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There is a lot more to how a boat rides than aluminum vs glass. Boat weight, hull design, driver skill, how the boat is loaded, and proper motor height are all very important. There are a lot of good reasons to buy glass, just like there are a lot of good reasons for tin. We all have our preferences, mine is tin.

I believe so. I remember one time when i was young and derparately trying to catch more than catching walleyes, I was at Lakair Lodge and this fella in a tiny little tin boat was backtrolling June Bug spinners tipped with pork rine (probably so the perch couldn't clean him every 5 seconds) with wire line to get it on the bottom, every day I'd hang at the fish house just to be amazed at the size of walleyes he was bringing in. He must have got a kick out of me, standing there, too dumbfounded to even speak, just jones'n those big eyes. Yeah Luremaking.com is a place as well as Mudhole.

Mercman, as you so correctly highlited, the knowledge so willingly shared on this site is invaluable. You're getting honest opinions/tips from fishermen with no commercial interest or specifc product to promote, fishing the same geographical area you fish. I would humbly add just the fact that the classification "spinner baits" is a broad one, and that spinner baits yield the best results when tailored to species, time of year, body of water, and current conditions. Also, certain designs are better suited for ceratin types of presentations. All these things together is why many fisherman elect to build their own, whether it be a simple walleye harness on line of choice or a double cowgirl on a wireform. First, it's rather inexpensive to get into (even wire form tools are rather inexpensive), 2nd you can build them cheaper than you can buy them, and 3rd, you'll have the ability to experiment with designs and talor designs based on results. Good luck.

Man you should be proud of that. I hope the old girl appreciates what you did for her and gives you many years of service. Very nice job.

Have to say i'm in agreement with Bucktai l00%. I find it very difficult to believe people don't know the regs, they just don't care, so our recourse is to report them. Another thing that seems to drive rude behavior is tournament fishing. Don't get me wrong I'm not anti tournament but I've experienced many times people doing things in a tournament they wouldn't think of doing on a casual outing. Just this weekend I had a guy I know pull right in front of me and anchor without saying a word. I waited til the boats were almost touching and said, "No Hoss I don't mind if you pull right into where I've been fishing the last 3 hours." Guys a jerk, but I wasn't going to get all bent up, life's too short.

I totally agree if the group 27 will provide the needed performance, but unfortuantely I needed more in my heavy 20' boat. I probably should go to a 36 v system, but I'm hopeful the battery upgrade will significantly improve my battery life.

Generally in circumstances like these I try to give the party the benefit of the doubt, but, in this case I find it very hard to believe they have not had a part in this. I think you need to find out what is holding this up, is it the boat or the motor, when was the boat ordered, and so on. If they can get the boat I'd give consideration to hanging another motor. Let's face it, they are all pretty good motors anymore, I'd prefer the Mercury or Honda 90 tiller myself. I'd inquire about getting a down payment refund if they can't get the boat.

Pretty sure if you go on-line and select the Sams Club in your area you can determine if they are stocked in your store. If not, however, it might be worth a call to your Sams Club because AGM's can be shipped with less precautions than wet cell batteries. My understanding is the Sams Clubs in the eastern part of the US stock them but not out west so you have a decent chance to find them. I bought mine at the Lakewood NY store.

I just went through a somewhat exhaustive study of batteries; specifically investigating AGM vs traditional wet cell deep cycle. I had 2 Group 27 Interstates in my boat and wasn't satisfied with my run time. From what I read I felt the best value for a deep cycle application was the Deka group 31 AGM battery sold by Sams Club. AGM's have some specific advantages over wet cell in marine applications, the most important being they are safer, but they also discharge more slowly when stored, recharge more fully over time, and last considerably longer than wet cell batteries. One can expect 6-7 years of service. The biggest disadvantage is weight (not a concern for me) and cost. The Deka's offered at Sam's Club, however, are made in the US, PA to be exact, have a 3 year full replacement warranty and cost only slightly more than a group 31 wet cell @$170 ea. I read many positve reviews on them. In comparison most other AGM batteries of this size and reserve capacity are around $250.00.

I broke one very simiarly 3 years ago and glued it together with a 2 part epoxy. It hasn't failed yet.

If you are trying to get down under 2mpg with your 150 the small bags on the cleats as you mentioned will work well. My guess is you'll be around 2.5 mph without any bags at all.

I broke down and bought Simms waders a couple years back. I think mine are the Headwaters? Anyhow, they were the least expensive domestically produced wader in the line-up. I love them. My son-in-law works in the industry and is an Orvis guide so I've always had Orvis waders and haven't had the best of luck with them. Son-in-law forgot his waders 2 weeks back and borrowed mine, son-in-law is now also a big fan of Simms. Good to hear they took care of you.

Mine's a 2010 Double Cab.

I don't know how many miles you drive/year, let alone how many are pulling a load, but it has been my experience that I get about 20% better fuel economy pulling my boat with a V-8, in my case the 5.7L Tundra, than I did pulling my boat with the V-6 Honda Ridgeline. Pulling the boat I got 12mpg with the Ridgeline and I get almost 15mpg with the Tundra @60mph. Open highway miles without a load I get 19mpg with the Tundra if I keep in under 70mph, and with the Ridgeline about 20-21. City miles with the Tundra is really bad, maybe, if I'm lucky, 12mpg, I don't remember what it was in the Ridgeline but it wasn't good either. I don't drive a lot of miles, less than 10,000/yr, and about 2,000 of those are towing so mileage isn't a huge consideration for me. Cabin noise in the Tundra is about 50% what it was in the Ridgeline. Sorry I can't comment on the Liberty, but if it's rated for 5,000lb you'll be fine, just don't expect better mileage than you'd get from a V-8.

Would have loved to have been in the Pens locker room before the game. I'll bet Mario ripped them a good one and then challenged them to start acting like pros. Long way to go to get this back to a series, and I don't think the Pens will come back, but, would love to have been in that locker room.

Personally I think one of the problems in today's mindset in the US is the tendancy to tell kids they are all "winners" when they didn't win. I believe it creates the wrong mindset and sets them up to give up when faced with real life challenge. I suspect it's because some mentors,(teachers, parents, and coaches) misunderstand or can't differentiate between the importance of striving to succeed (which is a critical life lesson) and failing to give ones best effort. It has been my experience in 60 years of living that many gifted children, whether athletically or intellectually gifted, don't reach their full potential because winning comes easy, and they are praised for winning rather than challenged to work to improve. The corollary scenario occurs with challenged kids. They don't receive praise for their efforts and never receive praise as they don't win, or, falsely receive praise just for participating even when they mail-in an effort. Kids need to learn that life is full of challenges, everyone faces them, if they work they will excel at times and they will also fail from time to time, but they will only improve with intelligent effort. Life is full of challenges, it's how we react to them that sets apart life's winners.

Lew, you could add diamond plate to your fenders and axel housing, or as was mentioned the spray on bed liner. My trailer is black so I wire brush and spray paint the axel housing every year. You really can't see it too well with the boat loaded so my primary concern is to stop rust from getting a foothold. My fenders are a hard plastic and haven't chipped....yet.

When you say you lost reverse, is this a boat with a steering wheel and remote throttle? In other words, are you sure this isn't simply a cable adjustment issue? Second, regarding running rough, are you running a fresh gas/oil mix and have you tried any carb cleaner products? How about new plugs?

My favorite is the guy anchored up with his fish alarm turned on and constantly beeping.

My interpretation of the attached graph seems to indicate that the water level is being increased, perhaps in anticipation of a poor spring run-off. What do you guys think? http://www.wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/graph/graph_e.html?stn=02DD006&prm1=3&prm2=-1&mode=graph&smo=3&sday=1&syr=2012&emo=3&eday=20&eyr=2012&y1min=&y1max=&mean=1&min=1&y2min=&y2max=]

Alaskans are a fine boat but this one is way overpriced IMHO. Two years ago I had a quote for a new 20' wheel Alaskan with a 115 four stroke for $25K. Eight years ago I sold my 8 year old 18' Alaskan wheel boat with 50HP Honda four stroke for $8K. I wouldn't think that boat is worth more than $13K, at least in the US. I'd buy the new one you had quoted.

First game back so I thought he did okay. I'm sure he'll work into the flow over time. I hope he can stay healthy. GO PENS!!

The birdsnest thing can be caused by a variety of things. Again, assuming you meant baitcaster, it sounds like it's not the way you put your line on the reel because if it was and you let it out when you backlash (slow troll forward let all the line straighten behind the boat then reel in with some tension) you'd get rid of the line twist. It sounds to me like you aren't setting up the brake correctly or if you are, overcasting. Overcasting is pretty common for young strong guys. If that could be your case try feeling the rod load and just making a smooth delivery. It could be a deficiency in your reel also, do you experience this with more than one reel? It could also be the wrong line for that reel. Anyone who uses a baitcaster will occaisionally get a birdsnest, I know I do, and it's usually caused by overcasting.

Despite the ever increasing technolgy, color screens, high pixel counts, big screens, downscan, playback and recording, and sidescan capabilities of today's latest hi tech gizmos, I honestly believe a simple $100 sonar will provide at least 60% of the enhanced fishing capability of the hi tech $2000 units. And just about anyone of the major suppliers will work just fine. In that range all you'll really be able to know for sure is depth and changes to depth, but that's a big part of the battle. The next worthwhile step, for around $400, you can get color and 480 vertical pixel count. With 480 vertical pixels you can pretty much pick up fish hugging the bottom; and now IMHO you're up to 75%.

I agree. Today's quality rods and ferrules are light years ahead of just 10 years ago. And while I'm on the subject I don't believe a $300.00 rod will put any more fish in the boat than a $100.00 rod.