My first 10 Days with my Verado 250

I got a lot of attention at the landings when I started my motor and backed up the boat. They couldn’t believe the quietness of a 250.
I can finally hear my fishing partners while running down the lake because of the quietness.
I ran a 250 OptiMax last year and the power seems similar, both give me an instant hole shot.. The power steering is less fatiguing to me as I turn the wheel a lot looking for spots to fish. The digital shift and throttle are very smooth. The gas mileage was similar to my OptiMax because I didn’t run wide open often since it was a small system and my need for speed has decreased as I have aged. However, I will have the supercharger working at Bull Shoals!
This is the motor that I have wished for, Thank you Mercury.

Addition: 12-18-06

After running a Verado for 550 hours I have some observations to share. My opinion on the quietness, power, and steering have not changed since the first year. This motor has performed flawlessly for me, which is very important to me as I make my living fishing walleye tournaments.

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LakeMaster ProMaps

Minnesota, Devil’s lake, and Lake of the Woods I have reviewed these maps on paper and on my Lowrance 111 and I am impressed. After using digital maps in my GPS I feel lost when I go to a new lake and it hasn’t been surveyed.

Addition 12-18-06

LakeMaster has added many new high definition survey lakes for Minnesota and Wisconsin. They have added a Michigan product which has high definition inland lakes plus Great Lakes contours. They have also added a hovercraft for collecting shallow water data. The hovercraft was very helpful in collecting Lake of the Woods Canadian data in 2005-2006 because of the many shallow boulders that kill props and lower units.

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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 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 turn 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.

LakeMaster Lake of the Woods 2008 Doc’s Review

LakeMaster’s 5 year LOTW project has seen some major improvements. They have added more high definition surveys on the Canadian side and new technology to show the shallow water in high visibility color. This really helps for navigation. If you have been on LOTW you know what I mean when I call it a mine field. There are many boulders lurking under the water. I still recommend using the marked navigation routes (red dashed lines) as you safe high speed traveling routes but the new maps show many new reefs. New reefs=new fish.

Example one and two are 2 different zoom levels. If you have older LOTW maps you will quickly appreciate the difference.

If you are wondering how LakeMaster collected the shallow water data the Hovercraft photo explains it well. The only thing in the water is the transducer. The first years of the project got expensive with the lost lower units and damaged props. They now use the Hovercraft around the islands and the boats for the deeper and safer water.

Go to http://lakemap.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=39 for more information on LakeMaster’s LOTW map.