Gellar
Well-known member
With only 1 talon does your boat hold or move? I see few people with 1 and most have 2, I'm thinking about getting one for my boat, but I don't want 2.
Lets see your fishing boat!
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rjthehunter
Well-known member
It holds. The only benefit to 2 would be to keep it from twisting at all. I use the front trolling motor in addition to keep it from spinning at all.
It is super helpful loading and unloading the boat. I pull up to the dock, talon down, then throw a bow line and I'm good to go grab or park the truck!
Rack Daniels
Well-known member
Man, if I had one of those I’d be putting in for archery breaks and paddlefish a lot more 
Gellar
Well-known member
We spend a lot of time on the Mississippi River and the kids like to go to sand bars and swim. It's a pain in the butt to continually have to adjust the boat as the other boats' waves and the current knock the boat sideways and pull it away from shore. I think one talon would hold the boat nicely and be the ticket.
That's almost the hull weight in batteries.
Slick tiller. The vantage troller is a great idea.
huntin24/7
Well-known member
Older 17.5’ Lund with 90 horse mercury. Probably no upgrades in our near future with the price of boats. This is what it looked like Saturday afternoon after a good crankbait bite.
CUElk
Well-known member
rjthehunter
Well-known member
Yes, it works super well for that also. A few of the tournaments I do have weigh ins on beaches and it's nice to just pull up, then talon down and it'll stay there until I'm ready to leave! They even have a 15' talon now. Been tempted to get one, but the 12 does everything I need it to do!
Yeah, I have 5 batteries... 3 of them are new as of last week. 3 group 31 size AGM batteries. 62lbs a piece. Then 1 group 29 lead acid for a cranking battery & livewells, and one that's a 100 AH lithium for the graphs! Both trolling motors are 36v so I don't need separate batteries for them, they share.That's almost the hull weight in batteries.
Slick tiller. The vantage troller is a great idea.
2001 Ranger 620 with 225 and 9.9 mercs. HB electronics and a Garmin cheatscope. Ultrex 36v trolling motor. Had it since 2002 and love the layout. Recarpet once already myself. Sadly 225 motor will probably be the next thing some day. It’s WAY cover 1000 hours, hit that like 5-6 years ago. I fish way more than I hunt.
Second boat is a 1978 alumacraft, 15’ with a 15 hp merc four stroke. I’ve really decked it out this past couple years and use it a lot for small lakes and sloughs. Added transom electric minnkota, HB 9” helix with side imaging, lithium 100ah battery, and a 10’ power pole Micro. Love the powerpole!!! Especially since no spot lock on TM.
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Gut Shot
Well-known member
1976 16' Monarch with a 1991 40hp Mariner (Yamaha).
Heavily modified. I learned a long time ago that the fish come over the side the same if it's a canoe or a $60,000 bass boat.
Heavily modified. I learned a long time ago that the fish come over the side the same if it's a canoe or a $60,000 bass boat.
rjthehunter
Well-known member
While I agree partially, there is still a pretty big difference in what I used to be able to fish, and what I can fish now. I can fish a lot rougher water comfortably now than I ever could with any past boat I've owned. I fish 5-6 days a week though. Makes it easier to justify spending more money when I spend 100s of hours in it a year!1976 16' Monarch with a 1991 40hp Mariner (Yamaha).
Heavily modified. I learned a long time ago that the fish come over the side the same if it's a canoe or a $60,000 bass boat.
I hit 1,000 hours on my optimax ProXS 3 years ago. Then blew it up on a tournament on lake of the woods. It was expensive, but it should be good for a long time now!
How is the battery life for your graphs? I moved the whole house system over to a 100ah flooded lead, but I'm only running 2 graphs and assorted ethernet hub, etc off of it (as well as the house system). Thinking about adding a stern graph on the port side as well.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
I firmly believe that a boat should fit your situation. What water you run and how you use it should be the primary concerns. Now that I live near bigger water I'd like to find a nice aluminum bay boat, something in the 18-20' range. I'll need to look for a deal because, for me, fishing is just a hobby that I can manage 4-5 months out of the year and spending $60k+ doesn't fit with the way I will use it.
Gellar
Well-known member
I think he was trying to say is that everyone should have multiple boats to fit multiple scenarios.
rjthehunter
Well-known member
I haven't killed it yet. But with 3 graphs running full time plus Active Target, I'm drawing about 7.5 amps/hr. I have fished 12 hr days and haven't had any issues yet. (That's about 90% usage of the available 100ah, which I don't think you're supposed to regularly use more than 80% for lithium's.)
I have been contemplating going to 2 units up front and another active target as well, but I would probably have to upgrade to a 200ah lithium or add another 100ah one.
I'm leaning towards not doing that as of now. We'll see how the tournaments go this year. If they go well, maybe I'll add it. If not, I'm going to keep running the way I have been. I like the way I have it set up now!
Salmonchaser
Well-known member
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Nick87
Well-known member
This is a great thread. Man, I need a friggin boat.
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Schaaf
Well-known member
2014 20’ Alumaweld Stryker that I beat to hell.
