Boat - Crestliner 202TS
I need a soft ride for my old body. Competitive walleye fishing is very demanding on the spine and I want to fish tournaments for many more years. This boat is easy to maneuver and even has a system to add oxygen to the water. I fish tournaments and they deduct for dead fish. Any advantage is important in tournament fishing.

I am now working with Crystal-Pierz Marine in Rogers. I can help with on instruction on using Crestliners for fishing since I live in my boat for 7 months! Come visit me at the Crystal-Pierz booths at the Twin Cities Sport and Boat Shows.

Motor - Mercury Verado 250 hp
Finally a 4-stroke that has torque. I have been waiting impatiently. I stayed with the OptiMax because of the power and gas mileage. Now I will test the Verado. This motor is so quiet that they won’t allow you to engage the starter when it is running. You can’t hear it! I can talk in the boat at 30 mph except for minor wind noise. Since I have a full windshield there is very little wind noise. I am able to position my boat with this motor since it gives me the ability to go slow. The use of SmartCraft Gauges allow me to control the rpms down to 550 rpms. I use a five blade High Five Prop when I need to go even slower.

Electric Motor - Minn Kota Terrova, Maxxum and Vantage

Each of these motors give precision boat control so I have 3 good options depending if I need to control the boat from the bow or the transom. My Maxxum has been my favorite motor because of the 36 volt power. This is important when you run a boat the size of the Crestliner TS202. This year I will test the Terrova 36 volt AutoPilot with CoPilot. This will give the power for vertical fishing and the AutoPilot for shoreline casting. Last year I used the PowerDrive with AutoPilot for open water trolling in conjunction with my Mercury kicker. This allowed hands free trolling and I will be able to use the Terrova because of the AutoPilot. I may not need the Maxxum! I will post my test opinion next winter. Of course the Vantage will be used for back trolling.

Electronics - Lowrance 113c
I am over 50 so my vision requires large screens. This screen is easily seen from anywhere in the boat. My boat partners have even quit asking what depth is it since they can see the depth from the back of the boat! I have my Panasonic ToughBook hooked to GPS so I can view my position on my mapping software (LakeMaster, Global Mapper and Fugawi).

I have my Crestliner on E Z Loader's EXL trailer. Now if I tow my boat with my wife's Lexus, the trailer will match the quality of the Lexus. Click on the images above to view this amazing trailer.

SUSPENSION SEATS

I use Smooth Moves suspension seats because of my age and my spine. The decision on how long I will fish tournaments hopefully will be based on my desire not a painful spine. I have had minor set backs fishing tournaments because of my neck and back. Professional Walleye tournaments are brutal because of the large bodies of water we fish. I run wide open as much as I can because one minute can mean one fish and the difference between first and fifth. The Smooth Moves suspension has a shock absorber cylinder plus 4 sets of springs. You can adjust the tension so you never "bottom out".

I have added the Nautamatic TR-1 Gold again for my fifth year. I have found this autopilot to be very valuable for boat control. I demonstrate how to use it for precision boat control in my Boat Control Video. The TR-1 Autopilot is an autopilot but best of all you have a wireless remote control for the throttle and the steering.

I added WaveWacker Splashguards to the transom because I am one of the few that back troll with a 250 hp motor. I like to back troll when I need to fish stationary. I use my bow trolling motor until the wind and waves get too brutal and then I turn the boat and fish out of the console. The splashguards keep the waves out of the boat!

Re-Action Systems

Boat control is very important since I make my living fishing tournaments. I carry 7 drift socks, 2 anchors, 2 electric trolling motors, 2 gas motors, 2 autopilot systems, and any tool that will help me stay on the fish. I tested the Re-Action System on my Minn Kota PowerDrive and it performed better than I expected. When you first use a bow mount trolling motor it is like learning how to drive a car. You have to think about each step to make the boat go where you want it. After a year or two you don’t have to think about which way to step on the pedal, how much to turn, etc. You just think where the boat is supposed to go and it is automatic. Just like driving a car! But there always was one problem I never mastered; changing the power setting of the trolling motor and turning the motor at the same time. This situation occurs when wind speed increases or a wave hits the boat. Your trolling motor will turn the boat easier when it has more power. By the time I increased the power setting with my foot I was out of position.
The Re-Action System allows me to increase power by simply holding my tap (on-off) switch down with my heel and turning with the ball of my foot at the same time. I choose how much more power I need by dialing the compensation throttle and after that, I simply hold down the tap switch when I need more power and let off the tap switch to drop back to the main throttle setting. Now I can keep my boat where I want without being distracted by having to constantly adjust my throttle.