MX1825 wrote:

Rip

Lunds are expensive but all the big glass boats are. A Vexus 20 footer is 100k.

Just a few years ago a Triton Allure 186 with a merc 150 was being advertised at their no haggle price of like 39K. Now it’s 52K. I once thought of buying one of those new but now I don’t think I’d really ever consider it.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The boat market was never going to tank. But demand has gone way, way down over pandemic levels and IMO, I think prices and demand are now lower and heading downward.

The demand for recreational toys is not infinite. A lot of people took the opportunity to scratch that itch during the pandemic on both new and used toys. Many of the ones who stuck with it now have the toys they want, so they aren’t heading back to the dealer or Marketplace anytime soon to stoke more demand.

And the ones who didn’t stick with it are flooding the market with both 2-3-year-old toys and even older units that pandemic buyers rushed out to buy and that they discovered they no longer have the time to use or ended up not wanting as badly as they thought. This is pushing down the used side of the equation.

It’s very noticeable on the used side of the market right now. Rigs that I KNOW would have been snapped up in days have been sitting on the classifieds sites for months. Some buyers are slowly cutting prices, but others are trying to hold on to get high prices, probably to cover loans.

Traditionally, October has been a terrific time to buy and a terrible time to sell, but on the seller side of the equation, this year is looking even slower than normal because the demand is just not there.

The guys who are really going to make out well this year are the guys renting storage. I can see a LOT of sellers out there being forced to pay for storage this winter in hope of better prices in the spring.

I look at the used market every day. 00-04 ranger 620s are selling for 8-10k less than they were last year already. They also sit a lot longer than they used to.

Deuces wrote:

Makes for an excellent one man as well, love mine. Upgraded from the Evo1 and super happy with both of them!

Yup think I fished by myself every time except twice. Use the other seat to hold my deadstick.

Took a promotion at work and just don’t have the time to ice fish as much I used to be able to

buschman wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jonesy wrote:</div>
Song is halfway decent until he decides to start hating other poor people then it seems like the message gets lost. Kind of a weird hard right turn.

Are you talking about the welfare portion??

Yup. The welfare queen stereotype. Somehow poor fat people are to blame for the issues of poor skinny people. Seems to counter the message hes trying to send with the rest of the lyrics.

Song is halfway decent until he decides to start hating other poor people then it seems like the message gets lost. Kind of a weird hard right turn.

Ugh that really sucks.

Tough decision to go in after a friend or not. I fell out of my boat 2 years ago and thankfully I was wearing an inflatable PFD. It did it’s job and really took the stress out of the situation.

I should probably explore more as captain and coke tends to be my go to cocktail. Figure there has to be a better rum out there than plain ole captain.

This comes up every year and the answer is the same 99% of the time. Yes leech will be open water for opener.

2 things are true when it comes to ice. People overestimate how long it takes for a lake to freeze and be walkable and people overestimate how long it takes a lake to open back up.

Avg ice out for leech is April 28th. Obviously late this year. My guess is it is open by May 8th

Amy hints what the next adventure is?

Does that change anything as far as this website or apparel?

An interstellar war would be something unexpected

James Holst wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jonesy wrote:</div>
Ice only, half the episodes, and not Pat. That’s gonna get the rumor mill started. Must admit the ice shows are definitely my least favorite. Here’s hoping that after the ice shows end in February you take time off and roll out 13 more episodes of open water fishing starting with the opener…

While letting the rumor mill churn might be interesting just to see how creative or crazy people get…I’ve got no problem answering questions.

Pat took a job as a product rep with Rassat Outdoor Group. Pat wanted out of the metro in the worst way and has moved back to Bemidji. I honestly wish I was in the position to do the same. Rassat reps products for a lot of the companies that sponsor IDO so it was a natural fit and he’s doing well.

After the ice shows wrap we will not be coming back with open water episodes this summer. For those that think something negative has happened that has shortened our season I can assure you that all the changes are happening exactly according to plan and all of us at IDMP are excited for the opportunities coming our way in the short term.

If anyone else has any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the reply James. Sounds like things must be going pretty well. I’m sad to hear about no open water shows. Must say the idea of having IDO shows starting from the opener and going through June got me excited haha.

Agree the new studio looks awesome

Ice only, half the episodes, and not Pat. That’s gonna get the rumor mill started. Must admit the ice shows are definitely my least favorite. Here’s hoping that after the ice shows end in February you take time off and roll out 13 more episodes of open water fishing starting with the opener…

I am sort of surprised by the responses in here. Every once in a while we get a new post about people over their possession limit for fish. Always seems to be people suggesting the punishment isn’t severe enough. But now because it’s a “friend” people soften their stance.

If it was me I would likely have told him to stop or that I would report him. Yes I know that he likely would stop sharing this info with me. That would be fine because I would not want to know.

walleyevision wrote:

Piscifun reels are awesome…I actually wouldn’t call them an off brand anymore. They’re very comparable to reels 3x their cost.

People say this but I have not experienced that. They are good reels for sure but the value keeps changing year after year. It used to be you were getting a $100 reel for $70. Now people try to make claims that the carbon x is better than Shimano or Pflugers best offering.

They are a good reel for the money. To me they are slightly better than a pfluger president.

Dan Baker wrote:

All of these reports about the weekend are making me worried about going down this Saturday, but it’s the only time I have, so I’m going for it. And I guess I fish Tonka on the weekends in July, so maybe I just like the crowds.

Get there early. Get to whatever launch you want to use at 530-6 and you should be fine. Fishing the crowds isn’t that bad as long as you know what to expect. Further away from the dam there will be less crowds and can be great fishing. But the crowd isn’t at the dam because there are no fish.

I have one, PM sent.

I have met him a few times and he is a really nice guy. Heard him tell the in depth story about how he got into the fishing show business and it’s a great story. Guy took a big gamble on himself and it has paid off.

Yeah he can be cringe, yeah some of his guests are annoying, etc. But I can count on a new show from him every week. Don’t really learn much but it has become sort of a ritual for me and my 7 year old daughter to sit on the couch and watch him Saturday morning. I have sent a couple of pics of my kids and fish they have caught. Would be a dream come true for my daughter if she saw herself at the end of the show.

What kind of bait are you looking for?

I do the same thing it seems. Each year I try to set some sort of goal to focus on and at least become somewhat adequate in a technique.

2021 was sharpshooting with a jigging rap. Had a buddy help show me the ropes a bit and it paid off big time 1 morning on leech lake. Drive around until you see the marks, quick reverse and toss the jigs at em.

Over the years I’ve focused on slip bobbers, plastics, rigging chubs, fishing the electronics, pulling spinners, etc.

If you haven’t I would suggest slip bobbers. It’s just so much fun watching them go down especially at night using lighted bobbers.

buckybadger wrote:

My wife is the lead RN in the local ER & also takes shifts on the floor. Without getting political, taking sides, discussing Covid, Government, etc – here is what I can tell you from her first-hand experience:

Their RN’s start at $37.50 an hour with straight double time for any shifts picked up beyond FTE since Covid started. If you do the math, it’s pretty easy to make ~80k+ a year with only a little experience or the ability to pick up a shift or so each week. They’ve got tenured nurses with multiple levels of certification that are making far beyond 100k. The real dagger is that they have had a vacant position posted for 7 months with one applicant who changed their mind.

Their hospital IS at capacity. They’ve been closed to admissions more often than not. They always have Covid patients who are hospitalized on any given day and have had some Covid deaths. If I broke my leg tomorrow, I’d get shipped to a different community to be treated and receive post operative care.

For outsiders who say hospitals aren’t full because some idiot called it a conspiracy, please sign-up to work in one. Covid is partly to blame. However, the bigger issues are staffing and surge capabilities. The economics of hospitals for decades have been that they try to operate at levels where they are not “over-staffed” with minimal surge capabilities. While hospital administrators who can barely take their own temperature are raking in $200k+, lower paying positions have been trimmed or reallocated to maintain the bottom line. For decades nurses in rural settings have made decent money with modest salary grids, but now when the chaos, stress, and heartbreak of the job have compounded…the hospitals are short staffed and cannot shovel enough money their way to stay open. Hopefully when this pandemic or whatever it is now called recedes – the healthcare field learns a valuable lesson. Administrators, Directors, CEOs, etc. of hospital facilities don’t do S*** except cash their checks. These are the positions that need to be squeezed, not the boots on the ground type workers.

My wife walked into the administrator’s office demanding double time on picked up shifts late this Summer for her fellow nurses + a substantial bump in salaries across the grid on top of the 4% they had already been given(all non union)…she gave them an ultimatum knowing they’d never be able to replace her or any of them. She reminded them that a suit and tie hasn’t taken a pay cut, nor have seen people die. Their counter was they would think about it and arrange a meeting with negotiators. Her final offer was to have it implemented within 48 hours or they’d walk effectively closing the hospital indefinitely as she forwarded attachments to dozens of job openings with sign-on bonuses to the entire staff and copied administration. Within 8 hours the raises and mandatory double time were added to their system.

Not a nurse but have worked in a hospital for 10+ years and this is pretty spot on. For the first time in my time I have been able to toss raises at people who wanted to leave. I personally know of 3 ER nurses who left to join travel nursing. They make significantly more money and don’t have to deal with the internal BS of the hospital. I know in my ER we have at least 3 but I believe it’s 4 travel nurses on staff. Doing the same job those other 3 were doing but getting paid about $30 more an hour to do it. Not a bad gig.

As far as capacity. Every week we are on ER divert, usually multiple times. We are often on ICU divert. One thing I can share though. We have a 10 bed ICU unit that is not being used simply because we do not have the staff to be able to cover it.

Currently we have 23 inpatient Covid patients. 18 of them are non vaccinated. Covid patients make up about 20% of our inpatient census and about 50% of our ICU census.

Saw something the other day that they expect home prices to go up 16% by the end of 2022.

Wife and I are seriously considering selling as we could likely get 60K+ over what we paid just 3 years ago. Our only hesitancy is that we are not sure we want to enter a crazy competitive housing market that would likely mean us moving in with her parents until we landed a house.

Randy Wieland wrote:

When it comes to over paying, just wait until real estate tax bills come out. You’ll really appreciate stupid people.

Because people are over paying on homes, it’s gonna drive up your value . So when you taxes blow up, thank the new idiots in the neighborhood

Just got my assessment. Went up 31K so I’m not too excited to see my tax bill lol

Dutchboy wrote:

Just remember, if the boat market collapses your used boat you want to sell / trade collapses also.

Which is why I’m seriously thinking about selling.

the_hat wrote:

I still am a believer that it will correct. Housing has slowed noticeably in my area (SE metro), campers are popping up for sale and sitting there much longer, and eventually it will get to toys. The finance everything and make the payment game will end with slightest bump in the road. It is a mean pattern that always repeats itself and people will spend years digging themselves out. The ones that stuck the money in the market in something fairly safe, earned a modest 10 percent and buy on the downside will feel great when it happens. Only sacrifice is fishing in an old boat for longer than you wanted too. But, to each there own, just enjoy what you have and make the best of it!

Yeah that’s sort of it. I don’t really enjoy what I have anymore. I might be approaching the 2nd best day of boat ownership lol.

crappie55369 wrote:

My buddy is looking for a used tyee. Been helping him search. You can find tons of late 90s early 2000s Lund tyees in good shape with electronics and bow mount trolling motor for under 10k.

I’ve been telling my buddy to just buy a used rig with a solid floor and when the time comes to upgrade the motor swap it out with a new one for 10-15k. Not a foolproof plan of course as you can still run into all sorts of issues with a 20 year old boat but you know what – sometimes new boats have issues too.

Personally I’d rather have a 20 yr old boat with a new motor for 20-25k than a brand new boat for 50k

Yeah. Some of my issue is that my wife has some ideas about what she wants in a new boat. So the alumacraft edge or competitor fsx would have been perfect I was just getting excited that I could finally have a boat the way I want it. Getting kind of sick of my 90 horse merc being louder than the 300s everybody in my club is running lol.

Giving this a little revive.

Talked with an alumacraft dealer the other day. Said prices are going up 14% next year. I realistically was 1-2 years out from buying new but with the big increases the last year and now going into next I am not sure if it’s ever going to happen. Kind of sucks because it just means the kids will be older (they are 9/7 currently). Wanted to do it this year but too many house projects (oh those are more expensive too)

Saw the Triton Allure/Fishhunter 186 went up about 5K on their nationally advertised price. Buddy of mine bought a new tracker this year. Same exact boat 4 weeks later was $3800 more.

Wife and kids are already not comfortable in the current boat. Just kind of sucks

I’m from Wisconsin. Glad they won. But winning a NBA championship is like winning the 4th place game IMO. Would much rather see my hockey team, football team, or baseball team win instead.

Fife wrote:

I wasn’t there, but I can speak to Tony’s character. Great guide and person. Very approachable and loves to talk fishing.

Probably is. Was also probably a dillhole that day as that happens to us all.

Sugar Point Resort

John Rasmussen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jonesy wrote:</div>
Thanks everyone. I know BK usually puts up a post every year as a reminder but figured my first hand experience could hopefully remind somebody to make sure they are wearing theirs.

FWIW mine was the Onyx AM24, it auto deployed, the cartridge and everything is on its 3rd year, and I am what many would call a large man and it absolutely held my head above water even with my bibs and ice armor jacket.

I too am glad you are ok. Question for you I just bought an inflatable this year but have yet to even put it on. You mentioned you had bibs and armor on, curious was the life jacket under or over the ice armor jacket?

It was on over everything I had on.

Also I went back a few days later and after 90 minutes I was able to snag and get my RS net back so that was nice

Al lindner just said the other day he is pretty much treating it like every other opener and will likely be fishing in 10′ or less