I'm pretty good at being satisfied with what I have. When the old model continues to do what it should I'm in no rush to trade it in for something new. I can tell you that my wife is always happy to hear such sentiments. However, things do change, and when it comes to fishing I'm open to embracing developments that will enhance the angling experience.
My old fishing boat is a 1995 model. Although she runs as well as ever and is equipped with the gear to keep her competitive in the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail (www.nowt.ca)circuit I like to fish, this year I've added a new fishing boat to the fleet. Fishing boats have come a long way in the last 15 years and the Lund 1775 Impact (www.lundboats.com) resting on the trailer behind my truck is an embodiment of the smart, modern, mid-sized sport fishing vessel.
Size Matters
Although the new boat is only one and a half feet longer than the old it is significantly wider and deeper. "Back in the 1990s fishing boats were generally built narrower, with 80 to 85 inch beams," says Scott Sabourin, owner of Boater’s Choice in Chelmsford (705-855-5455). "Today’s 17 1/2 footers will have a beam of up to 95 inches which translates to a lot more space for a lot more features," he says.
First and foremost is a rod locker located between the walk-through windshield. Like a hidden root cellar for anglers, an elongated trap door hinges up to access 10 individual rod tubes that accommodate rods up to 7 feet long. Such an easily accessible rod storage solution can only be fully appreciated by anglers with a history of stepping on and breaking expensive rods that lay strewn about the boat.
"Attention to detail and intelligent use of space are characteristic of Lund boats," says Sabourin citing space for two 12 V deep cycle batteries and an onboard charger to power the trolling motor found deep in the bowels of the rod locker.
When lowered the rod locker door becomes part of a broad bow casting platform and joins an expansive rear platform with enough room for anglers to erupt into dance should the spirit move us. In fact the Lund features a convertible aft seating/casting platform that folds down flush with the rear casting deck for even more room or flips up to provide two extra seats when required.
The storage saga continues with three bow compartments for things like bumpers, lifejackets, toolkit or spare propeller. There's a passenger-side glove compartment that can, and has, fit a small dog and two long side console compartments for longer fishing rods, paddles, rope and anything else we might need for a day or even a week on the water.
Virtually all horizontal surfaces are covered with vinyl for easy hose-down clean up, avoiding the angst and gnashing of teeth that comes with trying to keep a carpeted boat clean.
Storage of Live Fish
Keeping fish alive is pivotal for anglers who fish live-release tournaments and it's also important for anglers who practice the selective harvest of their catch. My old boat's tiny live well was decidedly claustrophobic compared to the 18 gallon rear live-well I now slide fish into. Add a 12 gallon bow live-well and the new craft is capable of taking numbers of large fish for a no-stress boat ride. When it comes to weighing-in or releasing a fish, the light-colored interior and in-well LED lighting makes finding the right fish fast and easy. There's even a third, relatively tiny, live well for keeping minnows, leeches and other live bait healthy and readily available.
The whole package is built within Lund’s aluminium Integrated Power Strake (IPS) hull. Without going into the complexities of marine design Sabourin explains IPS hull’s three main attributes.” A reverse chine deflects water away, towards the middle of the hull, for a drier ride and more lift out of the hole," he says. "Speed and efficiency is achieved with a narrow flat section directly in front of the propeller for less drag when up on plane. And thirdly a smooth, solid ride results from the twin plated hull - from mid ship to bow where the deep V entry breaks the waves," he concludes. I've been in my share of boats where rough water means shaking, rattling and pounding but the new boat is alarmingly smooth at high speeds over serious chop.
What's Under the Hood?
Outboard motors have come a long way in the last decade. One of the biggest changes is the move to four stroke power. Two-stroke technology has advanced too but Sabourin says over 90% of his customers purchasing large outboard motors opt for four stroke power. With electronic fuel injection the 115 hp Mercury four stroke on my boat starts every time instantly, idles flawlessly, is strong in acceleration, pushes the boat to a top speed of well over 40 mph. It does this with refreshing fuel economy and without the need for injection oil required by two-stroke engines.
She also does double duty as the tubing and waterskiing vessel for my growing teenagers, a task she accomplishes without missing a beat. And when cruising at 30 to 35 mph the motor is quiet enough to have a conversation with my passengers.
A Slippery Slope
Simply buying a new boat is not enough - it has to be suitably equipped. One of the most important additions is a bow mounted trolling motor for precise boat control while angling. I decided to take the technological leap with both feet and slapped a Minn Kota (www.minnkotamotors.com) Terrova with I-Pilot on the bow. The great advance of this trolling motor system is that it’s equipped with GPS so it knows where it is, where it is going, and how fast it is going. This allows for features like Cruise Control - that maintains a constant trolling speed - and Autopilot - that keep us pointed in the right direction - in spite of wind, waves or current.
With the Anchor feature fighting the elements to stay on a particular spot is no longer a problem. Hit the Anchor button over a choice spot and the trolling motor keeps us there till we decide to move on. If we troll along a shoal or break that is particularly productive we can record the track and the trolling motor will repeat the same precise path as many times as we want.
Fish finders with GPS are another essential for today's angler. We use them to locate underwater structure like edges, humps, shoals and weed beds and then mark these promising areas with a GPS waypoint. We can use additional waypoints to pinpoint sweet spots along a particular piece of structure. For instance walleye or bass could be associating with a small rock pile hidden along a deep weed edge.
Most technology-embracing anglers will have one fish finder at the console to use when driving with the main motor and then another at the bow to use when fishing with the trolling motor. I had such a set up in my old boat -a console-mounted Humminbird 998 (www.humminbird.com) packed with waypoints and a second, smaller unit at the bow. The weakness of this system was when I went to the bow to fish I had to transfer my waypoints to a portable GPS in order to know exactly where the hotspot was.
This wouldn't due when equipping the new boat so continuing down the slippery slope of technology I replaced the bow sonar unit with a Humminbird 788. It has a built-in GPS and the two units are connected by ethernet cable so they instantly share waypoints and can even use each other's transducers. While I seem to be pressing a lot more buttons and staring at a lot more screens it’s amazing how much there is to learn about fish behavior and location with this technology.
In the years to come fishing boats, motors and all the angling-trimmings will again change to the point that today’s rig will be teetering on the brink of obsolescence. But for now I’m up to speed and hoping for a long warm fall to enjoy it.
