Thank you all for the excellent and helpful responses. I chickened out and bought a 1999 boat with a carpet in good condition, but if I hang onto this boat I can see a carpet job in the future, so it is good to have a little more confidence going into it.
Hey Tom, great looking smallmouth! What kind of depth are you fishing in? Would fly fishing be a possibility? Any surface action? How big a boat is necessary for safely fishing these bays?
Thanks a ton for the link. It really gives me an excellent idea of what I would be getting with Lakemaster, which seems the clear choice. Also–thanks to all the rest for weighing in.
Right now I am fishing pools 5, 5a and 6 the most. Would the Wisconsin chip cover the river, or would I have to get Minnesota too? I also noticed on the Lakemaster site they do not mention humminbird. Is Lakemaster not compatable with humminbird?