The Baron

Our “new” boat (2002 Bass Tracker 165) finally went into the marina for a full engine checkup/tune up (bought it two months ago - been waiting for the shop to finish working on snowmobiles… eh. lol) I thought my first upgrade would be a GPS/sonar, but after really checking the boat out and standing on the small front deck I decided we needed rid of the trolling motor foot pedal and cable first. I wanted Spotlock as well so walked into a local Minn Kota dealer yesterday to kick tires and price things out. The place has great reviews and the guys were very nice. When I told him about our boat and what I wanted, he came out with a refurbished 55# Power Drive v2 and an old stock/new in the box i-Pilot upgrade kit. Said they fully warranty the refurb motor and can install everything. The price he offered made it a great deal, so our boat will go straight from motor service to having the i-Pilot trolling motor installed - at about 1/3 of what I expected that would cost.? I hope I did a good thing. Being an older unit, the i-Pilot remote is about twice the size of the newer ones, but if that gorgeous anchor button works then I know we’re really going to enjoy it.

Life hack: don’t use credit cards to buy anything you can’t pay off in full when the bill comes in. Most definitely not a luxury item. I’m over 50 and have great credit. I’ve been wanting a bass boat for a few years. I could have gone out and bought a boat on payments anytime, but I hate paying interest so I started saving. What I really wanted is a Bass Tracker 195 with all the newest and best trimmings. What I got is a 2002 Bass Tracker 165 with a same era trolling motor and and a fish finder that will go in the garbage when I have the money to upgrade. But, I bought what we now have with cash. And now I keep saving so maybe in a few years if I want to sell what I have and step up, I can do that with cash as well. So, my advice is save your money and watch for a deal on a good used boat. Start with a basic jon with a 9.9 or even just a trolling motor if that’s what you can afford to pay cash for. That gets you fishing and you can save for the next upgrade.

I'm not against it, and if I was a multi-millionaire I'd likely have it. But until then, it would be pretty low on my list. I think as a serious tournament fisherman today, you either have it or you're at a disadvantage. As an "over 50" (?) recreational angler, I don't think I would enjoy staring at a screen all day. Then again, I can see it becoming a pretty addictive tool.

Thanks guys. It was a good deal on a used/fully refurbished boat, so I'm "stuck" with carpet. I'm excited about the boat, just want to keep the carpet looking good.

I tried a search and didn't find another thread on carpets. I'm into my first bass boat this year, which has brand new carpeting (seller said he bought the correct carpet direct from BassPro/Tracker). I'm still trying to wrap my head around how carpet won't be destroyed by fish slime, blood and other dirt. Q is, should I be pre-treating the carpet with something before first use? Then what is the recommended care - vacuum, shampoo? Any suggested products?

My son holds the official weight SMB title in our house - 5lb. 7oz. caught on a Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Minnow in green pumpkin, on a drop shot. My best last year (22" - no scale with me, lucky for my son. lol ) was on a Heddon One Knocker spook in Bone color.

For some reason, a LA crawfish boil and some bass fishing sounds like a good vacation now. ?

Nice! ?

That’s good to hear!

Yup, I’m looking at the Garmin Echomap 95sv with the higher definition GT56 transducer. Start with that at the console, no electronics at the bow this year, I don’t think. Unless I get a ram mount and can move the unit to the bow when fishing, with a second transducer on the trolling motor. I still have to learn how that all works.

Our LMB don’t get much over 6# up here in the Great White North, but there’s a very real chance I’ll crack 6# with a SMB in Lake Ontario. That’s a goby bite, so odds are if I get a real tank in 2023 with will be on a tube or dropshot. For LMB, I’ll break 5# this year on a spook, or a blue/black jig. And although big buckets are nice, I’ll have a permanent smile on those days I’m flipping multiple 3-4# fish on a frog (LMB) or drop shot (SMB). ?

Nice setup BigBiscuit! My list is very similar. Now thinking a Minn Kota Powerdrive 55# Spotlock trolling motor is more important that a high end fish finder. But I still want a good GPS/mapping/sonar unit too. It will probably just come down to whatever I find a good deal on first.

So, I bought myself a really nice used Bass Tracker 165 and am very excited about it.? I pickup up the boat a couple days ago and got it safely tucked into a buddy’s heated shop for the winter. The problem is… it’s only early February. And I’m in Ontario… it’s -20 today. We’re at least two months away from being able to launch into Lake Ontario (on a calm day) and try to find some early spring smallmouth in our special catch and release season. Which is great. But… 2 months. ? I guess that gives me time to get my GPS/fish finder bought and hooked up, then the motor will be getting a health check/tune up in early April before we hit the water. It will be a long wait, but my son and I are definitely looking forward to an awesome season of new possibilities!

Thanks all. After some research and tip from a friend, I'm leaning heavily toward a Garmin Echomap UHD 95sv or possibly a 75sv if I come across either at a great deal. Figure after buying one for the console I'll then wait until I've tried it out and fished the new boat a little, before deciding where to go from there for upgrades. Possibly a Force trolling motor.

For sure - I have no plans to be on either body in all but the most perfect weather, and even then never more than a 15 min from the ramp. This boat is ideally suited for the many dozens of smaller lakes I have within a short drive, or other adventure day small lakes a bit further.

Story is the original owner only fished very locally and stored the trailer/boat indoors when not in the water. The seller said he doubted the trailer had seen more than a few hours of road time in it's life, as the owner lived on the water with a dock and a private ramp in the same bay. The seller did a total interior rebuild during COVID - new flotation, brand new carpets, brand new seats. Also a brand new cover and he had brand new trailer tires in his garage that he just bought to put on - the original tires have lots of tread, but were age cracked on the sides. The hull looks great too and the seller, who was super nice to deal with, said he had the boat docked for a few days last summer after he finished it and it didn't leak a drop. Conclusion is I really got lucky with this find!

We're the proud new owners of a very clean 2002 Bass Tracker Pro Team 165, with a pretty basic 40# thrust foot pedal operated trolling motor. The boat does have a small fish finder at the console, but it's of the same era so is #1 on my list to upgrade. My favorite fishing is off-shore structure, but we'll run the shore or frog the pads regularly. Here's what I would like in the setup: - a fairly large screen, for aging eyes - relatively high definition to identify bottom structure and fish - GPS, with downloadable lake maps (for Ontario) - ability to mark way points for structure or just to be sure I can get back to the launch in an unfamiliar lake - ability to quick disconnect the unit from the console and move it to the bow when fishing (with dedicated transducers for the two) Ideally, my budget would be $1,500 max. so I don't know if that puts us into a unit with side imaging? I'm assuming we're no where near getting Panoptics for targeting suspended fish? I would not be opposed to upgrading the tolling motor to a GPS/spot lock type unit down the road, as a separate budget item if it made sense to build the setup in stages. I have no idea where to start, so am looking for help . My knowledge base is essentially zero, but if I can get pointed in a direction I'll know where to focus my research efforts.

The day finally arrived! After saving and lusting after bass boats for a few years, I bought a 2002 Bass Tracker 165 with a 50hp Merc 2-stroke. The seller completely redid the interior (full strip, new floatation, carpet and seats) and did a great job, so the interior is brand new. The hull looks great too and he said no damage or leaks at all. The seller was very nice and very honest, telling us the complete history of the boat and rebuild. I believe we got a very fair price on a great starter bass boat. My son and I are very excited about the opportunities this opens up for us - it’s much roomier and faster than our canoe. ?

Happy to say that my best 5 all came this past season, and from 4 different lakes, so I think I'm learning something on every body of water I fish. I don't have a scale, but my best was just over 22", three in the 21"+ range and one 20". One of the 21" fish (second pic) was build like a largemouth, and was well over 4# by estimate. That likely puts my weight total around 21#. Doesn't matter much to me - I went into the season lamenting the fact I still only have a canoe, then had my best season ever. I'm now looking forward to being back in the canoe next year.?

Indeed. Loons, rarely ever another boat or fisherman around in a few of my spots. And some very good fishing, at times. I went into last year lamenting the fact I only had a canoe. Then I realized what I had and leveraged it to access spots the bass boats can’t. As a result, 2022 was a great season for me. ?

Fun thread - a welcome opportunity to daydream the hard water season away. Here are a few of my favorites.

I just picked up one of the new Lew's KVD 7'4" M/XF "Smallmouth Special" spinning rods. I'm planning to use this for 3-4"(-ish) swimbaits, thinking the extra length will help with long casts and an XF action might help get fish stuck harder on mid-weight single hooks. I might also put it to work with larger tubes. Planning to setup a reel with 15-20# braid and 8-10# fluoro leader. I was considering the new Shimano Ultegra, or maybe a Diawa Tatula. If you had max. $150 USD to spend, what 2500 size reel would you pair with this rod for my intended use? Edit: I'll add that I'm planning to try my first order to Digitaka in Japan for this reel, so there are a bunch of other reel models to choose from that I'm not familiar with. Not sure if I should stick with models that are available in Canada/USA?

I just renewed my Ontario (Canada) resident "sport fishing" license, at $80/3 years. I could have got the 3 yr. "conservation" fishing license (reduced limits for keeping most species of fish) for $45/3 years but prefer the increased limit for salmon and walleye, when opportunity arises.

I've got one. I don't really know how to pitch/flip very well yet, but I enjoy the reel. Threw some jigs and did some frogging with it this season, with 50# braid. No issues at all. Only minor thing is the spool tensioner knob is very awkward to get at.

Deer drives are still a fairly popular way of hunting in southern/central/eastern Ontario. Not so much in the north, as there's just too much unbroken bush to do a controlled push. We do our pushes on foot, lots of times blockers and drivers are dropped off with a truck as we can drive around most of the blocks we push using farm fields for access. I've never heard of anyone using 4-wheelers, other than as transportation around the hunting area. There are still some gangs who use dogs, but that has dwindled a lot in popularity over the years. Not for controversy, I don't think, but more to do with the cost and the work involved in having a pack of hounds and the fact that the large runs of interconnected farms/bush have been broken up by so many houses and anti-hunting hobby farmers,that finding a place to run hounds effectively has become very difficult. Not to mention the decline in hunter numbers and the disappearance of the big deer camps. Groups of 20+ hunters used to be relatively common. Now, our gang of 10-12 is considered quite large. There has been some controversy on using dogs - I seem to recall PITA making a stink about outlawing it up here a few years back. I think someone countered by bringing up the evidence on how many dogs PITA euthanizes each year, and they slunk away pretty quick. lol