Nice boat Chris! I really like that color scheme.

Are you guys sure you’re not giving the DNR too much credit in finding these dog’s? I can envision a secretary at the DNR office putting in an order for “Zebra sniffing dogs”, and they end up getting dogs trainded to “hit” on the hooved African variety….

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For mono, I love the Willis knot. We use it for both walleye & salmon fishing all the time and it has yet to fail.

For super lines to lead core, I prefer the Albright knot. I also remove the leadcore if possible. Some older lead core lines don’t like to give up the lead in which case I just tie the Albright with the lead still in it. Haven’t had any issues with that either so far.

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x2 We use the Willis for Salmon and have never had a failure. I do put two of them in though….

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Wow very nice rig. I like the colors and equipment. Question so now this will make you catch more fish. That was a question I was asked when I got my Yarcraft – (I love it), but catching fish hmmmmmmm

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Oh, I made sure I got a money back guarantee that I’d catch more fish

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Is yours the one with the Traxtech tracks? They were waxing it up when I left around 10.

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Yup; that’s mine. I just picked it up. I’m soooooo pumped to get it out on the water! They guys reported 53 MPH upriver and 57 MPH down . That’s going to be awesome! My last boat had a Honda 90 which was a heck of a good motor, but only pushed the lund at about 37 on a good day.

I forgot to take pictures before we put the cover on and it’s raining now, so I’ll have to get them tomorrow when we go for the maiden voyage.

Chris- They were working feverishly on your boat. It looks REAL nice!!!!!

MX1825 with the new F200XB and a T9.9. LOT’S of extras too…. Pretty sure I’m worse than a kid waiting for Christmas today!

Cangrat’s Chris! I’m lucky enough to have the SBC guys in my backyard as I work only a few miles away. I’ll be stopping by on my lunch to finalize paperwork and hopefully pick up my new Skeeter later today. I can’t say enough good things about the whole SBC crew. They are superb aren’t they?

I’ll try to go easy on the Anglers guide headquarters so there’s some gear left for you, but no guarantee’s ….

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Not trying to stir anything up, just want straight up opinions / experience. The thread title left it open ; ) I get the non-towing gas mileage advantages of the ECO Boost F150s.

But, what’s the long-term reliability of them, esp. one’s that pull boats regularily? I don’t personally know anyone with more than 60K on one.

I test drove one and regretted it. Absolutely impressed and heard many good reviews from neighbors. I’m a Chevy guy, and have a tough time switching from the 5.3 Vortec to the Ecoboost that’s only been in the F150’s for a couple / few years. I’ve had 3 Vortecs over last 15 years…..never had a repair bill on any of them.

I’m curious to see how the turbo’s that spin at 60K RPM’s hold out over the long haul and the overall engine life. Then there’s the condensation “shudder” / “shutdown” issues. Had another neighbor that had his “crippled” by this….”oxygen senson” was what he was told…Not sure if that issue had a sure fix yet or not.

Not knocking the Ecoboost…very impressed actually…..but that’s was a test drive…..just not sure if I want to roll the dice on something I’ll put 150K+ on….not afraid of doing that with a Vortec.

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I’m in the same boat as you Mike. I’ve had both Chev’s and Fords over the years and have had good luck with both. But…….I’ve currently got a Chev with the 4.8 V8 and just turned 200,000 miles. I’ve had only VERY minor repairs to make, so I’m thoroughly happy with the truck. I’m contemplating a new just just because it seems like it’s time I guess. The Ford Eco-Boost is on the top of the short list, but it’s really hard to turn away from the Chev reliability I’ve gotten on this last truck. It’s impossible to cover all your bases, but I keep wondering if I can expect 200,000 trouble free miles out of the Eco-Boost like I’m currently riding on the Chev.

They only complaint I have with the current truck is rust. It’s ten years old and the rockers are completely shot. There’s getting to be pretty extensive rust bubbles over the rear wheels as well. I know these trucks won’t last forever in the North Land, but it seems like the Ford’s have been holding off rust a little better.

Decisions……Decisions……

Sweet! thanks guys.

Holy smokes Rod, how in the world are you going to figure out what exactly you need from that long list? I believe the boats we have on order are twins, so I think I’ll let you be the guinea pig and figure out what’s needed to work, then you can come back on here and tell me what to buy . Do we have a deal?

I did try that. Halfen responded that I jsut needed to connect the Humminbird NMEA2000 bridge to an existing NMEA powered network. What I came back and asked where to get an NMEA powered network, I got no response and the thread died an untimely death.

Hopefully mine is on there

I’ve got an MX1825 with the new F200XB coming to SBC.

Was it connected to a $75,000 fishing rig? If so; it’s mine

Grouse Dog- I’m open to adoption, and have 3 grouse dog’s (setters)……just sayin’……

Total: 21.9

BF: 9.6

I haven’t had an opportunity to try one yet, so take my comments with a grain of salt……

When I bought an I-Pilot last year, I was really excited for the I-Link to come out to tie the trolling motor together with the locator, but to be honest, I’m a bit disappointed in the features offered. I do think having the tracks, and spot locks on the locator and being able to control from there would be very nice, but the tolling by following a contour on the map chip doesn’t get me too excited. The map chips just aren’t anywhere near accurate enough for most lakes I fish for this to be useful. I do alot of trolling and typically fish shoreline breaks. In areas where the break is fairly steep, the depth can easily very by up to 10 feet from what the map says which would have my cranks digging bottom often times. When I manually try to troll along a depth contour by using the current “shading” available, I’m quite a bit out of my depth target much more than I’m in it. I suppose this is likely because I fish many lakes that aren’t as popular as the big tournament lakes, so the contour maps aren’t as accurate.

What did I hope the I-link would do? I had hoped I could sit down on a computer with a lake map up and plot out trolling passes which I could later re-create on the water. This would allow me to take my knowledge of the lake into account (fix known inaccuracies in the map) and plan my trolling pass accordingly. Even better yet would be the ability to fix known problems with the contour lines. Right now what I often do when the contour lines are way off is I zig zag back and forth accross my targeted depth contour, and place a waypoint right on the right depth. If you put enough of these in a row along the shoreline break, you can follow it with the I-Pilot and record a track. Doing this manually is cool, but is a chore. Having the ability to save that and not having to re-create would be really cool!

I just bought a new boat, but am passing on I-Link at this time.

Let me know if you need anyone to ride shotgun. Might be a nice trip .

That’s an awesome reply!

Very nice ride! The fish won’t stand a chance. Dean and Justin have been treating me very well too this winter, but I need to wait a few weeks to take delivery on mine. Good luck in the new boat!

I’ve fished both sides of Door County in a 17 foot Lund for the last 4 years for both Walleye and Salmon. Most days I’m OK, some days not. Just have to pick your days based on weather and pay close attention to changes. I’ve got a marine band radio and monitor the weather channels often. I believe your boat is considerably deeper than my lund, so you should be fine most of the time.

BUT…I bought me a new 20 foot Skeeter, so I should have less days stuck at the dock .

Lund makes a very solid downrigger base for this sport track system. I happen to have just taken a set off my 1675 Explorer as I’ve bought a new boat. if you want to pay shipping, I’ll send you my set for free. send me a PM if interested.

Depending on how far up the gunnels you plan on mounting them, I think long booms could either be a blessing or a curse. If they are too long, it’s tough to bring in rank Salmon up the chute between them. The fish often want to make one last dash for it and often times this is to the side. It’s not good when a Salmon passes between the rigger cable and the boat . I know that scenario too well. On the other hand, it is good to get the rigger cable back away from the back of the boat a little ways. This is especially true if you’re running a kicker motor. I’d say adjustable is best, but if you have some leeway in where you mount them on the gunnels, you should be fine. I’ve got some older Cannon Mag 10’s that have short fixed booms, and they have always worked well on my boat because I have them way at the back of the gunnel. I’m now looking at a new boat though, and will need to replace with adjustable booms to make it work.

I made an assumption that you were inquiring about riggers for Salmon…..if not, my answer may be all wet