SkeeterZX225

I haven't heard about a 8lb. smallmouth on Claytor. There was that 8lb. caught on South Holston about 2 hours west of Claytor on Monday. I fish it practically every week. I'll stop in a few marinas on Wednesday and see if anyone know anything.

That fish has already passed on its "Big Fish" genes for quite a few spawns. IMO its completely up to the angler if he/she wants to keep a fish to have it mounted. Taking one large fish out of that 9k acre lake isn't going to hurt anything.

Not 100% sure but I think the only difference is the 798 has dual SD card slots while the 797 only has one. I've got a 797 and love it, only wish I would've went with the 997 or 1197.

Sounds like you've already answered your own question. ;D

Got mine in the mail today, along with a members only invatation for a pre-sale sale. They have got some really good deals in this one, not sure if I'll be able to make it down there or not.

I had a 2002 SX190 w/Yamaha 150 2 stroke till December of '07 and traded it in for a '07 ZX225 w/Yamaha 225 HPDI. Loved the SX190, great boat had no problems at all with it or the motor. Only reason I traded it in was for a bigger boat and a faster boat. I could run around 61-62 mph (GPS) in the SX190 by myself. Great layout, very fisherman friendly, stable in calm and rough water, easy to drive and tow. When I traded mine in, the dealer sold it about 2 months later for $14000. So I'd say $12k is a great deal on a '04 model.

I started with a 10' jon boat, went to a 14' jon boat, then a 16 1/2' Tracker, then a 18 1/2' Skeeter, and now a 20' Skeeter. IMO opinion the 20' is the best. I can still get it into tight places and shallow water. But its plenty big enough to handle rough water, fast, smooth dry ride. Alot more storage than the 18 1/2' and more room when fishing three people.

my mistake, didn't catch where he said powerdrive motor. Sorry.

I'd put it on the TM. I can't see any benefit in putting it on a seperate piece, IMO.

Marty Stone-can't stand him, when's the last time he won anything??? Skeet Reese-arrogant Aaron Martens-whiny little b#*#(

Here is what I have on my different setups: Topwater-mono because fluro sinks Cranks-mono because it has a little stretch to keep from ripping out hooks Jerkbaits-fluro because it sinks and allows me to feel soft bites on slack line. I use a softer rod to allow for a little give to keep from ripping hooks. Jigs/Plastics-Fluro because it sinks, straighter line directly to lure, more sensitive, nearly invisible. Spinnerbait/Swimbait-Fluro because of sensitivity I only use Seaqar Invis-X floro. 8lb on spinning reels, 10-17 on baitcasters. Only mono I use is Trilene XL in 10-14lb

Same as everyone above except I use a #4 mostly.

Not 100% sure but I believe the biggest difference is the new 798 has dual SD card slots while the 797 has only one slot. I've got the 797 and absolutely love it. Best $1000 spent on electronics, however it would be nice to have the dual SD slots at times.

I caught fish last year on the bed in 58 degree water. There is no set temperature for fish to go from prespawn to spawn to post spawn. Depending on what area of the lake I'm fishing I can find two or sometimes three different stages of fish on the same body of water. I've caught smallies spawning near largemouth and both be in 1-2ft. of water and I've caught them in 8-10ft. of water. It depends alot on water clarity, fishing pressure, available sunlight (which also triggers the spawn) and other factors. In the spring I usually take the water temp and previous knowledge from that lake and go from there. Just use it as a basic guideline and don't put too much emphasis on it.

I bought 2 of them a while back and like them very well. I've got the 7' medium action (use it for light jigs/worms) and the 7' medium/heavy action (use it for a frog rod). Light, split grip, sensitive, and reasonably priced. All in all a great rod for the money!

I've got a 797 and its the best $1000, I've ever spent on electronics. Wish I had the money for the 1197. Yes, you can set the range out to 240 ft. (maybe more, can't remember off the top of my head) and what you see is relative to the depth of the water. When looking at the picture, try to imagine you're in a airplane flying directly overtop the lake and looking straight down on it. The center line is your boat and the darker blue/black to each side of the center line is the water column to the bottom. The lighter shades of blue is the actual bottom contour. It takes a while to get the transducer adjusted correctly and all the settings adjusted, but its worth every penny There is a yahoo group for side imaging users that you can join. Has alot of great pictures, tips and questions/answers on there.

$2000 for a 30 year old boat. Nope, not worth it in my opinion, no matter how "good" it may look. I'd offer him $1000 at the most for it.

The dealer is definetely trying to screw you over. Every new boat I've purchased has come with batteries, two of those have been Skeeters

Most definetely $5000+. Got atleast 4 long distance trips planned next year. Two to Guntersville, and two to Dale Hollow. Plus fishing every week, boat payments, tournament entry fees, gas, oil for boat, normal tackle replacement, etc. I spent somewhere upwards of $4000 just in diesel fuel this year to pull the boat to the lake every week. You got to pay to play!!!!

I will say I have seen some very nice pics from this unit posted on other forums. I just never had any luck with mine, it could have been me or it could have been the head unit its self. Lowrance seems to be a great product, just as Humminbird does, I've just had more luck with the Humminbird units.

Good luck getting that unit to display a picture like that. I had one of those on my new Skeeter for about 3-4 months and tried everything in the world to get it to work properly. Granted it was on the trolling motor and not a transom mount unit. Always had bad interference and would constantly loose bottom. Tried new transducers, grounding the unit to eliminate interference and a few other tricks, none of which worked. Finally just sold it and bought Humminbird units.

Had fished tubes in the past years, with some good results. Really started fishing them this year and have caught a bunch of fish off them. My local lake gets hammered with jig fishing, and I think a tube is a much tighter,subtle presentation to those same fish. I've done really well with Cabin Creek tubes in any color as long as its green pumpkin ;D

I've got 2, the 7' med for light jigs, worms and the 7' heavy for frog fishing. Paired both up with the new Revo Winch reels. Haven't got to try them out yet, but they are very nice for the money. Light weight, seem to be really sensitive.

I've been a member for 15 years or so, still have every issue from every year. Most of the time you'll get a hat, couple of plastic lures, and maybe a DVD or book when you subscribe/renew. I've heard alot of people complain since ESPN took over BASS. But I like the new better than the old. Plus, there is only so much stuff they can write about, with the occasional new technique/equipment that comes out. I'm satisfied and will continue to be a member.

Just to clear it up, I wasn't encouraging you/him to go 15 years on a boat loan, just saying they will do it. Can't remember exactly but I got somewhere around a 6.5% rate on mine. They told me at the time, the normal rate was 7.5-8%. Most of all, make sure you find a boat "YOU" are happy with, a dealer "YOU" are happy with and a financing plan/payment "YOU" are happy with. I think its fine to ask people for opinions on certain things, but in the long run only my opinion really matters, when its my money being spent.