I'm Outta Here.....

[Johnny b]

That first boat is hauling ass for a boat that size. That's a lot of hp!

 

[Rowdyray]

Made it home last night. Another successful trip. Lot of fun. Nobody fell in, and the boats gave it their all. We've had issues in the past. Puts a damper on things. The weather was decent but, that worked against us. The early thaw changed everything. Always caught them in the shallows. 5-10 feet. The spawn was over and the walleye had headed to deeper parts of the lake. Chasing the emerald shiners. What was a 7-10 mile run in the boats, turned into 20 mile runs. Trying to get to 25-30 feet. Lot more gas spent. Non-Oxy isn't cheap. Every year we learn something new.

Unfortunately, my favorite walleye rod broke. Just snapped while setting the hook on a 16"er. Still baffled. Grabbed the line and pulled it in by hand. I have 3 rods just for this trip. All by the same manufacturer. Light, medium and heavy. Not cheap either. Now I have to see if there's a warranty or replacement. Because I really like these.

Sorry I didn't take pics of the scenery. It can be beautiful at times. I won't take my expensive gear out in the boat and only take my cellphone out for emergencies. Hard enough to keep my old butt in the boat. Lol.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes and good lucks. Already looking forward to next year.

 

[joshludden]

What hand do you reel with? I have a bunch of rods/reels for sale if you'd want them.

 

[Rowdyray]

That first boat is hauling ass for a boat that size. That's a lot of hp!

Yep, it sure does. 40+ that low to the water feels like you're flying too. Lol.

For good reason. We used to take it to Canada and fish on the Winnipeg river. The current could be crazy at high tide. We used to fish below a dam for big Northern Pike. While trying to land one, we got caught in an Eddy. Spun around and hit a rock. Bent the prop and broke off the skeg. Took everything that motor had to get us out of it. Limped it back and replaced the prop. The Suzuki now sports a custom made stainless steel bolt on skeg. Don't worry, we have a complete parts motor if it happens again. (Even runs) The most underrated motor of it's time.

My brother did a ton of research about 20 years ago when he bought it. The boat is ALL aluminum. Even the floor. Nothing to rot. We plan to keep it around for a while.

 

[Rowdyray]

What hand do you reel with? I have a bunch of rods/reels for sale if you'd want them.

Right. But, I have plenty of good reels. It's the rod I'm more concerned with. It needs to be sensitive enough to feel the bite in my hand. This year was completely different. Let the boat rock it up and down and set the hook when the tip didn't come back up. Never felt a thing. None of us. Bit that light.

I need to contact the company first. See what they say. It's only about 6 years old. If they blow me off, I'll be giving my hard earned money elsewhere.

 

[Rowdyray]

Well, there was only a 1 year warranty on the rod. Shakespeare wild series. They don't make them anymore and the new line is 90.00. each. Think they felt bad because they offered me a Fenwick Eagle with the same specs for 55.00. That's an upgrade. I was just looking at that rod yesterday at Joe's, a local sporting goods store. On sale for 80.00. It's much better than what I was using. And I loved that rod.

@joshludden, If you have something that can trump that, I'm listening. Looking for something in the 6' 9"-7' 0" range. Medium light. Fast action.