Ty…interested in the responses to this. Also heading to Lac Seul on opener, for two weeks. Where you staying?

This thread prompted me to check my first aid kit, as I was getting the boat ready for open water here. Glad I did. The Orion Water Proof box was not waterproof….everything in the kit was soggy and moldy. Time to resupply! Dumped the box too.

You can try Jerry’s Sport service in Beloit. They are a Lund dealer, and did a nice job on my 2019 Impact. I sat down with the rigger and went over and wrote down some preferences. If you’re not far from there, stop over and talk to the guy who’d do it, to see if you’re comfortable with him.

WeFish….Is that really you, or some impersonator??

It is a nice vehicle. Didn’t really plan to replace my 2016 because the last time I checked with my dealer a few months back, they were still selling new Burbs at MSRP. I’ve never paid MSRP for any vehicle in the past. But when I caught wind in January of the cash allowances on 2024 models for GM loyalty rewards, veteran discount, and kickers to GM Rewards points, plus saw $5k to $6k discounts below MSRP in on-line dealer ads, decided to go shopping on-line and with phone calls, to find a WI dealer who had 2024 models and who’d work with me. Got it for $13k below MSRP. Sold my 2016 outright, rather than trade-in. Ended well.

I used to think that way too. Never got the extended warranties on my or my wife’s vehicles over the years, until we were able to negotiate the premiums down to what I viewed as a reasonable gamble on the 2011 Toyota RAV4, and my just-sold 2016 Suburban. Came out well-ahead on both,so kept shopping/negotiating on the extended warranty for the recent purchase of the new 2024 burb, which may be my last, and yes, paid for some peace of mind.

TIP: If you use Marketplace, have the first line say “IF IT’S LISTED, IT’S AVAILABLE”, and the last line say “SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY PLEASE”.Eliminates a lot of goofs who ignore those lines and ask anyway.

Just listed my 2016 Suburban on my wife’s Marketplace account yesterday, after zero responses from Craiglist and other fishing website ads placed 8 days ago. Had about 15 inquiries, 8 being the goofs which I didn’t even respond to, and the rest legitimate inquiries. By the end of the evening yesterday, I had two that offered asking price subject to seeing it and test drive, and one that offered $600 over asking price, which I sadly turned down as I had already made a verbal agreement with the first asking price offer. Sold it for $9k over trade-in offer. Definitely worth the messing around it takes.

It’s a $100 disappearing deductible.

….and now for the end of the story. I pulled the trigger with my local dealer and went with the Platinum Chevrolet Protection Plan,8 year/80,000 miles, after they knocked off over $1k to meet the AAA/CNA premium quote. If dealer had not done that, I would have gone with CNA. The local preferred service shops on CNA’s list did not include any near-by Chevy dealer, so the disappearing deductible would not apply if I had to take it to a dealer. Generally not an issue, except for proprietary repairs, such as software issues, and whatever others might arise. Anyone want to buy a 2024 Suburban in early 2033?

So here’s what I’ve found out in my shopping for a good value with a reputable company. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
First the list I checked with:
My local Chevy dealer who uses Ethos; the Chevy dealer I bought the vehicle from who uses Strategic; Direct quote from Endurance; direct quote from AAA who uses CNA. Refunds of premium are a common feature of all these, albeit by different formulas. Also, the CNA option (and I think Zurich too) is only available thru some dealers and organizations like AAA.
Prices are all over the board for the same month/miles and for bumper-to-bumper exclusionary coverage. Most just offered a few options in their template offerings.
But AAA/CNA offered literally dozens of options for each level of deductible; $100, $200, and $500. The agent was very responsive and a pleasure to deal with. They were significantly lower in premium when comparing apples-to-apples on the term and mileage, but here’s the kicker. There is a $500 discount for AAA members, which I am, AND they drop the deductible if you take the warrantied repair to one of their authorized shops. I looked at their list of shops near my zip code, and while they do not have any GM dealers on that list within 25 miles of my zip,there are other dealers on there, as well as some shops that have a good reputation in my area.
I still have a bit more homework to do to make sure I’m not missing anything, but if all is as it seems, I’ll be going with AAA/CNA, with either a 96 month/80,000 to 90,000 mile plan, or 102 month/80,000 to 90,000 miles plan.

Lots of good stuff here…thanks all.
The out-of-town dealer I bought the vehicle from uses Strategic. The salesman/buddy at my local Chevy dealership, who I also checked with after my purchase, said they use Ethos. He personally bought the extended warranty on one of his vehicles and told me about getting some premium back when he sold the vehicle before the expiration of the policy term. I’d never heard of return premium before either, but that agrees with what a couple posters stated. Sounds like what I need to do is pick two or three reputable companies and start negotiating for the best value.

That’s a very good tip. Thanks. Will give it a try in the harbor on Saturday.

Thanks for the input fellas. When I dig into this some more, I’ll check the gauge of the wire used for the Helix from the fuse panel to the unit. Not sure what it is. In any case, I’ll skip the idea of using one of the trolling motor batteries as the power source, and either run a 10 or 12 gauge wire pair all the way back to the starting battery with in-line fuse, or to a new dedicated fuse panel. Wiring the new fuse panel into the existing master power shut-off would be nice.
Boat’s still ready to hit Lake Michigan harbor for jigging up Lakers and jumbo perch when our temps climb above freezing later in the week. This will be one of my January projects after firing up the woodburner in the garage, waiting for someplace to thaw.

As an aside, if you’re looking to save a little cash, besides the single big jon tube rodholder attached to each downrigger, I use the aftermarket version (Extremes) of the plastic Lund track mount kit, with Scotty rod holders. They’re cheap and versatile, in that you can slide them to wherever you want them, and they have withstood even the most violent salmon gear dipsey and leadcore/planer board hits. Have fun getting your rig set up.

I have a 2019 1775 impact, and used the single Cisco mounts for each downrigger. I also have the short arm Big Jons with I think a 20 inch boom as measured from the hub of the cable spool. I read somewhere when setting it up, that Lund recommends staying with 6 lb. downrigger weights, but I went with 8 pounders and have had no problems in 5 years of use on Lake Michigan.

I bought the Hamilton Beach 3 Qt. fryer five years ago at Fleet Farm. (Comes in a two-basket as well). We set it up on a table on our deck in October, and leave it there until late March, frying fish every week or two and filtering or changing oil as needed. It heats up to temp just fine even in frigid weather, and the beer I’m having while frying stays cold…..win-win. The wife says it’s much easier to clean than our older fryer that bit the dust. Unless we have a major family fry, we don’t use it in the summer. If this fryer were to bite the dust, I’d replace it with the same.
For low-volume summer fish-fries, we heat up a cast iron pan on the propane grill, add oil and bring up to temp, and shallow fry fillets with grill lid closed, so that all the splatter burns off. No mess to clean up, except for the pan.

Ditto previous poster. Lac Seul offers great walleye and pike fishing, along with smallies. Occasional whitefish surprise as well. Mahkwa is located in the central part of the system, with lots of good water to fish close by. It’s a busy camp though, so if you want peace and quiet, might want to look elsewhere.

This may be a longshot for you to check, but I can tell you that my saw binds up when there are bad nicks in even just a couple of the cutting teeth or drive links. Happened to me a couple times after chain came of sprocket and got nicked. I used a file to remove the nicks and worked fine afterwards.

A Monday funny…..

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Just checking to see if anyone reads these ads, lol. I knew I could count on you guys. And no, chair not included but could be thrown into the deal for a measly 50 bucks extra.

Hit the Milwaukee Harbor targeting browns and lakers by casting and jigging, but only boated one. Perch were aggressive though, smacking 3/4 oz spoons and 5 inch jerk shads, so we each set up dead sticks with fat heads and went home with 5 each. Started out with NE winds and 3 to 4 foot rollers plus some chop, so stayed ducked in behind breakwalls near the gaps most of the time. Water temp at 43 degrees, so still time to try again.

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Fished a couple more times since last report and have not found a fast and furious bite yet. Managed to boat 10 to 15 eyes or so on each outing, and actually got 3 legals two days ago, but that’s slow compared to the more typical fall bite I’ve enjoyed out here in the past. Hope to make it out a couple more times before ice.

Anyway, seems like posting on this thread has gone by the wayside, so may it R.I.P.

Trophy19, are you planning to troll, or jig the gaps and harbor area? Interested in seeing how you do, as I plan to hit it myself next week after returning home from a trip. Tis the time of year to jig the gaps and harbor, but trolling inside also can produce fish.

Been out a couple times in the past week just for 3 to 4 hours, and the typical fall bite I’ve enjoyed in the past isn’t on yet. I’m thinking that the water temps are still too warm, hovering around 54 degrees both outings. Boated 6 and 8 eyes on these outings and missed some good plastic hits, plus a few obligatory goats and rockies. No white bass oddly enough.Eyes ranged from 14 to 18.5 inches, with most 16 and up. Plastics and jig/minnow both caught fish. More trollers on the water than usual, and heard of reports of nice catches by that method, including some big fish.
Taking a beak for a week while travelling to visit family, but back at it in November. Should start seeing some much better action.

Is this the Plus or Ultra model Tom? Also, would you sell without transducer. A buddy is looking for a second head unit only.

Petenwell for a couple trips, chasing eyes and few hours casting for musky. Also get some nice perch and plenty of white bass incidental to walleye fishing. Closer to home, it’s the Rock River for eyes, and Oconomowoc and Pewaukee lakes for skis, and Madison chain for big gills.
And I’m glad there are lots of hunters at this time of the year….lakes and rivers are nice and peaceful much of the time.

First fall outing yesterday on the river with my 20 year old grandson, 7 till noon. slowwwwwwwww. I boated two white bass and he got one nice eye, a fat 25 incher that’s still swimming. I’ll never hear the end of that story…..grandpa got skunked on eyes. I reminded him that it was my dead-stick with weedless 1/8 jig that I convinced him to hang over, caught that fish. Don’t matter…bragging rights are his for sure. lol.
Water temp 65 degrees, and not much current despite the recent rains. Off to Petenwell at end of week, so back to the Rock in a couple.

So here’s my assessment of the transom-mounted LVS 12 after a couple days of playing around on Petenwell. I found it very useful as a fish-finding tool in detecting the presence of fish in standing, submerged timber and downed timber, which Petenwell has plenty of, in cases where traditional sonar showed unidentifiable marks. The forward view showed me the submerged standing trees ahead (15 to 20 fow) while scouting, and in a case or two, fish milling around them. Caught one suspended crappie casting into the “milling” fish. In down view, it also showed fish hanging around structure, or just swimming around featureless basin bottom. It confirmed to me something that I already knew: although the fish are there, they don’t always eat.
I came across a tip that said to increase the color gain in sonar appearance to 90% to better see the jig or whatever bait you’re throwing. I did this and did see my jig a little better than before within the limited scanning angle zones of the forward and down views. But as said above, it is difficult to see your bait with the LVS12, especially when affixed to the transom, so this is not a video-game fishing transducer or set-up.
So in summary, I’m happy with the end result, since I did not want to mess around with the black box and xducer on a stick set up. While the LVS12 has significant limitations to the more deluxe tools out there, it has significantly improved my fish-finding capability. Heading back to Petenwell later in October for a one week trip to improve my skills with the new toy.
Oh, and here’s the fishing report. Went up to get some work done around my friend’s cottage, so only fished 4 to 5 hours the two days. Got lots (30 to 40) of undersize eyes each day with some legals mixed in. Also took home 6 nice crappie, a dozen perch at 10 to 12 inches, and released a dozen or so big white bass and 3 channel cats. Did the LVS12 help? I think so, since I spent more time scouting and confirming before dropping lines.

That’s a sphinx moth.

Still collecting dust. Yours for $115 plus shipping.

Looks similar to my 2019 1775 Impact after two weeks being tied up to a dock in Canada the year I bought it. My fenders were tied up to the boat, hanging but rubbing against the hull in wave action. Used rubbing compound to try to buff them out a bit when we got home, then several coats of wax. The areas are still visible, but not as bad as they initially were.