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I agree with Triton Mike. New boats depreciate fast. I bought one new and ate it big time a couple years later when I sold it. Todays boats and outboards are very well built. You can easily find something in your size and Horsepower you're looking for at thousands off what a new one will cost and will be just as reliable as new. If you have to have new remember most boat manufacturers have a couple models in each size category, an entry level (cheaper model with fewer bells and whistles and fewer options available) and the elite model. The entry level model is the better buy.

Double check the transom and floor on that Procraft!! One more thing. If you buy it and do the recarpet, buy good quality marine carpet, at least 16oz. Carpet has grain as well. Make sure the carpet is all laid out in the same direction. Don't skimp by using scraps turned sideways to fit compartment doors. Measure out the whole boat and lay it out on paper first. Then order the carpet.

I'm on my final year with them. I used to do the 3 year at a time deals on subscriptions but began becoming unhappy with the product, especially after ESPN took it over. The issues come, I skim over them and might read one or two articles and then it's stuffed in a drawer. Gone are the days I saved them. Other than that I get no other magazines fishing related.

That's an old cathedral hull bass boat. My first looked something like that except with stick steering. You're not going to be able to put much of a deck on that thing since the beam is so narrow. You'll experience tipping problems with the center of gravity moved so high up.

I was at Home Depot back in the flooring dept. and I found some stuff on the roll there. I think it was around 2-3 ft wide and the price was somewhere between $3-5 foot. You'd need to come up with a waterproof spray adhesive to attach it. Had a nice pattern on it similar to the rubber mats that Triton has on the front of their boats.

Technique was originally introduced by winning angler Dee Thomas at a BASS tourney on Bull Shoals lake in the mid-70's. Left coast BASS tourney angler Dave Gliebe perfected it even further in the late 70's-early 80's. It's also known as noodlin in the south.

While the idea of hot coffee on the boat sounds downright ideal I can't imagine having to mess with coffee, sugar or cream, or what the heck to do with it when I decide to move down the lake. The last thing I need is a pot of coffee spilling and staining my carpet. I'll stick with a thermos.

$1500 with the trolling motor (battery and electric inflation pump not included)?!!!! I'm not certain that boat will do for you what you want it to. After watching that video, the fabric tray for storage underneath might be peachy for a tiny little fly box and a trout net but little else. You'll note the battery for the trolling motor is sitting on top of the back deck on that thing. I'm sure you also noticed that the guys fishing out of that were fly fishing. I never saw any shots of a couple guys with multiple rods and tackle boxes. For that kind of money I'd suggest one of those 2 man plastic bass boats you can get for around $500, add the TM and battery for $200 more. Get rid of your car and get a mini-pickup. One of those 2 mans would fit perfectly in the bed. Those things can be stored pretty easily. Sorry, that looks like a good deal for fly fishing but NOT bass fishing.

I fish 100-200 acre conservation lakes all the time but I still wouldn't downsize.

If the lake is up and still up (not dropping significantly, I look at those grass flats that are submerged. I'd slow roll a spinnerbait through there. Whatever you do fish shallow. If the water is dropping significantly look for the fish to back off to slightly deeper cover or structure. I'd bang a crankbait off some secondary points or flip wood cover.

You need to start researching. There are several places on the net that used boats are sold at. Check you local papers. You should start getting an idea how much to expect a boat of this particular model, year, size and horsepower should cost you. Check with NADA. Yes, it's kicks out low numbers but as stated that's what the bank will go by for loan amounts, not necessarily what the boat is really worth. Lots of things come into play on what a boats worth.

I take it that this is either public land or you've secured permission to fish these 2 bodies of water?

Here's my 2 cents. If you've got disposable income that would allow for an extra payment (the boat), you've got other things to think about beyond that. Unless you can buy new, there's a good chance that the used boat you bought may have to have service done to it. Unless you're an outboard marine mechanic that'll cost ya. Even if you do it yourself theres time off the water to get it fixed plus the money to fix it, there's no Autozone for cheap boat parts out there. Then there's boat Insurance, have you priced that? What about the vehicle you're going to tow it with, what kind of condition is it in? You can expect things like brake jobs a little more frequently. Where will you store the thing? If you have to rent a storage area that's extra money. After you factor all this in it's easy to see that there's more behind the scenes to boat ownership than just the payment. I bought my first Brand new Bass boat when I was around your age, 21. I spent $5,000 on it back in 1978, that was alot of money back then but then again, I had a good job making more than enough to make payments along with handling all the stuff I listed above. Then, the recession hit and I lost the good paying job and wound up taking something making far less. I was able to keep the boat and make the payments I just couldn't afford to use it. That part sucks worse than anything. I wound up selling and barely broke even. It's a personal choice. I would never buy a boat again I had to make a payment on. I save, look around for just the right deal and then grab it. My current boat was just that. A poor 21 year old bought a nice 18 1/2 foot Champion with a 175hp, he took out a small loan, around $3000 for it. It's a solid boat that needed a little cosmetic work to make it look pristine. During his first year of owning it the motor blew. $3000 + to fix or $3000 to put a used motor on it to replace it. He obviously couldn't afford it and wound up giving the thing away to me for $1200 just to get out from under the payments. I paid cash for it. I'm in the process of restoring (a hobby of mine). The boat already looks great and I've got the disposable income to use the thing just about whenever I want. That's the important thing, will you have enough cash to use it after meeting all the expenses I listed above? Decide and then make your decision.

I believe that's a BPS Nitro. If it's a tubular frame trailer I'd be very suspicious of the crossmembers being rusted. Those BPS tubular frame trailers were infamous for rusting out. After that it would be nice if you could take the boat out. Running an outboard on the muffs is alright but you really don't know what condition the motors in till you put a load on the engine. A boat that old is also prone to have wood rot. Walk around on the floor and feel for soft spots. That could indicate either a rotted floor or worse, a rotted stringer as well. Then you need to really look at the transom. Get someone to put their weight onto the lower unit of the OB and jump up and down while you observe the transom. There should be no flex at all. If there is you've got a bad transom. Other indications would be the engine mounting bolts sunk in to the transom and you can also knock on different areas of the transom. It should sound solid, not hollow. Transom are repairable but they're not for the lighthearted and they're time consuming. Remember, it's a 12 year old boat, and just like a 12 year old car, it's not unusual for their to be some problems.

You're going to have to spend a lot more than $1500 to get that thing to float. Right off the bat the steering's shot, you're looking at $300 right there. Add the motor which may be toast and I can pretty much guarantee that that boats structural wood (transom, stringers) are probably rotted. That alone makes that thing a better choice for sunken fish cover than a fishing boat.

There is not gasoline motor on the boat. The previous owner blew it up and took it off, never replacing it. There is a crack in the fiberglass on the top part of the boat where it hit the boat dock once. The front livewell would not drain. It was filled with water and slowly and I mean slowly drained. The steering wheel was off the column and under the deck. Don't know why? There were 2 gauges missing from the dash, not sure which ones? The carpet needed some cleaning but wasn't ripped or anything. The front receptical for the trolling motor (I believe) was pulled out with wires exposed to trolling motor. No fish finder on boat. It had a 65lb thurst Minnkota up front and a 30 on the back. Seats were dirty, need to be cleaned. Trailer looked a little beat up and he said the previous owner had removed the brakes on it? Again, I'm not sure why??? The boat has been clear coated and the clear coat was peeling off pretty bad. I've got experience redoing boats. My current was kinda in the shape the one you're looking at. Blown engine not worth rebuilding. Badly oxidized, wiring hanging out. Stuff not working. New carpet but it wasn't done well. The engine blew up. He probably sold it along with a couple of the gauges that went with it. You can quick mount the steering wheel back on and try turning the wheel. If it moves easily your cable(s) is/are fine, if not, you're looking at around $200 for a pair of steering cables. The deck crack can probably be fixed by you though it may not look porfessional it might pass for acceptable. I'm not sure why the boat even had brakes. Thats a relatively short boat to have surge brakes, it's possible he had those added (aftermarket) because he was pulling the thing with a smaller vehicle and wanted to try and recoup his money. Sand the trailer and repaint yourself if possible, $100. As for the re-gelcoating. It may or may not be gelcoat. It may be stuff called Vertglas which is a temporary finish to restore a boats surface to a like new condition. It's only good for about a year or two. It's possible the guy merely had oxidation and took the easy way out to restore the shine. In the area's where some of the stuff has peeled completely off, can you feel the metalflake in the surface? If not, you can wet sand the finish off starting with 600-800 grit and working all the way up to 2000 grit Wet silicon. Your big thing is no engine. Around $3k or more for a decent used 150hp or less for a lower hp. Prop, throttle box and oil tank for the engine will be extra but you can often find those at great discount on Ebay. A depthfinder or 2, which can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. A couple gauges, $100. And a lot of work. If you're into it like some of us are it can be quite rewarding. You do need to really look carefully at the transom. Look for stress cracking at the splashwell corners. knock around on the transom. It should sound solid, not hollow. A hollow sound indicates a water and rot in the transom. Fixable? Yes but not without a lot of work. Check the floor of the boat.. Walk around all over it and jump up and down looking for soft spots. Finally, look over the entire hull specifically for cracks or breaks. Be especially aware of anywhere raw fiberglass might be showing through in areas below the waterline. That's an indication he struck something and water may have permeated the fiberglass (stay away if you see that!) Ignore spiderweb cracking in the gelcoat, that's common in just about anyboat more than a few years old. If that boat was anywhere near me I'd offer the guy $500 and work with him to get the price down. I could fix that thing up and turn a buck on it. It's just going to depend on how much work you want to do and your skills. Remember, it's a fairly new boat. If the gelcoat underneath whatever they put on it is restorable and the hull is sound as well as the transom I'd jump on that thing. If nothing else you can use the TM to fish out of it till you can swing the OB motor. Plenty of knowledgable guys here can help if you're interested. Believe it or not I've seen boats in far worse shape than that one turned into real gems for not as much money as you think.

At wide open throttle you trim down and then throw the boat into a hardddd right hand turn!! I'm in no way suggesting you do this either. Champion used to do breech turns as part of their demo ride to show their stability in a turn. No skipping with a Champ. The first time I did this I had someone else in the boat. I swear they nearly soiled themselves because I know I nearly did. I never did it again with someone else in the boat. I figured if I was scared they were probably twice as bad. Again, I'm in no way suggesting anyone try this. It's an EXTREME manuever.

I've got a qt size ziploc full of crappie fillets I caught on my trip last week. As for bass, I might keep a couple if mixed with other fish but I don't normally prefer the taste of the fish all that much.

Check your local regs and I'm not sure how well a river bass would adjust to life in a lake.

Someday I'll have to explain a breech turn to you. Now that's SCARY!! ;D

If I'm not mistaken, you have to maintain course and speed per the Coast guard since you're being passed (I'm not 100% on that though). If you're uncomfortable with handling wakes coming at you sideways you need to slow down by trimming down. Besides, bass boats flying past you at 70mph aren't going to throw much of a wake anyway. If your boat is decent handling at all you shouldn't have any problem.

I don't know you're fishing expertise but I generally try and avoid anyplace that has boats stacked up fishing unless I have no other choice. You're fishing very used water and the bass have probably already seen a half dozen brush hogs dropped in front of their nose by the time you got there. If in fact the fish were tight into the cover there's a few baits I'd try that were different from what anyone else was using. A jig and some kind of trailer, preferably pork. By late spring, many folks have stopped using pork as a trailer but it can be just as effective. Uncle Josh makes some flipping chunks with long tails on them that work really well in warmer water. A senko or sluggo type bait with a small nail or push-in lead weight right in the head so the bait sits tail up on the bottom and dead stick the thing. A 4 or 5 inch tube. I would've also tried slow rolling a spinnerbait down into that cover and tried to coax a reaction strike.

I've got a ton of fishing caps I've collected over the years but I got it in my head that I could never catch fish unless I was wearing a Red cap. I finally broke myself of that superstition a couple years ago by intentionally NOT wearing red caps and I've never noticed a difference. I'll give you a perfect example. That fish in my avatar, a 7 1/2 lber as I recall was caught at my buddies resort at LOZ about 10 years ago. I know, you're saying "Hey, you're wearing a blue cap!". No, not while I was fishing. I had the photo taken to put on his lunker board and put the cap on you see that had his resorts name on it. I still have that cap and have fished with success occasionally.

You haven't even come close to describing what you were doing for anyone to accurately disect your day and give you a hand. "Well, we fished 4 hours with brush hogs, worms and soft craws.... NOTHING. I fish very patiently, slow jigging, allow to fall, whole 9 yards" So you tied on some lures that the other guys were fishing and started casting (where?), you worked the lure patiently with a slow jigging action allowing it to fall and you got nothing. Where did you fish? Of the 2 types of cover available, laydowns and standing cypress which did you fish and how did you fish the cover? Did you use the same presentation all day long even though it wasn't buying you a strike? Is this an old oxbow lake? If so, have you attempted to look for any depth variances in the bottom, even a foot and then key on cover associated or close to that depth change. Is the only thing you tried soft plastics? Those are baits you use when you've usually found concentrations of fish or have locked onto a pattern. Soft plastics aren't very good search baits for finding fish fast. BTW, I know this may seem hard to believe but not all bass fisherman are completely honest especially when they're talking about what they caught their fish on. Some have gone so far as to......GASP........retie different lures onto the ends of their rods before coming into the weigh in. ;D

Where there's Hydrilla there's bass. That would be the first place I'd look and probably spend a lot of time there.