New Boats

Moomba Outback V

The design of the all-new Outback V features sleek and flowing lines, all supplemented by elegant flares.

Measuring just less than 20 feet and meeting small lake boat length restrictions, it has higher gunnels and a greater width and depth than its predecessor. The deck layout has ample seating and the hull design features a drop V keel for top slalom and wakeboarding performance.

Some of its many features include an Indmar 325 hp V-8 engine, new driver seat with riser seat that rises and lowers and a cockpit area with all gauges and switches within the driver’s reach. There is also a new battery saver ignition switch that acts as a kill switch for all non-essential powered elements when the boat is turned off, double tracking fins, four-blade CNC prop, a one-piece nonskid swim platform, nine cup holders, vinyl wrapped bow speaker panels, vinyl cockpit speaker boxes, improved stereo wiring and a tower that folds to standard garage height.

Available options include two new gel coat colors, new ballast pumps that fill and empty three times faster than the previous pump, new electric wake plate, tower speaker package with additional two-channel amp or an upgrade of the tower speakers with a sub that includes five- and two-channel amps.

The Outback V will retail for $33,995 and includes the L4 warranty.

moomba.com


Nordic Tug 49

The Nordic Tug 49 sports a slightly different hull design than the other models in the Nordic Tugs line and features a shallow 4’ 2” draft, which makes it an ideal boat for both offshore cruising or inshore exploring.

The new 49 is a double cabin model that features a full-beam master stateroom with queen berth, teak cabinetry and corner vanity and built-in stereo sound system. The master head offers a full-size VacuFlush® toilet, an illuminated teak vanity, Corian® countertop, a stainless-steel basin and a molded shower with textured sole and acrylic enclosure and door. The guest stateroom features a full-size berth, teak cabinetry and cedar-lined hanging locker with washer/dryer and a private access to a second head with the same amenities found in the master.

Topside, the pilothouse is a command center that features an unobstructed 360-degree view, an ergonomically designed, centrally-positioned helm with Cummins® LCD SmartCraft engine instrumentation (with a raised dash and overhead teak console for additional aftermarket electronics installation), chart viewing and storage table, an L-shaped convertible settee with teak table and convenient sliding-door access to the deck from both sides.

The centerpiece of the salon is a hand-crafted teak entertainment center equipped with DVD player and a pop-up 26-inch flat panel HDTV with Bose® surround system. Just steps away from the L-shaped lounge is a gourmet galley containing refrigerator/freezer, three-burner electric stove/oven and microwave/convection oven.

Powered by a single 610 hp CUMMINS® QSM11 HO electronic-controlled diesel engine, the 49 can cruise a range of

2,880 nm at seven knots.

nordictugs.com

Dance the Winter Jig

Vertical jigging is a great technique that can be used any time of the year, but it is particularly useful in winter. When the water gets cold, it is often the best way to entice fish into biting. Perch, walleye and other species tend to school up into tight groups in deep water during the winter months and if you can find them, you can sit right above them and catch quite a few with very little effort.

It took me some time to get proficient enough at this technique to start landing fish.

My first season vertical jigging for walleye and sauger introduced me to a totally different type of fishing than I had been used to. But over the course of a few more vertical jigging trips, I saw other people catching fish while I was not catching very many. I knew I was doing something wrong. The task was to identify my error and then figure out what I had to do to correct it. That was not as easy as I thought.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on the trips I made. I thought about what I had done and what I would do differently in the future to put more fish in the boat. As I adjusted and improved my technique, I went from knowing nothing about vertical jigging to catching fish every trip.

The first thing I realized was that I would have to adjust my jigging technique if I wanted to catch fish. Because I saw fish caught by others in nearby boats and because I knew they were fishing the same jig heads, stinger hooks and fatheads as I was, I felt certain that my bait was not the problem. That left jigging technique and boat control as potential items to work on.

Before I could try out my new ideas and tactics, though, I had to find the fish. And that, it turned out, was the hard part.

A quality fish finder will help you locate your potential catch. On color models, bottom hardness shows up as different colors. A rock will be one color, while clay or sand will be another. Fish that are holding tight to the bottom are difficult to spot and many times show up as nothing more than a different shade or color on the bottom of your screen. Many boats will pass right over these spots, leaving an entire school of fish for you. The best way to tell if you are over a school of fish is to drop a line down and see what bites.

The most common method of vertical jigging is to use a simple jig head with a stinger hook and a minnow. A stinger hook is a small treble hook attached to the jig head with 1.5 to 2 inches of line. Without a stinger hook, you will miss a lot of the light bites.

Fathead minnows are the most common bait to use with a jig head, but shiners are preferred in many places. To rig the minnow, run the hook under the bottom jaw and out the tip of the nose. Place the stinger hook near the back of the minnow and you are all set.

When minnows are not available, plastic minnow imitators will often work. However, the more scent the bait releases into the water, the better it will work. There are many shad-flavored spray-on products that will add scent to artificial baits. There are a couple of advantages to artificial baits: not only are they inexpensive, but they can also be reused until they become too damaged to stay on the hook.

To properly fish the bait, lower the jig/minnow straight down over the side of the boat until you hit the bottom. Choose the lightest jig and line you can use and still feel the bottom. A quality fluorocarbon or braided line will transmit vibration much better and will make it easier for you to feel the bottom and detect a bite than a standard monofilament line. When it is windy or you are in current, you will have to use a heavier jig in order to maintain contact with the bottom.

Ideally your line should always be 100 percent vertical, which makes boat control a big part of vertical jigging. Wind and current can move your boat and also make it difficult to keep your line vertical. When this happens, you will lose contact with the bottom and the bait will generally lift out of the strike zone. To maintain contact with the bottom, position the nose of the boat into the wind or current and use a trolling motor to compensate for wind and current. The goal is to keep the line from moving ahead of or behind the boat.

Jigging technique is very important. Most of the time, the fish will respond to a very subtle movement of the jig. This mimics a minnow foraging along the bottom. Lifting the jig too fast or too high will often spook the fish because this does not resemble anything they are used to. Start out being as subtle as possible and gradually experiment with speed and height. In general, you should never have to lift the tip of the rod more than an inch to entice a strike. Many times the fish will hit the jig as it is falling, which is why it is important to keep as much slack out of your line as possible. It is almost impossible to feel a bite if you have slack in your line. Once you feel a slight tap, set the hook.

In winter, there’s another consideration to take into account: clothing.

I learned very quickly that many layers of light clothes are better than a few heavy layers, especially when vertical jigging. Since you are not constantly casting, you don’t need the freedom of movement that you would normally require. Also, because you are sitting still, you want clothes that will keep the wind off of you. Keeping the wind at bay is the secret to staying warm.

Wearing layers allows you to remove clothes as it gets warmer during the day. Some people will use chemical heaters or even bring portable gas heaters into their boats to keep warm. No matter what, your hands are going to get wet. You have to handle live minnows and if you are lucky, some fish as well. A few dry rags to wipe your hands will go a long way towards helping you keep warm. Also, having a spare pair of gloves can be a big help. It is very tough to put a minnow on a jig in 20-degree weather when your hands are cold and wet, so keeping them warm and dry is very important.

The last thing I have found is that wearing your life jacket helps keep you that much warmer. As I said earlier, you do not need the same level of comfort when vertical jigging, so why not wear your personal flotation device (PFD)? If you do fall in while wearing a lot of clothes, you will not be able to swim. So having that PFD on might not save you from the cold, but it may save your life by keeping you at the surface long enough for a nearby boater to rescue you.

If you can stay relatively warm and relatively comfortable, vertical jigging can keep you fishing through the winter. And when the fish do start biting, this technique will help you hook them.

Once a fish is on the line, it is a simple matter of standing up, reeling in the fish and then netting it. Keeping a net handy is a good idea, because the water will often be too cold to reach down and grab a fish. Another reason to use a net is that lighter line is often used for jigging and trying to hoist a fish into the boat will generally result in the line breaking and another “one that got away” story.