jbmaine

Check out Cabelas. They are having a sale on electronics right now plus 10% off today. I ordered a Garmin echo map chip 73sv sonar/ gps combo with lake vu HD for $ 539.99 and the same with CV for $ 431.99

Please do. Sorry I didn't think of that. Jim

Hi All, I've been in the market for a couple of fish finders for the new boat (Lund fury XL sport ) I have on order. I've been cruising the internet daily for a good deal and finally came across one. Cabelas is having a sale on electronics right now, and today there is a 10% sale also. So I ordered a Garmin echoMAP chirp 73sv Sonar/ GPS combo with lake vu HD for $ 539.99, and the same unit with cv for $ 431.99. All told It was almost $ 400 of list. The sv will go in the console and the cv will go in the bow. Why Garmin?-I like the way it's laid out and the included maps. Why 7 inch?- My boat has a full windshield and a small casting deck so 7 inch is as big as I can go, and it was in my budget. All in all I'm happy. Jim

I don't know your specifics but I'm also setting up my " last boat ever " and I have a bad back. I'm going with the Ulterra. The last thing I want to do is ruin a day of fishing because I ginched my back pulling up a trolling motor. Jim

Hi Taylor, Welcome, nice to see another Mainer here. What part of Southern Maine do you call home. I'm just outside of Kittery. Jim

Thanks all, They have the Ulterra 80lb thrust, 60 inch shaft on sale now for $ 1706.00. BPS lists them for almost $ 2200. They are on back order but I don't need it right this moment. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on this, as this is by far the cheapest I've found them. Jim

Hi all, I'm in the market for trolling motor, fish finders for my new boat and BOE has been mentioned as a place to look. They are having a sale right now and i'm tempted to place an order, but before I do I thought i'd see if anyone could give me feed back on buying from them. Good, bad, indifferent? Thanks Jim

I agree about better deals at other places, I was just using BPS as an example. That being said, if BPS had the best prices or sales I could drive over and pick them up and not have to pay sales tax. I'm in Maine, BPS is in NH.

When you buy fish finders, trolling motors etc. are you finding extended warranties worth while? I'll be picking up both a couple of fish finders and a trolling motor this winter and I'm wondering if I should get extended warranties with them. For example, reading thru the BPS Gear guard plan fine print restrictions, it seems there are many loop holes on things they would cover. Thanks, Jim

I always hate to see the season come to a close. When I was younger I ice fished, but as I got older I gave it up. It was taking too much effort to chop a hole in the ice big enough to put the boat in. Especially if you like trolling.

Thanks for all the replies and advise, In our situation, my wife is a short disabled women with bad knees. She cannot climb up into a vehicle, so we are held captive to a smaller SUV. We are also a single income family and cannot afford a second vehicle. Right now we are around 35 miles from our fishing spots on mostly level ground. Within a couple of yrs we plan on moving to within 10-15 minutes of our fishing spots so the wear and tear from towing a boat with a smaller SUV should be minimal. If we could afford it, and my wife could drive it , I would have a pickup in a heart beat. Jim

This is all great advise. Thanks Jim

It's fine, When it comes to fishing I never take it too serious. To me being too serious takes the fun out of it. When my wife and I go fishing, if we catch fish or not, so long as we can laugh and enjoy each others company, it's a good day. Jim

When is this going to be? Jim

You cast a lure with all your might. It goes X distance. You immediately feel a tic,pull, or see a fish rise on it. You set the hook with all your might, and miss the fish. Your lure comes sailing back at you, and goes past you to land on the other side of the boat in the water. This = X + distance past you. Given that X + distance past you is greater than X than by the law of fish physics, would we all cast further if we cast backwards?

I know it's kind of a open question, but I'm going to be picking up a trolling motor, graphs, etc for my boat this winter, and Many of you have mentioned Black Friday ( day after Thanksgiving) for the best sales. Traditionally speaking, are these advertised ahead of time or just kind of at the moment. Also I know to look at TWH, BPS, Cabelas. Any other places you would recommend I keep an eye on. Thanks Jim

hi all, As some of you know I have a new boat on order, and will pick it up in the spring. I put my old boat for sale on craigslist a while ago, and after a couple of false starts I sold it this A.M. It was actually kind of sad to see it go, My wife and I had a lot of good times in it during the last 10 yrs. So good news: I don't have to store my old boat over the winter, and I have $$ towards trolling motor, electronics for the new boat. So bad news : The weather has been really nice up here this fall but now I have nothing to fish out of. So good news : Come spring We'll have a new boat, and be much more comfortable out on the water all day. So bad news : it's going to be a long Winter!!!!!!!! Jim

Just to get back on topic, or maybe not so much, I need a vehicle to tow my new boat come spring. My forester just will not do it. My wife has disabilities and has to have a vehicle that's easy for her to drive. I figure around 10k for my forester plus around 10k cash is my limit . I also insist on AWD and good gas mileage. So my parameters are a used small or midsize SUV capable of towing at least 2500lb. As far as brand, I'm not locked into ford, but not too many small SUV's have much towing capacity. I've heard good and bad stories on just about every vehicle made in the last 3 or 4 yrs Jim

My new boat is a Lund Fury XL Sport with a 50 hp . Looking at all the specs and figuring all the gear It should come in at just under 2000lb. I'd like to tow it with a vehicle rated for at least 2500lb (3500lb would be better). I don't like towing right at the edge of capacity. Jim

Wow, nice SM. Was it fun? O wait, never mind, your grin says it all ! That looks like a nice Lund, what model is it ? Jim

I'm going to have to go used, $$$ just to tight with buying a new boat. But I have all fall, winter to find what I need. Truth be told it will be nice to get rid of my forester. I've been less than happy with it. Jim

Thanks everyone, This is just the kind of input I was looking for. I'm not picking the boat up until spring, so I'll have plenty of time to find what I need. Jim

Until I saw your post I hadn't thought of these in yrs. Very old school, and can be very effective. I think I still have a couple of these kicking around, I'll have to put them in my tackle box. Thanks Jim

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to be looking at used vehicles and definitely AWD. I'd love a full size SUV, but as our only vehicle I need something more efficient. I'll be replacing a Subaru Forrester. I was looking at the Escape because of the towing package, but am open to something different if it does the job. Jim

Hi all, I'll be picking up my new boat come spring, and will need a better vehicle to tow it with. It will be a 16 ft tin boat, and boat, motor, trailer, and gear should come to around 1700-1800 lbs. We can only afford one vehicle in our family, so I'm looking for a smaller size SUV that's all around good on gas. I've started to look at the Ford Escape with a towing package. The towing package will allow it to tow up to 3500LB . Before I get to far into this, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if they see issues with towing that much with a vehicle that size. The trailer does not have brakes of it's own, and I don't plan on towing more than 50 or so miles. your input would be appreciated. Thanks Jim