MrGiggles

I did a little more playing around. Lowe, Crestliner, and Tracker only offer Mercury, so that puts them lower on the list for a package deal. The G3 Guide V167 and V150 are very attractive, but they don't show the price online. The Alumacraft Summit 165 is also a great looking boat. Makes me wonder if it would be worth it to try and buy a Lowe or Crestliner without the motor, and buy it separately. It's not like installing a tiller motor is a lot of work.

Shortly after I bought my current boat the thought of upgrading has been on my mind, and it looks like it could be in the cards later this summer, maybe into fall. I have a 14' Alumacraft Semi-V with a 25 Johnson. It's done everything I've asked of it and has been a great boat, but I'm looking for something a little bigger, and definitely a deep V. Something easy on gas, easy to load with one person, and easy pulling. As far as layout goes, I just want an open floor, casting deck up front, and a Livewell. I'd like a 30-40hp outboard, Yamaha preferably. Electric start, power trim is nice but not a necessity. What are some good brands and dealers to look into? I have spent some time looking at G3, Alumacraft, and Tracker. They all seem pretty decent. My budget is looking at 10k, give or take. New seems like the best option. I haven't seen much at all that meets what I want locally, mostly just flat bottoms and bass boats.

I find that hard to believe, this hasn't been a particularly hot or dry year yet. It's been warmer than average, but the rainfall has been pretty steady.

I'm not enjoying it in the slightest. Today was especially bad, until the storms rolled through and took the edge off. I can bare the "cooler" days in the afternoons on the water. I'm hoping that maybe this summer will be like last winter, brutal in the beginning and mild afterward.

Talked to a guy at the ramp, pretty slow, he says. Well it was my first time ever catching more than one walleye in a short after work trip. I've caught plenty, just never more than one per trip. Dipped jigs around bridge pilings first, caught two short crappie, one keeper, and a small white. Screwed around for a while next, did a little trolling, caught another short crappie. After that I played around with a jigging spoon in the shade until dusk, then went back to trolling in a spot that has produced in the past. First fish, 18" walleye, then a good sized white, and another 19" walleye to end the night. All on lead core, ~22 ft down in 25-30 fow. #7 flicker shads. I finally bought a dedicated trolling rod with a line counter, it was worth every penny. Gotta get another. Now I just need to get my livewell put in, so I can keep a few for dinner when the weather is hot like this. My 5 gallon bucket days are over. 85 degree, water, still very clear.

I have done it before, but it kind of takes the fun out of it. 90 degrees is about my limit, even then I have to be in the shade until dusk. I might make the trip Sunday morning. I'll have to find time to put my motor back together first.

I went to lake of the woods in March 2004. Was a blast, monster jumbo perch and big walleyes through the ice. Would love to go again some day.

I was out on Monday night with a buddy. Unfortunately we couldn't get his boat started, but decided to make lemonade and fish close to the ramp with the trolling motor. Caught a few crappie near a brush pile. The wind was blowing and I had an awful time staying on it. The bass were tearing up the shad, if you could get anything that resembled a minnow in them soon enough it was a guaranteed fish on.

I have read that you can build a 6" PVC vessel with a valve stem, throw the sensors inside and pump it up. Then throw it behind the seat or something.

Yeah pretty much, those engines are largely unchanged from 99-06. In 07 (the next generation) they added displacement on demand and all that nonsense.

5.3? There was a run of bad heads that can crack and leak coolant into the engine. If you have coolant disappearing, that's probably the issue. Dex-cool does not milkshake when mixed with oil like regular coolant, but makes black sludge that sits in the bottom of the pan. Google "5.3 Castech Heads" for more info. The 4L60E trans in those is not really known for longevity. Lifespan is 150-200k. A carry out rebuild is ~700 bucks. At higher mileage, the O-ring on the oil pickup tube will harden, resulting in low oil pressure and lifter noise, especially on an incline. Have to drop the oil pan or go in through the front cover. Cheap repair, but labor intensive. Look at the sticker in the glovebox, see if code G80 is listed. That is the factory locking rear diff option, which are very well known for catastrophic failure if abused in the 1500s. Lastly, the stepper motors for the gauges are known to go haywire. Cheap fix if you are handy with a soldering iron. I have an 06 Silverado 5.3 with 288k. I just did the oil pickup O-ring today. Pan had not been opened up until now. I really do like the truck, very well laid out, easy to work on, comfortable, rides good, but they have their issues like anything else.

Pomme, Wheatland ramp area.

Water was 85 degrees. One spot was an MDC brush pile in 20ft, another a tree in 45ft, and the last spot was a tree with brush around the base in 21ft. The fish were suspended 10-15ft down.

I went out last night. Was nice during a week day, no pleasure boaters around. Caught crappie almost every cast dipping trees and brush. Just not very big ones, all 9-10".

Like any drug, people will build up a tolerance. I seldom drink and 3 beers will get me tipsy. To the guy that goes through a couple cases a week, 3 beers is a warm up.

I would not use that management link, anyone can go in and delete or edit the ad.

I think you mean illegal. Only 3 hooks are permitted if I remember right.

#7, pearl white, purple tiger, racy shad, firetiger. I've just recently started running #9s too, to keep away the dinks. Probably 6 out of 10 will need to be tuned out of the package. I also had a #9 flicker minnow pro in slick mouse. That was a fish catcher for sure, but for some reason the bill broke off after around a dozen fish.

In my boat, bigger is not necessarily better. It's going to be a challenge to mount the 7" unit somewhere that it isn't in the way. Funny, this sonar costs almost as much as I paid for the boat. I've kept my eyes open for used units, but haven't seen much of anything, let alone a SI unit.

Thinking about upgrading from my Striker 4 to something with side scan. It's looking like the Garmin Striker 7sv is the cheapest at 400 bucks. I'm very happy with the striker 4, it's been a great little unit. Anything else worth looking at?

If you're filleting them the way most people do, the overall length would still be easy to measure, as long as you don't chop the heads or tails off. I know lots of people do it, since there is usually always fish scraps tossed in the water near the ramp when I put in.

Berkley Lightning rod. I wouldn't want anything too expensive, the chances of it being broken, stolen, or lost are pretty high.

Gotta watch them things, they'll practically hook you just by staring at them. Sharp boogers.

Haven't been catching much bass, but I don't generally run cranks that shallow. Trolling flicker shad in slick mouse and firetiger, 8 out of 10 were on the slick mouse with lead core 18 feet down in 25-40 fow. The big slabs love it, and I'll pick up a walleye now and then. Purple tiger was doing good too until I lost it in a brush pile, need to replace that one, it's always been a productive color. First pic from Thursday night. Quit early as I had enough for dinner in 2 hours. Second pic was from last week. Also caught a 4lb carp on a crappie jig, gave my 10ft rod a workout. Haven't had much luck dropping jigs, the crappie seem awfully scattered right now.

I was out tonight and last night as well. Caught a few crappie on brush and bridge pilings. Trolled quite a bit both days trying to get some walleye, (I caught two last week), but was not successful. Those pesky crappie would not leave my flicker shade alone, caught well over a dozen, from 8" to a couple that were high 13s. I've got a firetiger flicker shad, might have to try it out. Purple tiger and slick mouse have been producing for me.