Further North

I've had a Lund 1800 Pro-V, a 1750 Crestliner and am currently running a Crestliner CMV 1850. I like the CMV because of layout and storage, but all three were good boats and I'd buy another of either brand in a heartbeat. I had a Tracker for a couple years as well...they are good boats, and it got the job done well, but they just don't have the same build quality as the Lunds and Crestliners. That's not bashing the Tracker - it's just reality. If a Tracker was what my budget allowed, I'd buy another, no problem. I fished out of several Alumacrafts and one G3, no problems there either, all good products. I have not fished out of a Lowe, but have heard they are good. ...the way I picked out my last boat (the CMV) was based on how I fish - I wanted big decks, lots of storage and a rod locker. I want my tackle below deck, out of my way when I'm fishing, and I want the same for the rods I'm not using. I decided I'd settle for slightly lower ride quality as I fish a lot more than I run the boat I easilly fish 10 hours for every hour I spend running), it turned out it doesn't matter much...my CMV has an 11° dead rise, the Fish Hawk has an 12° dead rise and the Pro-V had a bit more than that...there's no real difference in how they run at cruising speed, and honestly the CMV is easier to handle in bad weather than the Lund was...but that's likely got more to do with the hull design being 15 years newer than dead rise angles. ...as far as getting into shallow water...I ran that big Lund into water around 12" often easily. Trim up the motor and run in on the bow mount...no problem. Could it go as shallow as a bass boat? Probably not...but I don't need to where I live. I run the CMV through water around 1 ft. all the time. Easy as pie. I have mor trouble running my trolling motor shallow than I do hanging up the boat hull.

E-Tecs had some troubles when they first came out...not so much any more. It's hard to buy a bad motor these days, unless you are unlucky enough to get the one bad one they all make from time to time. I would have no problem buying any make new motors these days. Going with what you can get serviced near by is as good a reason as any to pick a motor. ...if my Suzuki DF140 ever craps out I'd probably go to a Yamaha F150 because the best dealer in our areas sells them and that motor is excellent. I'd have no problem with a Merc, Evinrude or another Suzuki either.

Go take a look at the Ford Escape with the 2.0L motor and the towing package. Rated for towing to 3500 lbs, bulit in anti-sway, lots of other great features. I'd been towing my Crestliner CMV 1850 with a Saab 9-7x (it's the same truck as the Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy) and having no problems, but the day to day gas mileage was killing me. The escape only gives up 7 ft. lbs of torque and pulls my boat just fine...better than the Saab...subjectively, better than the Saab. There is no lack of power at all, the brakes do a fine job of stopping (again, as good as the Saab) and I get better than 25 MPG day to day driving, and an easy 15 MPG pulling the boat. Escapes can be found used all over for mid $20Ks a couple of years old (we paid $23,250 for our 2014 in January of this year)...but finding one with the factory tow package can be a bit of a challenge - took me about a month the zero in on the right price/options deal witht he factory package. Going with an aftermarket hitch seriously impacts the tow rating (it drops out the anti sway), I would not recommend it. That Crestliner CMV probably tips the scales at about 3,100 if the gas tank is full and it's got all my gear in it, and it tows great - I've towed the boat an easy 25 times this season including one 700 mile round trip from WI to Lake of the Woods and a couple of 2 hour hauls here in NW WI. Zero problems, great tow vehicle. I spent the time from the end of the season here (mid November) until January researching and test driving all the comparable SUVs and Crossovers...nothing else even came close to the combination of towing ability and day to day MPG that the Escape did. I drove them all, read about them on-line, talked to owners, etc. At the end of all that it was an easy choice.

That'd do it for me... It's exciting enough when a musky or a pike nails a bass on your line...can't imagine what it's like when a gator does it. ...but it sounds like an even bigger reason to use the nets from shore or when in a boat.

This works great on the boat. lean the rod away from you, over the gunnels, but the line in your teeth and off you go. I re-rigged several rods this way up in Canada a couple of weeks ago with wire leaders and with flouro leaders - works every time. I can get this done in about 3 minutes if I set up for it right.

I don't understand the reluctance of some of the folks who replied to use a net... I net almost all the fish I bring in the boat fish, for a few reasons: It's easier on the fish. It's easier on me. I'm not going to get a hook driven into my hand by a last minute lunge from the fish. The net extends my reach and I can get them in the boat faster (more of #1) I keep 3 nets on the boat, two fairly large fly fishing style nets (one in front, one in back) - these get used for 90% of the bass I need to net as it's easy to bend down, grab the net, scoop up the fish, de-hook it and have it back in the water fast. I use either the black rubber nets, or the coated ones - never, ever had a problem getting the fish or the hooks out of them. My third net is a Ego Slider S2 large size net...again, with the black rubber netting. This gets used for fish about 20" and over, so a few bass and most pike and small musky. These nets extend to about double their original length if needed. ...but what I do 90% of the time is leave the fish in the water, bend down and grab the hook with a set of pliers and back it out of the fish without ever taking it out of the water. I de-barb all my hooks, so this is usually easy and fast. When I'm wading, one of the fly fishing nets gets used, if the fish won't fit in that, I'll use the technique above ove backing them onto shore.

Don't know size (I seldom measure or weigh), but call it 15"- 16". It was on a orange Yamamato Hula grub on a 5/16 oz. stand up jig head.

Rod depands on where I'm fishing, and what I think is going to work...most often a 6'8" St. Croix Legend Extreme if I'm throwing gear, or a 9 ft. St. Croix Bank Robber 7 wt. if I'm throwing flies. That fly rod may go up or down a weight depending on conditions. I use a sling pack for carrying my "stuff". Lots of companies make them now, but when I started, using one, Orvis had the only one I liked. I've since updated it twice and use the original one for trout (it's kind of small) and usually use this one: ...or this one: ...yeah...they're Orvis...but they work, are reasonably priced and they carry a lot of stuff without having to deal with how weight hangs in a vest. they ride high and centered on my back where the weight is well distributed and I can get to all my "stuff" fast. If I'm throwing gear, I carry it in small Plano boxes that fit well in the packs, if I'm throwing flies, I swap out the Plano boxes for the fly gear ones.

The second part is why I use a plastic bead - I figure the glass is actually harder than the lead and more likely to not damage the line. Dunno if it makes any difference, but it makes me happy...

Strike King Smokin' Rooster.

That's about what I thought, but I wasn't sure about line I buy that I store before use, Sounds like it's pretty much good for along time. Thanks!

I'm sorta the opposite of that - I have some braid that's been on reels for going on 4 seasons now,,,still doing fine. I swap out my leaders often instead, I think it's cheaper in the long run.

I've had iPilots since they were new, am currently running a 4 year old 101 lb, 36 volt Terrova with iPilot and Link. if the noise bothers you, it'll bother you...it doesn't bug me and since there was no competition when the Terrova came out...that's what I use. "Follow the contour" is NOT the only way to use the Terrova - can can do that, you can off set to a contour, you can record and re-run routes and you can plot a course on your HB fish finder and have it follow that as well. As far as the Terrova not holding dead on a spot, that is somewhat true...if you make sure you are bow into the wind, you'll minimize movement...the other thing that I have found causes some pain is that I think a lot of folks go one motor too light. I run the 101 (and will replace it with a 112 when it dies) on a Crestliner CMV 1850. It's light, low to the water almost like a bass boat and doesn't get swatted all over by the wind. With more torque the 101 works a lot less hard than the 80 does, and it doesn't have to correct as hard to get back on your spot. Both these motors are great pieces of equipment and will change the way you fish if you don't already have one. Boat control becomes a much smaller percentage of you time on the water and you can fish more. try to find one of each on a boat and play with them, pick the one you like best.

I am curious what you folks see in line life, both when it is spooled and when it is stored unopened. I mix in a bit of everything, braid, mono and fluorocarbon a couple of hybrid type lines.

I have that reel, love it. Everyone who has used it loves it...I'd have a couple more if they weren't so expensive. I'd want to pair it with something a little further up the curve than the St. Croix Avid X (and about half my rods are St. Croix, so I'm not slamming them at all). I have one Legend Extreme rod and it's a heck of a nice piece of equipment...not sure it's worth the extra money though. I had the Shimano DC on a Legend Tournament and it was a great combo, but I swapped it off there up to a heavier rod that's dedicated to pike and muskies. I replaced the reel on the Legend Tournament with an Abu Garcie Revo Rocket and I really like the way that set up works.

It's hard to explain, and there's a lot of Youtube videos that'll do a better job...but I'll try. I use a long rod - 7 ft minimum, and my three favorites are 7' 6" and 7' 9". They are all medium heavy, fast action. I use a fast reel (because the retrieve is really just getting the lure back to you). I use an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket. I set the spool to where the lure (usually some kind of soft plastic on a jig or a Texas rigged soft plastic) begins to free fall, and I turn off any braking as far as I can. I start with the bait just above the cork on the grip, grab it in my left hand (I'm a righty), hit the button on the reel, point the tip of the rod at where I want to pitch to, and while I let go of the bait and let it swing, lif the rod tip to give it forward momentum. Thumb the spool when the bait hits water, or when it is over your target. You're gonne get some backlashes...practice will reduce them, but they're never going away. Let the bait hit, and sink to the bottom, pause, twitch, pause, twitch, give it couple of short jerks to imitate a crayfish...reel in and repeat. If you see line movement, set the hook. Hooksets are free. I typically use a pretty heavy weight - 3/8 oz min, up to an ounce, but usually use 1/2 ounce or 3/4 ounce. If you go lighter, you'll need to back off on the rod action, at least until you get good at this. This is an accuracy presentation, not a distance one, so start short and work your way into it. Go watch some of the videos too, they'll help.

You will. Stay on it. I practice almost every day in the yard if I can't get out in the boat. Some days I practice pitching, some days fly casting, some days other techniques. I usually "cast around the house" so I have to deal with all wind directions and lots of obstacles. It works pretty well for me.

Accuracy is more important than distance, every time. Focus on that, distance will come with practice. "Use the Force, Luke."

I like double triggers on SxS shotguns.....

There's som big girls in that lake... Just a hair shy of 22 3/4", a nudge over 6 lbs.

Your opener was better than mine, I was in Nashville for work.... I live just north of you near Chippewa Falls, and other than Saturday up on Shell Lake it's been going OK, but I haven't touched any largemouth that big.

Fly fishing is way easier than it is made out to be. It requires a little more attention than we're used to to make sure the area where your back cast is going to go is clear, and there's a couple of things that'll help your cast...but it's not that hard. I fly fish for trout, bass, pike and musky...of the bunch, trout are the only one that really require the real finesse of lightly drifting a tiny fly to the surface and controlling the drift. For bass and toothy critters it's usually OK if the fly looks like it fell off a cliff when it hits the water...toothy fish especially.

Cool! A side note: I've started using a large trout net on smallies so that I don't handle them as much - I can also get them landed earlier and back in the water faster. If I want a picture, I can leave them in the water until the last second, lift out, snap and release.

I'm in NW WI, a bit north of Eau Claire. That particular lake is not a chain. As far as the great lakes go, Sturgeon Bay produces some big fish, as do some of the bays on Lake Superior. One that I know of has a 23" minimum.

That lake produces some awesome color. If I wak up early enough, I'm headed up there again in the AM.