3dees

those things have jaws like pit bulls. don't know how many spinnerbaits I had to throw away because of the damage done by bowfin. I would rather go fishless.

finally got got on the water. I swapped the alum. prop with a 20" laser II. can't believe how fast it gets on plane with so little throttle. breaking the engine in so I could'nt push it but I opened it up for a few seconds with just a little trim and showed 56mph on the speedo. I have to wait a while before I get the gps. so far the boat is much better than I expected.

Wayne, I see what you mean. I'll change that today. thanks for the heads up. the dealer installer should have seen that.

the HDS5 is not a downscan. you would have to add the lss which would be another 550.00 or so. the Elite 5x is downscan, but a stand alone unit. can't network or add sidescan.

I was working on the boat today and noticed that. I need to make sure I dock the motor the right way.

are you talking about a transducer for the tm? I have a Lowrance Elite5 dsi on my tm. I love it and the tm adapter makes it hard to hit anything. I got the adapter from LEI.com for 20.00.

it's 19'. my last two boats were 19 1/2' Stratos's and this deck is bigger than both.

makes you wonder about these Japanese lures selling for 5 times more than other lures. I'll put my 5.00 bandit crankbaits up against those luckeycraft lures that are so beautifully painted any day. what they catch is fishermen.

I don't have a garage but I do have the cover. I have a third party cover that I had for my old Stratos that is like new. I'll put that over the Crestliner cover during the winter.

my new Cresliner is finally here. feels a bit different than my old Stratos but it has plenty of storage and the front deck is huge. not much bling and with the 115 Optimax it won't see 75mph but it should be cheaper to run and my Ford Edge pulls it with ease.

I'm going to start with some good aluminum polish and see how it does. I'm a fanatic about cleaning my boat. maybe if you don't let the metal get bad in the first place sharkhide won't be needed. a lot of tin boats out there and maybe we can get some feedback on what others are using.

I asked around about this product and everyone says it does what is stated. I wanted to coat my brand new tin but the smallest amount is a quart for 58.00 plus shipping. seems like a lot for half a boat ( half painted) since it's supposed to last for years.

depends on what water you fish and what you want out of the boat. big wide lakes I would go with glass. for speed again the glass. my last two boats were 19 1/2' Stratos's with 200hp. I'm at that age where speed is'nt that important anymore and I fish smallish lakes. I just bought a new Crestliner VT19 aluminum with a 115 optimax. the front deck is larger than the Stratos. none of the bling of the glass but I won't have to trade in my Ford Edge to pull it and with the price of gas I don't think I'll regret it. I know there are some spots on the Mississippi river that I will fish that I would never dare with the glass boat.

football head jigs and Chompers 4" double tailed skirted craws in shades of pumpkin os watermelon. Bass Pro used to sell 3" skirted craws and I had a load of them. got about a dozen left and can't find the 3" ers anymore.

I think a depthfinder is a must unless you do nothing but beat the banks. are these new dsi, di, si units going to put more fish in the boat? they look great and I ordered a dsi unit for the bow of my new boat. that being said, do you think the pros are doing any better then 15 years ago when they were using gray scale 2d finders? I don't think so. they should be better than the older units but they are not going to make you a better fisherman if you don't understand the basics of how fish relate to structure. used right a 200.00 unit can be just as effective as a 2000.00 unit.

lowrance mark 5x for 155.00 or mark 5x pro with dual frequency for 200.00. 5" screen high res. great units for the money.

for quality I'll go with a chompers 4" dbl. tailed skirted craw in pumpkin or watermelon on a football jig. for quanity it's old school. 4" slider worm on 1/8th oz jig.

here in Illinois the law is if there is a store in the state then you pay tax. they are trying to pass a new law where you will pay tax no matter what. how I hate this state.

it's been a while but I used to fish Kentucky Lake twice a year. absolutely love it. caught my biggest bass there.. 71/2 lb. smallie. totally different kind of lakes here around Chicago. hope to visit KY lake again sometime soon.

just found this site and like what I see. I started fishing in 1970 with my cousins. fished for northern pike and musky. I quickly became addicted to bass. gave up the sport 3 years ago due to major nerve damage in my back. also gave up the love of my life. a 2003 Stratos 295 Pro XL w/ 200 Opti. never thought I would be able to fish again but the back is a bit better now so I ordered a 2011 Crestliner VT19 with a 115 Optimax. after many years of glass boats this will be my first tin. I have a smaller tow vehicle and with the gas prices today I think I'll be happy with this setup. don't know how my back will hold up, but I'm retired and going crazy with boredom. can't think of a better cure than to be out on the water again.