Tip and circle it around inside the guides. If there's a nick, it will catch the cotton.

Well guys, I put an order in for a 2018 Crestliner VT DX. I'm excited to finally be getting my first "real" boat at 40 yrs old. No more relying on friends and their boats. I'm pumped, but also SUPER bummed because I won't be able to take delivery until the 2nd week of June (hopefully they surprise me and make it a week or two sooner). That's some prime fishing I'll be missing. Guess I'll have to find other ways to get out there. I wanna say a huge 'thank you' to all who have helped me out in not only this thread, but my other thread as well. It's much appreciated. I know I'll have many questions along the way. Here's a look at what the boat looks like.

Funny you say that. The Showerblow (Skeleton Chartreuse) in one of my pics was based off a recommendation. I also had the Bubble Walker in my cart, but had to cull some stuff after seeing the total price during checkout.

Thanks. My wallet says otherwise. I gotta say, I've never used 6th Sense cranks before. But if they perform as good as they look? Man, oh, man.

Always love looking at this thread. Figured I'd contribute. Got my shipment from TW and a few things I got from BPS and Cabela's. BTW, that S-Waver 168 is a beast. Didn't expect it to be so big.

Took the words right out of my mouth. The Cowboy if you want a larger profile (and more crawfish looking). I like the Zako more if I wanna imitate a baitfish. I bought a few packs of these last year but have yet to try them. They look like something out of a sci-fy movie.

Another question for you guys. When buying a boat from a dealer, can you haggle on the price? I'm guessing you can with used, but what about new? What about getting them to throw in little things? Like, let's say, boat buckles for the trailer?

So, I got a storage unit yesterday. 10x30. No bulbs in the unit. There are lights on the outside of the units that come on at night. The owner told be he'd talk to his electrician to see if he can run power into my untit and add an outlet for me. That'd be great! Hopefully he can. Now, to find a boat!

Right now at Dick's online site, you spend $100+, get $20 off. Free shipping.

Yeah, I think the one (or 2) things that I like about the mod V is the more flush casting decks, and the fact that I can get in shallower water with ease. But I'm totally aware of the pro's for the deeper V's as well. My head is spinnnnning.

A usual, great stuff guys. I love this place. Thanks. I think I really need to figure out if I want a deep V or a mod V, and then go from there.

So, regarding that 2004 Tracker I posted in my last post, in this article it mentions that the 75HP outboard is pretty heavy (375lbs). From the article: On the other hand, the OptiMax 75 is a heavy outboard, and when it’s on the transom of a light hull such as the PT175, it tends to make the boat sit a lot more bow-high when the trolling motor is down — and to be quite trim sensitive when the boat is running at speed. One tick too much on the trim switch and the bow begins porpoising. You think this is really a big deal? Looking at the pic in the article, does the bow seem higher than usual with the trolling motor down? Thanks again guys. I know I'm being a headache with all these questions.

Thanks again all! What's your thoughts on this rig? Good deal? Not so much? I like that I wouldn't have to upgrade the trolling motor. https://madison.craigslist.org/boa/d/2004-bass-tracker-pt-175/6550050801.html Now, I have a really dumb question. Does boat color matter to fish? Meaning, in clearer water, are they more likely to be spooked by a brighter colored boat? I've read before that this can be the case, but I just don't know. And if so, is it more the color of the bottom of the boat that's actually in the water. or can the color outside the water affect it too (asking because this particular boat id red, but has silver hull).

Not sure how much stock to put into these charts, etc. According to that chart, black is excellent for dirty water, and so is white (sugar). Those are on the opposite ends of the color spectrum. What gives? Also for dirty water, I've always heard black is the best color. Yet, everyone recommends using fire tiger cranks in dirty water. Hmm.

I have not. I didn't even think it was an option, from what some people have told me.

Never thought of that. But you can still take the pedal out and move it around, right? And I do like the mod-v. But like you said, I am worried about how easily the slightest bit of wind may blow it around. I wish you could test drive new boats like you can cars.

I have more jigs that I can count, but have never tried tungsten jigs, but now I'm intrigued. I've been looking around online, but can't find any that stand up like this. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Flukemaster-Brush-Jig-310.htm

Thanks for the replied guys. Yeah, I'm sure I'll be happy with whatever I get. Especially since I have nothing now. What's your thoughts on the recessed area for the trolling motor foot control? I hear it's much more comfortable that way. But at the same time, I'm told since the cubby holes are only so big, you can't fit certain pedals in it, like the Minn Kota i-pilot. Also, a friend told me upgrade to at least a 70lb/24v thrust trolling motor. Is that necessary? Is 45 and 55lb pretty insufficient?

As some may know, I'm in the market for my first 'real' boat. I wanted to stay used, and around $7,000. The the more I think about it, I may just go new (or a year or 2 old). I apologize for making another thread, but I wanted this one to be specific in hopes that people with these boats-or have had experience with them- will chime in. So it's 3 mod-V's. I'd love to hear opinions on all/any of them. Is one better than the other, etc. https://www.trackerboats.com/ https://www.crestliner.com/vt/vt-17/ https://www.loweboats.com/stinger-bass-boats/stinger-175/ I saw a Lowe at Cabela's yesterday (thinking it was a 2007 model) marked down to $15,500, which seemed like a good price. Tho I don't know how Lowe stacks up to the other 2 brands. Also, every storage compartment I opened had water inside (it was outside). Are these compartments in these boats not sealed? Thanks a ton for any info you can provide. This is harder than picking out a birthday present for your lady.

Well, this sucks. So, right now I'm living in an apartment where I have one parking spot....a single car garage. So my plan this whole time was to rent a storage unit to keep the boat (when I finally find one). Well, as it turns out, there really aren't any around that have power outlets. And I need that to charge my batteries after every use of the boat, right? I don't know what I was thinking. I thought you could get them with outlets. But I guess it makes sense that they don't have them, for liability reasons (fires). Super bummed. Any ideas? How big of a pain would it be to take both batteries out after each use, and bring them back t my garage and put them on a battery charger. Would that even work?

As long as it isn't cold out, I like wearing flip flops. I just picked these up at Cabela's last week, They seem well-made. And the traction on the bottom is better than most other flip flops I've had in the past. For $20, you can't go wrong IMO. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjXleT9go7aAhUPcX4KHU9ABG8YABAMGgJwYw&sig=AOD64_2bFe-K1v8sHSRjl0U9quoGOSzPqw&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwjlst_9go7aAhUP62MKHb-cDEwQ9aACCLAB&adurl=

I've fished Lake Wisconsin once. The lake (widening of a river) I was talking about was Lake Puckaway. Madison chain a few time. I've always relied on friends with boats before. but many have moved away and now I want to get my own. I'd like to fish them more (for smallies and skis). I know they catch huge muskies on Monona. Will do, thanks!

I'm definitely prepared to drive 5 hours for the right price. I need to take a break from looking for a day or so though. Now I've been suckered into looking at this (but I really don't think I want a payment). https://www.leadersrpm.com/default.asp?page=xInventoryDetail&id=3665087&p=2&at=boat|personal watercraft&s=Year&d=D&vt=boat&fr=xAllInventory