Ultrex shaft length

[bradknight83]

I run a 16 zx225 looking to upgrade my current 52” fortrek to an ultrex. My concern is I fish a multitude of depths, is a 45” decent for rough water, I probably fish more shallow then big water. But still fish depth. I feel my 62” in shallow water sucks and sticks out high. Any experiences with the ultrex?

[pajoe329]

you might get away with a 45 (due to my buddy has a zx250 and came with a 45) but in rough water it was always out of the water which is no good , so he just ordered a 52' ultrex which is standard on his size boat

[Skeeter185]

I run a 16 zx225 looking to upgrade my current 52” fortrek to an ultrex. My concern is I fish a multitude of depths, is a 45” decent for rough water, I probably fish more shallow then big water. But still fish depth. I feel my 62” in shallow water sucks and sticks out high. Any experiences with the ultrex?

Per your post you must weigh how much time you spend in shallow water versus deep big water. Then ask yourself is it worth it to have the 52 inch over the 45 if you only are caught in rough big water 10-15 percent of the time and the other 85 percent your up shallow is it worth it to have that long shaft on your rig. Personally I spend about 85 percent shallow but every once in awhile you must venture deeper to catch one. I have always run the 45 inch because in shallow water I don't want to constantly have to adjust shaft to fish shallow or I don't care for the head of the troller to be way up above the gunnel. I can live with the shaft coming out of the water for the few times I may be deep or encounter rough water. Really it boils down to your preference. I just ordered an 18 ZX 250 with an ultrex 45 inch .

[Hunter1234]

my rule of thumb: 45" for a 20' and shorter boat and 52" for 21' and more. Being that the 225 is right on the cusp of a 20' boat i would weigh in on my fishing style..

[Kzaker]

I pretty much only fish Lake Erie for SM. Some days 45 would work but I ordered the 52” because it would be rare that I fish less than 20’ and the 45 was always coming out of the water (ZX202). The boat had a 45 through all previous owners as far as I know but none fished big water like I do. So yeah, weight your style and how much of a problem it’s been up to this point. My methods of fishing wouldn’t be impeded by raising the TM 7” either.

[Rayburn Guide]

I agree it depends on your fishing style. I've never ran a 52" as I always felt the head sticking up would be in the way. I've always ran a 45" on boats from 20-22' without an issue.

[woppercatcher]

I have a 45 on my boat and fish off shore a lot. So far I've not had any issues with the Ultrex. I did have a few times when the prop would come out of the water with my old Maxxum. I like the 45" shaft lowered all the way down that way it stays out of the way. My new ZX200 will also have a 45" Ultrex.

[bradknight83]

So when it comes out of the water with the ultrex, it’s probably more in control because of the power steering? Hopefully making it more manageable ? Thanks for all the input.

Also guys running the 52” ultrex how close to the surcrface can you run it ? My 52 is like a good 8-10” below surface but I also have the troll mate on it

[Muddbugg]

I have not put a tape on it... But a 45" ultrex seems about 5" longer than a Fortrex 45"

[jomo924]

my rule of thumb: 45" for a 20' and shorter boat and 52" for 21' and more. Being that the 225 is right on the cusp of a 20' boat i would weigh in on my fishing style..

dont know where you got your facts but if accurate sounds good to me

[Meleagris1]

I have not put a tape on it... But a 45" ultrex seems about 5" longer than a Fortrex 45"

That’s right the 45” fortrex is a true 45” shaft. The 45” Ultrex is a 48” shaft, and the 52” Ultrex seems to have a true 52” shaft. We were just talking about this in another thread.

[hunter35745]

I just bought a 52 Ultrex for my 2017 zx250, I used the bowline to water formula and it came out to 45-54 inches for my boat, it came with a 45 and I was running it all the way down, so the extra 7 inches should only help, especially in rough water, cant wait till it gets here. Went to a sonar class last Saturday and plan on using the spot lock for ledge fishing alot

[bwank1124]

I had a 45" foretrex on my zx200 and that thing came out of the water all the time. I decided to go with the 52" when I upgraded to the ultrex.

[Tamale]

How shallow are you guys fishing that you have to raise your 52" trolling motor? I have a 52" on my boat and I fish shallow all the time, and my trolling motor is all the way down.

[bgibson]

I have a ZX250 and I had a 52" Fortrex but went to a 45" Ultrex and now its perfect.,,,I fish shallow and off shore and have no problems with the 45". I prefer it much more then the 52" FYI like said before the Ultrex shaft is about 3" longer then the Fortrex

[Meleagris1]

One thing to keep in mind is that with the Ultrex fishing team events you will find yourself on spot lock with one or two guys on the back deck and no one on the front - this brings the TM even further out of the water we definitely took full advantage of the longer shaft in these situations. I don't think we could have done it with any less than the 52".

[bgibson]

[QUOTE=Meleagris1;9094036]One thing to keep in mind is that with the Ultrex fishing team events you will find yourself on spot lock with one or two guys on the back deck and no one on the front - this brings the TM even further out of the water we definitely took full advantage of the longer shaft in these situations. I don't think we could have done it with any less than the 52".[/QUOT

I would reposition the boat down wind of what I was trying to fish before I would fish off the back deck with the power poles and engine directly in the way, but that's me...

[Meleagris1]

I would reposition the boat down wind of what I was trying to fish before I would fish off the back deck with the power poles and engine directly in the way, but that's me...

You could do that on a lake but I fish a lot of tidal rivers where you don't have that luxury. You have wind, river current and the tide to deal with, all of which affect boat positioning. Its very tough when the wind and current/tide are opposite. Lots of situations where you are forced to fish off the back unless you want to put a second ultrex back there. :)

[rodz]

I have a 52 and it's raised up a long way. 45 would have been better for me.

[Tamale]

You could do that on a lake but I fish a lot of tidal rivers where you don't have that luxury. You have wind, river current and the tide to deal with, all of which affect boat positioning. Its very tough when the wind and current/tide are opposite. Lots of situations where you are forced to fish off the back unless you want to put a second ultrex back there. :)

I've seen a ton of guys doing this on area lakes here, a ton. Works great when you are fishing a ledge in the wind and want to work the baits down the ledge as well as not having to cast over the length of the boat and your partner standing on the back.