Susky River Rat

@gimruis on my new boat I didn’t get any factor installed options either. I am very spoiled to deal with a great family owned dealership. There mindset is be fair pricing and great customer service. This area has a lot of competition boat sales wise believe it or not.

There is a guy who lives right along the river. He has his boat parked next to his house. He spray painted not for sale on the port side of his boat because people would stop and ask him how much he wants for it. Now keep in mind most houses down there have a boat or two on their front yard. Maybe even an inflatable swimming pool.

That was a great video. I would say I fish what little strengths I have. I do like to branch out and learn. When it gets tough you can sure bet I am going to grind on the strengths. I learned this a long time ago while musky fishing. It’s very easy to have BCD (bait changing disorder) while musky fishing always thinking you are missing the hot bite. When I fish with my dad and we both seem to be on something I will completely switch to something different. I will tell my dad to stay the same. One to see if there is something better they would like. Two to build confidence in other options.

@Woody B it would probably not much different on the labor side. You would probably just have just been paying for the electronics itself.

Honestly this time of year in the river I fish you can’t go wrong with a 3.25” tube, TRD on a ned head or a hair jig.

@PhishLI that’s the other thing is is solely transmit-able from dogs only? What if stray cats get it or rabbits? My dog having almost half mountain cur in him loves to track. So when he gets on a fresh scent he follows it excited till it ends. Hopefully it is just direct contact and only with other dogs.

My dog never interacts directly without other dogs. He does walk around the neighborhood and get to sniff everything. It has been a rough year for him. I don’t need this to add to it.

Happy thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all stuffed with food and can’t move

I honestly do not have an answer because I will never retire. I might not do what I am doing now but, I’ll always need some form of income.

I had a tracker 160. I needed something bigger and a little more suited to what I do. Decent boats. I did end upgrading things as I went. It is very hard to know what you for sure want in a boat if you never owned one. My style of fishing and where I fish did a 180. So my tracker had to as well. I now have the best boat for what I do in my opinion. I would never tell anyone to stay away from trackers. Great to learn and start on. Last thing you want to do is ruin a 50k+ boat due to inexperience. They do have their limitations. As a whole I am willing to bet you can catch just as many fish in that tracker as you can a guy in a skeeter. i do recommend better electronics and a TM with spot lock. You don’t have to go crazy on electronics. I run fairly inexpensive Garmin strikers for the electronic world.

@Darth-Baiterwhen I looked at doing tournaments even local ones I have to make sure they aren’t following BASS or the like rules. If that is the case then I cannot run my boat because of having a jet and tunnel.

@ol'crickety it isn’t just one or two. It’s a majority of them. They get so bent on anyone else’s success. The musky community as a whole is toxic. With such little fishable populations in this area we all rubbed elbows a lot. I am sure I will bump elbows with one or two while I’m out bass fishing today. I didn’t even pick up a musky rod this year at all. First time in almost a decade.

I didn’t get much fishing in this year. Last year the week of thanksgiving input a great bag together and I hope to do this tomorrow. The river is going up with big rain today so it will be tough. I’d have to say my biggest was around 4lb this year so far with quite a few 2-3lb. So again nothing great. Just enjoying the time I do get out.

Great read!

@Junger I had vertical rod holders on my last boat. I wanted to get away from them. It can make going up creeks problematic.

@Choporoz there is inboard and outboard styles.

@flyfisher I am grasping at straws here but, it maybe have something to do with safety. Shallow drafting boats like jets/tunnels are down right scary in the wake of those big bass boats. @Choporoz I don’t think anyone would have issues seeing the brand name on a 150/105 jet.

@gimruis oh I don’t think I ever would either. This is way too simple. I may get some rubber mats yet. @TOXIC absolutely. When people ask about jets in general I always tell them if you really do not need them don’t get one. This boat does everything better than my old boat but handle wake. @flyfisher thank you! I can see why the G3s are very popular on the river.

I have finally have some time on my boat to give a better opinion. For those who do not know it is a 2024 G3 18’ CCJ tunnel hull with a 115/80 jet. I generally run a shallow rocky river. This boat gets on plane easily with another rider and my dog. The vision I have of obstructions in the water because of the forward center console is excellent. I draft about 8” which lets me easily get into areas without bumping or grinding the bottom. On plane I run about 3.5” The boat is incredibly stable to fish out of. I have plenty of room with my dog and another angler. There is very little rod storage. So I started using rod socks and rod straps. I use hair ties to keep all the rod tips together so none lift up while I’m running. It is a slight pain to do but, it keeps everything in order and out of the way. This boat does not handle wake well from other boats even other boats on the river. It slams down hard due to the weight being designed forward. The boat is also very flat with little V in the front. As great as the shallow draft is I learned the hard way the boat trailer barely needs to be in the water to load. It will not center. The ribs in either side of where the bunks would sit float over in the rear. i have a love hate relationship with carpet. Love the feel hate when it gets wet or dirty. This boat has none. It is a none slip aluminum deck. I love the comfort of the carpet. At the end of the day this boat is not a Cadillac it’s a work horse. I do not have the terrova quest on it yet. I cannot wait when it arrives. Overall this boat is perfect for what I do and how I fish.

@Woody B we had three bodies of water on the whole eastern side of PA worth fishing for musky. The “inc” group you can fill in the blanks of who. The vast majority of them poisoned the sport here. You couldn’t go on a Facebook page here without one of them spouting off. EX: that person fished to much that’s why he always catches musky. He’s holding the fish wrong. He fished 80 degree water temps. I was even told I need to watch my back at the ramp. So, I think being a jerk at times to those people is warranted. They were the ones suppose to be promoting musky fishing. you could not get away from them because of the few quality areas to catch those fish.

@Pat Brown there is nothing wrong with taking it seriously. That was not meant as negative. I would also argue most people here take it to some level of seriousness. I have even fished for money and would do it again. I just never want to bass fish seriously like I did for musky. a love turned into an obsession so much it felt like a job. I drank the musky cool aid was a jerk to people. It actually made me a more miserable person. Then it hit me one day I am chasing bragging rights more than I am fishing for fun. Don’t get me wrong they are a huge rush. With bass I smile joke pet my dog just enjoy it. With musky it was throwing out my shoulder for 12 hours straight not eating or drinking because that meant I didn’t have a lure in the water and couldn’t catch one.

A lot of the reason I have rapala stuff is because I get it at Walmart. I like Shad raps. I did recently buy some berkley stunnas. I just fish an and really stick to the same things just because they work for me. Not because I like a bait over the other.

@kingmotorboat They must all be musky fishermen around you😂😂. I feel like bass guys go into almost two groups. The we want to have fun and the we take it very seriously crowds. catfish anglers tend to be laid back just enjoying catching fish. walleye guys do it for the meat. Musky guys have a chip on their and think they are gods gift to fishing. This is probably the most stuck up opinionated angry group of anglers I have ever met. Act like children. at least this is how it is in my area.

I am very guilty of playing music. I enjoy it while I am on the boat. If it costs me some fish we that’s my fault. the wading thing is very near. There is a creek we nicknamed musky heaven. No more than waste deep. I’d wade it in the summer and could sneak up on musky. Also like described musky and suckers would school around me when I was not moving.

In the river during the winter it’s very common to catch muitlple carp on a jig and Mr twister.