Further North

NADA is a horrible source for what boats are really selling for...at least in the upper Midwest. I've never seen a decent boat sell for anywhere near as low as the price they publish. It's complete nonsense.

I run a 4 bank Minn Kota 440D for the starting battery and the three trolling motor batteries. I installed a 5th battery and charger this spring - an Interstate 24M and a Minn Kota MK 110 PC - to separate out the electronics. There are other brands of chargers that work just as well...but what I've got gets the job done and provides redundancy where I want it.

AJ...those CMVs are just older versions of your rig... Why they didn't sell like hotcakes is a puzzle I'll never figure out... Mine is identical to the one for sale (except the over the top graphics) other than the motor (I love Suzuki 4 strokes!). There was one for sale locally with a Yammie 150 4STK on it...I'll admit I was tempted...but the process of re-rigging...for 12 more HP...not worth it to this sorta-old guy.

They're both great products, both will be fine...unless they aren't, in which case the warranty will cover it. I run Minn Kota, but could go Motor Guide easily. Buy what you like, based on how much you like it and what it costs.

Here you go, and not far away - I'd pay more for this, with a motor closer to what the boat is rated for: http://www.zachosports.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=2039056&p=1&s=Year&d=D&t=preowned&vt=boat&fr=xPreOwnedInventory I have this same boat with a Suzuki DF140 (Mine says "Johnson" on it, but the same motor) and it's great for WI/MN water. That 115 would worry me.

That's the problem, right there.

A 16 footer would feel a little light for me on the Great Lakes...other than that, I'd guess you're good to go. I've had my Crestliner 1850 out on Lake Michigan...and I could see that I'd be a little light if conditions changed.

That blows...odd that he couldn't find someone to use it for a few years until he got back. I'd have found a way to store it for an active service member.

For me, so far: Musky on a fly rod. Combination of learning a difficult fish and a difficult technique (it's nothing like throwing a mayfly imitation with a 5wt.)

...or that he needs an ATV.

Nah, I just don't care what they weigh. There's big fish, medium fish, small fish....every once in a while I'll measure one...but I don't even do that often.

I don't have one...don't need one. Don't care what they weigh...

Easy answer: Fly rod. Streamers and bass sized poppers.

Not sure about your area, but the Wisconsin DNR contour maps of most lakes on their website. Assuming you fish around where you've indicated your location is, I'd start here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9920.html

Probably a good plan, at least until you get your confidence back. I find single hooks much easier to remove from the fish, especially if I've crimped the barb. A fair share of the fish I catch have a lot of teeth anyway, and I'm not sticking my hand in there to de-hook 'em anyway...

Good video...I often use a fly fishing net to scoop the fish up, get it under control and un-hooked. Then back in the H2O it goes, having never been touched. Better for the fish, better for me...

I use a fly fishing net on the boat (I keep one in a forward compartment, and another aft) to scoop the bass out of the water. After that...it's easy to unhook them and get them back in the H20 without getting hooked...and I don't handle the fish, which is good for them also.

Try fly fishing for pike or musky with a couple anglers in the boat. We throw these: ...yes, that's a 5.0 hook about 2/3 of the way back, turned sideways, connected to the front hook with 50# wire... That whole fly is just short of a foot long... Get a couple guys flinging those on 30 feet of line, back and forth across the boat...it's pretty much the definition of "caution" and "communication".

I clicked "Other (please specify) because I do not watch TV, at all. We have a TV, and for the last 4 years or so we watch an occasional movie, and might stream a show if we've heard it very good. Without getting into the nuts and bolts of the thing, I got tired of biased news (from all perspectives) interjected in programs I wanted to see, endless advertising...and poor quality programming. That is, of course, my opinion only, and shouldn't be seen as a political comment - I don't like any of it, from any perspective. Most fishing shows aren't available (as far as I know) for streaming until well after their air dates...which makes them kinda useless for me.

I have a silly question...wouldn't pinching the barb and backing the hook out have done the job? I've stuck myself once - about a 3 lb. largemouth on a Rappala Clackin' Rap - I reached for the fish to unhook it after I had it in the boat...and it zigged as I zagged and jammed that big hook on the front treble just north of the top joint on my left thumb... ...problem was...the bass was still attached and still pretty energetic...we resolved that problem pretty quickly an over the side it went... Now I'm stuck with the hook buried to the turn in the hook, well past the barb, in my thumb. I was along way from anywhere and by myself...knew that driving with that thing in my hand was gonna be a problem and I didn't want to have to load the boat, drive into town (a good half hour) and risk passing out along the way...did I mention that every time I moved, the boat moved, or anydarnthing moved...it hurt like crazy? I'm seeing little white sparks at the edges of my eyes when this ting moves even a little... So...I study the thing...give it a little tug to see if it'll back out...LOTS of white stars...that ain't gonna work...so I grab my trusty pliers, sit down on the deck (less distance to fall is I pass out) and shove the hook point the rest of the way through. Everything goes white for a second and my heart rate goes up a bunch...but I'm still vertical and I think I know my name...and the pain dropped off right away. I took a big drink of water, waited a few minutes until I felt like I was back close to normal...then I dug out the pliers, set my hand on the deck and smash the barb down, backed out the hook took a few deep breaths. After a couple minutes, I cleaned out and wrapped up the thumb in a bandage...and went back to fishing. Ever since then...I'm pretty religious about pinching my barbs down. The few fish I lose because I've pinched the barbs are worth it to me: If I ever stick myself again, I'm done and back to fishing in 30 seconds. Much easier to get the hooks out of the fish. Much easier on the fish Every time I think about getting a little sloppy...I look at that little scar...remember those white flashes...and crimp my barbs.

Thanks!

Where might I find the uploads?

I was researching a technique (CRSing on which one), found one of your videos on how to to do it, then followed a link to how to rig it...next thing I knew I was here nosing around.

The primary difference is the satellite images of the shoreline areas. I run Lakemaster Plus at the console (it's nice to see the images as you run up the lake) and regular Lakemaster at the bow. If you'd like an opinion, I'd go with Lakemaster in a Humminbird unit every time - since Johnson Outdoors aquired Lakemaster, they have been tailored to work the best in HB units. Depending on what lakes you're fishing, there's not much out there that can compete with the HD lakes on a Lakemaster Chip in a Humminbird fish finder. If you had a Lowrance or other fish finder, I might make a different recommendation.

Nope. 1 battery for main motor. 1 battery for electronics, lights, everything else (except big motor). 3 batteries (completely isolated, separate system) for trolling motor. ...I'm kind of a nut about this stuff...