So - one last question (I hope) if I knew how to PM I wouldn’t clog up the board, but...which TM shaft length for the ProV Bass; 60” or 52”?  I may get to Erie once or twice a year, the other lakes are not as big.  What are your thoughts? I was all set on Ultrex an then I saw Linder using an Ulterra with the ability to trim up and down and thought....maybe...

 

I don’t want to waste money on the wrong one since they are thousands.  It seems that walleye guys love the Ulterra and Bass guys the Ultrex.  I primarily chase bass on inland lakes, but I wouldn’t rule out Walleye, just need to learn how to do it.

26 minutes ago, Jeff Browning said:

So - one last question (I hope) if I knew how to PM I wouldn’t clog up the board, but...which TM shaft length for the ProV Bass; 60” or 52”?  I may get to Erie once or twice a year, the other lakes are not as big.  What are your thoughts? I was all set on Ultrex an then I saw Linder using an Ulterra with the ability to trim up and down and thought....maybe...

 

I don’t want to waste money on the wrong one since they are thousands.  It seems that walleye guys love the Ulterra and Bass guys the Ultrex.  I primarily chase bass on inland lakes, but I wouldn’t rule out Walleye, just need to learn how to do it.

 

Which motor / model to purchase is an important decision and one that should be made carefully.

'Knowledge is confidence" - learn all you can about each - and you'll feel much better making your choice.

I run a 62 inch 36 volt 112 Fortrex.  The whole thing is manual - no spot lock, no power deploy or power trim.

I have a 360 imaging unit mounted on Fortrex as well. 

That extra shaft length is most useful in sloppy conditions, keeping the motor & both transducers in the drink (mostly) and is never 'too long'. 

I do know that there are a few Pro-V bass owners who seem happy with a 52" shaft.

 

Below is a couple of video's I did two years apart talking about the boat, motor & accessories.  

Might help.

Good Luck and ask anything that comes to mind - I did plenty of that during my own 'research stage'.

Besides, that's what this site & forum are all about - sharing info.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 1/2/2019 at 8:10 PM, Jeff Browning said:

So - one last question (I hope) if I knew how to PM I wouldn’t clog up the board, but...which TM shaft length for the ProV Bass; 60” or 52”?  I may get to Erie once or twice a year, the other lakes are not as big.  What are your thoughts? I was all set on Ultrex an then I saw Linder using an Ulterra with the ability to trim up and down and thought....maybe...

 

I don’t want to waste money on the wrong one since they are thousands.  It seems that walleye guys love the Ulterra and Bass guys the Ultrex.  I primarily chase bass on inland lakes, but I wouldn’t rule out Walleye, just need to learn how to do it.

I love my Ulterra for that ability to trim up/down....and for Follow the Contour, and "set it ind forget it" directional movement, particularly into, or across wind or current.  I don't use spot lock as much as I thought I would, but when I do, it's awesome.

 

Others have other preferences, but few have tried them all (including me).

 

It really comes down to how you fish, not what anyone else does.  That's important...

Edited January 6, 20197 yr by Further North
Czułem się jak to. I jest sobota. W styczniu.

I went form an Ulterra to an Ultrex with a 60" shaft.  The trim up and down was great in open water but if you fish in heavy slop the ultrex is way easier to clear a pile of weeds from. That was the main reason I switched.  If you're an open water fisherman the Ulterra can't be beat.

What makes the Ulterra so hard to clear weeds from vs the Ultrex?  I love the auto trim/stow etc features but there are a few places that get pretty weedy it’s still so early on and no matter which TM I choose it will be a dealer item so I “have time” to make the decision.  I’ve only ever had the Edge and I have no experience with anything else.  The guys in my club have Ultrex’s but I suspect that’s because their Skeeters came with them.

I could hear the trim working hard when there was a big ball of weeds from fishing in the slop. Then you have to hang over the side to get them off. Someone else may have a faster way to clear them that I'm not aware of.  With the ultrex I can clear most of the weeds by pulling up partway and turning back and forth and I'm back fishing.

2 hours ago, northlander73 said:

I could hear the trim working hard when there was a big ball of weeds from fishing in the slop. Then you have to hang over the side to get them off. Someone else may have a faster way to clear them that I'm not aware of.  With the ultrex I can clear most of the weeds by pulling up partway and turning back and forth and I'm back fishing.

Get yourself a ninja grass blade. I have one on my Terrova and it works fantastic. The thickest weeds I can find aren’t much of an issue at all anymore. It’ll cut most of the stuff right off the motor, I hardly ever have to reach down and clear it anymore. 

On 1/2/2019 at 8:57 AM, J Francho said:

My Bullet has a 15" setback manual jackplate.  It took some dialing in, but it is set about 1" above pad, and along with the Barry's plate aluminum hydrofoil, I have great holeshots, and plane around 16-17 mph.  I do not need to adjust it, since it's performing as I want now.  The hull on my boat pretty much predicates a jackplate.  The amount of set back and prop height are variables in performance.  I'm getting added lift, and top end speed by using one.

 

Again, these are a per boat set up - every boat is different.  I'm just explaining why someone would use a manaul jack plate.  A-Jay and slonezp gave you some good advice about Lunds.  Lund will likely be my next boat as well.

A Lake Ontario fisherman with a boat made in Tennessee?? When I fished my first tournament everyone’s advice was “if the boat says bullet on the side, don’t get in it!” Needless to say nobody beats those boats to the spot 

There's quite a few Bullets up this way.  Keep in mind, there's 20 lakes an hour and a half drive from to access as well.  Mine is definitely not the fastest.  It was the fastest in my club, though.  It was pretty funny when I'd draw last on a bigger lake, like Cayuga, and pass everyone on the way to a spot.  My favorite thing about that boat though ,was the huge front deck.  My co-anglers could easily fish up front with me, which I think was a bigger advantage than speed.  Anyway, we're going off topic, this all about A-Jay's tin can!

 

?

 

 

On 8/31/2018 at 3:51 PM, A-Jay said:

Good idea and probably requires less funding than a new motor & jack plate. 

 

**** Update ****

Dealer called.  Service department's two-blocked for coming week.

Next available time slot for the re-power is the week after next.

So mid-September now.  Still at least 30 days earlier than expected.

 In the mean time, guess I just have to keep picking off those brown bass, for a couple more weeks anyway. 

Jack plate's ordered.

A-Jay

Love that sailor terminology A-Jay!

On 1/9/2019 at 6:12 PM, Way north bass guy said:

Get yourself a ninja grass blade. I have one on my Terrova and it works fantastic. The thickest weeds I can find aren’t much of an issue at all anymore. It’ll cut most of the stuff right off the motor, I hardly ever have to reach down and clear it anymore. 

That's it, right there.  I went with the two blade set-up, haven't had a problem since.

Sort of an update; perhaps more of a clarification.

Mercury recently sent me the extended warranty information & pricing for the 200 Optimax - 

That I sold last fall.  Not exactly timely.

Either way, the paperwork is rather complete and does answer any & all questions I might have had regarding the decision to purchase an extended warranty - if I still had that motor.

 Prior to the re-power I had already found this info and it played a fairly big role in why I made the choice to do it in the first place.  

 In my initial post 

I had mentioned that the cost of the warranty was close to what I'd end up paying for the new motor after the trade in of the old one.  I'll admit that I may have been bitten by the new motor monkey a little on that one.

  The new motor was 17K.  I got 10K for the old one.  I paid the difference of 7k.

Looking at the attached current extended warranty pricing, the 5-year plan (which happens to be the warranty on the new motor) is running at $5,785.  So the difference between the warranty for a three-year-old motor vs the $$ spent on a new one with a 5-year warranty - was a tad over $1,200. 

 So using A-Jay / new motor monkey math, that's $240 a year; for a new motor.

 

I'm putting this out there simply as an FYI - anyone in a similar situation - might be something to think about.

A-Jay

16 hours ago, A-Jay said:

So using A-Jay / new motor monkey math, that's $240 a year; for a new motor.

$20 a month?  Done!

I'm just back from a moderately expensive trip to Holland which the weather spoiled, only allowing us to fish on one day. The guy I went with bought a load of expensive lures at a Dutch tackle shop, which were half price. He was telling me all the way home how much he had saved........

3 minutes ago, Tim Kelly said:

I'm just back from a moderately expensive trip to Holland which the weather spoiled, only allowing us to fish on one day. The guy I went with bought a load of expensive lures at a Dutch tackle shop, which were half price. He was telling me all the way home how much he had saved........

1

Welcome back ~ Seems you did OK Tim.

That is one of if not the Prettiest Pike I've ever seen ~ What Beast !

Congrats

A-Jay

Beefy girl, there!  Nice pike.

8 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Welcome back ~ Seems you did OK Tim.

That is one of if not the Prettiest Pike I've ever seen ~ What Beast !

Congrats

A-Jay

Ha ha, thanks AJ. A friend of mine, fishing not that far away had a 6lb 10oz perch the same day! Unbelievable fish.

A-Jay

Still Running Strong ~ 

A-Jay

Been 2 years already? Seems like only yesterday.

Completed my financial commitment on the ProXS this morning.

Unit only has150 hours on it and of course, is still making it happen.

All of that feels pretty good.  

A-Jay