The dealer I am working through the issue with does not carry Evinrude outboards. I have nothing against 2 strokes, it just seems like 4 strokes dominate this end of the outboard market.

Thanks,

David

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I appreciate it. In keeping with the get the best deal I can theme, what would be considered a great price for the following:

50 hp:

07 Merc 4 stroke

07 Honda 4 stroke

07 Yamaha 4 stroke

07 Suzuki 4 stroke

Please keep in mind, I am not looking pricing that represents a good deal for someone looking to buy a replacement motor, I am looking for the price that represents a dealer’s best effort at service recovery for an existing customer.

Thanks again!

David

A friend and I went out with James yesterday on upper pool 4. We used these little guys almost exclusively. They were very deadly. In fact, I think it should be illegal for James to even be allowed to use them! He would get a strike or land a fish on just about every cast.

I think we wound up catching 5 different species on fish on the paddletails (not counting the turtle). Very effective bait.

David

I wonder how Lowrance will continue to differentiate between the two lines. Right now the biggest difference appears to be that Eagle did not offer color units. I know the Eagle units tend to have a bit less power.

If Eagle carries their pricing advantage over to the color unit market, that will definitely impact Lowrance sales. I don’t see a slight reduction in unit power being enough for most folks to pass up a $100-$150 savings.

Not that I am complaining about more affordable color units of course…

David

I second (third?) the vote for credit unions. I just bought a new boat in July and got 3.9% fixed for 60 months. Also, my credit union does not differentiate between new or used. Same rate for either.

The advice about a Home Equity loan is sound as well. You can still get some pretty good rates on 80% loan to value fixed rate HE loans (6% or so).

Good luck!

Elonm

Thanks for the info Waterfowler. What speed are you getting out of your setup? With the 17p aluminum prop on my boat with 2 people and gear I am getting low 40’s (speedo…who knows what the true speed is).

I could definitely stand to lose 400 RPM or so and the extra 3-4 MPH would be nice as well.

Thanks again for the feedback from everyone.

David

Suzuki,

I think I saw you fighting that fish! I if you were the boat surrounded by 2 others with a nice yacht parked upstream watching, then we saw ya.

Nice fish. I bet you had a ball fighting her.

David

Nubbin,

I was out last night on pool 2 as well. Quite a few folks fishing. My wife wanted to go for a ride, so we put in on the Minnesota and made the run down to pool 2. I was in the black Crestliner with the black dog wearing a pink life jacket (the dog, not me!).

I only fished for about 45 minutes or so, but managed to pickup my very first Mississippi River walleye!!

Once again, thanks to everyone on this forum. I have learned alot. Now I just need to go out and get some practice (and hire a guide for a day or two to really help me eliminate the unproductive water).

Anyway, see you on the river.

David

Thanks again for the feedback. I can definitely see the benefit in hiring a good guide to get a feel for the river. I had planned on doing that to get a feel for fishing for Flatheads on the Minnesota, but it is probably jsut as good of an investment for Walleyes on the Mississippi.

Thanks also for the link for the video. I contact the site to ask a few questions on color prefences, and plan on purchasing the video and some ring worms (maybe some other stuff too)

Thanks again for all the help. This is the best site I have found as far as making someone feel welcome. I appreciate it.

David

Thank you all for the information. I appreciate your response.

I did not think of buying some videos on the subject. You mentioned that I could get them from the IDA field staff, but I looked over the site and can’t seem to find the spot to order these videos. I apologize if I am overlooking something blatently obvious.

Thanks also for the invite to the IDA gathering on the 31st. Unfortunately, I will be out of town that weekend.

I am getting excited about these rings worms. This is familiar territory for me.

Once again, I appreciate the information everyone has generously shared so far.

Elonm