Further North

A friend has a problem I haven't seen before: Turn on bow mounted HB 999 and it does this... http://vid189.photobucket.com/albums/z239/groznak/4C6AB83F-47EF-40C5-9E37-7CF2AD63C220_zpsnyoyexmq.mp4 Software version is: ...I am thinking it gets an all expenses paid return trip to the mother ship in Eaufala...

My exceptions to this are: In-line spinners (Mepps, Blue Fox, Double cowgirls for pike and muskys...) Spoons (again, mostly for toothy fish) BAMF flies for musky and pike Gotta have at least a swivel in-line for these unless you revel in untangling twisted line nightmares that'll make strong men cry.

Exactly what I do.

I've got another non-traditional aluminum v-hulled boat - a Crestliner CMV. It's got a slightly shallower hull than the Crestliner Fishhawk (1° less deadrise), with a traditional bass boat layout. I am also primarily a musky/pike/bass fisherman. It handles big water (Lake of the Woods and other big Canadian lakes) very well. Like Sloanzp wrote, I prefer it because I fish the same kind of water you do - lots of rock/sand bottoms with varying depth...I'd probably be fine with glass...but I'm more comfortable with aluminum. What I like about the bass boat layout is the amount of space for fishing, and amount of storage. All my tackle and all my rods are stored below deck, out of the way, unless I'm using them. What I don't like about most traditional deep-V boats is that they lack storage and that the back of the boat isn't really set up for fishing actively. Potential storage space and casting platforms are taken up with a deep well that holds for chairs...and little else. Tackle boxes are likely to be on the deck, getting in the way and not organized the way I want. ...but a lot of people have them, use them and love them.

Congrats on your new boat, and for finding a good seller to buy from. I hope you enjoy the boat for a long time.

Tillers are absolutely great if having room in the boat is important...it's like a dance floor out there...Tillers kick console butt when it comes to pen space in the boat. I prefer a console boat (I actually prefer a twin console boat, a "double bubble") because I like how they drive and handle, and I can see the water in front of the boat better...I fish a major river system often and there's stuff in the water that I want to know about sooner than later...and I just like them better.

One of the things a lot of folks who don't fly fish don't know about fly-fishing is that there are heavy rods for this kind of thing - we're not using a noodle-y trout rod for pike and musky, but usually an 8, 9 or 10 wt. rod that's made for these kinds of fish. ...but yeah,,,even then it's an incredible rush...just because of how you fish for them.

Makes perfect sense.

Watch this video...first, it'll show you what a boat not on plane looks like...then one porpoising...and than about 1:40 shows a more properly adjusted boat. It should help.

Answer from another forum: Can't be done with the Ulterra. The stow and deploy is timed to the length of the shaft. Timing can't be changed and if you shorten the shaft, the trolling motor won't know what to do.

Thanks - we'll double check, but I didn't see it Saturday. The menus are different enough from mine (x98) that I may have missed it. My 798 can see and use my 1198 transom transducer, so I know that works.

Hmmm... Maybe...but the option isn't there...nor is the screen for SI...and the the SI transducer doesn't show up on the DI unit's network. If we're missing something, an answer a little more informative than "FALSE" would be appreciated.

No...you won't have side imaging at the bow if the unit up there is not a side imaging unit. I Just finished helping a friend install an Helix 9 SI at the console and a DI at the front...the DI can see his 360°, but it cannot see the SI transducer at the transom.

I have used a Terrova (and now an Ulterra) for years in this capacity. They work fine.

Nah...there's no way all those people keeping all those fish has anything to do with why the walleye fishing has dropped off...Just ask any fisherman out there who has a freezer full of walleye and they'll tell you so.

They make a neat tunnel hull that I briefly considered for a river boat. They were in my top three before I dumped the river rig idea. I'll look at them again if I ever get back on that path.

Every one I found, even ones with smaller motors, was priced higher than $5000. As far as I know, SeaArk makes a good boat.

Good advice here - I'd re-do the test after I made sure I knew how to do it. What year is the boat?

The Ulterra has to completely deploy before you can use any of its functions. You can't run it into the bottom too hard...but it will let you turn on the prop when it's on the bottom...and if you move shallower you can bash it around. There's no issue with running it at the right depth, other than the head sticking up so far that it gets in the way of low casting...and sweep hooksets. I'll try to remember to get a couple pictures today.

Great starter boat for a young person just getting into life - it won't break the bank but will get you on the water. As long as it doesn't leak and the motor is in good shape, it should meet your needs while you're in school and getting your life going. By the way - that's a really well written post - congratulations for paying attention in school!

I feel bad because I didn't give any background on my terminology. "gawshdamsumberfutchinmutherchuckinsomeofititches" Etymology: Word created during a hard hit by a 30" + pike while fly line is wrapped around a rope cleat and a landing net on the boat deck. The result makes a poorly managed backlash on a bait casting reel look like a walk in the park...net result (pun intended) is a lost fish, net in the water with line woven around the handle in a Celtic pattern and at least one expensive lure/fly over the side and headed for the bottom. Exceptional iterations involve at least one piece of marine electronics and the toe of your weak-side footwear. I don't believe it's translated from Latin.

A-Jay...that's a great idea...let's kick it around... 2 thoughts right off the bat: It's one more piece of "stuff" to clutter up my deck I guarantee that at some point I'll wrap a fly line around that pole causing me to stub a cast...or worse, lose a fish, at which point a word that may sound like "gawshdamsumberfutchinmutherchuckinsomeofititches" will pass my lips...I try to avoid this...it's been known to scare the children. It has me moving the boat instead of the trolling motor...I can't fish when I'm doing that. I've run a Terrova for years, and run an Ulterra now so I can fish while th egear does the hard work...gotta be a way to keep that going on. The other thought I have is: I already own the Ulterra, gotta find a way to work with it...and I don't like that head/shaft sticking up 30"...

The motor will hit the bottom if you drop the the head to the deck...the only available configuration from Minn Kota with iPilot and Link in 112 Ft. lbs. of thrust is a 60" shaft...that'll run a lot of motor into the bottom in 2 ft. of water... ...that said...there's a way around this...there has to be.

That's a nice looking rig - we never see the bass style Alumacraft boats up in this neck of the woods...which is a shame. Just for giggles, I priced out a current version, and it came in @ about $30, 600 with a 115 Suzuki and a decent trailer...their online choices for electronics leave a lot to be desired, I assumed I'd keep what I have. ...too bad about the hull problem, but you'll get it figured out and ready to go.

I upgraded my Terrova to an Ulterra this season...and it sticks up even higher than a Terrova did (there's a housing for the auto-deploy that adds a few inches). The beauty of an an Ulterra, is that you can drop the head to the deck with the push of a button...the downside is that you can't do it shallow water...and I fish shallow water a lot...and the head of the Ulterra is gonna get in the way for casts like skipping...ort anything where I want a low trajectory and entry point. So...there's all kinds of info out there on "short shafting" trolling motors (cutting the shafts shorter)...but I've found nothing about doing this on an Ulterra. It's more complicated than on a Terrova as there's a toothed belt that runs up the shaft...and I have to assume that there's some sort of tracking going on relative to how deep the motor is in whatever computer is involved in driving this thing. Anyone heard anything solid? Speculation as to what might work isn't on the table with a $2,600 trolling motor...I'm not going to try things to see if they work...