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Would you spend $20,000 on a new car without taking it for a test drive? If these guys aren't willing to let you test drive a boat or put you in touch with a customer that has one of these boats that you can go out in I'd try finding a dealer that will. As for why they're selling these so underpowered? They're probably stocked with the boat and engine and are making a buck on them. If you tell them to take the 90 off the stratos what are they going to do with it? Its close to the end of the boat buying season and these guys are trying to sell off inventory. You have to be the smart consumer. As an experienced boat owner I would never walk in asking about advertised deals on underpowered boats, in fact I'd walk in pretty much knowing what I want and would want the dealer to get down to brass tacks on working a deal with me. Without that knowledge the salesman see's you as an inexperienced boater. Some will take advantage of that and push you into the package boat even though it's performance is subpar, how will you know anyway? After you've owned it a year or two and are frustrated you wind up back at the dealer trading in for a bigger motor (at a loss for you). You'll also pay for rigging, possible new throttle box, oil tank, gauges, prop, steering cable,.......... as you can see it's best to get the right motor on the boat in the beginning when you can work the best possible deal. Waiting till later will cost you thousands.

Chug, I really can't advise you on which of those 2 boats would be the better deal. You're sorta comparing apples to oranges, aluminum vs. fiberglass. I'm going to point you towards fiberglass almost everytime except in certain circumstances (lake size, tow vehicle size, etc.) Question. Have you driven either of those boats in the setup you're thinking about buying. avalanche with the 135 and the stratos with the 90? I wouldn't be spending a dime until you have. You need to get on the water with those boats and drive and decide (Champions motto I know). Until then you're merely guessing whether that boat will be what you want on the water.

I'm listening to the posters comments. "Basically, what I am trying to get is a boat that I can be efficient in fishing with, but at the same time, maybe 10 times a year, take the family out tubing/pleasure boating. This isn't type of boat really wasn't my first choice but my wife convinced me that I should get that type of a boat instead of a "bass boat." He wants an efficient fishing machine but she convinced him to by a fish and ski (not really efficient fishing boat) just for 10 times usage with friends and family tubing and pleasure boating. " I don't think we will be doing any skiing off of it, just some tubing and pleasure boating and a WHOLE BUNCH OF FISHING. " He's capitalized the whole bunch of fishing part and minimalized the pleasure boating aspect. I could see the F & S investment if he and his family were really into water sports like skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, kneeboarding and pleasure boating but that doesn't sound like it here. In this case he's really compromising the WHOLE BUNCH OF FISHING part for something that's an afterthought. Sorry, I can't imagine being wedged up in the front of one of those things during one of my many spring or fall fishing trips looking back at all that floor space wasted for just 10 trips a year on something I'm not really all that into in the first place.

BTW, those manufacturer packages, with grossly underpowered motors on the back are teasers to get you in the door. Will the boat run with the stated engine? Of course. Will it run efficiently and will the boats total performance be realized? Of course not. BTW, if all this is is about the fishing, why not just buy an 18 ft. johnboat, slap some plywood and carpet on it and drop a 60hp motor on the back. He'll save thousands. Believe me, there's a pride in ownership in a new bassboat and ripping off some 60 + mph runs down the lake is exhilarating.

I guess the reason for the advise on maximizing your horsepower would be the same advice I'd give someone buying a sportscar but is trying to scrimp by putting the smallest possible engine they make in it. What's the point? My reasoning stems from having run an underpowered boat before plus 30 + years of bass boating experience. After spending the kind of money he's going to be spending, there are obviously going to be expectations from the rig. Being doggy and a gas sucker shouldn't be one of them. Running a boat with an undersized engine results in more gas burnt than if the max horsepower engine were on it. You're having to run that smaller engine at higher throttle settings to get the boat to do what it wants, hence, more gas burned. After he's realized he needs to upgrade it's already too late, he'll eat thousands when he goes to trade in. Does he want truth, honesty and solid advice from people that have been there before and have experience or just a cheerleading squad?

Do it yourself, a fiberglass place will charge you an arm and a leg. I'd suggest going to www.iboats.com and go to the forums and register. There is a specific board there for restorations with people who will help, and that forum is heavily weighed towards people with runabouts like you've just bought. Good luck.

I had a friend that bought a brand new Bass Pro Tahoe boat several years ago, it spent as much time at BPS getting fixed because it constantly broke down as it did on the water. If you start out with a quality piece of equipment to start with, even used, you're not going to have to worry about breakdowns that much. Especially with the ski boat since he's only using the thing 10 times out of the year. On top of that, he didn't say the fish and ski offers what HE wants, it offers what his wife wants which is a boat to drive some friends around in and maybe some tubing for a total of 10 times a year. HE said he plans to do a lot of fishing out of it the rest of the year. I merely pointed out options for him as I have a feeling once he gets in that Fish n Ski he'll be sorely disappointed in the fishability of it. I've fished out of both. I thank god my wife came to her senses and didn't have us trying to fish out of one of those things all year round just for several weekends of family fun in the summertime.

You're wasting your money if you underpower your new rig like you appear to be about to do. You're almost underpowering the Stratos by half. If you can't afford to max horsepower a new boat you need to consider stepping down to a smaller size boat or to a used boat that has the correct HP motor on it. You're going to be thoroughly disappointed in the performance and by the time you decide you shouldn't have scrimped on the engine HP when you bought it you'll take a bath on the trade-in when you go to upgrade.

One other thing you might consider if you have the storage room to keep them. For what you're looking at spending on that Ranger you could go out and find a fairly new 17ft - 18ft bowrider runabout for the wife and then spend around $12 - 13k for a mid to later 90's, 18-19ft bassboat for yourself. You'll spend around 5 - 7 grand less overall vs. the Ranger and you've got boats that satisfy the needs of both you and your wife.

way2slow pretty much covered it. Unless you enjoy working on and or restoring boats like myself you need to thoroughly check the thing out and have the engine looked at. A on the water test is a must.

I don't but I know some guys in the FLA. panhandle that do. Several companies make a bass/bay boat compromise. Both Nitro and Triton have saltwater compatible bassboats, ie: no carpet and SS or zinc plated hardware on everything. Slap a SW version TM on the thing and it becomes a dual purpose bassboat. The Nitro even comes with snap in carpet.

Never leave home without a spare tire for your boat and check the spares inflation regularily. As for a hub, most guys who are running longer distances carry one (ie: trips more than 500 miles). Anything, even new can fail and the last thing you want is to be in the middle of nowhere hundreds of miles from home trying to scrounge up a hub assembly. BTW, make sure you stock extra bulbs and a grease gun.

A 295 Stratos is perfect for fishing any tournament unless you need gobs of storage area or will be fishing waters that have the potential to get rough. 21 footers are much more expensive, require a larger tow vehicle, need a much larger OB than a 150 to operate efficiently and are of such size, length and beam, that manuevering in tight confines can be a pain.

Look for a used boat with bigger motor for all the reasons previously stated. A friend of mine used to have a 15 1/2 foot tracker with a 25hp motor on it. You'll have no problems avoiding any obstacles underwater as that boat seemed to be running in slow motion all the time.

Sounds like a starter and I agree, a 50hp motor is probably too small for that boat. It's very heavy. I wouldn't expect very robust performance out of that boat for sure.

Welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy your stay. As for the Fish n Ski boat. I'm not certain you can use the term "efficient" when describing a fish n ski as a bass fishing platform. It's so loaded with compromises I can't even begin to start but I also understand the need to satisfy the better half if you're having to justify a boat payment. Let me start by saying I spent quite a few years having family fun in a standard Bassboat. When I suggested a fish and ski my wife looked at a couple and realized the fishing part was an afterthought in these deals and nixed it, much to my relief. The problem with these boats is in your wifes comment "look at all the room for people to sit" That = wasted space for what you want, fishing. Unless you buy a larger model, like a 20 footer, the front and rear casting decks are like postage stamps to fish from compared to a regular bass boat. In fact, rear deck square footage in many of the 19foot models and under is a near embarrasment. Second, don't plan on taking lots of rods with you. Rod storage in most of these boats is a joke. The rod boxes are too small for my rods and you're often forced to use the ski storage area in the floor which offers no protection for you rods from all the banging around due to running down the lake. Storage area. Where is it? Again, so much of the boat floor space is wasted with the "room for people to sit" there's little left over for reasonable dry or wet storage. Where in the world do you put your rods when you're fishing off the front deck? Most guys I've seen have to prop their rods up against the windshields. Now you're got 6-7 ft rods sticking up in the air. Talk about a pain in the rear when casting. Just trying to avoid hitting the windshields is bad enough and that's because the front casting decks in these things are so small. I'm assuming you don't care about max speed in a boat or performance. That's good, because of the weight distribution in these types of boats, the ride and speed performance potential is mediocre at best. Like I said, I used a regular bassboat for years with my kids for tubing, kneeboarding and family fun. Was it ideal for that purpose? NO. Was I happy the majority of the year when I was out fishing and didn't have to compromise on all the things I just listed? YOU BET! I also understand family budgets and keeping the little woman happy. Have you thought about a cheaper, dual console bass boat with a full width bench seat and then some expensive jewelry for the wife? BTW, I fully expect to be slagged by the fish n ski guys out there on my comments.

Yep, sounds like a bad X-ducer. Al's got a good idea about calling the local marine dealers. You can also find them on Ebay, used for pretty cheap. Here's a couple sellers on ebay that sell used parts they've stripped off junked bass boats http://stores.ebay.com/TRACKER-MARINE-GROUP_ELECTRONICS_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ7QQftidZ2QQtZkm and http://stores.ebay.com/OZARK-BOAT-PARTS_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm I've bought stuff from both these guys and have been very happy with quality and price.

;D See the RE: Skunked thread in outings! Prior to yesterday, I went to Perry county lake this early spring for a rogue bite. The lake had been dumped on with cold rain, lake level up 2 feet, pure mud, strong current as the water was pouring over the spillway. I resorted to flippin jigs on cover on steep banks that was breaking the current. Zero fish.

I don't believe it's necessary for the fishermen or woman to HAVE to exclusively fish a particular lure the whole time they're on the lake. For example, my challenge to my person was to fish a floating worm or senko, his choice, wacky style. Considering the time of year and the heat that's embraced the entire country this summer I'd say the angler will have his best shot fishing early morning and late evening. If he wants to try the technique other times I say more power to him but that's when I'd concentrate fishing that technique. If you use the lure in the appropriate time and place you're more likely to catch a fish on that lure or method and thus, gain confidence in it. Flogging the water with a lure or technique that isn't conducive to catching fish at that particular time is likely to cause frustration with the bait. That's not what this is about and personally why I add a few tips of my own to help an angler along in learning a bait.

Thanks, I had a feeling I wasn't going to find the whole thing assembled. :-[

;D Fish at lunch, yeah, sure! There's no way I'd even tempt myself with only a 30 minute lunch break.

I've heard that guys up north fish for a species that isn't catchable during spring through fall, it's called an Ice fish. Not sure what they look like but some of those guys actually go out when it's way cold and sit in little houses on top of a frozen lake to catch them. They must not be big fish, the rods are like 1 foot long and they fish through a little hole they cut in the ice. It's gotta be a beaach to cast a lure into that little hole every time.

Sorry for the picture blurriness. I've looked all over and can find the blades but not the whole assembly. This used to be used on the old Arbogast sputterfuss lures. Anyone have a source? I've tried all the usual tackle makers with no luck.

2 years ago, 2nd week in april. I hit the wiggle wart bite on LOZ perfect. Large fish, 3lbs plus were up on the rocks on secondary points in water barely deep enough to cover their backs. 3lb fish were the average, I had quite a few in the 5-6lb range. Lost a couple that would've gone 7-8lbs. Then my boat sank after taking some water over the back end from cruiser wakes and the fishing trip was over. About 8 years ago my wife and I were at LOZ again on memorial day weekend. Terrible time to go but we got lucky, the shad spawn was going on. Large bass, 6lbs plus were cruising very shallow. All it took was a shallow diving, chartreuse colored crankbait like a little N in shallow water on main lake points to score. Too bad we were forced off the lake each day by 9:30am in the morning by big boat traffic.

Another area to think about is leaking livewell fittings. Drain and dry the boat. Close off the livewell input on the outside of the boat and close off the LW overflow line outside the boat. Now fill the livewell up with water till it overflows into the overflow tube and let it run some more to completely fill the overflow line up. Now look around for leaking from the LW fittings, LW pump or from the overflow line.