Further North

Can do. PM me, I'll point you at some ideas. Happy to meet you on at least one if we can work it out.

OK...when I type in that address, I wind up here: http://fishingcompleteinc.com/ ????? Found this though: http://www.fishingcompleteinc.com/lil-hellgrammite/ ...and look up "Mop Fly". Tie it on a heavier weight and it'll work on ultralight gear.

I have this in my Kindle, have not get to it yet...thanks for the reminder to move it up the list.

Any rock piles, down trees fallen into the water?

I can't give much advice about Sturgeon Bay...my only opportunity to fish there came in late August and it was...challenging...at best. Bordering on frustrating... I did manage a high 30s musky though...so that didn't suck. On the Wisconsin River - great fishery, but...I'd branch out from there. While I suspect that fishing the big river would work, my experience is that the smaller rivers are much less pressured, much easier to fish (especially for boatless anglers) and will provide more aggressive smallies...likely in higher densities One potential downside: The fish may be smaller...but you might not know that until you get them in the net - they'll fight like they are much bigger.

I use a 7' 6" TFO rod for pitching...but I tend to use longer rods than most folks do, on average.

Sounds sweet. Where did you find it?

Can you tell us a little more about the Bantam?

I use a rope as well...but with a twist. My "rope" is a hunk of 1/2 bungee cord about 20 feet long. No sudden stops or jerks on the boat that way and I don't have to be as careful when I start moving the truck forward again.

Good advice here, that's what I'd do.

There's nothing wrong with 2-strokes, especially modern ones. While I'm not a fan of the older, carbureted, cold blooded, smoke belching versions...a lot of people (including me) used them for a lot of years and they got the job done very well....and they've done nothing but get better. There's nothing wrong with 4 strokes either. Both work great.

Does this mean you bought it?

I've always been sorta puzzled by this question in regards to fishing boats... I get that no one want's to get beaten to pieces by a boat...but I really doubt there's any modern boats that do that... Most of us spend hours fishing for every minute we ride...I would think that fishability would lead the charge for any serious...or even semi-serious fisherman. But...like most things...that's why we've got different flavors...

I'm a ways west and a little south of Rhinelander...opening weekend fishing this far north can be a challenge. Between water temps and the "amateur day" atmosphere of opening day, I'd be tempted to try further south, or more remote water. I'm not familiar with Boom Lake Flowage, but you will have more success with shallow water that warms up faster. I certainly wouldn't get all wrapped up in getting out on the water at first light unless we get a very early and warm spring.

I like Tracker boats..had one for a while. They fit a specific niche in the market...but with a choice between Tracker and Xpress...everything else being equal, or close to equal... Xpress every time.

I have no problem towing skiers in my Crestliner. Yes. Lund Pro-V Bass, or used, a Crestliner CMV - I have the latter....even used, it would push your budget, but as a hybrid, it might be worth looking for. I would challenge that deep-v boats have more room for stuff. I have had 6 boats in the last 10 years...and all but the current one were deep-v. On my current boat (Crestliner CMV 1850) all my "stuff" is below deck and out of my way while I fish. With the v-hulls...a lot of my "stuff" was out on deck, in my way and underfoot. All my lures, all the rods I'm not using, and all the other misc. gear in my boat is put away and out of the weather when I'm not using it. In my v-hull boats, there were tackle boxes on deck, coolers in the way...always something getting in the way of fishing. ...all that said, you need to get the boat that fits your style best. Look a lot, think a lot, if possible, fish on all types of rigs before you plunk your money down. You're the only one who knows what you like and how you'll use the boat.

I'd type a bunch of stuff...but there's no need. A-Jay nailed it. I put a 36 volt Terrova on a Crestliner 1750. No such thing as too much oomph on your trolling motor. Put in an on board charger. For a 24 volt, go three bank. Yep. Had an SI transducer on my Terrova for years. Overrated, IMO. Did not install an SI on my Ulterra when I put it on last spring. That said, I have Humminbird 360°...which kinda makes an SI transducer on the trolling motor superfluous. YMMV

Sometimes you gotta take 'em apart...even...and I know this'll hurt...make some holes. The original wires gotta run somewhere, and I guarantee, there's more room where they run. Even if there's genuinely no way to run wires hidden...run them where you can see them, inside protective tubing tucked up where it's not in the way. Not everything worth doing is easy...

For the front of the boat, for me... SI is pretty useless...360° is the best bet if you want to see what's going on around you in real-time. Or Panoptix, though I have not used it. DI and 2D are critical for me up there, I want to know what I've fishing over and how deep it is. I want a map view as well so I can set the Minn Kota Ulterra to follow a contour without having to jump to the console unit.

I could not agree more. Hitting the lake with a less than 100% charged cranking battery is a recipe for eventual failure. It's not an "if" it's a "when". It's a long way back to the dock on your trolling motor. Any of the top brands will work just fine, I lean towards Minn Kota myself, but that's a dealer influenced decision on my part. They are all great. Nah...you just run longer wires...

...and that, right there, is the biggest reason why we need to support our local shops over the big box stores. At the end of the day, if we don't, our access to the better equipment will keep shrinking and our eventual choices will be limited to "popular" and "average". I know that's not what I want...

The reality of retail is that they are going to carry what is popular and what sells the best...and what sells the best is seldom high end equipment... Here's the rest of the deal: "Popular" hardly ever equals "best". A great example: Years ago, before Cabela's went public, many of their stores had Gun Libraries where a SxS shotgun nut like myself could go and easily spend a couple hours looking, pondering, and scheming how to work up enough cash to buy a nice Spanish, Italian...or even sometimes an English shotgun that was a work of functional art... The people that staffed these Gun Libraries were knowledgeable, and knew the Difference between an Ugartechea, an Aguirre y Aranzaba, a Watson and a Poli... Each Gun library would have at least a couple dozen guns that were far, far beyond what most people would ever consider buying, much less shooting on a regular basis. These gun libraries were destination gun shops for the high end gun crowd and some of their inventory were absolutely the best possible guns available, some costing tens of thousand of dollars. I just went to the website and looked... in all of the gun libraries, all across the country there are only 6 Aguirre y Aranzaba shotguns, two Ugartecheas, no Polis...and certainly no Watsons. And...they list...Huglu and CZ shotguns...as "fine guns". There's only one Arietta...and it's nothing special. ...but there's a reason for all that: They looked at their customers, and the costs of maintaining and staffing those gun libraries and the money they were bringing in...and made a business decision that they needed to move their offerings a little closer to who they were selling to. THey still have a lot of great shotguns from Browning, Beretta, Benelli, etc...but they are not inthe "best" market like they used to be...because they can't make the money they need to selling those guns. Fishing equipment is no different...neither are lures, or boats...or anything else.

Tinfoil hat...On!

Palomar?

There's a really good chance most fishermen overthink this... Do what works for you, don't criticize how others do it.