Further North

Good advice...on backing up...I'll never be able to use the mirrors...so I turn around. It is what it is...when I try to use the mirrors the signal to by brain gets crossed up, no matter how much I practice. I've been towing and backing up trailers for almost 40 years...I've I haven't figured it out in that time, I'm not going to worry about it. I do plenty of other things well. The back-up camera is a great idea. On the charger: To reinforce what others have said, if you make consistent long runs, your big motor will charge your battery...if, like me and a lot of other fishermen, the lakes you fish are relatively small...or you hop from spot to spot...you'll never get back what it takes to start the motor, much less what the electronics and other accessories are using. On the lake I fish most often, from one end to the other doesn't take 10 minutes...no way I'm going to ever fully charge the starting battery. Even when I fish a big lake like Lake of the Woods...I spot hop with the longest run typically coming at the end of the day...when my battery is at its weakest... I run 5 batteries: 3 for 36 volt trolling motor batteries. 1 for the big motor. 1 for the electronics and the accessories. I don't have a radio, I don't ever run my live well pumps (converted the live well to storage) I run a Minn Kota 4 bank charger and a separate Minn Kota single bank charger. It's a little redundant...but I'll never have to worry about not having enough juice to crank the motor.

That I don't know. ...Can you download the installation instructions from the website to find out?

Ulterras and Terrovas use the same bolt holes. When I swapped my Terrova for an Ulterra this spring the whole installation took less than a half hour.

Not buying it. Gun's too nice for a hillbilly.

Up here, we've got snapping turtles the size of garbage can lids...it one of those at 90 MPH and you're lookin' at a new lower unit...if you're lucky... ...and there's not enough of them sticking out of the water for you to see them before it's too late.

Slight modification to improve this: buy a jug of RV antifreeze (it's non-toxic) and pour enough of it into the water (it is lighter than water so it will rise to the top) so that you have a 1/2" to 1" layer of antifreeze on top of the water. This will keep the dead mice from stinking up the place.

On my BFS rig (what I use most often for T-Rigged Senkos) I use 30 lb. bright green Suffix 832 braid FG knotted to a Lake Fork FluoroHybrid leader. I use either 7 lb. or 10 lb depending on what the bottom is like - I go to the 10 lb if it's rocky. I use the bright green Suffix so I can watch the line more easily. The rod I use is 7' 1" long, so I start with a 6 ft. leader and re-tie when it gets down to about 3 ft. I learned about this line from a video on this site, tried it and have been delighted with the results.

You keep reading this...you don't stand a chance...

The Bait Monkey is no problem...baits are relatively cheap... I fear the Gear Gorilla. That's the one that can cause reel problems.

Action wise, I'd recommend an extra fast heavy. Reel wise, I'll go with the crowd here and say 7:1 minimum. You're not really looking for any particular action on the way back to the boat, fo fast is good. I use Abu Garcia Revo Rockets on my dedicated pitching rigs @ 9.0:1. Rood length...that's a little different...I'm 6'2" and wouldn't consider a pitching rod less than 7 ft. The rods I use most successfully for pitching are 7'4" and 7'6". I believe that rod length tends to correlate to angler height. At my height, those 7'4" and 7'6" rods are right above the water line when I'm on the deck of my boat...and the longer length gets me a better launch for a pitch. If I were 5'7"...the rod tip would be in the water and it might be more of a hassle. Dunno about that...but watching what other fishermen I fish with prefer...that seems to be what's going on. That's just my opinion, but it's what I've observed.

I always do...you don't have to...but it works better that way. I'f I'm making a quick adjustment/correction while fishing hard, I don't bother, but it's best to do it that way as it sets up the spool right, then the magnetic braking can be adjusted to conditions.

If it helps...I like fast reels too...If I didn't already have a buncha Abu Garcia Revo Rockets...and an Abu LTX...I'd be on this like white on rice.

Hey...if it helps any, the 8.1:1 left hand cranks are on sale this time...

I can't find that sale price on their website... For what it's worth, the Cabela's Arachnid (virtually the same reel as the Tatula Type-R with more bearings) is on sale for $119 right now. Cabela's Arachnid @ Cabela's I have two of these, bought earlier this year when the 6.3:1 left hand crank was on sale for $109.99. Great reels, so far.

One final note: Fly rods are an extremely individual preference...far more so than regular gear. Your casting style, how you fish, what kinds of flies you're going to throw...All of these things will channel a fly fisherman to the kind of rig that best suits them. I have a good friend who bought an Loomis GLX 8 wt. I loved that rod, could throw a popper 70 ft. into a paint bucket with ease. He didn't like it, loved a an Orvis Helios II that I didn't care for. He sold the Loomis, kept the Orvis rod... What I've done is buy used, try them and move them down the road if they weren't what worked best for me. E-Bay or on-line forums are a good places to shop until you zero in on what you like. I went through 12 10 wt. rigs - yes - 12 - until I settled on three that fit my needs...all used. I can post the write up if you'd like so you can see what the evaluation process looked like.

OK...first of all...great advice here so far. 2nd I throw flies at bass a lot...here's my current arsenal: 8 wt.: Temple Forks Axiom with a Rio Outbound Short intermediate sinking line. This set up is top of the pile if I'm fishing sub-surface on still water. It's a little heavy if I'm on a small river. Reel is a Nautilus CCF #8. Rood and reel are E-Bay buys...but we're still lookin' at $400+ here. Line is a solid $90, no matter what you do... This is a true strip in, one back-cast and back out set-up. It's amazing...but it ain't cheap, even used. You get what you pay for... Scott SAS, Scientific Angler's clear intermediate sink line, Lamson Guru reel. Do yourself a favor...don't even look at what new Scott Rods cost...you'll choke...this was another E-Bay find...with the line from Sierra Trading Post. I probably have $225 - $250 in this rig. It excels at mid-weight streamers. Cabela's L-Tech, Lamson Litespeed (older version) and Airflo 8 wt. floating line. This is my topwater rod, and the least expensive 8 wt. overall. Bought the rod on E-Bay for < $100, the reel used from a friend for $100, and the line for $39.95 from Sierra Trading post. Overall...if you expect to get into a decent 8 wt. rod, reel and line for $175...I expect you'll be frustrated and will give up fly fishing for bass. 7 wt. St. Croix Bank Robber with Cabela's RLS reel, Scientific Angler's Hover line. This is my "go-to" bass rod. Cabela's RLS Reels are a crazy good deal (a little heavy, but work great) Were I going to do this over, I'd swap in a Temple Forks Mangrove, Axiom or TiCr X rod for less money and the same (or better) performance. 6 wt. Temple Forks Mangrove, Nautilus FWX reel, Airflo floating line. I won the rod at a banquet...but I'd buy another in a heartbeat at full retail ($260). Bought the reel on E-Bay (you should see a pattern by now), snagged the line for >$40 from Sierra Trading Post. Custom on St. Croix Legend blank, Lamson Guru reel, Scientific Angler's Hover line. Love this rig...would use it more if the above rig didn't kick it's fanny. ...so here's the deal: Don't try to do a decent 8 wt. bass fly fishing rig on a $175 budget. You'll wind up frustrated and you'll tank fly fishing as a way to catch bass...and that'd be a mistake, IMO. In a perfect world, for an 8 wt. topwater set-up I'd recommend a Temple Forks Mangrove, Lamson Guru reel and an Airflo or Rio floating line (the Rio Smallmouth line is excellent!). Were I going subsurface, I'd look harder at the Axiom or the TiCr X from Temple Forks. As a 2nd choice, I'd look at Cabela's RLS reel on whatever rod they currently have (probably the LSi). Echo makes some good rods too...but I have no personal experience with them. DON'T TRY TO SAVE MONEY ON THE LINE. Spend the $90. Cheap lines suck and will make you think fly fishing isn't any fun. Call this guy: http://www.lundsflyshop.com/ ...or a similar shop that can guide you down a good path. Brian will set you up with a well balanced rig as inexpensively as he can...and he won't BS you. Again, I don't think you're going to find a well rounded 8 wt. rig for $175. IMO, the rod alone will cost you more than that if you do it right.

^^^THIS^^^ Get the inspection done, see what the pros say...they're the ones who have to do the warranty work if it goes TU...

I guess I'm wondering why the braid bleeding is important? It seems like folks who find this a critical problem don't want to use braid...

Out at night without lights = Evolution in action.

Anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand; it really depends on the boat. NADA is usually way low compared to dealer prices in our area. My boat is an '05, I bought it in 2013 with just less than 3 1/2 hours on the motor. It was - like yours - virtually new. The carpet inside the storage compartments was untouched, the bilge was spotless. NADA was off by several thousand dollars. I've also sold several boats for more than NADA quoted, and they sold fast, no shortage of interest. One was a 1991 Lund Pro-V with a 1991 Johnson 150 that went for $2,500 over NADA, the other was a 1750 Crestliner with a Suzuki DF140 that went for almost $4,000 over NADA...and the guy that bought it took the motor off, replaced it with a Merc 125...and sold t for almost as much as he paid for it about a month later. I don't know if they work off averages, or their info is just bad...or if, like the books car dealers try to bludgeon their customers with, their info is based on auctions...

There's a topic here: http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/477518-yamaha-hpdi-poppet-valve-replacement-updated-pics.html ...on replacing the popet valve on a Yammie HPDI. Looks like a few extra steps... $260 might not be out of line.

It looks to me like those motors are meant to be used on pontoon boats or sail boats, not for conventional hulls. They look like they are all torque and no speed...that'd drive me nuts.

Nice rig - enjoy it!

In my experience, NADA tends to the low side...but that could be regional. I've never seen a decent boat go for anywhere near what NADA suggests it should. Research the market as Way2slow suggests. That's how to find out wehat a boat is worth in your area. Craigslist, dealers advertised prices, places like that. That's a nice boat you're looking at, IMO. Like some of the others have noted a 115 seems under powered for a boat tat size (I run an 18 1/2 foot aluminum hull with a 140 and there are times - 2 guys with a bunch of gear - that it can be a little slow to get on plane) but your test drive will tell you what you need to know. EDIT: I missed that you'd already bought the boat...you're in my market (I'm over the boarder in WI), and you bought a virtually new boat for about 70% of what it went for new. Since you must like the boat (that's what's important) I'd say you got a great deal!

Sorry, double post...