My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

[chad711]

Well I guess you have to laugh at yourself once and awhile. This is my first boat and first time on the water with it. Never drove a boat before in the past besides giving it some gas here in there in my brothers boat years ago. Boy was I nervous today!

I bought a 95 Nitro 170tf Rick Clunn edition. I also just started using a baitcasting reel and trying to get over the learning stage still. Getting better though!

Any way the first trip didn't go perfect. Got the boat in the water fine and it started right up. Took a minute to get the trim understood. Headed out across the lake to our spot we use to go to in a little raft and trolling motor! Got there and realized we never put the plug in the back of the boat! It was just hanging there. I recall the seller telling me to be sure I put it in there. Good thing we noticed right away. Reached down there and put it in. Not much water in the boat at all as we hauled butt the whole way over to the spot.

Then we started fishing. Went well for awhile. Then I got a birds nest in my baitcaster. Now I really never spent to much on a rod and reel and even though this starter reel and rod I got isn't expensive it also wasn't cheap in my book either. Well I'm at the front of the boat and I'm pulling out string trying to get this nasty birds nest out. We are slowing coasting into the shore to close so I turn on the trolling motor....not thinking hey dummy your line is right under the trolling motor! Line goes right around it a bunch of times and I go to turn it off. To late, broke my rod tip!

Lessons learned.

On a side note I have a few questions. The trolling motor when on 5 speed after to long will trip the fuse switch next to the battery. I have to click this little button to reset it. Is this because the trolling motor is old and getting to hot on 5 speed? I'm thinking about replacing it soon...just would like to fix it in the mean time.

What does TF mean in the name? Nitro 170 "TF".

Recommended fish finder, depth finder? I've never used one of these and I am clueless. It came with one but he said I need to buy something that goes under the boat for it to work...?

Recommended trolling motor with pedal?

Please recommend items not to expensive. Best bang for the buck. I can spend what I need but want to keep the price with in reason. Thanks!

 

[onthelake2010]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

That's a good day and story.
Great for a laugh later. Did anyone see you put the plug in? If no one see you do it, then it never happened.

Congrats on the boat purchase.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

What does TF mean in the name? Nitro 170 "TF".

Maybe ....To Fast ?? .. .

 

[Triton II]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Nice story. You'll get a plethora of opinions about fish finders / depth sounders - but basically this is an area where you get what you pay for. A small screen sounder with a transom mounted transducer should get you going and in reality, for beginners the simpler the better. Just google fishfinder and you get a heap of sites to look at. For trolling motors Minn Kota is probably a good place to start. Good luck and thanks for the entertainment!

TII

 

[diesel5599]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

I'm not good in the fishfinder department, but I can tell you that my last one was a fishfinder / GPS combo: http://www.amazon.com/Humminbird-383c-Combo-Finder-Chartplotter/dp/B000F3O0YO and the way I picked it was I searched for cheapest color gps/fishfinder combo and it's what came up. It was still going strong 3yrs later when I sold it with my last boat.

It was basically the cheapest I could find that did both and had a color screen. Not sure where you will be fishing out of, but in FL a GPS is essential. if you will mostly be lake fishing then you can prob just go with a fishfinder only.

Oh and the thing the seller mentioned is called a transducer, it is what connects to the fish finder and it is what uses sonar to 'see' what's under your boat. I always mount mine inside the boat, had too many problems with cavitation and losing the signal when it was mounted outside.

It sounds like your first fishing trip and first boat went about like mine. For my very first trip with my very first boat I couldn't even figure out how to start it. Had to ask someone on the dock how to put it in neutral to start it.

 

[chad711]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Thanks for the help. The finder that came with my boat is a Lowrance Z55a. How old is this thing? Looks like a etch a sketch to me! haha

I was looking at this one for price reasons. Any other one you'd recommmend in this price area?

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...250000000_250003000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL


Also does a fish finder find fish under your boat or with in a range of your boat??

 

[diesel5599]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Straight down is all you get. Oh and you usually find out the hard way..when you run aground and the depth finder says you still have 3' of water under you since the transducer is mounted in the back. You get 'some' side to side but very little.

 

[Triton II]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Chad,

Some opinions on Garmin fish finders are not positive. I have a Garmin GPSMap 550S combined GPS and sounder and I reckon Garmin's are great - easy to use, well made and good graphics. The GPS and depth sounding parts of my unit are really good - the fish finder seems to be overly optimistic as even when the screen is full of fish... I never seem to catch them!

Having said that, I can recommend Garmin products.

TII

 

[diesel5599]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Chad,
The GPS and depth sounding parts of my unit are really good - the fish finder seems to be overly optimistic as even when the screen is full of fish... I never seem to catch them!

Having said that, I can recommend Garmin products.

TII

I thought I was the only one with that problem.

 

[Philster]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Wow, I never heard of anyone forgetting the plug! That's gotta be a first!

May a broken rod tip be the worst kind of thing that happens while boating! s

The best way to learn is by making mistakes! Ergo, I am very well educated myself!

 

[Ark-86]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Yup, we've all been there, more or less.

The Lowrance FFs have been around a long time, not sure about that model, but you can probably buy a transducer for it on ebay. I just bought one to replace a new one I lost when I left the cable unplugged from the unit on the console, the wind blew the loose cable over the side, the boat drifted over the mooring chain, the transducer cable wound around the chain, the pulled the transducer right off the hull when the wind blew the boat away from the mooring again.

I just knew it was there one day and gone the next, didn't figure out the rest until I dove down to check my mooring. Anyway, a new transducer was way cheaper than buying a whole new FF.

I could write a tragic comedy novel about the stupid stuff I've done, including my 13 year old son standing in freezing water up to his shoulders with his finger where the plug should have been while I grabbed a wine cork from my tackle box.....

Good luck with new boat, and always think 1st about safety. As my father in law says before every hunting and fishing trip, "First we stay outta trouble"

TB

 

[Ark-86]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Here's an iboats link to a Lowrance transducer, you'd have to do some homework to see if it fits yours and is worth the investment. http://www.iboats.com/Lowrance-Tran...92395102--**********.487156837--view_id.61270

 

[diesel5599]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

You are very lucky you got off so light with the plug. I saw a boat sink in the 10 min it took to park the truck and trailer and walk back to the boat. It was interesting to see nothing but the mooring lines straining to hold on while all you could see was a piece of a cleat sticking out of the water.

I have never forgot to put the drain plug in (knock on wood), what I did manage to do was dry land drown my own boat. I forgot to take the plug out after trailering it. Heavy rains came through and the next time I went to check on my boat water was up to the steering wheel. This was in a cuddy, so the entire cuddy was completely full and the engine was about an inch from being underwater. One more inch and it would have ruined my engine.

Boat actually ran great after it dried out and I replaced the starter.

 

[John_S]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

On a side note I have a few questions. The trolling motor when on 5 speed after to long will trip the fuse switch next to the battery. I have to click this little button to reset it. Is this because the trolling motor is old and getting to hot on 5 speed? I'm thinking about replacing it soon...just would like to fix it in the mean time.

Remove the prop and make sure you have all the line removed from around the shaft.

It could be the breaker and possibly wiring were not correctly selected for your trolling motor, bad connections on wiring, old motor drawing too much current, or breaker tripping at a lower than specified setting.

What size trolling motor (lb thrust)?

12V, 24V, 36V, or 12/24V?

What size breaker (amps)?

What wire size (gauge)?

 

[chad711]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Well that answers a question I had diesel. I was going to get in the habit of just putting the plug back in as soon as I get home from each trip but I guess if it rains I need to leave it open huh?

Looking at the price of a ducer it looks like I will just get a new one. I see so many mixed reviews on fish finders. I hate reading reviews on fish finders because it broke or their customer service sucked. Reviews should be based solely on the functionality of it. If it broke then you just got a bad one.

Why do people want the colored ones for? Just easier to read?

 

[John_S]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Looking at the price of a ducer it looks like I will just get a new one. I see so many mixed reviews on fish finders. I hate reading reviews on fish finders because it broke or their customer service sucked. Reviews should be based solely on the functionality of it. If it broke then you just got a bad one.

Why do people want the colored ones for? Just easier to read?

Consider buying a used transducer and mounting existing unit up front for the bow trolling motor. Put your new unit at the helm. Yes, color is easier to read, and suspect you would want GPS. How serius of a bass fisherman are you planning to get? There is a very broad range of units and prices.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

fuses blows when it gets hot. reasons for getting hot, loose or dirty/corroded connections, wire too small for the load, old motor.

 

[cwhite6]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Look into the remanufactured Minn Kota motors at Cabelas. I bought one and it is perfect. Cannot tell it was not brand new. I got it alot cheaper than new too and they shipped it to the house. Check out the link below:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...cat21276-cat21286&parentType=subcategory&rid=

 

[chad711]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Remove the prop and make sure you have all the line removed from around the shaft.

It could be the breaker and possibly wiring were not correctly selected for your trolling motor, bad connections on wiring, old motor drawing too much current, or breaker tripping at a lower than specified setting.

What size trolling motor (lb thrust)?

12V, 24V, 36V, or 12/24V?

What size breaker (amps)?

What wire size (gauge)?

I think it's an older one and I will get more details to you when I get off work. It's a 55lb thrust I think. 12v. Not sure on the breaker.

 

[chad711]

Re: My first boat, my first fishing trip in my boat!

Consider buying a used transducer and mounting existing unit up front for the bow trolling motor. Put your new unit at the helm. Yes, color is easier to read, and suspect you would want GPS. How serius of a bass fisherman are you planning to get? There is a very broad range of units and prices.

Well I'm originally from Montana and I use to fly fish all my life as a kid and through high school. Now I'm in Texas and 80 miles from Lake Fork. Started bass fishing the last two months. Been to lake fork 3 times already and going again this weekend. I bought a boat before I own a house. I'm getting pretty serious but I want to budget a little for now. I'm ADDICTED to bass fishing now. It's all I think about lately!


cwhite6, thanks for that info! I will probably do this possibly today or soon!

imported_John_S, good idea. Where do people usually put these ducers at besides the trolling motor prop? I see that a lot...

Side note...I found a trolling motor on craigslist. Minn Kota MAxxum Pro Bow mount 55lbs of thrust. He will give it to me for $425. Is this a steal? Bass Pro wants $690 for it.