thomas15

Brett's_Daddy, I have to agree with much of the above, you are getting some very good advice. And I totally understand you want a boat now. I grew up on the Jersey Shore, we had boats, our friends had boats, everyone we knew had a boat. The only question was how big was your boat. When I got out on my own I tried to convince myself that I had boats out of my system and I did a very good job for over 30 years. I finally folded three years ago. I no longer live in NJ and it's lakes for me now. One of my good friends from NJ is a boat mechanic. Whenever in the past I got the itch to buy a boat I would go over to his place and look at all the work he had, that generally put the brakes on anything cheap. Anyway, when my son was about the age of yours I was drooling over something small but even then we didn't have the resources to buy anything with a motor and that needed a trailer. We had a canoe that costs $200.00 and we still have it and it's worth at least what we paid for it. But this isn't a matter of misery loves company, you are asking for advice and you are getting it. Not what you want to hear but in my opinion what you are getting is very good advice. The Starcraft you are looking at is very similar to my boat. Mine is a 2005 StarCraft 160, it has a 2005 50 HP Mercury. It's 16.5 feet long and I get about 35mph on the water with it, fast enough for the size and certainly not the slowest boat around. The only big difference between mine and the one above is mine has the console further astern than yours, this limits the amount of room behind the seats. That is the only thing I like about the StarCraft above better than mine. That is the only thing. Again, I have had mine 3 years and so it was 8 years old when I got it. In general I really like my boat, it's a bit small for more than 2 people but it is a solid little boat. I had a lot of problems with the motor the first year but other than that pure fun. It's in good condition and the trailer is good, I paid 5K for it. I have put at least another $500.00 in the actual boat since. I paid a fair price and got what I paid for. I would not expect to find anything similar condition for a whole lot less money than what I paid. Yes perhaps if I really made a job of it I might have done better but not that much better. All of the problems I had with the motor were paid for by the seller the only negative was it took about 4 boating months to iron out all the wrinkles. OK so I'm coming as an individual that likes StarCraft and would get another. But the fact that this boat spent all that time tied up in the water is in itself a good reason to forget about this boat. Why you ask? An aluminum boat has a skin and maybe the floor deck made of aluminum but under that deck is foam that does two things. One is it adds buoyancy and the other is rigidity. Some will argue, "but the foam in my starcraft is closed cell" ok, maybe, but if any water is under the floor then it is in the foam. There are three ways water can get into the foam, rain water sitting in the boat with plug installed (or leaves blocking the drain hole), a leak around the holes for the electronics and a leak in the live well plumbing. To find out if the foam is waterlogged takes some knowhow. Water in the foam will rot any wood (yes some aluminum boats have wood in the transom) and water weighs 8.3 pounds/gallon, so 50 gallons of water in the foam is 400 pounds of additional weight. Not saying that the boat is waterlogged but I would be very surprised if it didn't have at least some water in the foam. All of this worry goes away when you are looking at a Jon boat or similar that doesn't have a deck. Stuff hiding under the deck. Again a good honest 14' aluminum with a 10 or 20 HP is a great way to learn basic seamanship skills especially on small water. Our main boat when I was a kid was a 14' Bay Skiff (my Dad made this boat) powered by a 5.5 HP outboard. In an environment where everyone had a boat ours had 5 horsepower and somehow I survived to adulthood. One thing to remember is there is always someone with a bigger nicer boat no matter what you get. You can buy any boat you want since your an adult but the truth of the matter is your price range means getting: 1) cool looking, faster with lots of potential problems or 2) boring and slow but honest and solid. It's really that simple. Things that are NOT a selling point for a used boat are "New Floor" hiding other problems, "one small soft spot" again hiding problems, "needs new carpet", hiding a soft spot. Boats rot from the bottom up so by the time the deck is soft the transom and stringer are whooped.

NJ does not care that the boat is registered out of state you must comply with NJ laws. I'm in PA and have a PA registered boat and a PA boat operators license but I received it (the license) on-line. I'm of the opinion that NJ will not recognise this license, it has to be an in-class license. I say this in-spite of the fact that I'm a certified water rescue tech. in PA and have water and boat rescue certificates issued by the PA Fish and Game Commission. Anyway, you are going to need a license in NC also. The thing is you first have to attend a safety class and then get the license. Your NC registered boat must have all of the required safety equipment for the state you are operating in. If you get one in NJ from a classroom training environment (not on-line) then you are probably good to go anywhere in the country. Call the NJ Marine Police station nearest you and be sure. The double check with NC.

I'm in the Poconos. Transplant from NJ

My advice to you is stay away from any of the other boats out there. There are a lot of crazies on the water. This is what I tell my son, when you get near to another boat, cut back on the speed and keep as much distance between you and him as possible. This applies double to jet skiers. They want to get close to you to jump your wake which is ok but they are in general careless drivers. No wake zones are just that . Go slower than you think, like go very slow. Don't forget to put the plug in, remove the tiedown strap before launching the boat, PFDs for everyone, raise the motor before backing down the ramp, lowering the motor before starting and reversing this procedure when taking the boat out of the water. Keep an eye on gasoline consumption. Outboards use a lot of fuel. Running out of gas on the water sucks. Boating is fun but mistakes cost real money.

Mike If you haven't already you might find maps of the various Pocono lakes available from Con Walton (google it or most tackle stores have them). Also fishing hot spots has a map for the pack. I live right around the corner literally from the Pine Run boat ramp at Beltzville and I really cannot give sound advice on where exactly to fish it but if you have a time in mind to visit the lake I may have some insights to offer. It's not a huge lake (950 acres) and I would avoid it on the weekends for sure. I haven't figured Beltzville out yet, hopefully this will be the year I do! Nice area though, very scenic and basically no development along the shoreline. Deep clear water, some parts of the main lake over by the inlet for the dam are 140 feet deep. 20 feet off the boat ramp at pine run the water is 50-60 feet deep. There are shallow areas up in the creek arms and even in the main body of the lake, by the power lines and on the northern shore near the dam. During the spawn the bass are thick as fleas up by the preachers camp boat ramp opposite shore.

As trout season opens in my area I'm planning to keep a pole in the car so that I can stop for a quickie on the way home from work. I think this kind of tackle box would be great for that purpose. Let me know if you make any for sale I will buy one.

Would it make sense to target smallies at the pack?

You can say that again.

Well played Sir!

I have been putting off a TW order, I want to get some braid for my new swimbait rig and some plano boxes. So your pictures of the Berkley charteruse shad forced my hand.

^^^ We have all been there!

Every time I'm in walmart I buy a bag of plastics or a spinner bait or crank bait. I do this year round and have been doing this for years. As a result I have a lot of baits but only at about $4.00 at a time.

I agree with Fishing Rhino. My advice is look for a smaller tin that is newer, lighter and will perform well with an electric TM or small gas outboard.

Will you be fishing from a boat or the bank? Is your water deep or shallow? While the air might hit 60 degrees, the water will be in the low 40s most likely, maybe in the 30s. So think about where the fish are, they will not be active and will be in their winter places, so find the remaining structure/weeds and concentrate there. Most will say use jerk baits and fish it slow. FYI I'm not comfortable giving out advice. Others will hopefully offer up more.

I don't know about this exact boat, I have a slightly smaller StarCraft tin with 50 HP Merc. Others I'm sure will respond but I'm sure you will really like the boat. Probably going to get top speed in the mid to high 30s maybe a bit more. Tins are not as smooth as glass at speed and get blown around more In the wind but I'm sure the upgrade will greatly increase your fun on the water. Mercury outboards are good but they are not maintence free. You will find that your using a lot more fuel than what your used to. Good luck with your new boat. Launch day is gonna be here soon.

I enjoy your reports Wolfy.

I'm up in Carbon County so I cannot help. Question though, are you looking for a place to bank fish or boat? Welcome to Eastern PA!

Really love the rooms! I have an ammo handloading bench with is my get-a-away. Most of my fishing tackle is in my shed, fairly well organized but in several different locations.

I agree, the prices are getting high. Everything is expensive that has to do with fishing. Firearms are the same way. But take any weekend at the local lake and there are numerous fiberglass bass boats with everything probably costing 50K + and the average fishing pole/reel combo is $300.00 or more. So I guess $5.00 for a jig in perspective isn't going away but I hate to pay that price and I really hate it when I lose one. I'm with the previous poster though, I have many packages of Arkies from walmart.

If your foam core is waterlogged then you need to replace the foam. Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon. 50 gallons in the foam adds 415 pounds weight to the boat which is like adding two adult passengers to your fishing trip. If there is wood in the transom or the stringers then the water in the foam will rot that wood. If there isn't any wood then you still need to replace the foam because waterlogged foam will not dry out even if you have it out of the weather and in a barn for 10 years. So if the foam is waterlogged and is coming out you have a lot of work ahead of you. More work if there is wood in the stringers/transom. Either way it's still a lot of work.

My advice is take the TM off the boat and take it to a repairman keeping in mind that a new one will probably cost about $400.00 BTW, the All Terrain is the same as the Edge. There is quite a bit going on under the hood of these devices. Can't help you with the fiancé but even small simple boats are still boats and a boat is a code word for expensive. Old Indian saying "Boats costs much Wampum"

Unless you are up for a total restoration then I agree with Way2slow, just go out and fish the daylights out of it, as is.

I used 3/8 spinnerbaits with a 6'6" medium pole no problem. I used 8 pound mono but at the time I really didn't give lure weight vs. pole backbone that much thought. I just went out and fished! Another suggestion is of your are not already doing so every time you are in WalMart check to see if they have any crank baits in the cheap bin. Last spring my local walmart had a dump packed with storm cranks for $1.99 ea I bought about 25 of them. I had a friend that was just starting so I put about 20 of then in a bag and just gave them to him. Sometimes you can get good deals at Dicks also.

Another vote for spinnerbaits. Also shallow running cranks that are not as easy to lose as medium cranks. When I was a bank beater I lost a lot of tackle. Top waters like pop-r and buzz baits also might work.

Are those punch weights under the rage tails in your picture?