Big shows like this can be tough for floor reps to get to everybody, especially when they're there for eight or nine hours a day.

In my experience, Rod has gone out of his way to help me out. I asked awhile back about getting a bra for my Willie's. (I bought it used a couple years ago and it's got a nice black paint job.)

He went out of his way to pick one up at the Portland show for me and brought it back up here and put up with my messed up schedule and time constraints to get it from him. And it ended up costing a lot less than what I would have paid had I gone through anybody else.

Long story short - he didn't have to do any of that considering he barely knew me.

BTW...this Willie's is my third boat after rowing two previous glass boats (one a homemade tank and the other a Clack). Glass boats may have their advantages in some situations, especially if you can pick one up for a steal.

But dollar for dollar, you can't beat a Willie's. That's especially true if you do any amount of plugging. On that front it really is like night and day.

If you're going to get a new drift boat, now's not really the time to do it anyway. Wait till May-Summer when you'll find more on the market as people are wrapping up the steelhead season and upgrading or moving on.

I bought mine direct from Willie's in late summer. It was formerly a guide boat who traded it in for a bigger one after one year and was in beautiful shape. They move a lot of boats through there over the summer under similar circumstances. Ones that never make it to the website or any ads.

Bruce