There is no center console like it. Contender has fused the best of ocean performance with the best of fishing platforms. I wouldn't consider fishing out of any other boat. From their smallest 21' to my 31' and every length in between these boats are perfectly geared towards the serious angler and can handle any kind of water you will encounter. Contender has the speed and agility I want on slick calm days whether I'm running outside the harbor with clients or running two hundred miles to weigh in a fish somewhere down the east coast. More importantly my boat has the engineering to carry me safely through water most people wouldn't be caught dead in. Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, Nantucket Sound, The Race, The Chesapeake Bay, all present their own nightmarish days and I've never once shelved a charter or a tournament with my Contender because of weather conditions. These boats can handle it all.

When clients of mine get on my boat they are utterly amazed at my 225 Yamaha Four Stroke engines. They often say they have considered buying a pair but figure they can stick with their old engines and save some money for awhile longer. I always say how sorry I feel for them and that at the end of the charter they will know just what they'll be missing and how ridiculous it would be to wait another day to buy the Yamaha Four Strokes. These motors are so quiet you literally won't know that they're running, they emit no smoke (not a little, not a puff when they start, I mean not any, ever), and they sip fuel! I get 8 gallons an hour at cruise that means when I am running 34-45 mph per engine no matter what. I put 1000 hours on my engines in two seasons and just spoke with a Coast Guardsman recently who told me they put 7000 hours on their same engines last season alone. What did the two of us have to do as far as service on them? Change the oil every 100 hours. That's it. As far as power is concerned they rock! I had twin 250's on my old 28' foot boat and I moved up to a 31' and powered down to 225's. I didn't lose an ounce of low-end, mid-range or top end power. If I can go from a 28 footer to a 31 footer and be happier with "less horsepower" believe me you'll never notice a difference. Lastly, people say they've heard that they're heavier. Well, they are by a whopping 60lbs. Imagine this year you're going to take your dog fishing with you. Do you think he'll slow you down?

I first saw the Simrad CA42 unit at the Miami show in 2002. I couldn't believe my eyes! The huge display screen was everything I'd dreamed of as I often fish alone at the stern of my boat. I like to monitor my drift and bottom display without moving forward. Who want to disrupt their fishing to look at their sounder? The echo sounder is the best I've ever used. With a good thru hull triducer (which I always recommend) this fish finder will be the best you ever used. The radar is also exceptional. The charting is tremendous. I use C-Map charts and it's like looking at a Rand McNally road atlas. It's huge and the detail is superb! People voice concern over going to an "all in one" unit but with Simrad there is never a reason to worry. Their technology is second to none.

I was so excited to come on board with C-Map after I swept the ASA Tournament Trail in 2001. They're a local company and have proved to be some of the nicest people I've met in the fishing industry. Last year they took me on a tour of their facility and I was blown away. To see the magnitude of their operation was incredibly impressive. I have fished these charts from the Chesapeake Bay to Gloucester Mass. That means I've needed some wildly varying detail as the holding structure for striped bass throughout these places could not be more different. From the topographic detail of the deep water channel that runs the length of the Bay to the rock piles of the water up around Boston, I've always had the mapping capabilities I need to consistently find fish wherever I am. What more could you ever want?