A Cat Attack in Northern Wisconsin!

OutdoorFrontiers · June 03, 2006, 09:55:52 PM

It started last night at 10:00 p.m. when a strange truck pulled up in front of my house. It was bizarre, because I never heard it coming. One minute, all was quiet, the next, there was a fierce Cat in my front yard, poised and ready to strike!!!

It was MY Fast Cat C20, rigged and ready to go!

Even though I've been fishing for the past month from a loaner boat, it was the original prototype hull, and bears little resemblance to the current generation Fast Cat.

This morning, after a sleepless night, I finally got Jason, the Cat salesman who delivered the boat from Miami up and some coffee in him. Off we went to the lake.

Firing up the Merc 250XS, I was pleased to hear that while the motor was quieter than my old outboard, it still has some of that high performance snarl.

Easing away from the dock, I turned on the Lowrance LCX26C HD, slipped under a railroad bridge and dropped the hammer! The boat jumped up on plane and we were off...

Because the motor has less than 3 hours, it wouldn't turn the rpm's that it will once broken in, but we still managed a respectable 76.6 mph. I can't wait until it breaks in.

Smooth as silk, responsive like a Ferrari and capable of high G-Force turns, I was impressed to say the least.

Equally impressive is how it fishes. Jason and I fished for smallies and pike, and Jason was able to land two species that he'd never caught before.

All too soon, we had to put it on the trailer, as Jason has a long road ahead of him, pulling the loaner boat back to Miami.

There's a picture in the gallery, under Bass Boat Braggin.

Oh yeah, I couldn't pull a new boat with an old truck, so yesterday, I bought a 2006 Chevy Silverado 4x4 Ext. cab. Looks kinda nice together, huh?

Steve

AB · June 04, 2006, 01:06:00 PM

She's a beautiful rig man! Hope she fishes as good as she looks....

OutdoorFrontiers · June 04, 2006, 02:56:22 PM

Thanks AB!,

It is fast, but the thing that cinched the deal for me was the fishability. There might be some boats that will go faster, but I can guarantee that there are none that will have the room, comfort, stability and sheer volume of storage that this boat has.

Plus, with the way it just eats up rough water, I can also guarantee that if the weather does get snotty, I'll be the first one back to the landing.

Steve

scawdthedog · June 08, 2006, 07:47:49 AM

Congrats on the new rig!

Brent

nlareau · June 08, 2006, 08:02:38 AM

Nice boat. I thought those critters only lived in Florida.

OutdoorFrontiers · June 08, 2006, 05:22:38 PM

Hi Brent,

Oh, while it won't run with your Cat, it certainly will run the wheels off any rig up here! I had a guide job today and the wind picked up. It was blowing a nice foot, foot and a half chop on the water. The guy with me couldn't get over how smooth it was commenting that in his boat he'd be getting pounded. I just grinned and gassed it harder!

nlareau,

They used to only live in Florida, but they've begun migrating north! It won't be long until whole packs of Cats will be prowling northern waters.... Mine shivered a bit the first time I put it in the water, but other than that, she's fine!

Steve

AB · June 09, 2006, 06:56:18 PM

Wait til that south Florida blooded cat gets her first experience of winter....

OutdoorFrontiers · June 10, 2006, 07:03:05 AM

That's the only thing I worry about, winter!

I guide well into November most years and I've been known to break ice with the trailer.

Fast Cat's don't have carpet, but the decks are treated with a non-skid surface. While it's great for cleaning the boat quickly and easily, I'm not sure how it's going to be with snow and ice on the decks.

Steve

spetro · June 11, 2006, 04:43:44 PM

Coast Guard has us wearing no slip boots. They are for kitchen use..but will not make marks and work wonders. I can't say they wouldn't work for you under those conditions.
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http://www.shoesforcrews.com/sfc3/index.cfm?changeWebsite=US_en&route=c_store.browseProductsByCategory&CategoryId=c3

Sabertooth · June 13, 2006, 06:50:18 PM

Steve,
You should have ordered the heated deck option! It's only about $300,000.00. It only takes about 24 hours to get down to Florida. That will solve all of the ice problems. GUARENTEED for life!

OutdoorFrontiers · June 13, 2006, 07:08:09 PM

DANG!!! That was an option Jerry never told me about!

And I can be crossing the Georgia/Florida border in about 20 hours. Jason doesn't evidently drive the same way I do!

Well, along about January/February, will you have room on your couch?

Steve

T1A · June 13, 2006, 07:46:28 PM

Gotta hand it to ya...that is one sweet rig! enjoy!!!

OutdoorFrontiers · June 13, 2006, 08:23:35 PM

Oh man, you have no idea just how sweet! The more I run it, the more I enjoy it.

And the way it fishes, I can't brag enough. I had a guy and his two kids out on Sunday. I love kids, but I always dread taking them out because they can be an accident waiting to happen!

The kids were kids, they couldn't stay still if their life depended on it, and they had a ball in the boat. They commented several times during the day about how nice it was to be able to walk around without worrying about falling out of the boat because it rocked.

Steve