The water temps crashed almost 10 degrees in a matter of 2 days. The fish slowed down to start with, but after figuring out where they were it was game on. We were fortunate to land a Minnesota beauty, breaking the 6lb barrier. This bass hammered an All Terrain A.T. Jig around the remaining coontail clumps. Using the Humminbird 360 allowed us to easily see the weed clumps to the side and front of boat, allowing pinpoint casts with our jigs. Nothing better then releasing a trophy fish to fight another day!
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What an absolute blast the 20phx has provided me with! Quick, nimble, soft, aggressive and killer looks to boot. This boat has handled every condition thrown at it with stellar results. One of my favorite features is driving this boat and how it handles on rails. You can turn sharp and fast and never lose a beat. The fishability with the trolling motor down is second to none. The livewells are huge and take great care of your fish. The padded front deck has made long trips enjoyable. The layout on the 20phx is fisherman friendly. I use the day box and the small compartments next to the cooler every trip and it makes accessing the necessities very easy. The seats are super comfortable and keep you in them when screaming across the water. I've had a lot of boats from a lot of manufacturers. Never have I received so many compliments. Everywhere I stop people come over and look at it. I've heard many people say "That's my dream boat" and it feels great knowing that it is my dream boat and get fish out of it every trip!
I've never really had smallies hit buzzbaits before, but as I crept towards the thinning out coontail clumps I pulled that rod out of the locker and made a cast into an opening. The next 30 minutes changed my view on buzzbait smallies for the rest of my life! As soon as that buzzer started gurgling back to the boat, a set of wakes came from 20' away in a race to crush my bait. As the first fish hammered by bait, I rear back and got a solid hookset into it. After fighting the fish to the boat and flipping it onto the front deck, the girth and pure mean look was amazing. I fired back out into the same opening and again, a fight of multiple fish leaving wakes towards my bait. In 30 minutes I had 8 fish that went over 37lbs, all on the small black buzzbait. One tip is to always have a trailer hook attached to your bait. Multiple fish came into my boat and all that was holding on was the small hook hanging from the rear.
As I came around the back of the boat to lower the talons to back into the garage, I smelled gear lube. I knew right away that something was not right. The first tire I looked at had a fresh drip of lube running down the inside. Upon closer inspection, the inside of the wheel was coated in lube and the seal was leaking. After getting the boat backed into the garage I jacked up the trailer and removed that wheel. I could make the hub move back and forth a little and knew the bearings were going to need replacing. A call to Phoenix got the job in motion and Marine Master sent out a brand new kit with bearings, seals, orings, grease, etc. I now have my big toolbox equipped with a floor jack, hammers, grease guns, bearing kits, seals, etc so if I'm on the road and have an issue, I have every tool needed to get the job done. You never know when something like this can rear it's ugly head.
Pitching a dropshot to single rocks 50' from the boat allowed me to catch this trophy fish. Using the 360 allowed me to stay off the structure and away from the fish. This big brute launched multiple times but stayed buttoned. After a few pictures it was quickly released to fight another day.
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March 2022
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