Ugh, that’s a mess!
Well, it does have the carpeted guides on the trailer, the guy even made a point to mention it. I already look like a water buffalo so it may not be all bad.
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Hey I’m going fishing tomorrow! Gonna be a balmy 55 for the high here in Indiana, I’m off to catch a state record fish from a kayak;)
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Awesome! I’ve got Boaty tied to Bubba and all ready to go. Good luck, hope you nab the record.
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Boaty and bubba sounds like a match made in heaven:)
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Eh, I ended up going fishing to fill the skillet instead, I’m looking for a state record saugeye, but when you fish for really big fish you might only catch one or two in a day if your lucky, and the fiancé wanted bluegill lol
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Seriously?
Doesn’t the hook just rip right through their body at those aerial speeds? 
And what happens when you hook a log?
Wouldn’t you lose a lot of ultralights that way (from the nosedive into the water)?? 
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Yeah, I wasn’t even going to go into the whole “keeping the hook underwater” thing, just because I didn’t want certain entities to panic about the need for an appropriately sized sinker. Especially when combined with theoretically becoming a lead proje… ermm n/m. 
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Hey guys, I’m back. Weather was 100% terrible. Almost no time out on the boat. Low 40’s and rain nearly the whole time, with a side of wind to keep it extra miserable.
Boat was great; learned a few things about the configuration and will be re-doing a lot over the winter. Bubba towed it so easily I literally forgot it was in tow a couple times. And getting it in the slip and on the trailer was nothing at all; no clue why I was worried.
Weather held out just long enough Wednesday before the rain and front came through. Managed to do the one thing I wanted to do most for the kids- got a big blue cat. I’ll have to get some pics up later. 32.11 pounds of fun fight.
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Weather was absolutely rancid. Not a lot of pics worth sharing. Here’s the big catch, the best friends Bubba and Boaty, and my boat next to my brother’s. (Pic of Bubba and Boaty was on the way home in the perfect weather, of course).
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We did not have a ton of time on the boat but I did learn a few things and there will be some big changes over the winter.
First, all four batteries on the transom had the rear of the boat sagging a lot compared to the front, even with human distribution. Second, the trolling motor at the bow was quite inconvenient as it was right in the way of the front passengers when stowed, and too hard to walk around when fishing. Thirdly, the trolling motor and fish finder were unable to communicate. Researching online, it seems the distance between them is too great and the signal is too degraded. And lastly, the power switches for the batteries was quite hard to access when the boat was in the water. I had to lay down and stretch sideways, and I don’t like to work.
So, I will be moving the batteries up to the front underseat storage area, as well as routing the main switches there as well. There is plenty of room; I measured.
I will be mounting the trolling motor to the rear, adjacent to the transom just to to the right. That means removing the ladder but we will not use it anyway. Having the troller at the back also reduces the cable run to under 10 feet rather than the 26’ needed for proper routing to the front. It will also make it much easier to fish, as it will be out of the way rather than right in the way. Plus, I can stow and test it out of the water this way, whereas the trailer prevented that when it was in front. (Which is why I could not test the NMEA communication until I was on the water/off the trailer). And, the transducer will be moved to the other pontoon to accommodate the troller being where the ducer currently is.
All this will make for a way better time out there next time.
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You really need to try one of these rods out if you like ultralights, most sensitive rod I have ever owned and most of my bass gear is higher end st. Croix rods and a few g. Loomis rods from back before Shimano bought them out, my esp takes the cake by far. The vibration amplifying discs in the handle are no joke or gimmick, I can literally feel slack line bites, it took me almost two weeks of fishing 3-4 times a week to get used to it, I was setting the hook and pulling back single blades of grass lol. I usually bluegill and crappie fish with a 1/64 ounce hair jig, and with this rod I can launch it a good 50 feet, and I have also landed a 9 pound carp with it so it has plenty of backbone. From ice out till late may/ early June I run sun line sniper fc flourocarbon line, 3lb test, and the rest of the year I run 4lb stren monofilament.
https://www.norsemenoutdoors.com/product-category/esp-rods/
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To be honest, the only way that rods performance would be lost on you is if you only use bobbers to fish, then you don’t need the sensitivity, but a more sensitive rod will make you a better fisherman, especially for crappie. Crappie are such light biters that a more sensitive rod actually translates to more fish in the boat, but some people won’t spend 65 bucks on a rod, I’m the type that would spend 100 on another esp rod after using one lol fishing is the only aspect of my life where I don’t exclusively shop the discount section lol but I fish a lot and a good rod will last for a decade or two. I still have a couple galyans rods, and they have been out of business for at least a decade, probably longer lol
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Those rods look pretty good @Fishaddict420. I’ve been looking for a new ultralight combo since I lost my beloved Shimano Symetre combo in the lake last year. I got that in the 80’s as a teen, and it was $120! which was an inordinate amount of money for me then. At the time, a top of the line Shimano setup and I felt like I was Bill Dance. It was like an extension of my arm and I still miss it terribly. I got a Bass Pro POS combo just to have something for the trip, and it’s OK, but I need quality again. Boy I miss that rod and reel.
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I have actually emailed the company asking them to make an esp rod for drop shot fishing for bass, they never did reply to me though lol if they made bass rods with the same technology I would be to broke to vape lol
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So, hopefully this doesn’t sounds like a dumb question. Never owned a boat prior to Boaty, but I know the motors are to be winterized every year.
I found this link, is it correct and comprehensive enough to get it done?
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A friend recommended Boeshield for the fogging, thoughts?
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Thanks. It’s an F90 4 stroke. I’ll look at the manual but it’s been a while since I looked at an actual book! And I probably do need to join a boating forum, haven’t thought about that.
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Another thing I need to do is get a better cover. It has the ‘default’ snap-on cover and it’s in good shape, but it has a couple troubling features I don’t like… It can’t be trailered with the cover on because it will snap off and flap away to the heavens. And, it doesn’t cover all of the deck, only the furniture part. So the front two feet are always exposed, leaving the carpet just primed to decay and kill the floor too (I assume).
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Joined there. I hate being new on forums, you feel like saying anything raises eyebrows from long-timers. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for the tip.
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Hey @anon96069639, I am waiting for one more item to be delivered before I can winterize… They are calling for below freezing temps in a couple days, will I still be OK if I haven’t been able to do it by then?
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