martintheduck

They have a floating one... it will say "floating" on the top of the bag...there is salt in them, but not a WHOLE bunch. Had good luck with em. I mean, ZOOM trick worms have salt in them too, but I've used those on a SH with great success. The regular straight tail robo's are PACKED with salt... def don't want to use those on a SH

Came here to say this.

Well thats pretty swift there bud. Congrats! Pics when you get it.

Anyone have some experience with this? I've got my eye on the 898c HD SI and am not too keen of mounting it on the hull. I've got a pro hi jacker hp jackplate, and it appears there are some pre drilled holes for mounting a transducer. Where can I find a pre-made L bracket to fit?

I make paracord duck call lanyards, so I actually just made up a nice trolling motor rope last night. Funny story - Went to go look at the boat. We took her on a spin in the channel then stopped to check everything out. He went to pull the trolling motor up and the rope snapped!!! He hlooked at me with this look of "oh dang... I just messed up." I laughed about it and told him "it's okay its okay.... that happens all the time." As for the Xpress catalogue and you talking about getting one.... just got back from the lake and took her on a spin. RODE LIKE A DREAM! It was blowing about 15 when I got out but calmed down within an hour. Topped out at 51 with a 3/4 tank gas. Ran through some nice size wake and waves and just skipped right across. Didn't get wet at all. I love it. Big deck. Lots of storage. GREAT hole shot. Im super stoked! I'm really happy I spent a little extra and got something other than a Tracker. I can guarantee if I would have bought something smaller than an 18 and slimmer than a 96" beam, I would be ANGRY right now. My buddy kept telling me "whatever boat you get, once you get in the water, you'll start thinking I should have got something else." I'll tell you, I think I got something that will provide me years of pleasure.

Been driving a chevy since 2005. First one bought new in 05', put 120k miles on it, never had a major problem, then some girl hit me and totaled me out. Bought a new one in 2011 and have 38k on it. Great trucks. Chevy-vs-ford-vs-toyota... blah blah.... I GENUINELY believe that with the technology today, any model will run well for 150k-200k before getting some kind of issue. Before I pulled the trigger on the 2011, I went and looked at Toyota's and Ford's.... ultimately decided on the chevy because I like the way it drives and feels behind the wheel. Toyota felt HUGEEEEEEEE. Behind the wheel of an f-150 just felt odd. Went back to chevy.

First - Thanks to everyone on BR forum (and some other forums) for helping me through the boat buying process. A lot of questions popped up and you guys were always more than happy to help. Many MANY thank you's! This is my first official decked bass boat. GOODBYE JON BOAT! Now - Here's the new beauty. Ready to skip town and put her on the water the rest of the week! 2011 Xpress H18SS w/ Yamaha Vmax 150. Has HB 365i @ console and Lowrance x50DS @ bow. Will be putting the HB up front and getting a HB 898HD next month. Nabbed it within 3 hours of it going on craigslist from a 65 year old insurance salesman for 19. Absolute MINT condition and EXACTLY what I wanted. SO happy I waited it out and didn't pull the trigger on one of the other messes I found myself getting into.

For anyone who is still looking into this seat discussion - find something with a higher back. The low backs get pretty uncomfortable.

I came here to say this. I owned a 2005 Silverado with 2 wheel drive and on MORE than one occasion found myself "up the proverbial creek without a paddle." Had to get a buddy to pull me out a culvert once and a tow truck to pull me from just a tiny mud hole. It was a huge ego blow Bought a 2011 Z71 and am SO VERY HAPPY I GOT IT! The 4X4 has been used MANY times. As for launching boats with 4X4, I've only had to use it twice when at this sketchy ramp where concrete has broken away and it is REALLY muddy. SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY ON 4X4. I 100% guarantee you will at some point find yourself saying "glad I got the 4 wheel drive."

ZOOM Fluke's.

Black when in brighter conditions and white when in darker (overcast) conditions.

Did not even think to do a separate bill of sale for just the trailer. I'm sure they'll want that at the freakin' DMV. As for value of the trailer, finance company looked all the values up before "okay'ing" the final loan. Trailer is nada value @ $1500.

From quickly reading over the posts here, I didn't spot anyone mentioning the lack of space on the 170. Only looked inside one 170 before (a 2008 model) and there was NO room to add a third battery (to run 24v's). I mean, it was a real puzzle to fit the two batteries in there correctly. You might have to look into relocating your cranking battery somewhere else. 45lb TM definitely isn't going to do too well for you on open water.

This is all I wanted to know. Many thanks. Will be watching it soon

I NEVER use the double hooks on the ribbits. I use a 4/0 Twist lock EWG hook. Owner makes a REALLY good one (the angle of the barb is PERFECT and sits right on the frog). The twist lock is essential to keeping the bait useable. I land multiple fish on one frog.

Well... according to Paul Elias when he set the heavyweight bass record on falcon lake a few years back.... He said he had an OLD random bag of Mann's 12inch jellyworms sitting around and thought "what the heck, i'll bring those." He left the house and felt like he was forgetting something, and remembered THE JELLY WORMS! Turned around and went to pick them up. He ended up catching some winning fish on that lure. He was glad he brought them. Moral of the story - don't throw any of it away unless they are broken or dried out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQaDcqt2weM - Part 1 of 3 parts. It's a good watch.

I practice this constantly in my back yard just to stay up to snuff. I've never really thrown much science into topwaters. If I'm fishing, and I see fish splashing, I'll throw a top water. If they aren't splashing too. I get to a spot and might feel a wild hair and cast a cpl times with one - If I don't get a hit, I'll switch to something else. Before I leave a spot, I might throw a top water a cpl times to try for any last hits. I have NEVER used a topwater with the idea "this is what I MUST throw to catch fish." Anytime I've gotten a topwater hit, I also get fluke hits and worm hits.

I did countless forum searches and google seaches. Read at LEAST 30 articles/threads relating to overall used boats, outboards exclusively, and glass-vs-aluminum. I can tell you though... my checklist went something like this: Meet seller. Introduce myself. Tell them "I'd just like to take a second and check out a few things." (try to get them to be quite so I can concentrate and not get sidetracked) Walk up. Check hull for gouges and overall condition... walk all the way around and give a GOOD look. Check trailer. walk all the way around. Check tires, shocks, tubing, and look for rust and dangerous wear. Also try to get a view of the bunks. Look at outboard. Check skeg and prop for damage. Check jack plate (if applicable) Lift rear compartment hatch. Grab a flashlight and give everything a good look back there. Rust? Corrosion? Standing water? Clean or dirty? Smell like gas? THEN move to the interior of the boat. At this point I'd start talking to the seller again. Everything now is just smaller details in my opinion. It's pretty easy to take a quick look at the interior and flip and the switches. By this point, I'll know if I even want to take it out on the water. If you want to take it on the water, figure something out with the seller. This is the point I'd ask about it's service history - who's worked on it, last time water pump changed, any documents to verify work? After test driving, if you are interested in buying, tell them you want to have a checked by a mechanic. If they agree, great, if they don't want you to, RUN AWAY. Maybe that is a little helpful. Maybe not. Heres the mental checklist I ran when I was actually in the water testing boats. Granted, I never really got through the whole thing except on one boat.... it did help me decide to pass on 2 boats. Let owner launch the boat. Once boat is off the trailer, give a good inspection of the trailer. Check bunks for rot. Did motor start easily? Pee stream pumping well? Does trim work correctly? Get on plane easily? Does trim work correctly? (If applicable) GPS and graphs work? Handle well at full speed? At this point, I'd slow down ALOT, and frankly, kind of drive like a swerving idiot to test the steering. If everything is working good, cut off engine. Test trolling motor, bilge pump, livewell. Load boat back up. At this point, you will know if you want to buy or not. Don't let anyone make you feel pressured. If there is ANY doubt ...even a LITTLE.... take time to "sleep" on it

I don't anticipate it being very educational. It seems to be more of a video on "look at how stupid big these bass are." From what I gather, they throw huge Huddleston trout into lakes stocked with trout. They catch HUGE bass.

Problem solved. Thanks fellas.

First I'll say you might want to spend an extra $30 and get a Falcon Bucoo. Love mine. AWESOME rod. Now... for your original price.... Try a Shimano Sellus or Clarus. Don't know if any of the 3 I mentioned are made in bigger than a 7'6.

Was looking into 898c HD. Do you guys know the difference between the 700's, 800's, and 900's?

I can't speak much on how to store the boat, but I will chime in an make the recommendation: pull your soft plastics out the boat. Heat has never done anything good for mine. Had bitsy trailers literally melt before.

Big Bass Dreams... if you haven't seen the trailer, look it up. Was thinking about buying it. Anyone seen it yet? Worth it?

I don't know about y'all, but when I set a jig I RIP the hell out of that hook.