Twin Troller X10 (Part 2)

Last week I introduced you to my new boat…can’t say that without thinking of Forest Gump and his Shrimpin’ boat…he ended up naming her “Jenny, the most beautiful name in the world” and it sure was good luck, but for now I will just keep mine un-named and wait to see if “Vickie” pops up on the back of the boat?

As a short re-cap the Twin Troller X-10 is a zero turn boat that is unique in that it has a set of foot pedals; the right pedal allows you to go full forward or backward and the left pedal allows you to go full forward or backward as well…thus, just like the new lawn mowers, if you go full forward on the right pedal and full backward on the left you will turn in a pretty tight circle to the left. The benefits are obvious but for a fly-fisherman having your hands free at all times is the ONLY way to go.

I have now been out on the boat 10 or so times and each time I become more comfortable with the control of the boat and it reminds me of last year when I finally went to a zero turn mower…after a few mows of my yard I didn’t even have to think anymore and became very proficient…the same is the case with this boat. I find myself not thinking about controlling the boat and thus can focus all of my attention on fishing…and that is a good thing!

I did a lot of reading and did some calling before I finally settled upon the Suzuki 2.5 hp outboard motor for the new boat. The folks at Freedom Electric recommend the Honda 2.0 but the experts that I talked to said the Suzuki was the better outboard and while I don’t have the Honda…the Suzuki has been excellent and has gone above any expectations I had prior to running it. I have had it out on Monroe on a couple occasions; once while it was pretty windy and the motor ran the Twin Troller right along with no issues. I also took dad out and we both went up the White River one night. I won’t say that we flew along but knowing the current was stiff and I was only running the motor at half throttle (as it was still in a break in period)…the engine and boat performed very well. When we turned around and came back down the river…it seemed like we were flying? All in all the boat and outboard combination is going to allow me to get to the places I want to fish in a much quicker time than ever before. I hope to make a few treks north to Wisconsin in search of Musky and possibly even north to Minnesota to fish the upper regions of the Mississippi when in the fall it reaches low water conditions.

Fly fishing is obviously my focus and the reason that I bought the boat and it has been perfect. I am able to slide my seat back and forth, from running the outboard to moving it forward to operating the foot pedals…and still leaving enough room for my fly line to rest on the floor of the boat and not get tangled up around a bunch of stuff. As I casts I stand and the part I love about the boat comes as I position myself and the boat adjacent to the shore or structure I want to fish and allow the wind and current to push me along. I can reach down with one foot and tap the reverse of either trolling motor to keep the boat in a slot that allows me to cast into or along the structure that holds the fish. The added elevation is also great…being up and in the boat allows me to easily back cast…allowing me to cast much further and along the same lines I can see down into the water so much better than while sitting in a float tube. In the past couple weeks I have seen several fish move out of a structure like a weed bank, follow and then attack my fly. This is both exciting and highly productive for a fly fisherman.

You can check out the video I made about the Twin Troller here on our site or some videos of the boat in action on the Twin Troller X-10 YouTube channel.

I hope you will pursue the boat if you have interests and that we will cross paths, like two small ships in the morning…as we all Enjoy the Great Outdoors.