Further North

Catt...tell us a bit about the trim tabs...what do they cost, how do they work, how hard to install...stuff like that. ...they sure look interesting, and I have heard that trim tabs are used frequently on saltwater boats.

I don't know about others, and this may not apply as much to bass, but I will admit to not always paying perfect attention to where I'm setting down a rod while I'm trying to net, de-hook and release a thrashing, toothy, three or four foot long fifteen or twenty pound fish...

Curious where yours are? Mine are where the red circles are: ...easy to place a rod near/under any of them...or snag a shirt leaning in to grab something while the boat is on the trailer...

Great idea! ...those open cleats also shred clothing when you climb up onto the boat while it's on the trailer...two nice Columbia shirts in a couple weeks on mine a couple years back. I pulled off the open cleats and replaced them with fold downs. Your solution is much more cost effective, but less permanent - great thinking!

That stuff's all part of the deal for any movie that's worth watching...chatter? Not so much...

That's where I am with mine, also a custom cover from the boat mfr. I keep the boat indoors, so the cover is only on for long trips. My boat is an 2005, cover still in great shape...but a couple of caveats: Boat was bought new and stored indoors until 2013 when I bought it, virtually unused. Cover was still sealed in the bag when I bought the boat...so it's really only got four seasons of long trips on it. That said...if our circumstances changed today, I'd still cough up the cash for the custom cover. I've had the generic ones in the past and there's no comparison. Fits like a glove, goes on (and comes off) in minutes, reinforced where it needs to be, specific to my boat, fits around the splash well in the back so that can catch rain and drain... Yeah...they're expensive. But so's the boat it's protecting.

Thanks!

I believe it is total boat sales, as in the # of boats bought....So a little over 9K new bassboats in total were sold from March 2016 to March 2017. Thanks. That makes a big difference in interpretation of $$$.

Not sure if it'd help as I have never put 10 lb. braid on my BFS rig...but consider 30# braid.

Curious...is that number of units out the door, or sales dollars in the first column?

I'm OK with music. What I'm not OK with is Other People's Music, loud enough for me to hear much over about 100 feet...

Mmmmm....nope...

Agree...that there are recreational fishing boats that sell for more than $100,000 floors me. No judgement about folks that buy them, it is what it is...but Holy Cow...

Nailed it. I listen to music a lot...but even at home, if I want to crank it up...I put my headphones on so I'm the only one who has to deal with it... Same thing with movies...my wife like moves where there's lots ot talking...chatter...sounds a lot like static to me...I tend to like movies that are more...action oriented...for lack of a better term. On go the headphones, I don't have to listen to the chatter, she doesn't have to listen to stuff blowing up... Everyone be happy...

Not sure what a "radio " is... ...but here's the deal: Imposing/inflicting your music on others is childish at best. There's no argument that won't make the person arguing the point look self involved to a degree that is just...stunning to a funtional adult... Someone might cite "free speech" and try to connect it to expressing their "musical freedom' or some such snowflake nonsense. That'd be true...but it's worth noting that there's nothing that says that free speech is without consequence... The part I put in bold is the key. No one normal has a problem with that. That's the key... That's just ducky...but if you troll too close to someone who just wants quiet...and you provoke a response...try really hard to to get wrapped 'round the axle about it. You'll have earned it.

I am curious what your source is. I'd love to call them and follow up with some questions.... ...and often not even that. They have been known - often - to slash personnel and other costs to make the bottom line look attractive to potential buyers who don't know due diligence from their...um...backside...

Keeping in mind that this is for my boat and my boat only: The best stereo in my boat is none. One of the reasons I fish is to get away from the noise...with a nod to Kenny Chesney: "Noise" Wrecking balls, downtown construction Bottles breaking, jukebox buzzing Cardboard sign says "The Lord is Coming" Tick, tick, tock Rumors turn the mills back home Parking lot kids with the speakers blown We didn't turn it on but we can't turn it off, off, off Sometimes I wonder how did we get here Seems like all we ever hear is noise Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise 24 hour television, get so loud that no one listens Sex and money and politicians talk, talk, talk But there really ain't no conversation Ain't nothing left to the imagination Trapped in our phones and we can't make it stop, stop this noise Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise Every room, every house, every shade of noise All the floors, all the walls, they all shake with noise We can't sleep, we can't think, can't escape the noise We can't take the noise, so we just make noise Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise All this noise Can't take the noise Can't take the noise Can't stand the noise Can't take the noise *** ...I'm fine with radios on other people's boats as long as I can't hear them in mine 200 feet away...

I agree and had the same steep learning curve. I use my Ulterra around docks all the time, use my Terrova that way as well. It requires looking and planning ahead...but it's not like the docks are going to move. It's kinda like getting up to the check out at the store and waiting until the cashier tells you how much the total is before you pull out your wallet...it's not like you didn't know it was coming... ...to be fair...I suspect that what we call docks in northern WI and what are called docks further south are completely different animals that require completely different tactics and I am open to the idea that different equipment on the boat would make things easier and more effective as well... ...but around here, electric steer and docks are just fine. Look ahead, plan ahead...like racing, if you're looking just ahead of your car, you're already screwed...

Nailed it... I thought I'd want a rod locker with the neatly organized rod tubes at the front and holders for the rod butts... ...turns out that's not what I want at all. I can get more rods in there is I don't have those restrictions...and as a dedicated multi-species guy who has no idea what I'm gonna want to use until I get out on the water and see what's working...that's what works best for me.

'Zactly. I do it all the time. I pay very close attention to wind and current direction before I approach the dock or tight structure and set myself up for success. I have years of experience with the Terrova and the Ulterra. Both work great. Zero real issues that were not operator induced*. Have heard good things about the Motor Guide unit as well. The Ultrex is a "hybrid" between cable steer and electric steer and also works great for a lot of people. One bit of advice: Buy the most motor you can afford, and fit into your rig. I run 36 volt, 112 ft. lbs. of thrust on an eighteen and a half foot aluminum hull boat. Lotta people would call it overkill...they are wrong. I have never, ever...not once...had too much power...and I never will. Did it cost more than an 80% thrust, 24 volt system? You bet it did. And yes, there's an extra battery, and a more expensive charger to buy as well...but it is better than a 24 volt system in every way that matters. Will an 80#, 24 volt system work if that's what you can afford? It sure will, and if that's what your budget or the way your boat is set up dictate...that's what you should do and don't look back... ...but if you can squeeze the 36 volt unit in to the boat and your budget...get 'er done...Ignore the naysayers. *if you run them into the bottom often enough, eventually something's gonna give. I've bent a couple of drive shafts (but never the main shaft that runs from the TM head to the motor), and beaten the holly crap out of a couple of SI transducers that I've had strapped to my trolling motors. None of that is anyone's fault but mine.

Toothy fish. Just sayin'...

I get that, I really do. But I don't mind putting the rod down for a few weeks a year to chase birds. The dogs kinda like it too... ...our open water fishing is usually over by mid-November, sometimes early December. Grouse season opens about September 15th, runs through the end of January. Pheasant season opens about October 15th, runs through the end of December. Trout season opens Jan. 1st. Ice is usually off the lakes by the middle of March, give or take a week or two. I can always find something to do... That's a really cool lifestyle for folks who can live that way. I could never do it, I need more space than that...and I like to be "home". I know a couple who have tried it, they love it, but it seems like it is wearing on them a little.

I would have a hard time moving...but I have no problem with the winters in NW WI. I have, well within 2 hours (most are within a half hour): Smallies on lakes and rivers. Largemouth (nothing like southern monsters). World class musky fishing in lakes and rivers. Big northern pike...and lots of small ones. World class trout fishing (rivals and exceeds what is found out west). Walleyes all over the place, if I ever get really, really boared. Panfish, see above about boredom. Steelhead on "The River of Presidents" Lake Superior gets into the act within that two hours as well if you like lake trout, steelhead, coho, king salmon and lake run browns. My second passion has always been upland bird hunting, I have, in some cases literally out my back door: Ruffed grouse. Woodcock. Pheasant (not like out west, but 20 bird days happen every year). Bobwhite (not big numbers, but they are here). I am not a waterfowl hunter, but you can't wade a trout stream around here without flushing all kinds of ducks and you can't swing a long stick most places without hitting a goose or twenty. I am also not a big game hunter, but I could shoot deer without leaving the house, have had black bear in my yard (and a couple heavier than 700 lbs have been killed relatively close by), I have heard that some of Wisconsin's biggest bucks are one county south. XC skiing is great in the winters, as is snowmobiling (trail is on the eastern boundary of our property). There's more ATV trails around than you could ride in a lifetime (trail is 200 ft. from the western edge of our property), hiking, canoeing opportunities literally all over...cool stuff like waterfalls and easy drive. ...I understand why some people couldn't enjoy the winters ,-27° can really get your attention, but it's unlikely we'll leave.

That's exactly what I'm saying...doesn't matter if it costs more, it's lost margin if the the other guy sells it. I'd rather have 5% (or 2%, or whatever) than 20% of nothing... ...the buyer that goes elsewhere to get that Alumacraft is most likely going to go back there for service and accessories. That's when it really starts to hurt... Mostly because anyone who has looked hard at Alumacraft and Tracker and decided Alumacraft is a better boat isn't going to buy the Tracker just because Cabela's is selling it. The risk of letting go of the other brands is pretty high...let it go and they loose all profit opportunity on those brands...that'd be silly in my book, but I'm not a boat business whiz, I just make 2 - 3 x commodity margins on corrugated...I'd be surprised to see them make a business decision like that.

One at the bow, one at the console, whatever size your pocketbook can handle. For me, more than that is just a distraction. People who claim to be able to "multi-task" aren't really good at anything...