LETS SEE PICS OF YOUR OPEN WATER RIGS!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Perchjerker,

That thing is S-W-E-E-T!

[hanson]

Quote:

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What's Open Water??????

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I like the way you think!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Hanson,

Open water, you know, when the flatheads start to roam!

[EJ]

Perchjerker,

I couldn't see you through the smoke, but I could sure hear that 2 stroke!

[eyepatrol]

PerchJerker...

You JUST HAD to go and put that up there didn't ya! You're killing me man...killing me!!!!!!!!!!!

How fast does that rig go for ya??? My set-up will probably be exactly the same, but am curious as to how fast it will go???

[Slyster]

RE: Valv

Yep I know... we have loads of fun in that little boat.. sure is cheap to upkeep and the I must fill the 5 gallon tank only 4 times a season. And true.. tis paid for.

Would be GREAT to be able to stand up.. that's what I miss the most. I do have a deck.. but it's waaaaay to tipping to do anything other than sit or crawl on it.

[SomethingFishy*]

I use a 1982 Sears fiberglass tri-hull with very little paint left on it, but it has a 25hp merc on it that starts first or second pull. O yeah the boat was free and catches fish, it hadn't been used for about 7 years before we got it.

[Guest]

Summer rig:

Winter rig:

[Bushwacker]

I have had the worst open water fever ever for the last three weeks. My wife thinks I have actually lost my mind because I am out doing getting all the open water gear ready and rewaxing the boat in the garage and it is only January If it hits 50 degrees today I am in real trouble! Here is my rig- Made the switch to glass and bass last summer and I think I will have real trouble going back

[ChuckN]

[eyepatrol]

Here's what my previous boat looked like...

[trollneyes]

Basscatcher - what didn't you like about your warrior? Too deep?

[PerchJerker]

First, thanks for the compliments.

Secondly, for EJ - I don't think you'll be close enough to see the smoke or hear that wonderful Opti growl for very long

Basscatcher - I haven't really had the chance to let my rig fly yet. I've had it on Minnetonka 3 times to cruise and break in the motors, but every time my wife and young'uns were with me so I kept it pretty sane (not much room to rip on that lake anyway). I also had it on Mille Lacs half-a-dozen times last fall, but always after dark so also not a good situation to let it rip. One night when there were 3 of us in the boat I opened it up for a while and got about 49 on the gps, and there wasn't much more left.

Ranger set up the motor with a Hi-Five prop. I was kind of expecting a Tempest (3 blade), which would have more top end. I may do some prop testing on it this summer, not sure yet. And sooner or later I'll get around to calling Ranger's tech staff too and getting their opinon on other props for my setup, but I haven't done it yet.

[OnTheWater]

Wow, the itch is gettin' very intense; the next few months are surely gonna be long and painful! I Just bought my boat off of hsolist a few weeks ago (yes, risky; but it was well worth it, and then some). It is getting tough to get through anything these days without thinking about that first cast. It’s especially tough, when I drive by the open water of Lake Superior everyday; it’s driving me nuts.

[eyepatrol]

trollneyes...

Depth or anything like that wasn't the reason. To keep a long story short, at the time we had a 1.5yr old boy, a baby girl on the way, way too much credit card debt, and if you look in the backround of the bottom picture (or the top one), that dumpster you see was for the contractor who was working on rehab work on our house (shingling, siding, doors, deck, interior work, etc). So, it was just the right time for us to sell the boat to help pay off some debt. And boy did it help! Even though we have our second child now, we've gotten rid of all our credit card debt plus paid off a school loan. Saving money now for the new boat next year.

[eyepatrol]

Perch...

Thanks for the info. Sounds like it gets pretty decent speed. I've been debating on whether to go with a 175 or 150. Wife might have a little to say about that too. I'm going to try and convince her to put the 175 on there though.

How well does the boat reverse with the HighFive prop? I had that on my old Warrior and that thing didn't reverse worth a darn! Didn't get as much speed out of the HighFive SS prop as I did with the 3-blade aluminum prop either. Just curious.

[EJ]

Perchjerker,

Just don't scare my fish away! Your rig looks great. I did converse with someone on another site that ran a 175 OPTI and he said he got 54 GPS with a Tempest. I run a Yamaha Pro series 21 on my F150 and get 51 GPS by myself and 49 - 50 with a full load of guys and gear. I may experiment with a 19 pitch when the kids get older and want to do the ski/tube thing. The 21P works for that stuff, but a little more low end wouldn't hurt for that.

EJ

[wildirishrose]

ikslud, Yup 19th ave., are you up towards the rich folks (Wilds) or more on the south end?

[PerchJerker]

Basscatcher - reverse with the Hi-Five is terrible. My previous boat was aluminum with a 175 and a Hi-Five. That boat wasn't good in reverse but the new one definately seems worse (or else I still need to learn how to drive it).

I've always been a subscriber to the "you have to max out the horsepower" line of thinking. But in reality the 150's and even 135's are pretty close to the 175's in performance -- they're definately closer in performance than they are in price. And it's not that often you can run 50 mph especially if you're on big water a lot.

EJ - I'm still glad I went with the Opti, but I have to admit I've been wondering how loud it will be (especially for people in the jump seats) when cruising around 2500 - 4000 rpms. I fish with a guy who has a F115 and I wouldn't call it a quiet motor (which had some influence in my decision), but we're also always running it WOT 95% of the time. Who knows, maybe I'll end up wishing I listened to your motor advice too

Can we get a photo of your rig on here?

[TSCTSC]

Can you actually inflate a trailer tire with a hand pump???

[knoppers]

my summer rig, which is due for a upgrade. 97' 1850/175 yami.

my winter rig, with the 4x4, also use the firecat to tow.

[caseymcq]

My summer rig. I had a Ford Ranger so I always had to take to bow mount off so I could see out the back a little bit Won't be the case this year. I made a big upgrade to a GMC Sierra.

[WALLEYE_HUNTER]

1990 tracker super guide v 16

[eyepatrol]

All very nice rigs! I do like the location where knoppers is at...back in the woods. That looks awesome.

[HutchBucks]

OK...2005 18' Tundra DC like this:

But, in this color: