usmcpaul

Adam, these are not adjustable. So I can not adjust each one, they are basically a trim tab with only a gas shock connected to them, but for the money they are well worth it. I just wanted to get on plane faster and these fixed that.

O.k. guys, I had a real problem with my boat not getting up on plane. I would hit the throttle hard and still it would take forever to plane out. The boat was nearly vertical in the water for a long time, so I decided to try these trim tabs called Nauticus Smart Tabs SX. Sure, I could have tried re-proping or adjusting the weight distribution in the boat, but why do that if these things actually work? I was not expecting a whole lot for only $115 but man was I wrong. My boat jumps on plane now almost instantly. It was the best money I have spent in a long time. A normal trim tab system would be 400 to 700 bucks and I considered it, but after reading a bunch of reviews I tried these. They flat out work. Sure...you can not adjust each one individually and that may be a con for you, but for the money they can't be beat in my opinion. My boat rides extremely level now and the reality for me is that adjusting trim tabs is just one more thing to think about and with these there is no need to think about anything, they just work. I can't say enough good things about them. The boat planes out, has more stability and they were super easy to install.

It kind of sounds like you have eliminated everything except fuel delivery. I would replace the filter and ,make sure the fuel pickup in the tank is clear and there is not sediment at the bottom. It sounds like you have to let it sit for a while, then sediment then falls down and lets the fuel flow again. Or if the tank vent is clogged it will create a vacuum and kill the motor. In either case the motor would bog down and then quit. You might try running it with the cap off as long as no water spray can get in. Other than that, I would be checking for a broken wire. When it heats up it looses contact. The motor would act like you turned the key off.

It was Lake Trout.

Boated one 9 pounder (without a net because I forgot it) and had 2 knock-offs. The landed one came on a 5 core Blueberry muffin body bait in about 35 fow, about halfway between Lexington and Sanillac. Still looking for the elusive Kings. Anyone with some advice on what to look for, or where to try in that area, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks guys, sounds simple enough so I think I can handle that.

Thanks for the reply Ken and I will definitely stop by to say "Hi". We are all looking forward this trip.

Nice video Ken. I have seen a few of your posts, and figured you would be the guy to ask about fishing in Little Bay DeNoc this summer. My dad, brother and I are going to be up there on July 24th for a few days and we have never been there before. We are planning on bringing all the gear so we can adapt to most conditions that we run across. So do you have any pointers/areas that are historically good for that time of year. Is trolling the preferred method? Thanks, Paul

I just got my Beefy Bags from Amish outfitters about 2 weeks ago and I am very impressed. They work extremely well and are pretty easy to deploy and retrieve. Like Frank, I also keep 2 bags tied up and ready to go. It sure makes it alot easier that trying to tie them up on the fly. They sold me 2 28' bags for my 23 footer and I have only had to use one to get me down to 1.8. I figure that the other will be used if I need to get slower for Walleyes.

Thanks Frank, I have seen that one, but I can not find many reviews from users, so a grand seems like a real leap of faith. I really can't imagine it would be that hard to adapt a transducer to a computer but there is very little/no info out there on how to do it. I would even settle for, (and have seriously considered) getting a $99 fish finder and cutting it open to try and adapt it to my laptop. Sounds like a winter project to me, I dunno.

If you figure it out, please post how to do it. I have not been able to do it yet, but in all fairness I have not had a ton of time to sit down and really give it a go. I think that would be the ultimate in fishing upgrades, especially for those that have hard-tops, because they have less water issues. I would love to have a 15 inch "fish finder screen".

So what is the proper way to call out over the radio for a radio check and for information in general. Last week I was out and a guy calls out "something, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah--- looking for a fishing report". He had a very official sounding introduction and again when we got done talking, another very official sounding sign off. I never really thought about it until it happened, so I just sat there and looked at my brother, shook my head quizzically and said " O.K., you're welcome, have a nice day." Do you say "Breaker 68, Breaker 68, looking for a radio check" ? And then when you are done is there some sort of official sign off? Also, is there an "Official secret handshake" I should know about? I am laughing at myself right now, because that other guy must have been thinking to himself "What a NOOB". My brother was laughing his arse off, and said' while trying to catch his breath " Wow man, you sounded like a real dumb-a$$"

I absolutely love my 2006 Ram 2500, 6 spd, 5.9L Cummins, 4-door. It tows my 24 footer no problem, has plenty of room for the family and gets pretty good mileage for what it is. Some people say the interiors are not as nice as the others and I suppose there is a little truth to that, however the Cummins legacy more than makes up for it in my mind. I have no problem driving in it for extended periods of time. The older ones had transmissions (autos) that were not as strong as they should be, but I have heard that they have addressed that since then. Mine is a manual so there is no problem there. Sounds like you might be looking for a gasser anyway, and the Hemis are tough to beat in my opinion. I am not sure how Tundras pull heavy loads so I can't comment on them (besides I live near Detroit and would not be caught dead in one of those things:D)

Here is one that gets very good reviews. They have not done a great job of updating their site in the past so try to call them before you order, however they are very nice on the phone. http://www.bethel-marine.com/

Jim my system is cable controlled, however it does take a fair amount of effort to turn the wheel. I am not sure if thats just the way it is, or the cables are worn/rusted. Do you know if the AP is hooked up to the cables up front or does it hook up at the end in the engine compartment? I suppose either way having hydraulic steering would be a plus. Do you know what it takes to add hyd steering? It sounds like I would need a pump that runs off the engine (i.e power steering pump), and a cylinder to acutate the outdrive. There has to be more to it than that? Does anyone have any good links to follow an actual install?

Hey guys, I did not want to hi-jack someone elses thread so I decided to post a different one. As you all probably know this is my first boat in a long while and I have found steering it to be some what challenging. Even when the wind is light, that thing tends to have a mind of its own and not having power steering makes it even tougher. I have been slowy working through it, but my crews tend to know even less than I do about boating/fishing than I do, so I usually have to set lines, untangle things, re-tie leaders..... and that leaves my crew steering the boat which could be consider "very comical" in some cultures. Although I do have the cash for an auto pilot right know, I am seriously considering for next season. So here are a few questions I figure the "pros" will be best suited to answer. One problem I have is over compensating and thus having to constantly go left or right, so will an autopilot hold a pretty steady heading so I can set lines/net fish or does it just get you to point A by any means necessary? Are there models that I can use with an I/O, non-power steering? Do I have to have a NMEA GPS unit for the AP to "talk to"? Finally, any reviews of your system, good or bad, would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Paul

Very cool. Please keep us updated on how it goes. I am seriously considering getting an autopilot next year.

Yea Ken, hooking up with that King was a real spirit lifter. I was getting a little frustrated going out and getting skunked or having problems of one sort or another.

Yea they had fun fishing, and when it got slow they had fun shooting rubber bands at each other and spilling pop. Who knew that a 59 cent bag of rubber bands could be so much fun.

Had another great day today. The entire day was beautiful and calm. This time I took my youngest daughter (age 10), My friend and his son (age 10). We hit the same spot as yesterday and within 20 minutes had the older brother of the laker I got yesterday in the boat. I decided to try a little shallower and we hooked what I believe was a huge king. This thing spooled out 900 feet of line fast. I had 25 pound test and the drag set so tight I was really worried about it breaking. The reel was getting really low when I decided to have my buddy turn the boat to maybe chase it a little. That was a mistake possibly. As soon as he began the turn... the line went dead. I don't know what could have happened but I was bummed to say the least. The spoon was nearly bent in half when I retrieved it. That same spoon had 3 more hits on it. It figures that I only had one. I tried everything close to it, but only that one was getting action. That was one exciting fish though. My youngest was so proud cause she pick out both the lures we caught fish on.

It was a nice day out on the water. This was the first time I have really fished out of my rig, the other times have been trying to work out the bugs. We went 1-4. We kept a 7 pound Laker and had 3 other unknown knock offs. Got the keeper and the 3 knock offs about 5 miles North of Lexington Harbor in 20 fow on a Blueberry Muffin body bait. 2 others were on Blue and chrome body baits and one on a Monkey Puke spoon of the rigger. Well my E-Bay "good deal" terminal tackle ended up costing me in the long run. I had one swivel straighten out and lost 2 spoons because of it. That won't happen again. That crap is reserved for 'pan fish only' now. Luckily I had some good stuff in the boat that I got at Blue Water bait, so I switched it all out.

I have heard good things about this place but have no actual experience with them. It seems like they have good prices though. http://www.thenerds.net

Thanks for that site Chris. It is one of those inventor paradises. It is right up my alley.

Nice work. Very clean and the welds look nice on the upper bracket. How will the plate affect the handling? It looks like it is directly in front of the rudder.

Does the Barometric pressure affect the Salmon bite? The reason I ask is because many moons ago when I was Walleye fishing with a friend of mine he would constantly cancel trips because the pressure was dropping and he said that it would turn the bite off. It sounded crazy to me, but we always did very well and it's hard to argue with his results. So do you guys think there is anything to this?