nice rig EYE TRACKER invitation is still open for you to bring her down to the detroit river early in the spring and get her full of slime from the verticle jig bite.
MALLARD1
Can we skip winter? - New ride
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eye-tracker
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I am getting a custom stand-up made that will fold away, therefore it will not interfere when you are trolling. Keeps the family dry and is great for guiding in the cold fall weather.dh wrote:Nice ride SHeldon.
Can you get a full top for the Tundra's?
DH
-sheldon
Sheldon Hatch
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
Stylin' rig Sheldon 
Optimax vs. VERADO?
Nice boat! However, I was very surprised to see an Optimax on the back of it and not a 4 stroke, like a Verado. I have a 175 Optimax on the back of a bass boat, from the reading I've done the DFI 2-strokes like the Opti's are perfect for high-rpm applications. I was under the impression that 4-Strokes, since they do not burn oil, under low rpm's would have less issues when it comes to carbon buildup.
With all the trolling you must do Walleye fishing in a boat like the Tundra, which is fairly heavy, the Supercharged 4 Stroke VERADO would seem perfect for Walleye fishing.
I've had my 175hp Opti for 4 seasons now, and I am very happy with it. Good perfromance, good on fuel, with no problems! I'm sure yours will be no different, I was just curious as to whether you had been told something about the Opti's that I wasn't aware of. Thanks.
With all the trolling you must do Walleye fishing in a boat like the Tundra, which is fairly heavy, the Supercharged 4 Stroke VERADO would seem perfect for Walleye fishing.
I've had my 175hp Opti for 4 seasons now, and I am very happy with it. Good perfromance, good on fuel, with no problems! I'm sure yours will be no different, I was just curious as to whether you had been told something about the Opti's that I wasn't aware of. Thanks.
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eye-tracker
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Re: Optimax vs. VERADO?
Hello Claudio,Claudio wrote: With all the trolling you must do Walleye fishing in a boat like the Tundra, which is fairly heavy, the Supercharged 4 Stroke VERADO would seem perfect for Walleye fishing.
Well you have made a very good observation about the Opti vs Verado. I spent a large amount of time researching and chatting with Tracker factory Pro-Staff and came to the conclusion the Opti was the right engine for my boat. All the walleye tournament anglers rig their boats with a 9.9 4 stroke kicker motor for trolling. The main motor is only used to move between locations at high speed. All of my trolling will be done with a Mercury 9.9 Pro-Kicker - the fuel efficient small kicker is designed to troll at low RPM for days on end.
The OptiMax will also save me about 100 lbs of extra weight on the transom which will improve the hole shot on my Tundra. The OptiMax also has much better fuel consumption than the Verado, so this will give me approximately 26% increased range during tournaments with the 150 litre gas tank.
-s
Sheldon Hatch
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
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Badger Shark
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Hey Sheldon, I have internet again, it was gone for almost a week. Anyway my offer still stands if you want to get out once more just let me know when a good time would be. Of course I am going to have to chisel off all the ice that is covering it right now. Hopefully we can get at least on more nice fairly warm day soon. It was really good to finally meet you and talk to you in person at the gathereing at the lone star last Wednesday. I want to get my boat out at least one more time before getting it winterized and put away for the season and I want one more crack at those big Quinte eyes. Let me know. 
Don
Don
ONE DEMENSIONAL BASS FISHERMAN!!!!
Sheldon, thanks very much for stating the obvious! Leave it to a Bass guy to even think of trolling with a 175 Opti!! If I didn't stop fishing Walleye years ago, I would never have asked the very dumb question in the first place. Too bad my bass boat doesn't have room for a kicker! My loss, I guess.
Interesting to hear that an Opti gets better fuel economy than a Verado. Did the Mercury Pro Staff guys say that this was true throughout the entire RPM range, or just at wide open, or lower rpm's?? Almost makes you wonder, what advantage would there be to a Verado as opposed to an Opti. I hear the Verados can be a fair bit more expensive than the Opti's, true or not??
After all is said and done, it looks like you'll be using the Opti the exact same way I use mine. You will definitely be impressed! If you're not in a big hurry when you're on the water, check out the difference in fuel economy when you run the engine between 4000 and 4500 rpm instead of wide open at about 5600 to 5800 rpm. The fuel savings will put an even bigger smile on your face! If running fast is what you prefer, you will NOT be disappointed either, the Opti on that size boat will accelerate very nicely, and you should see 60mph without a jackplate and slightly over if you have a jackplate. Either way your choice was a good one. Thanks for the info!
Claudio
Interesting to hear that an Opti gets better fuel economy than a Verado. Did the Mercury Pro Staff guys say that this was true throughout the entire RPM range, or just at wide open, or lower rpm's?? Almost makes you wonder, what advantage would there be to a Verado as opposed to an Opti. I hear the Verados can be a fair bit more expensive than the Opti's, true or not??
After all is said and done, it looks like you'll be using the Opti the exact same way I use mine. You will definitely be impressed! If you're not in a big hurry when you're on the water, check out the difference in fuel economy when you run the engine between 4000 and 4500 rpm instead of wide open at about 5600 to 5800 rpm. The fuel savings will put an even bigger smile on your face! If running fast is what you prefer, you will NOT be disappointed either, the Opti on that size boat will accelerate very nicely, and you should see 60mph without a jackplate and slightly over if you have a jackplate. Either way your choice was a good one. Thanks for the info!
Claudio