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| In the process of trying to narrow down a new boat, and I really really have enjoyed my time fishing out of a couple guys esox mags - but never in big water wisconsin wise. What are the limits of this boat safety wise - not comfort, beause I understand the esox mag can be "bumpy" when it gets rough. How big of water acres wise do you guys that have/fished out of these boats feel safe, and maybe how big of waves can they handle. Thanks, and please don't tell me about v-hulls,  | |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | I have been in 3fters on the one for sale in the boats forum. Handled it well. It is just a great platform to fish from. | |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I've fished the Goon, LOTW, Rainy, and lots of other big water out of an Esox Mag. It'll run big water pretty well with experience, but anything in the 3'(for REAL 3 foot wave, not the 2' waves most folks think are 2') or over category it's not comfortable to fish and you can take one over the bow.
I guided Pelican out of an Esox for years. Yes, you have to adjust to really rough conditions, but rarely was I unable to fish where I wanted to. | |
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Posts: 107
Location: milwaukee | With my Mag, I've been on a 14,336,000 acre lake...well, ok, it was inside the breakwall on Lake Michigan...and it was calm.
But seriously...I fish 15,000 acre Cass Lake every year with mine and feel comfortable on most days.
The toughest part is getting there when it's rough. On those days, I wish I had a deep-V. But once you have the TM down and your casting, it's not any less stable than a V-hull, in my opinion. And the low profile makes for easier boat control in the wind.
I've been in three-footers, too. I think I know what surfing is like after that adventure. Even the deep-V guys don't go out in that. | |
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| The thing I like about the mag is at over 6 feet tall I can actually fish from the floor with out having to be on the "tanks" over up front on the deck - which means there is alot of space to fish from. I just love the layout and fishability. I mainly like to fish up north typical musky water, vilas oneida county type stuff. What I am looking for is real experiences in this boat in BIG water, which I don't fish often, but say I wanted to head down to Green Bay (calm day - paying attention) would I be crazy? I know that even the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, but if a breeze starts and I am not 10 miles from nowhwere, but need to run a few miles will I be safe to get back. Sworral talking about his experience in the boat was great- anyone else?
I see your boat (Lambeau) on the board, really nice, but a Mag will be the boat for me. If I am limited 10% of the time, I want the 90% to be optimal....just looking for what the 10% limitation is. | |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | tillerguy, I fish out of a mag style rig(it is the same length but doesn't have quite the sponsoned nature to the hull) and I fish Green Bay quite often. Now, I have been in true 4+'ers a number of times and I get very very wet and pinch my butt cheeks in anything over true 3'ers. As Steve said, WI chop at anything over a solid 2' and a mag is taking on a splash or two while casting. I have gone through so many bilge pumps(they are usually on, in my rig) it isn't funny. That said, one just has to be careful. Typically, when I am uncomfortable, the guys in the Rangers are too, but they just get back to shore quicker and smoother than me. I live near Petenwell flowage, where a PMTT event was held last spring. There were people with 620's that looked like they saw God after the ride north from takeoff. We got a bit wet, but keeping the nose up, we're always fine out there heading from spot to spot. We could not, however, even attempt to fish where the tourney was won on the south end by a couple of psychos(look at the pics from pete on the pmtt site some time). The thing that is very tough in the choppy style waves with that type of rig, is trolling, or using the bow mount directly into them. Running(with nose up) or fishing at a cornering nature to the chop helps quite a bit. It is also noteworthy that I feel safer on Green Bay with a breeze than I do on Vermillion or LOTW. Big water with lots of islands tends to make the waves choppier and harder to predict. On Green Bay, the waves get big, real big, but at least you can ride them in or out most of the time. That said, my days are numbered before stepping up to a decent glass V, but I've been saying that for years...heheh. | |
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Posts: 147
Location: WI - Land of small muskies and big jawbones | I fished out of a tiller esox mag for many years. Had it on Cass, LOTW, the Chippewa Flowage and many smaller waters across CA, MN & WI. It will surprisingly handle rougher water and is a drier ride than most people would think. I then ran a Lund Mr. Pike 17 for a few years which is a V hull. Although the Lund was a great boat to fish out of and would ultimately handle rougher water than the esox mag, it pounded the waves something terrible and to my surprise and disapointment it was much more of a wet ride than the esox mag was in most conditions. I'm guessing thats because it was a tin boat and because of the hull design. It had to get VERY rough out before I was glad to be in that Lund over an esox mag. I have since made the change to a high quality V hull glass boat and its been awesome compared to both the lund or the esox mag in very rough conditions.
Edited by Lockjaw 1/31/2007 3:29 AM
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Can't offer much new to what's been said already. I've owned two of them over the years and both served me quite well. Like any boat you need to know it's limitations and yours as a pilot.
My favorite tiller to date was a Tuffy 1700 Esox Deep V model that was the previous layout of what they currently have now. It had the side tank layout of the esox mag, a layout that I still prefer today, fished just as nice as my Mags did but offered a much nicer ride in big water.
Suspect you could find a nice used clean Esox Deep V 1760 or 1700 and be very happy with it.
I had my old 1700 tied next to a friends Mag. and the deck heights off the water were within an inch of each other.
From a safety standpoint, I was never scared in my old mags, you learn how to run the rig as Reef Hawg stated. I was in some legitimate 3 foot waves with mine, not often but it happened a few times. It can handle it, but it wouldn't be my first choice if I was in them on even a semi-regular basis. | |
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Posts: 364
Location: Kentucky | I can't add too much to this, but I've fished out of several Mags and with an experienced driver they hold their own. My first ever time out with a guide was with Dorazio on the Chip on a day with big storms. 3 of us casting: (me in the bow), Dave using the outboard to keep the stern into the wind on Pete's Bar. The waves were large... they broke over the stern and hit my brother's feet who was casting outta the middle, so you know they were clearing Dorazio's head 
It's a stable platform in the rough stuff but you may get wet occasionally.
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Posts: 131
| mine has seen some nasty stuff on rainy and wabaskang that had me white knuckled and my passengers making sure their vest were buckled but we pulled through with minimal water in the boat or on us.even the "big" boats were having trouble in both cases.the guy who was with me on rainy owns a big glass boat and stated afterwards that he was very impressed with the way the mag handled the big stuff.by the way on that day we made a supply run from "the brule" to rainy lake houseboat base, thats about 15 miles, i think.on the return trip to the brule we had 20 gallons of gas in my tank,two 6 gallon cans of gas,4 cases of beer[it was lite beer so the weight should have been less!]some water and some groceries plus 2 guys on board.we were loaded heavy! the wind came up blowing from the west and the farther east we got the worse the water got. it was building to true 3 footers that were getting choppier and closer together as we neared the mouth of the brule.i have a yammy 60f but was wishing i had a 225 keep pushing the nose up.anyways i just kept the nose as high as i could and surfed with the yammy groaning to get over the next wave until we rounded the corner and got out of the #!&$!needless to say we were forced to open a few of the beers to make sure they weren't damaged on the return trip! if i was going to buy another boat today it would be a tuffy.great solid boat that is easy to fish and will take a pounding. | |
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Posts: 58
| I have an '06 Magnum in a console, with a 115 outboard. I have fished it in TRUE 2 1/2 foot waves. The boat seemed to handle it ok. While trying to stay on a weed edge with the trolling motor down and heading in to the wind I found that the bow of the boat would sometimes be level with the waves. Every now and again water would splash on to the casting deck. In high wind even on smaller water I have felt very uneasy more than once, but that was while I was trying to fish. I had no problems cranking up my outboard and running wide open across the same waves that were slipping over the bow with the trolling motor. With the outboard trimmed properly, even on the rough stuff, this hull will provide a relatively smooth and dry ride. My Magnum tops out at 50 on the gps with me, my gear, and 1/2 full of fuel. The biggest thing to keep in mind when running this speed on rough water is to run directly in to the wind or directly away from the wind. If you try to run diagonal, then you are either insane or you have a death wish. The biggest water I've been on so far is 1,000 acres. I plan to fish Petenwell a little in the spring, and that flowage can kick up some amazing rollers on the main basin during a windy day. Knowing your boat, using common sense, and using proper safety gear are the most important things to remember on any water, in any boat. With that in mind, I think the Esox Magnum is a very stable fishing platform for any lake in Wisconsin. If you plan on fishing some of the bigger water in Minnestoa the 1760 G in a console or a tiller would be the way to go. This boat has almost the same platform as the Magnum when it comes to getting close to the water. I have fished out of a friends 1760 GT and was very impressed. There's no big fiberglass cap to limit your movement inside the boat. The 1760 has miles of casting deck, and unbelievable rod storage. | |
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| I have a 1995 Esox Mag witha 60 Tiller that has been on Eagle and Sturgeom Bay a few times in some nasty weather. Have I taken on water and spoke to Jesus few times?? You Betcha... But that Tuffy always got me back to the dock where I proceeded to kiss the ground and search out the VO.
Ubuck | |
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Esox Magnum capabilities