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2004 Ultimate Fishing Machine |
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But still be able throw the down riggers on it, and take it out on Lake Ontario, with 4 or 5-foot waves; so my machine has to do it all.
Ted Rankine: You know, Charlie, I look around the boat, and I see power everywhere. And I guess back at the stern, you have got some pretty serious power to get you to where the fish are. 225 hp, how does that match for the boat?
Charlie Wray: It matches very well. Now a lot of people will look at this thinking, that's a lot of hp, but this is a big boat. It's a v hull, and I have got a lot of equipment in this.
A full tank of gas is probably over 500 pounds by itself, so obviously the rating for the boat is for a 225, and as you know, it does not mean you always have to have the throttle all the way down.
If you back it off a bit, it is absolutely great on gas.
Ted Rankine: Well actually, I am curious though. That occasional time when you do put the throttle down, what kind of speeds are you finding?
Charlie Wray: I am topping out at about 55 mph, and that is with a lot of stuff in the boat. That stuff usually includes, my cameraman, myself, and all of my equipment, plus a full tank of gas, down riggers, and a lot of extra gear. I am sure it would do more than that if I really wanted to play around with the props. But since I do not do tournaments and I am not just after the high-end speed, which is fast enough for me.
Ted Rankine: Well certainly that is going to get you where the fish are. But I guess it is not really the best for trolling.
Charlie Wray: Contraire.
Ted Rankine: Oh really?
Charlie Wray: It will go down to 550 rpms, or I believe it's 6.Great for musky, and salmon, but when you have got to get that 1 1/2, 2 mph, it just cannot slow down because of the size of the prop. I will troll all day long with this, and it does not miss a beat. Plus it hardly uses any gas, trolling for musky, trolling for salmon.
In fact, if there is a little bit of a chop on the water, I actually prefer trolling with the big motor. But this is where the trolling motor comes into play, when I have really got to go a little bit slower.
The motor will just troll right down to a crawl. And this one here is the Genesis, kind of the cream of the crop, it lowers itself. The greatest thing about this motor is, if I am going along a shallow weed line, I can lower it, or lift it up to go over rock piles without actually having to lift the motor out of the way. But this would be ideal for people who have bad backs, when they can't lean over, and the motor is in a bad position.
Ted Rankine: We talked a little bit about the power, now let's talk a little bit about the boat itself.
Charlie Wray: Well for myself, I need a big boat, something that I can also fish shallow, smaller lakes and also get out in the great lakes.
Now for myself, I have to be able to trailer it around, so it's got to be tow-able. I would be looking for a lightweight aluminum boat, with a semi-v or a v hull. Which makes the boat safer in the Great Lakes.
This boat has a 100-inch beam, so I am safe out there as the boat is stable. I have got extra storage room in the front and have got the ultimate fishing dream with the rod locker.
Ted Rankine: Oh my goodness.
Charlie Wray: So it is not only my rod locker, I can get 12 rods easily in there. I have got a little bit of storage, and right under where the reels are, I have got my 2 deep cycle batteries with a built in battery charger. So I do not need to lug a battery charger around. Which is obviously much better, when you are running a 24-volt system. You do not want to be running one of the batteries off your starting battery.
Traditionally you run these trolling motors until they are almost dead. You have got to be able to fire up the big motor to get home when you are done, so you want to leave those separate, and the starter battery completely back all by itself.
Like I was saying, there is ample storage here for life jackets, extra rod holders, cannonballs, the entire front casting deck is all storage.
The plat form has storage on both sides and is itself large in size for easy casting. Three guys can be up here throwing musky lures around without getting in each other's way. But when it is time to use the down riggers, or trolling or fishing from the back of the boat, this is really set up nice as well.
I have got nice wide gunnels so I do not have a problem mounting the down riggers. The best part is when you are not using the equipment it can be easily stored away for a more space. If you keep the boat nice, and then you do not have the clutter of the equipment you are not using.
This boat even has a rather large live well.
Ted Rankine: Yeah, no kidding.
Charlie Wray: This boat has all the bells and whistles. There are the timers; this actually has a live well light in it, auto fill, auto recycle. This has even high-speed pickup, that is the clear hose so while I am traveling 55 mph, I can keep my fish fresh if I am doing tournaments. This actually has one in the front and one in the back here. It is an aerated bait wells. There are also two fish finders on the boat.
One actually is the transducer, giving me the depth at the back of the boat; the other is actually connected to the electric trolling motor at the front.
The good old compass is still your backup you have to have one. I have got a vhf radio in the boat. I do not have the wires, but I do carry a handheld, this is the ultimate fishing package for me.
Even if I have got a shallow boat launch, because it is an aluminum lightweight boat, this one actually has a welded hull, and so I do not have to worry about rivets. I put it on the roller trailer, as long as I have got a few inches of water, it is going in. If I have to winch it up on a dry trailer taking it out, so be it.
Ted Rankine: After the review at dockside, Charlie and I donned our life jackets: a rule he has when the big motor is running, and we headed out onto Lake Simcoe.
There is no doubt that when Charlie put the throttle down, the 225 hp Honda outboard motor was perfectly suited for his Crestliner, pushing it up to a top speed of almost 55 mph. You know, one of the secrets to being successful in fishing tournaments is getting onto the fish fast, hitting a number of hot spots during the day, and returning to the weigh in station with your fish before the time deadline. And often that race from one spot to another is done in a variety of water conditions. Today Lake Simcoe was flat, calm and beautiful, a great fall day to be on the water.
You know, one of the amazing features of the new 4-stroke engine technology, apart of course from its reliability and low impact on the environment, is the lack of sound. At speed, the engine noise was only about as intrusive as the sound of the wind in our hair. But enough of what I consider fun. It was time to find a good spot, slow down, drop the electric trolling motor, and grab a couple of rods. And it was here, at the mouth of the Holland River, that I learned a little bit about fishing techniques from the master.
Charlie Wray: You kind of want to pull and then pause as they are suspending baits. This is something you have got to almost tease them into it. And this water is so clear; we will be able to see a fish coming a mile away.
Ted Rankine: The key is that he will be able to see the bait a
mile away.
Charlie Wray: Well again, that is where a long cast will come into play, because as soon as he sees the boat he is going to get nervous.
So everything is going to happen away from us.
Ted Rankine: You know, if you are serious about your fishing, what you fish on is almost as important as the tackle that you fish with.
Now it is not going to guarantee you catch any more fish with the ultimate fishing machine, but it will guarantee that you have a comfortable and safer time while you are out there trying.
* taken from a transcript of our Power Profile on PowerBoat TV 2004 Episode 12 - Order a Copy of the Show
