huskertko Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I bought a 9' Pond Prowler from BPS this weekend and although the weather pretty much sucked today, I still took the boat out on her maiden voyage. So far from the first trip, I can say, I really like the stability of the boat and the ease of moving around in it. The one downside is it does seem to get pushed around by the wind pretty easily, no granted it was blowing about 15 mph today and I was on a pretty unprotected lake. I also realized a couple other things, my boat handling and my trailer backing really leave a lot of room for improvement. I didn't even really fish today because I was battleing the boat and the wind so much. As far as tailer backing skills, well lets just say I could have won a lot of money on Americas Funniest Home videos. All in all, I am really excited about this fishing season, my first with a "real" boat. Quote
Madhouse27 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Congrats on the first run. As far as the backing up goes it seems to me that the shorter the trailer....the harder it is. I'm assuming that your 9' boat doesn't have a real long trailer. It definately takes some practice and even then it's pretty tough. I have no problem maneuvering my skeeter trailer around but the short single trailer that I have for my atv is entirely another story. It's all I can to actually get it into the garage. Enjoy the new boat. Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 Congrats on the first run. As far as the backing up goes it seems to me that the shorter the trailer....the harder it is. I'm assuming that your 9' boat doesn't have a real long trailer. It definately takes some practice and even then it's pretty tough. I have no problem maneuvering my skeeter trailer around but the short single trailer that I have for my atv is entirely another story. It's all I can to actually get it into the garage. Enjoy the new boat. Yeah the trailer is only 8 foot long and 6 foot wide, so it is narrower that my truck which makes it difficult to even see it when backing it up. Quote
Popeye Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Congratulations on your new boat! Nice to be able to get out there where you need to be to catch them bass hawgs!! Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 Congratulations on your new boat! Nice to be able to get out there where you need to be to catch them bass hawgs!! Yeah, I liked my kickboat at first but I was kinda restricted on how far I could travel on the water and the things i could do. Now once I get the hang of handling the boat and fishing at the same time, I feel like I have a much better range of techniques I can do effectively. Quote
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted March 17, 2008 Super User Posted March 17, 2008 Congrats!!!! Happen to get a water temp and where did you go? I am hoping to get out late this week for the first time. Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 Congrats!!!!Happen to get a water temp and where did you go? I am hoping to get out late this week for the first time. I went to Kill Creek, the water is still pretty stained and water temp was 44.6 degrees on my graph. With the east wind and that lake totaly unprotected on the east side, it was really tough to hold the boat still enough to actually fish much. I went out on Friday without a boat and caught a nice 2.5lb'r on a jig and pig just past the beachand two other guys in the same area both caught one or two in the same size range, also on jigs. Now with a decent boat, I am looking forward to invading your home lake over at Lone Star. Quote
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted March 17, 2008 Super User Posted March 17, 2008 It's really my only complaint with the boat .... the freakn wind. Up to 15 is doable, but still kind of a pain if you are trying to use finesse applications. When it gets close to 20 you are probably better off staying home >. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of the warm days early in the spring also come with strong winds. Good to see the temps rising. Quote
IneedAnewScreenName9886691 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Sweet! Another boat'n Bass Fisherman and just in time for SPRING! Enjoy her! The short trailers are a little tougher to back. I suggest taking your time and learn to use your mirrors and not look over your shoulder. Seriously will make you a lot better at it. Just my .02 Happy Releasing, H.G. Quote
w4svc Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 As for backing the trailer try this. Get one of those flags the kids use on their bikes. (one of those red flags with the long pole) Place this in a removeble holder on the drivers side back end of the trailer. This way it will be taller that the back of your truck bed and you will be able to see the pole and know where the corner of the trailer is. As for fighting the wind. Try a sea anchor a five gallon bucket with a piece of floating material mounted to the inside. Only enough to get the bucket to stay slightly on the surface of the water and a rope. Or you can get a real one from Bass Pro or Cabelas Just thoughts that may help w4svc aka Vic Tight lines and good Fishing Quote
Super User Grey Wolf Posted March 17, 2008 Super User Posted March 17, 2008 Drift sock and anchors front and back will help your wind problems. Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 I am thinking of building some sort of rudimentary rudder for the back of the boat, hopefully that will help keep the back of the boat from swinging around so easily. Quote
Popeye Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 A PVC based rudder system should be easy to fabricate and attach to your new boat. I'll probably make one for my Nu Canoe as well. I'll check the DIY section of the kayak forum and see what I can come up with for the both of us! Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 A PVC based rudder system should be easy to fabricate and attach to your new boat. I'll probably make one for my Nu Canoe as well. I'll check the DIY section of the kayak forum and see what I can come up with for the both of us! Thanks, I appreciate that . Quote
Brush Hog20 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I have this exact same boat and I just throw it in the back of my truck. You mentioned you have a truck. Is putting the boat in the bed of your truck not an option? As far as the boat itself I love it. I can fish two out of it but its wonderful when I fish by myself. On windy days I drift alot. Just head up wind and drift down on the line I want and then do it over again.. Another thing I love about these boats is I can float anywhere I can get my truck so very few waters are safe from my BrushHog... ;D Quote
Brush Hog20 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I just saw you live in Olathe. I lived in Lenexa for 10 years before just recently moving back home to Iowa. That boat will be perfet for Shawnee Mission Lake. There are a lot of nice fish all along the far bank from the dock/ramp. Plus that part of the lake see's very few lures. Good Luck Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 I just saw you live in Olathe. I lived in Lenexa for 10 years before just recently moving back home to Iowa. That boat will be perfet for Shawnee Mission Lake. There are a lot of nice fish all along the far bank from the dock/ramp. Plus that part of the lake see's very few lures.Good Luck Yeah, that is one place I plan to fish more this year, especially that south side and in the south coves, places I couldn't really get to before. BTW, we are heading to Iowa this weekend so the kiddos can see great grandma some other aunts and uncles. I have this exact same boat and I just throw it in the back of my truck. You mentioned you have a truck. Is putting the boat in the bed of your truck not an option? As far as the boat itself I love it. I can fish two out of it but its wonderful when I fish by myself. On windy days I drift alot. Just head up wind and drift down on the line I want and then do it over again.. Another thing I love about these boats is I can float anywhere I can get my truck so very few waters are safe from my BrushHog... ;D I have an Explorer Sport Trac, so it has a very short bed on it, not to mention that the bed of the truck is my mobile tackle box, so I would have to figure out where to keep all my tackle bags and such, and the wife has said definitely not in the garage. Quote
djg77 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Hey congrats on the boat. I also have the 9 ft pond prowler and a 8 ft trailer at first i was terrible at backing up. But just practice and it will come just go really slow and make small turns with your steering wheel. that seemed to help me alot. also what else helped me was putting my tailgate down while i'm backing the boat in that made a huge difference in being able to see where the boat was and how strait i was backing. good luck to ya this season enjoy!!! Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 Hey congrats on the boat. I also have the 9 ft pond prowler and a 8 ft trailer at first i was terrible at backing up. But just practice and it will come just go really slow and make small turns with your steering wheel. that seemed to help me alot. also what else helped me was putting my tailgate down while i'm backing the boat in that made a huge difference in being able to see where the boat was and how strait i was backing. good luck to ya this season enjoy!!! I have a cover on my bed so unfortunately, opening the tailgate doesn't help much, however i have found that leaving the seat on the boat makes it much more visible, so we will see if that helps with backing it up. Quote
Brush Hog20 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 husker, Unfortunately you can leave your boat at home when you come up. ;D However if you have an ice shanty.... ;D Quote
huskertko Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 husker,Unfortunately you can leave your boat at home when you come up. ;D However if you have an ice shanty.... ;D With gas prices, I don't think I would tow it up there even if the weather was perfect. > Quote
backpain... Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Congrats on your new boat!! Isn't it an awesome yet overwhelming feeling of both freedom as well as frustration?! I know the feelings well, I got my first boat last year. My best advise to offer is to glean every little ounce of knowledge you can from every trip and tip others give you, and don't get discouraged!! The trailering is goint to take time to get used to, but you will and it will be old hat. As far as boat control I learned last year not to try to fight the wind, find somewhere on the lake that you can either use it to blow you in the direction it is going or work the boat directly into it. This might mean that you won't get to fish the spot you may have wanted to, BUT in my experience at least you get to fish instead of fight the trolling motor all day. Another thing that helps is to rig up some sort of a rudder in the back that will keep the rear of the boat from swinging side to side in the wind, I just put my gas motor down and locked it facing straight ahead and it did wonders with the tracking of the baot. Good luck this season!!!! Quote
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