I am curious to see how the pricing and performance compares to the Garmin LVS34. With the sales Garmin is offering its looking like Mega 2.0 could be $1000 more expensive for a bundle, so it better have a performance advantage.
Another nice win for the Gophers, if we finish out 2-1 down the stretch here that would be a solid season.
I am looking at upgrading my boat in the next few years and will not consider boats with an Etec on the back, no matter the price. Unfortunately it sounds like many others feel the same.
As said above, Garmin is just waiting on their next gen. I would go with Garmin for FFS. They are way ahead of the rest.
Agreed, I am leaning towards Garmin, but curious to see how much HB can improve.
They better be upgrading their FFS, otherwise I am switching to Garmin this winter. Helix units are definitely due for an update as well.
I have been on the lookout for lightly used Reata or Solera too. You will find the vast majority in that year range have a 150 on the back. Most describe the performance as “adequate” with top speeds in the 46-47 range. That would be fine for me, but I find myself wondering if I will be disappointed by the performance, especially when most of the new ones have 200’s.
There are some decent deals to be had out there from what I can see, but again they are all 150’s.
IF you are looking at an Impact 1875, I think you owe it to yourself to look at the comparable Alumacraft and Crestliner. Shopping one against the other and speaking with multiple dealers is never a bad thing. The dealer/service is very important when going with something brand new as well.
Would definitely second this, the trophy and Superhawk/sport fish are very similar boats. Most will have a 150 off the back which should be perfectly adequate for your needs.
I would take a cashiers check, have the buyer bring the withdrawal receipt too as extra insurance. If you want to triple check he should be able to pull up his online banking and show the exit of funds from his account.
I was at the stair fair yesterday and seeing a few 2023 Reata’s for ~$54K had me thinking about upgrading. Would like to see them with a 175 on the back, but pretty much everyone one I see listed has the 150. Pretty crazy they are almost at price parity with the Crestliner superhawk/sport fish, but some of those do have a 200 hanging off the back.
I think they will win 7 games. The offense should be better than last year. They upgraded at QB, have a strong RB stable, and a potential NFL receiver. I am far more worried about the defense. It would not shock me to see Fleck leave for a stronger program if they have a decent year.
Brunswick/Mercury will be fine long term, but its definitely tough times for dealers right now. The dealer near me still has a few brand new 2022’s on the lot and the price’s have not come down much.
If you think the boat market is bad I cannot imagine being in the snowmobile business right now after last winter.
The design on that boat is actually really impressive, I really like the extended back fishing deck and the general/battery storage is nice too.
I have been lightly boat shopping for the past few years and have been totally unimpressed with the Alumacraft lineup, so good for them for making some changes.
More power to you if you want to buy a warranty for piece of mind, but dealers are selling them because they make good money off them. The math on the vast majority of warranties sold favors the seller, otherwise they would not offer them.
We love Kab, the lake has some of the best scenery in the state and more fishing spots than I will get a chance to fish in my life time. Its not automatic walleye catching from my experience, but we have gotten on plenty of hot bites.
I think your tips are good, I have not experimented much with shorter leaders, so I should give that a try. Trolling cranks along a wind blown shore has always been a slump buster for us too, I find most success on the brightest option in the tackle box. Also to your point on slow, bobbers and leech’s have served us well in the past.
I thought the whole point of the turbo was to build power at lower RPM’s?
I drive a 2013 F150 with the 5.0 V8, its been great so far and I plan to keep it past 200K. I have heard/read great things about the 2.7 eco, they have been making them since 2015 and they have a very solid reliability track record. That will likely be the leading contender for my next truck, but I would consider getting another 5.0 if they are still making them.
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Toyota either, I am assuming they will have things figured out by the time I am in the market.
I will likely buy into a FFS system this fall. I dont doubt Garmin will top whatever Humminbird comes out with, but I am curious what Mega Live 2.0 looks like. They better launch it soon, they are rapidly losing market share to Garmin.
Even with Great handling technique, there are times that a fish dies. I like to feel that myself and my fishing buddy have excellent fish handling skills on large pike, But we still end up with a fish that dies from time to time. I hate it, but it happens from to time.
Absolutely true on the mortality front, I would imagine sadly its quite high for unexpected/unprepared catches, but also an unfortunate reality for experienced anglers.
Appreciate the link, Gimruis. I took the survey and indicated my preference is to prioritize strengthening our existing fisheries. Admittedly my interest in muskie fishing has waned in the past few years, especially during the times of the year when FFS is a massive advantage.
The West End in St. Lous park would be #1 for recent grads, but its fairly pricey. There are a bunch of apartments over there, central park west is nice.
I am not really in the market because I already own too many rods, but the Thorne Predator series are the best rods I have ever used.
Its not a cost thing for me either, I have not decided if I want to stare at a screen even more than I already do with my current set up.
I wish it was as simple as “to each their own”, but this technology is going to start (or has started) impacting fisheries. I can definitely feel the divide in the muskie world, fish are seeing far more baits than pre FFS, which hurts success rates for anglers fishing without it.
I completely understand the hesitation to give the DNR more power, but if we are being honest, fishing and hunting are already heavily regulated. Eventually every sport has a moment where they need to limit technology, whether its golf clubs/balls, baseball bats, or only allowing 3 shells when duck hunting. There’s countless examples technology being limited for the betterment of the sport, fishing should be no different.
Yes, I would support a ban, but its a tough call for me. I brought it up in another thread, but the impacts on muskie fishing are not as often talked about here, but are fairly significant IMO.
I don’t think it will ever happen, but I could foresee a world where its banned on certain lakes.
I think the youtubers like them because they are getting them for free via sponsorship. People seem to generally be satisfied with them, I’ll personally stick with Daiwa.
I have concerns about how FFS is impacting fisheries, but at the same time am strongly considering adding it to my boat this summer. I bet many here feel similarly conflicted about FFS.
I often hear “if you don’t like it don’t use it, aka watch your own bobber”. I would counter that by saying when the technology starts impacting the success rates of an “normal” angler I start to question things.
Muskie fishing in particular is an interesting example: of course you have a chance at catching one without FFS (its not even useful in some situations), but it seems to be getting harder due to them seeing so many more baits and being easier to find/pressure with FFS. I would bet the differential in success rates between someone pursuing open water muskies in June with FFS vs. someone without would be massive to the point where I just have less motivation to even try without FFS.
I found this muskie podcast with Pete Maina interesting, it probably goes harder against FFS than I would, but they make some good points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B4JOt3QWfk&t=1s .
$100k + boats…my random guess is fewer than most people think
I’d bet the number of boats in the $30-80k range that are financed is more than most people think
I think this is spot on, I doubt many boats above $100K are financed, but I could be wrong. I would imagine most people taking out a loan on a boat top out around $75K.
My wife was shocked to hear a salesman selling someone next to us on a 7% 25 year loan at the boat show. I cant imagine being underwater for 20+ years on a boat.
You will have a hard time finding any Ranger, Lund, or Crestliner without a Merc hanging off the back these days. Its too bad because I would prefer a Suzuki or Yamaha personally.
I would be looking for a 17.5 – 18.5 aluminum boat, anything glass in the same price range will be older and/or have an undesirable motor on it. 115-140hp is fine on a 17.5, you will want a 150+ on anything over 18′. You can save money by sticking with the Fishhawk/Competitor style boat as opposed to something deeper like the sportfish/trophy, along with getting by running a smaller motor. It would depend on where your fishing and what is most important to you.
Many boats in the year range you will be looking at will have outdated electronics, I would be looking to spend around $24-28K and plan on outfitting it with a new TM and depthfinder.
Surprised to hear this, I have been impressed with the vortex pro lodge I bought earlier this year. I will say, each of the big 3 make a really solid shack at this point.
Otter makes the best hub in my opinion, the no trip door is a game changer. Cant speak to using it in the summer, but it did fine in the December rain I had it out in.
I have slowly been switching over to Daiwa the past few years. I second the Legalis or Fuego being the best reels you can buy in that $100 range.
I have kicked around redoing the entire floor in my 2006 sportfish 18′, the quotes have ranged from $4,200 to $5,8000. I have not pulled the trigger yet due to cost. Thought about trying to tackle it myself, but not sure I have the time or patience.
Fully support the shift from 6 to 4, should have been done a while ago.
