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I've had a legend owner pick up one of my All star Titanium's and marvel at how light the rod was. The Titanium is the previous version of the Platinum. The Platinums have fuji guides instead of titanium, same blank though. IMO, sensitivity wise, as good as those $200 -300 uber rods and you can buy them for $130 at Bobby's Rods.

+2

Haha. I saw that 203 for that price and went MAN, if I only had the $$. Great color combo on the boat too. Figured it wouldn't last long ;D

For $600 you should be able to replace all five seats AND replace the carpet. BPS, Cabela's, Overtons all sell seats.

Of the boats listed, the Champion has a true Wedge type hull. In your price range, you'll probably be looking at a 193 or 192 in a Champ 19 footer. Those were the narrower 92" beam boats. The Champs have the narrower hull with the deep V, meaning they'll cut through the waves better, meaning you can run higher speeds in rough water (after you've learned how) faster than the other guys. The only downside is the Champs tend to ride a little nose up when fishing and some folks consider them more tippy than say a Triton or Ranger.

These are my opinions and mine only. My opinions are drawn from how I like a bass boat to perform on the water under power and while fishing. Since everyone has different tastes, everyones opinions will be different. First, we're looking at what you can buy with $17,000. You'll be looking at a boat at least 5 years old if you're looking for something running a 200 and at 18 1/2 to 19 1/2' long. 1. Build quality. All of the brands you've listed are well made boats. There is no point quibling over that issue. 2. Resale value. Tritons and Rangers hold their value the best. They've spent huge amounts of money building that name in the industry. Their boats also cost huge amounts of money. If you're looking at one of those brands you'll be looking at an older boat vs the other brands given your price range. 3. Speed. That's relative. Do you want a fast boat in calm water or a fast boat in rough water? The Triton, cat and Stratos are probably on the higher end for speed, Skeeter in the middle, Champion after that and the Ranger way at the bottom. If you're really interested in speed then you want to go to a Blazer, Alli or Stroker. Since you don't seem comfortable with the Triton's chine issue I'd suggest not thinking about any of those 3. They definitely require a set of driving skills and a boat like an Alli is sort of different to fish out of. 4. Fishability. Basically, the flatter the hull, the better the fishablility. Ranger wins most of these comparisons hands down but loses on speed and rough water ride due to that flatter hull. Everything else is personal taste. Storage layout, how the boat sits in the water, compartment latches, livewell systems, etc. You really need to get out on the water and spend some time in any boat you're considering and this part of the equation is just as important as the how fast and how does it ride part. 5. As for the skill level to drive at WOT. All boats will chine walk to some degree at WOT. Some more than others. You need to spend some time in the boat at first with an experienced boater who can teach you how to drive a bass boat beyond 65 mph. It's not that difficult. I hope this helps. Again, I can't stress enough that you need to spend some time looking at boats and narrowing down your choices to just a couple brands and models.

First, we need to make a little correction.

It's on ABU GARCIA's main page. Click on 2008 promotions, on the next page, scan to the bottom. It's the last promo listed. http://www.abugarcia.com/

I don't get it either.

Lake reports for LOZ have not been good since Truman began dumping mud into the lake. Water temps are at best in only the mid 40's. It's (the mud) made it's way most of the way down the lake and this rain won't help. The reports have been poor. The usual great jerkbait bite is about gone except for right around the dam and up the Gravois. (which usually stays a little cleaner). Chompers fished on steep banks and bluff ends, very, very slowly were what the last I heard was working. Good luck

Several reasons. W-a-a-a-y cheaper labor. No need to provide benefits like health insurance. No need to comply with regulations concerning worker safety, pollution controls or safety in what they build (ie; see Mattel toys made with lead paint.) If you'll notice. Even after a company moves offshore to manufacture a product the prices never go down even though their expenses have in a really big way. After WWII, the USA was the manufacturing giant of the world. Now, we barely make anything here anymore. We've become a service industry. I have no idea what this country is about anymore. We sold the American way of life down the river years ago for corporate profit. While some would say protectionism is the fastest way to isolationism, it's clear that just dropping the tariff boundaries completely is the fast way to what we have today.

You have to have a receipt. I bought mine from an ebay store. It was not an auction.

If these rumors are true I would suspect there's a Revo connection to all this. I'm betting the Revo introduction has really cut into the Shimano sales for reels in the $100-200 range. I only say that because Shimano has rarely ever offered any discount in the past on their merchandise. Add the poor economy and I wonder if Shimano isn't just trying to move reels or they actually are going to revamp the line to more reflect something resembling the Revo line with smaller reels with more line capacity. I've also noticed a large number of newer Curado's and Citica's for sale used, on the forums and Ebay, vs. very few Revo owners selling used. Also on the used reel front, of the few that you see for sale, a used or factory reconditioned Revo S or SX is selling only 15 - 20% under retail (on average) compared to the Citica or Curado which is probably closer to 30% or more. The Cruxis, while a nice reel, doesn't seem to have any following at all.

Have you tried an application of Vertglass? Overtons sells it for around $100. It really puts the shine and luster back in a finish. Now it's only good for around a year and you will have to reapply each season but given the cost of a professional re-finish or having some camo skin put on the outside of the boat it would certainly be worth a try.

A Ficht will have the letters FFI somewhere on the cowling. Even with all the mods to those 97-2000 Fichts, they're still a very temperamental motor that requires exact care or they'll blow up.

This is a great way to learn a bunch or to increase your versatility. I usually am apprehensive before fishing with a complete stranger but often very glad I did afterwards. Great way to meet various types of folks you normally wouldn't interact with for whatever reason. Have a blast guys, can't wait for the reportback. LOTS OF PICTURES!! I've had the opportunity to fish with 4 people on from this site and haven't regretted a single outing. The group get togethers are as much about fun and fellowship than anything. 8-)

Hmm.. maybe it was offered to frequent users. :-? The offer goes until March 28th. Even without the Ebay offer, Garcia has their $10 off rebate on their website. If You purchase from the seller's store for $87.99, shipping included then take off the $10 from Garcia you're still getting a new Revo S for $77.99. Not bad.

The most is 2. Anymore than that and it becomes a hassle especially if you're having to walk through woods or brush. I'll take a med action and a mhvy.

Quinn, this tournament won't be for anymore than $10 a head. No one's house payment is going to be on the line. ( I hope not) ;D This is still a fun tourney and the best way to learn the sport is to get paired with someone with experience. I would definitely throw your name in the hat. At the very least, I won't have a partner and I'm sure there will be a couple others partner-less that you could be paired with when Val starts to put this thing together.

Ebay has a $10 off your next $50 purchase via Paypal. Couple that with the $10 Garcia rebate on their site and the $79.99 NIB Revo S from X-treme Outdoor Sports Will cost me approximately $68! A good deal. Check your ebay message box for the $10 coupon. I don't know how long it's good for.

It would seem as though the previous owner is a little confused or he's not communicating correctly. Perhaps he meant the transom was damaged or rotted which on that boat, would pretty much be the death knell. Sounds like he gutted out the 2 parts worth the most and sold them. If that's the case, the odds are there's more wrong with it than just the transom rotted. You've probably got kneebraces rotted along with stringer rot. As an inocent bystander, I just don't see where that boat is worth anything more than some concrete to sink the thing. You could probably get a couple hundred for the trailer on ebay or through your local paper. At the very least you've got to come up with a I/O motor and outdrive and if the transom is shot you're merely wasting your time. Let me also add, that is a wood structured boat, while wood itself is not a bad thing, it could be if he had leaking. Poorly sealed I/O outdrives are a sore spot and water left standing in the hull is another problem. Replacing wood structural members, ie: transom, stringers and kneebraces is very labor intensive and expensive. Unless you have an idea of how to work with fiberglass I wouldn't advise it. This isn't anything you really want to take lightly either. You don't want to just slap a new motor and outdrive onto that thing without taking care of the structural integrity of the boat, especially if you're going to have family on-board.

It depends on what you mean by the "transom was removed" and the reasons for why it was removed. I can't tell anything from the picture. BTW, you don't just buy a new transom. You have to make one and the difficulty in the job will be in direct relation to "how" the transom was removed and why.

The transom was removed?! With enough concrete, you've got a potentially great piece of fishing structure there.

The outdoors channel, Versus for fishing, Speed TV, History, Discovery, TV Land, etc. I've never seen much on worth watching to tell you the truth. I watch the CSI shows but mostly to babe watch.

I used to know a couple guys down there but they quit guiding a few years ago.