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Not at all Muddy! You can find me in the bottom of my pool looking at worms and creature baits etc with a mask. LOL

Ben, Thank you again for bestowing your wisdom upon us. You truly have been a great resource for me getting to know bass boats. Best regards, Hydrilla

honestly original and brilliant!

sweet CGS, good to see someone is fishing the puddle. The gar fishing sounds like it could detour the bass fishing for a day or two. 20lbs is fun to catch!

Thanks Glenn! It has been hard finding one I like. This guy has been working on my boat for a year now and I think he is good as well. Thanks for the vote of confidence, cause when it comes to these things- you never know.

Thanks guys! When I bought this boat the old owner told me he replaced the impeller in the '89 Merc two years ago. My mechanic when I told him I got an 89' Merc said "you gotta replace those water pumps every two years for preventitive reasons" he said they were notorios for going out.

is a impeller (sp?) and a water pump the same item on a 89 merc 175 :-? Thank you for in advance!

I am pretty much with Daniel my brother, I really don't know, I lose track after the first 3 or 4. If it is a slooow day I remember, but if it's good I have to guess. I can tell you in the last 4 days I have caught around 33. guess for the year is around 350. But like said before, you can shoot a lot of rabbits if you are shooting them in the pen! ;D

I like it T-Rigged for pitching and flipping and the baby brush hogs are great for C-riggn What: the most popular C-rig goes something like this (from the rod side down) - brass weight, glass bead, ticker (optional), swivel, leader, bait. Drag it across the bottom pausing for strikes like fishing texas. I am sure you can type in carolina rig in the search area and find a TON of info about it on this site.

6-5-06 Eureak small watershed. Fished last night from about 7:00 to 9:15 on a small watershed E of Eureka. My buddy threw a buzz or spook all night and caught about 20 little bass and one 2 lbr. I tried to throw the weightless Senko and I caught a couple but I couldn't turn down the topwater with my buddy 'Tuna Boating' Bass after Bass. When it was over we caught nearly 40 Bass all but one under 1 lb. Almost all but about 5 on topwater. The owner of the lake really needs to let us cull that one. But he is very committed to C&R which isn't a bad thing. Good luck to all. Hydrilla

I put my boat on a 20 acre watershed near Fredonia. We fished for 4 hours and had kind of tough time with it. We were on by 7:00 am and the lake was glass. I didn't even fire up the big engine it was just still. My buddy ran a spook and buzz and couldn't get a fish, I went right for the senko and had good success for about an hour, when the sun came up we couln't buy a bank fish. The water was crystal clear and couldn't find a bass on a bed, I did however see a lot of empty ones. We found the fish in 8 to 10 foot of water in the grass beds and did well on mini carolina rigs and ..you guessed it Senko's (or Senko style) baits. NOTE: I missed a bunch, I mean a bunch of bites on the senko. I would get my worm back and only have half. My dumb butt didn't think to switch to a fry or something smaller with hopes of hooking those bites. we left around 11 am with 19 bass in the well. We took them to another new pond and released. I don't know if watershed reports are worth posting. Most of the time, I cannot brag about skill like putting together patterns on large lakes like the above posts but there it is. Shooting fish in a barrel. Going to Eureka tonight for a quickie. Hydrilla

I think the key ingrediant is private lake. We cull our private lakes constently. This year alone I have either moved or knifed over 200 Bass that were 14" or less (and that is just me) out of a buddies new pond to make room for us to start bringing over the bigger fish from his other ponds (4lbs or better). It is the public lakes that make me look twice, especially when they are low Bass population lakes to begin with. But if you keep fish and it's within the guidelines of the lake then have at it!

sweet JB that is exactly what i was looking for.

I have an extension handle but it doesn't go up. I see guys all the time with some sort of after market contraption that allows them to steer while standing up instead of bending over all the time. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

I have a new hand controlled bow mount TM that I do not like right now. The handle is so low I have to bend at the back all day or try to kick it w/my foot to turn the rascal. Is there any experianced hand controlled bow mount TM guys with advice on best way to use?

Champ, I'm your huckleberry Just picked it up from Big J. She is awesome! It is like someone froze the boat in time!

Wow Thanks guys for the awesome and informative replies. If I remember correctly, the prop had holes at the base.

ReelDoc- it is an '89 I am sure the prop is from around that era. oh yea - RD what is a PVS system?

or this http://www.boatbra.net/

I have been eyeing something like this - http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTarget=search&hvarTextId=74964&hvarAID=froogle&cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Marine%20%26%20Electronics_Boat%20%26%20Trailer%20Acc._Boat%20Covers%20%26%20Accessories-_--1-_-Hull%20Bra

I am negotiating to purchase a new boat (my current boat will be for sale if anyone is looking for a used '93 Stratos 201 Pro XL). Currently the boat has a stainless steel five blade prop. I have seen 4 blades but never a 5. What would be the pros and cons of a 5 blade prop? Has anybody ever dealt with something like this before?

I have been in a similar situation with my bow mount Motor Guide. When I stay at hotels, how do I protect it? Basically I came up with a system that will keep an honest man honest but if someone wants it they can have it! I cannot remove it without messing up my graph/transducer so I bought some logging chain and 2 locks and I lock it as tight as I can get it on the shaft (they would have to break the motor, unsrew the top half or cut the chain to get it off and lock the other half to my trailer. That was my solution, I welcome a better one!

I am in Kansas and the motor that came on my 20' was a 55lb. I ditched it and just purchased an 80 varialbe and it has been doing the job. Personally- In Ks, you need to at least go to a 24V system and as much thrust as you can afford - we are on the motor all day! take the scenario you have been experiancing out of play! Just my .02 Hydrilla

I was in the market last year - about the same budget as you. What has been said above about the engine is sooo important to get it checked out- run compression tests, etc. I ended up with a 93 Stratos 201 pro XL with a E-rude 200 for $5,000.00 (gel coat toast). She ain't perty but she is fully functional and runs like a striped ape. I don't think you can attack purchasing a used boat by determining what make and model first. I think you should be looking for the cleanest deal, whether it be a Ranger, Pro Craft, Skeeter, Stratos doesn't really matter as long as the engine is good and you feel it is priced correctly and like the boat.

On my '93 E-rude - I just took off the oil injector pump and I am now mixing my gas. I had heard horror stories of those going out and engines blowing and mine was acting up so I yanked it. Runs like a top now.