Bass Tard

Thanks! Just went to St. Thomas to pick up a new Helix 7 for $249.

Mine's a black or white spinnerbait. 70% of the time I'm throwing one of these, and I've caught everything on them. Same as above, to the point where my friends who know me just say "do I even have to ask what you caught it on?" I fish new lakes a lot, and I love how they let me cover a lot of ground, and will catch any kind of fish. Other 25% of the time its a black or white grub, in 4" size. Same reason.

I was going to try and hit up long point or wildwood (if it's still open?!) this weekend. Need to get the boat out one more time at least, get some fuel stabilizer through it..

I have one of those Mr.Heater Big Maxx in my garage for the winter, its amazing. Its so efficient, and so warm. I leave it super low, maybe 10 degrees when I'm not out there, and then when I go out, I turn it up to 22, and its hot in absolutely no time. It wasn't super cheap, the do go on sale with quite a discount at TSC very often. But it was a one time thing, where I bit the bullet, spent the money, and I'll be happy with it for many years to come.

With the ram mounts, can you completely turn them around 180? I'm looking also at a helix 7, for next season, and I wondered if I have it mounted at the console, if I'll be able to turn my head from the front of the boat, and see it. Thanks (sorry)

That's great news, I love pigeon, but we've caught few and far between there over the years, and they're always under the slot.

I've been waiting on a used Maxxum! The powerdrives seem to be all over Kijiji..

Hey guys, I'm wondering what you all are using for mounting your phone for navionics in your boat? I don't have money for a sonar/gps unit right now and I use my phone a lot, but I look and feel ridiculous out there trying to drive and hold my phone. Thanks

I thought "in the last place I looked" was just a joke?! That's why I say it.. Its funny.

Lape, so your three bank charger, you just clip it in and out when you want to charge? I had no idea 10 or 20lbs would make such a difference on the boat. I should start weighing people!! Ironmaker, I'm hoping this one doesn't wind up cracking, I'm really not out there in any kind of poor conditions, I'm the first guy to call it when the weather looks no good. Most likely, I'm in a channel, fishing boathouses.

Wow, thanks again for all the great answers! I'm going to check those forums so I can see what other people with the same boat as me have done. I will also check the sticker on the back and find out what my max RPM is, that's a great idea. About the trolling motor, its definitely not enough. My old 17 had a 42lbs minnkota and it was hardly adequate, this boat is much bigger and only has a 46 on it.. I rely heavily on my trolling motor, it get probably 10X the use of my actual gas motor. I like the big pedal of the minnkota, the motor guide also seems really terrible in the weeds compared to my old minnkota. I'm really disappointed with this trolling motor setup. I'm not looking for ipilot or anything like that, my friend has one on his boat, I don't like the pedal at all. The one I'm looking at is a maxxum I think, and it has the same big pedal as my old motor did. It also has a transducer in the bottom of it, which aside from way more thrust, is the only other feature I'm interested in. I do think wedging another battery in the rear compartment is going to be a bit of a disaster, but I'll look into it some more. I may have to mount them somewhere else. I'm also going to need a three bank charger. I'll probably try and find a used one.

Wow, great post, thanks!! I don't really know much about the speed, what I read online was 41ish was the most I'd get out of this motor/prop setup. I have no idea what's the max RPM for the Optimax, so I was running it just under 5,000rpm to hit 39. I'm scared to break anything!! Also, I'm not sure about prop pitch.. I believe it has a 19 on it now, and from what I understand, taking it to a 20 will get me about 5 more mph. Plus, it would just be reassuring to have a spare prop. I don't think I'll spend on a jack plate, its actually plenty fast (for right now), just wondering how I can get a bit more in the future.. I also don't know if it can go any higher or lower?! Haven't even thought of that.. Good info about the sonar too. I'll check on that radioworld site, and I'll keep my eyes out on Kijiji for something used. I've never had a GPS tracker, I've always just used my phone, but it would come in really handy since I'm always on new lakes. And yes, this is the WORST trolling motor I've ever used. It was driving me insane. I've always had Minnkota for the last 15 years since having a motor guide stealth on our old boat and it was nothing but problems. This one is no exception. Found a used 76lbs on Kijiji for under $400, it has a built in transducer for when I do move the current fish finder up to the front. I miss my old minnkota foot pedal, much more ergonomically friendly. I don't think the new hold feature really will mean much to me, its not something I'm ever concerned about.. If I'm going to walleye fish, I usually just drop anchor.. What do I search for on ebay for that rod sock material? I was shocked at the price, I thought it would be like $5 each, max!

39mph was the top speed I hit last week in it. Its as fast as I've ever driven a boat and I got a bit uneasy as I started crossing wakes. And I am prone to hitting hazards. Since I don't own a cottage, I got to new lakes all the time, and its always a learning process. I'm just wondering if a new aluminum prop will still net me the same top end gains as a SS would?!

Hey guys, I just picked up a new to me used bass boat. I've owned an '89 Bass Tracker 17' for the past 8 years and the time had come to finally upgrade. Did much searching and wondering what my next boat should be, really wanted something aluminum which turns out, is hard to come by in a bass boat. I also didn't really want anything over a 115, just due to fuel economy so to speak. Oldy, in its last week out with me this year, we spent a week on Stoco lake for bass opener, fishing was hot, boat ran great. While I was there on vacation, I found its replacement on Kijiji, I wound up sending the guy money sight unseen because he had someone else coming up to buy it, and I was too far away to come sooner.. I was pretty happy with the condition of it when I got there. Another "cracker"! Suits the majority of my wish list, and was "cheap" so to speak.. Just spent the week on pigeon lake with it, ran well, its borderline scary fast, but I want it to be faster. Caught a couple decent fish in it, but that's a whole nother thread. So, my questions for bass boat owners.. Whats the advantage of a SS prop VS. aluminum? Will I still gain top end speed by going to the next pitch if I stick with aluminum? The current trolling motor is a poop Motor Guide that's only 46lbs of thrust and 12V, which is much too small for this boat. I'm going to pick up a used Minnkota (way better motor) that's 24V this weekend, do I need to completely rewire from front to back to run a 24V? Any recommendations for GPS/sonar units under $1000? I was looking at the Hummingbird Helix5, should I just troll Kijiji until a bargain pops up? How do you organize your rods in the storage locker? Mine are all clanging together under the deck now, I looked at those plastic rod socks, but they're $9 each?! Seems expensive for what it is.. Just wondering if there's a better solution. How do you guys clean your aluminum boats after they've been in the water for a week? Mine has dried on hard water spots since its a black powdercoated finish. It looks terrible after only one week. And how do you protect your boat from docks? Do regular bumpers work on such a small freeboard? I wound up buying pool noodles while I was up there and managed to keep it off the dock "okay", but it didn't work great.. Thanks for looking, any insight would be appreciated!

we just stayed a week at pigeon lake resort for our third time. We love it there.

Great pics, my wife and I are going to be there the third week of August, thanks for sharing. HAHA, she made a bit of a "whaaa" face when I showed her the pic of the bear. We're familiar with the area, but we've never actually spotted one there.

Thanks, guys! I had the same thing happen with my old boat, about the taxes thing. At the time, it was free downtown, but then later they sent me the same letter about not paying taxes on it. I was mad, I called them because I didn't know about having 3 different receipts for the package, and I payed tax on the full (however fake) amount when I went to register the trailer. Then a year after that, the sent me the same letter again. I just ignored it.

Hey guys, I just picked up a new used boat, and its been over 8 years since I bought my first boat. I googled where I can go, (used to be city hall here in London) but it seems like I can only do it online now? Is there fees now? When I registered mine, I didn't have to pay tax on it. I tried reading the transport canada website for a while, and there's so much mumbojumbo on there I just got confused and figured I'd ask here for an english explanation. Thanks

I don't like old fiberglass boats, my vote would be for the princecraft. But what do I know, I own two "cracker"s...

Wow, really nice job! Looks new again!!

I have a st croix mojo bass that the ceramic fell out of the tip, also. I emailed them about it, they asked the number that was on the rod, and they mailed me a new end guide. Pretty easy, I didn't have to even talk to anyone. I'm okay with them.

Very cool vid. Here's my dumb question, are you using a head mount, or a chest mount? Thanks!

Its all the same family?!

Thanks guys! I was kinda figuring 3-5000 a year in fees, so that's right in line with what I was guessing. Splitting 4 ways on a cottage is still in discussion, and its not 4 families, it's my wife's parents, her, and her two brothers. I'm also aware of the depreciating value of a trailer, which is what's kind of making me hesitant. I don't mind losing some money, but between fees and depreciation, if were looking at close to $10,000 a year, we may just be better off renting like we do now. I spend 4 weeks a year up north in rental cottages, and sprinkle in a few long weekends here and there, and we're still probably in the $5000 or less range.. I'm going to look into some parks. Viking, where are you? Can I be in your gang?

Thanks cookslav, very good insight! I don't think we'd fit in to any "old boys club", haha, we're both in our early 30's, and are kinda do what we want(ish). How would you go about staying at a park for a weekend or two to get a sense of it? Do some allow for a rent out for a weekend? How did you find selling your trailers to be? Did they sell fast, or was it kind of hard? Do they depreciate a lot, or are they kind of like a boat, if maintained well, they hold their value?