hootersdoug

Just make sure you fish her from the right hand side:)

That is what I was going to suggest. It is amazing how much boat you can get for @ $10k if you go used. Most fishermen are pretty meticulous about taking care of their bass baby. Also, if you want to move newer in a couple of years, you don't take a huge hit in depreciation on the used one. Glad to see you found what you were looking for so quickly. As part of the sale, ask your buddy who sold you the boat to give you some driving lessons. Bass boats can be a little quirky to drive, but it easy to learn if you have someone who knows what the secrets are to show you. Good luck to both you and your kid!!

It save $15 on my State Farm. I think that it is a good idea for everyone to take the class. Some of the stuff you learn you won't use much, but extra knowledge can never hurt!

You can also rebuild your trolling motor. I redid mine for about $135. Called Minnkota and got a new core. Took about 1 hour to redo it, works like a champ.

Does anyone know where to find hinges for the cockpit seats in a Skeeter?

Maybe stupid, but, are you sure that there is no prop rod or tabs that are keeping the motor from trimming all the way down? The first time I took my boat out, I had the same "worship the sky gods" with my bow.I didn't realize that a motor on a bass boat with a jack plate means that the back end of the motor is literally dragging in the water. With my Dad's V-hull, all the way down means the motor is pretty much parallel with the water. Full down on my boat is having the motor tipping away from the transom at about a 15 degree angle. As for the beeping, I would spend the money and have a pro look at it, It could be something simple you have overlooked, or,hopefully not, something as described above. Good luck!!!

Do any of you have a suggestion for how to mount a new BPS 3 bank charger in the back compartment of a '95 Skeeter 150 ZX? The directions say to allow 8" of clearance around the unit. My first thought was to mount it under the passanger cowling, but the wires are not long enough to reach back into the battery storage area. With the oil tank, gas tank and 3 batteries in there, the unit fits, but there is no way there is 8" of clearance. Any input would be appreciated!!

Looks awesome!!!

Just a quickie.... do you think it pays to send in a unit to have it repaired, (@ a 8 year old Lowrance X 85) or would it be wiser to replace it with something new?

On the Outdoor channel on Saturday, they had KVD showing how he worked spinnerbaits. This particular show, he was fishing for smallies, so he was working them pretty fast. (He mentioned that he fishes them slower for bigmouths) He did a lot of tempo changes, the occasional jerk, and some stop and go. I think that I may try to use some of his technique this summer. I usually fish slow with plastics. This method has worked well for me in the morning, but I think covering more water when the fish are neutral or slower will improve the catch. We will have to see!!

Prudish Elitests who Think Acutely Pretty Envious of Those Anglers

Looking good!! Look even better in the water with you holing up a 5 pounder on the front deck!!

Welcome to the bass flotilla!!

Scrubbing bubbles also works well on a lot of stuff!

Right on Ben..when you put the top plug in, the vaccuum will slow down it running out of the bottom hole, just like emptying a gas can...that is why they have a "vent"!

What do most of you do before the season to make sure your motor is good to go other than changing the lower unit fluid? I hooked up the flusher and thanks to gas stabilizer, it fired right up. Does anyone else have a nervous feeling about the fact that on a Mercury XRI, the water dosen't come out of the (for lack of a better term) "pee hole" until the thermostat opens??

Anyone out there know what I can do to "repair" the chips in the bow area gel coat?? Also, besides mud flaps, what can one do to cut down on the chipping while towing?? I am sure that these chips don't really effect performance, but I would like to keep the '95 looking new!!

To add to the lighter side of things, can y'all help me feel a little better. Please tell me I am not the only one in this site who has only remembered to put the plug in their boat once the water started coming through the vent in the floor in the cockpit. The second time I took the boat out, I took my parents with and thought the darn thing was sitting a little low in the water, but mind you my mom is one hell of a cook, so we are all a little larger than average( I did mentally add up our weights to make sure I was not overloading). Sure enough, I opened up the access to the gas tank/battery area and saw water. Had to retrailer the boat and let it drain/pump out. As Homer Simpson would say....DOH!!!!

Got to love it when there's more experience joining. Another cool thing would be to try to add up how many years of fishing experience there is between all of us. I can only add 34!!

One thing that sucks about living in Chicago is that the baitmonkey has 2 BPS Jungles to live in here. Right now he is going......E-E-E-E-go shop with your BPS card!!!! I might have to listen to him. I will post the results....

As far a buying a used boat, rely on either some of the guys on this site, or ask around your local small tourney participants. The boat I bought ('95 Skeeter ZX150/150 merc) was owned by 2 guys before me, but the person who fixed me up with the seller knew both previous owners, both of whom were anal. I picked up the boat for $10K, and have only had to replace the front depth finder which the seller told me was on the fritz. Most of these tourney guys want to move up to better boats, so they want to unload their "old" boat to someone who will take care of it. I did have the seller get a compression test and general check up on the motor, but offered to pay 1/2 of the cost if I bought the boat, which I did. You can get a lot more boat for the $$$ if you buy used, just be careful who you buy the boat from. Heck, if you don't mind driving to the Chicago area, I can call my contact and he can find a boat for you. He is sponsored by Skeeter and turns his boat over every year.

My 95 Skeeter feels like it is flying too....just realize that you have probably over 70% of the boat out of the water, so you are kind of flying. It does take a while to get used to handling a bass boat. First time I lauched mine, I spent @ 20 minutes plowing water, nose up across Williams Bay on Lake Geneva. Didn't realize that trimming the motor down with a jack plate is different than in my dads '76 deep V. On about the 21st minute, I got it right and yippeeeee!!! Took me about 4 times out before I hit full throttle...never drove a boat at @ 60mph before. Still learning that the trim button is your friend at times!!

Dad has a 1976 Starcraft/70 Merc with god only knows how many hours on it (Bass, Crappie, trolling for salmon on Lake Michigan) he still belives in his 1980 humminbird lcd depthfinder (I have gotten him some BPS gift certs. hoping he will move up on the depth finder so I can "see" fish in more than 120'!!!!) I have a 95 Skeeter ZX150/150 Merc and am currently updating the electronics. Dad always tells me "You sure look pretty in that thing" every time he outfishes me!!! I sure am glad I found this forum. Switching from live bait fishing to artificial takes some getting used to, but it is a LOT more fun...caught my first buzzbait fish last year!! Hopefully all of you will keep the learning curve going the right way....expect a lot of questions!!!

Sorry Chris...I will learn as I go.

Oops, should have told you that I do have a budget. That 987c looks awesome, but the eagle is closer to my price range!