T.J.

I use All State. Same as cars. I fish a lake that requires $500k liability coverage to get a permit. It was only like $20 more a year over the standard $250k or $300k.

40/50/60 are the same motor and the 75/90/115 are the same. Different ECU and cam shafts I believe. No upgrading the 60 to more horse power. There were companies that would flash the computers but Mercury shut them all down. Only option is to replace the ecu with one for the higher hp motor and remove the restrictor plate.

I’m in south jersey. When I picked up my boat from maintenance in December, the dealer had about 50 new boats on the lot between 23 leftovers and new 24s. Almost all were fishing rigs or pontoons He’s a small mom and pop shop with one tech doing repairs. They are a ranger, tracker, nitro dealer and only 30 minutes from BPS in Atlantic City. They do seem to sell a lot of boats. The owner is a super nice guy and I was feeling a little anxious about how much he must have tied up in inventory. Hope things don’t stall out for him.

Sounded like he left rapala from a reply in a social media post to partner with someone else to design hard baits. Then yesterday he posted the krej from berkley (a reversed billed jerk bait).

Just booked my yearly trip to the St Lawrence in late June. I have 6 lakes in NJ/PA that I usually hit with the boat plus a couple from the bank. I want to get back to Wallenpaupack this year. Most likely will do another guide trip in the fall on the Susquehanna North Branch in PA. A coworker’s friend is retiring and starting a guide service on the Susky too so may give him some business in the spring.

NJ is $22.50 plus handling fee for calendar year. I also need to purchase a PA non-resident yearly for $59. I own a home in both states but don’t qualify as a PA resident 😕 And then I also purchase a NY license for $50 good for one year from purchase as I have been doing a week trip to the SLR each year. Thankfully the one reservoir I fish on the PA-Maryland boarder accepts either state license. 🙂

I haven’t fished the Lehigh but have seen smallmouth caught just south of the Jim Thorpe train station. From what I have read online, smallmouth gets better south of Lehighton.

I was going to say the same. I’m about 1 mile from new Brooklyn lake in south jersey. That lake is shallow and very weedy so it is hard use some lures. Johnson silver minnows are a good pick or weedless rigged plastic flukes. Inline spinners would be hard unless they are just below surface. The lake has limited shore access and gets a ton of pressure. I don’t fish there much and it is the closest lake to my house. Normally I will only go over like now through early March a few times a year. Just after ice out is good or with a few patches still floating around. Had some good days there while it was snowing. I think all my pickerel out of there came on suspending jerk baits including in the spillway. All the lakes around me have pickerel so we end up catching as many of them as bass. Fishing in the boat, we get them on crankbaits the most. Second would be lipless and spinnerbaits. We (my son and I) use 8-15lb mono all the time and I don’t recall having one pickerel break off in the last few years. We had some bass break off at the side of the boat tho. I also fish rocky water in PA a lot and have gone back to just using mono on all the rods. It works for me and Big Game is so inexpensive that I might respool ever month or two. I do carry steel leaders but I don’t bother using them even if targeting pickerel. I will use them for pike up north. I don’t take a lot of photos but here is one from Union Lake. Lenape has some nice ones as well.

I was out on the north branch of the Susquehanna a few times last year with a guide. We did well with Neds or small paddle tails on Ned heads in spring/summer and crankbaits in the fall.

I couldn’t get out today, other commitments. I did see results from Union lake derby. Some nice bass were caught. Pickerel action was good down here today based on posts on Facebook. I don’t think there was enough ice for any ice fishing this year so far. I think it is rare around me anyway. I’ve never tried it. I have never been to any of the lakes you mention (yet?). Hoping to travel north for a change this season.

I’m in south jersey. Union lake is clear of ice as of today. Sounds like there might be a derby there this Saturday. Forecast is pushing 60* so even without a tournament, I’d bet there are 20 boats out Saturday.

How would fishing be in late April? Also thinking about a run to Cayuga April or May from NJ.

Gloucester county between Philly and Atlantic City. I haven’t fished Assunpink or Spruce Run. Fished hopatcong back in the 90s.

Hey! from south jersey.

I have a 2020 with vinyl floor. I doubt I would ever go back to carpet. Difference between the 75 and 60 is about 5mph. Actual speed depends on load in boat. 75 will get on plane faster but is also 100 pounds heavier. The tournament edition adds the 3rd battery, 24v trolling motor (very basic Model), and upgrades charger to 3 bank which are all great upgrades. The other stuff like another crappy hook2 FF up front (I might be the person that likes the hook), fancy steering wheel and rims etc just don’t seem to be worth the $2600 upgrade price for the TE. I have heard several people say they wouldn’t do the TE again since they ended up going with better sonar units and a better TM shortly after getting the boat. You may be better using the $2600 to just upgrade the TM to 24v with a spot lock unit through the dealer and selling the stock TM. I went with the 60hp mainly because that was what was available and I did not want to wait. I was planning on purchasing a classic xl with a 50hp originally anyway but couldn’t find one in stock either. I fish a lot by myself and believe the lighter motor is easier to handle loading etc, easier to tow (I don’t have a truck), and better in the electric-only lakes I am in half the time. The 175 is not a fast boat with either motor (40ish with 75 or 35ish with 60). I can do 36mph on GPS with my wife in the boat. I usually find the boat cruises the smoothest at 27-30mph so I’m rarely at wot. Anyone concerned about speed would be happier with different boat - the 190 or 195 or a glass boat.

I have a 2020 PT175 txw with the vinyl floor. Same layout as the 190 but a foot shorter. I like the layout with dual rod lockers on the sides. The previous models had center rod lockers. Nice boats but you get what you pay for. Other brands are nicer but you pay for it. I like the vinyl. I heard a lot of people say it gets hot but I never fish barefoot. It feels like it would be slippery compared to carpet but I have fished in the rain and never felt like I would slip. I went with the smaller 60hp motor. Most of the lakes I fish are electric only. The ones I can run the OB are still smaller pretty small ( 400-900 acres) so I wasn’t concerned about speed at all. I was planning to get the smaller XL classic but decided to go with a bigger boat with much more storage (and lockable) and more deck space. If I wanted speed I would not look at the 175 even with a 75hp. 190 or 195 is the way to go. I haven’t had many issues. The ignition switch came loose and the dealer needed to tight some mounting hardware on the console. They are good value. As mentioned above Ranger and Tracker are owned by the same company now. I had a tracker tx17 purchased new in the 90s prior. There are tracker dealers besides BPS and Cabelas. You might have a closer dealer that you can use after purchase for warranty or maintenance. I purchased from a smaller dealer out of state since they had the model I wanted but have used my local small dealer for everything else. From the stories I read online (take it for what it is worth ) BPS marine repair shops are questionable.

Maybe look at the comowingo reservoir on the pa/md border. That’s an unrestricted HP lake with good fishing.

I have a 2020 txw with a 60hp 4 stroke mercury. WOT, if trimmed correctly, should be about 5900 rpm. I can do 35-36 mph per GPS with me and wife. Neither of us are big. I never put more than 10 gallons in gas tank and probably don’t carry a lot of gear. I am using stock alum 3 blade prop. Going to a 4 blade alum or ss prop will give better hole shot but lower top end slightly. Adding a hydrofoil will also get it on plane faster but some report decreased top end. 15p prop might get more top end speed. Personally I would not (and haven’t) waste money on upgrades. You can maybe gain 1-2 top end but is it really going to make a difference? Even going to the 75hp the boat only goes 40ish. These boats are not made for speed. If you need to replace the prop anyway then I would probably go to the spitfire 10x14p 4 blade.

Genesis free C-Map has most of the pond covered. https://www.genesismaps.com/SocialMap/Index

Center rod locker is easier to access but that’s puts the tackle storage at the sides and in theory much harder to access with rods laying on the deck at the sides. From what I read, the thought was once rods are out less access is needed to rod lockers but tackle storage is continually accesses. When tackle storage is on the sides you need to move your rods on deck to open. Like I said above, I have no issues with 7’ rods in either side locker. Same layout as the TF.

I have a 2020 175 txw with same lockers. No problem with 7’ rods. Just have to bend / arc them once the tip is in the rod tube. Make sure guides are facing up. Might not be the best design. I need to do this on both sides but more bending to is needed to miss control.