catching up

What a busy year it's been! The craziness of friends, family, and work, combined with the excitement around the new 175T boat from Ranger has really ramped things up.

First let me offer a few thoughts on the 175T. Whether you like this new boat or not, it has sparked tremendous interest in the tiller world. I am not a boat dealer, so I can't say for sure how much of a success the 175T is so far, but I can report without any doubt that the introduction of this model has created an all-time high interest level in the 680T/681T boats. To be honest, I wasn't sure what the effect would be when the new design was announced, but I should've figured it would only increase the demand for the old Fine Tuned Fish Catching Machines. The point is, there are more buyers looking for 680T/681T boats now than there ever has been, and interest will only continue to grow.

A quick fishing update-I've been fortunate enough to spend a few hours of almost every weekend since early May on the water. Walleyes, sunfish, perch, and bass have all been plentiful, but the muskie fishing has been well below average. On our recent family vacation I was able to put in over 40 hours chasing muskies  between family activities, for those efforts I was rewarded with one 37" fish and three follows from sub-40" fish. Before the season I had an idea of how much time I would get to fish for muskies, and estimated a conservative 7 of them in my net by the end of the season. Yes, the best part of the season is still ahead but I will need a strong finish to hit my goal. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress!

On another note, I just happened to check the 680tiller.com website this morning and it seems to be down. I had no idea, and don't know how long it's been down since most of my correspondence and maintenance is done here on the blog. My plan is to move the files that had the information to a page here on the blog and take down the website, it was too hard to update and too costly to keep it going. I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone.

Finally, this season has not been without it's challenges. One of them that I will address in an upcoming post has been trying to replace one of my go-to muskie baits that is no longer available. A review is upcoming...

Rumors confirmed

Rumors have been floating around about Ranger re-introducing an updated version of the 680/681 platform for many years.  A representative from Ranger announced at the National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) conference yesterday that a 17.5' tiller based on the 681T is in the works.  The boat will be rated for 75hp max outboard, and will be priced under $30,000.  Considering the timing of the announcement, likely the first of the new boats will be 2013 model year, which begins shipping in July of this year. 
More information will be posted on the blog as it becomes available. 

Shopping

I got an email recently from a gentleman in Arkansas asking me about an estimated value of his 1992 Ranger 680t (pictured above). He has owned the boat since new, stored it indoors, and done all necessary maintenance as scheduled.  He was considering selling it to get a newer, lighter boat. 

After giving the best appraisal I could from some hi-resolution pictures he sent and assuring him that the boat would sell very quickly he decided to go boat shopping.  This is where the desire to replace the 680t usually ends.  Unfortunately some of us have bought a new boat and dealt with extreme cases of buyers remorse almost immediately.   Robert saw right away that the storage and fishability of any newer boats of comparable size in his price range were nowhere near what he was used to with his 680t.  

The number one rule when shopping for a boat is to test drive it!  If it feels like a compromise, doesn't fit like a good pair of boots, and give you a sense of pride, then walk away.  If you are a 680t/681t owner you'll likely find that nothing else feels right. 

Most of us only get to spend a small fraction of any given year fishing, shouldn't every second of that time on the water should be savored?  

family values

I was recently involved in a series of emails with a guy looking for a 680t.  We found a boat for him to look at and everything looked great but he expressed some concern about the Shorelander trailer under the rig.  The asking price of the boat for sale was reasonable enough and I assured him it was worth the price, but he was wondering if the rig was worth less due to it not having the original RangerTrail. 

This opened up a whole new can of worms, and I felt it might be worth mentioning on the blog to try to explain it to the 680tiller.com family and friends.  The general rule of "it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it" definitely applies to the 680t/681t boats.  I have several car collector friends and a lot of parallels can be drawn between their hobby and ours. 

I have yet to meet or talk to anyone that is/has bought a classic Ranger tiller strictly as a collector piece.  In many peoples eyes this would be acceptable (guilty here) but the main reason they are so highly sought after is the form and function.  When the value of a boat & trailer is in question, then the fine-line between buying the unit to use, or purchasing an investment, gets a little blurry.  Will resale value be affected by the lack of a RangerTrail trailer?  Probably, a little...depending...I guess, on the buyer.  Does the RangerTrail track and tow better than any aftermarket trailer?  Yup, undoubtedly.  A trailer that is specifically built to mate the boat that sits on it will treat you better than a generic trailer built for every boat.  I've had friends that have upgraded their aftermarket trailers to a RangerTrail and couldn't believe the difference. 

As it is with many things in life, it all comes down to personal preference (and that's about as philosophical as I'll ever get on this blog).  Would I buy a 680t on an aftermarket trailer?  Maybe, if the boat were in great condition and was rigged the way I wanted, or if it were an unusual color combo.  With that said, I would also keep my eye on the Internet to try and find a RangerTrail to rest the boat on eventually...just my personal preference.

Get my drift?

So, I spent the last three days chasing walleyes and running from the South Dakota wind.    Jeff and I met up with a couple friends and we enjoyed some of the best walleye fishing I've ever experienced on Lake Francis Case.  Unstable weather that went from high, puffy clouds, bright sun, and a nice breeze to 35 mph winds and hail within the hour.  I had been hearing that the average fish size is bigger than ever up there, and we were not disappointed.  This has been an annual trip for many years for us, and the last few years a 17" walleye would be the biggest fish of the weekend, cleaning mostly 15" and 16" fish.  This year we averaged almost 19" on our limits, with a few real hogs like the one above. 

Jeff said he was very pleased with his North Face rain gear which held up really well, but for me the best performance by any of our gear was once again my 680t.  Precision boat control was key to catching these fish, using the electric motor to keep us on the sharp breaks kept our baits in the zone.  The 680t was designed for precision trolling and drifting.  This boat tracks like no other, and it was a little work to keep us on the fish, but two of my fishing buddies that own tin boats were really pushed to their limits trying to fill the livewells.  One of them gave up and just did the "motor up with the outboard and drift over the break" technique over and over.  I'd like to take credit for being a master of boat control, but my FTFCM does most of the work!

Early season

April's weather usually isn't consistent enough to provide a good bite anywhere in the northern half of the US.  The urge to put the boat in the water and get yourself and your rig back into the fishing mindset usually overpowers the crappy weather and before you know it you're on the dock.  Walleye fishing is picking up, and soon the muskies' metabolisms will start to get them out of their winter hibernation.

If you haven't already done it, it's time to back your Fine-Tuned Fish Catching Machine down the ramp and make sure she's ready for the season.  Check all pumps, gages, electronics, and all outboard functions.  Probably a good idea to toss a bait rig or Reef Runner over the side while you run what's left of last years gas through the motor!

fine-tuning the machine

Well, spent some time today helping Matt modernize his 680tiller that he picked up last week.  This is a very nice boat, in excellent condition!  The rig had the original Johnson 12v trolling motor on the bow, and today we turned it into a 24v system and added the necessary batteries and MK315 onboard charger.  We then strapped a new Minn Kota PD70V2 on the bow.  Pics above show the empty battery compartment below the driver seat, then what it looked like after we put 2 new batteries and the charger in there.  We also did a full check of the entire electrical system and found that the livewell pump was not working.  Even back in 1987 Ranger had the sense to make a removable piece in the back of the boat to give access to all three pumps.  Simple enough, we put a new pump in and he's ready to go! 

There's a few other things that will be added or replaced on this rig, and I'm sure more of it will be showing up in the blogs to come. I'm really excited for Matt, and I know that if he isn't already one of us, he will be after he spends a few hours on the water in this beautiful boat!

Until next time...