martintheduck

Yea dude... you're pretty much up the creek with no paddle trying to contact xpress. I'll send you a pm to some more helpful info.

First time REAL boat owner checking in ---- Take every opportunity possible to get out in other peoples boats. NOW, Heres the process I went through that totaled up to about a year worth of thinking, list making, browsing... What can my tow vehicle handle? The truck I had at the time was sufficient to haul any boat I was interested in. Price range? I decided I was wanting to get in something for around $6-10k. I changed that later on though and I will get to that in a bit... What kind of water will I fish? HP Restrictions? Will I be wanting to move from small lake fishing to big lake fishing? - I concluded I wanted at LEAST a 90hp on whatever boat I got. One of the lakes I love fishing has a 50hp limit, so I had to nix that lake off the list. I found myself more intrigued getting into big lake fishing and river fishing, so I decided I needed at LEAST the 90 hp. Aluminum or fiberglass? I decided on aluminum after I read Mike Iconellis book - he talks about winning his first glass boat and slamming it pretty hard into a dock when he is launching it, thus breaking a decent size hole in his hull. I knew I'd be getting into a learning curve solo boating with a legit boat, so I chose aluminum. Good decision on my part. What kind of setup do I want? Console steer or stick steer? I went with console What amenities are a MUST have? Storage? 4 stroke engine vs 2 stroke? Graphs? rod lockers? My only MUST was decent storage. After getting my boat, I'm really happy it has an 8ft rod locker capable of holding around 10 rods. New or used? Obviously, you're like me and going to be looking for used... so that brings us to the next point.... How USED is okay with me? I decided I was fine with mid mid 90's til current models so long as it was in decent looking shape. I looked at quite a few boats and walked away from all of them because there was something just not right with them. Crappy interiors, super dinged up hulls, just old and unkept stuff... Keep an eye on craigslist and see what boats you like are being listed for in your area. In my $6-10 price range I was finding stuff similar to what I wanted, but all of them were coming up in poor condition and just lacking something. After eyeing craigslist for months, I ended up going to take a look at a few boats and take them all out. I passed on all of them because something was just wrong with them. I got discouraged and decided I'd be willing to go up to $19 to get into something close to brand new that wouldn't give me any major problems for a long time. Ended up in an Xpress h-18 with a 150hp for $19 about 2 weeks later. Love it still to this day. Great boat. NOW - bear something in mind here - Almost no matter what boat you get into, inevitably you will want "more" after fishing out of it for a period of time. With all of that out the way, it seems like you're just interested in getting a john type boat. Mid 90's Tracker boats go from around $2,000-$3,000 in my area with a 50hp motor. Great boat and good for smaller applications and can handle big lake/ river fishing to a degree. That was the first boat I bass fished out of and would highly recommend those. Or, ya know, a john boat with a tiller and a ply-wood deck is another good option, just not really going to be suitable for bigger applications.

Do those have inserts? I've used 1/8oz for "split shot" rigging but never the big ones... heck didn't even know they made big ones!

Just remember -- if you get hung up, don't yank on it from where you are... troll out and over your line/past your line and pull from that direction. I haven't lost any weights this year from hanging in rocks

He'll get in a decent used at that price - not possible to get in a new engine under 2k

7'6 or 7'2 MH xfast tip rod. 7:1 or faster gear ratio reel. I go with 17# fluro for the reel because if you get hung up, you can't break braid. Run a 3/4oz tungsten flip weight > Tungsten/glass bead (optional and situational)> Plastic bead > 12 barrel swivel > mono leader > hook. Depending on where I'm fishing, I might use a tungsten barrel weight instead of a flippin' weight. I find the flippin' weight doesn't get hung as much as a barrel. The Plastic bead is key IMO because it's easier on the knot and won't break it.I've also recently started putting a bobber stop on between the barrel swivel and the bead to further protect the knot.

Just kind of hit me a second ago, any of you guys try fishing a spoon with a swivel? How did it go?

God speed! Just make sure that transom isn't all cracked out and rotted!

I like that. I do a lot of night fishing already but I guess ive never really had much intention of leaning anything about "feel" when i go out there. Will keep this nugget of gold for the coming trips. I also like the tips about concentrating. I know, like many of us, i am sometimes the victim of just being oblivious to whats REALLY going on - I'm just chucking and winding. STAY FOCUSED! Like it!

What advice would you give for improving strike detection?

I imagine it's going to help.

If it looks like it's in decent shape and ready to fish, you could get $1500 I imagine around these parts. I agree with the other guys... take the graph off and sell it separate. People in the market for a flat bottom boat around here don't need a nice graph and don't care much about it.

I use fluro right now and am going to swap to braid with a 30lb leader if needed.

Ever since I changed to a deep throat hook for my flipping jig, I have never had a fish spit a hook. **knocking on wood**

Dude - no way was there a big ole' hole in that fishes mouth. His mouth was a straight slaunch donkey. Okay - maybe he could have gotten a huge hole in his mouth and I considered that. I just don't think based on what I investigated before posting here, that ripping a hole is the problem. I think line stretch and too stout a hook along with the giant weight are the problem