RobDar

Wont be a problem. even after you finish the upgrades you Eagle will tow it. The towing capacity should be on the inside drivers door frame.

Fishing line was my problem...

first MY OPINION on the livewell... the smaller aluminum boats usually have 16 gallon wells or there abouts... but the wells in other boats come as big as 35 gallon... so I would size your live well based on what kind of fishing you plan to do. If you are going to be mostly bass and or crappie fishing...or putting bait in it...then the smaller will likely do ya. The 16 gallon is really cramped with 5 keeper fish though...so if you are going to fish tourneys or anything I would definately go larger. Too small of a live well, even with circulation, and without fresh water intake or water exchange will spoil the water very quickly. The trolling motor... you should size the motor to the wire you plan to use. The rule of thumb explained to me is that each pound of thrust is roughly one amp of electrical usage. So a 30lbs motor with draw around 30 amps on full speed. ( my 52 lbs motor draws 46.7 on full speed according to my amp meter) The wire is more important than it is usually given credit. Keeping in mind you will likely not be running around wide open all of the time...there will be times when you are...and active DC motor loads like a trolling motor induces alot of heat. ( the wire and connections heat quickly) Heat causes resistance...and resistance causes heat...it is a self replicating problem and round and round you go on your way to a problem. If you over heat the wire and add resistance to it...your amperage goes up...and battery life goes DOWN. You use more battery power to the same amount of work. It is an electrical efficiency thing... Do yourself the favor as well to use welding wire ( other something similar) rather than typical house wire. Typical house wire is 19 strands...welding wire has a multitude more strands ( electricity travels on the outside of each strand)....it is more flexible, more resistant to heat, and operates more efficiently in these kind of conditions. #10 gauge wire for 30 amp # 8 for 40 amp # 6 for 60 amp yadda yadda

This is my first season with the Sufix and so far I like it fine. It does not have as much stretch as... hmmm...brain fart...cannot think of what it is the wife uses... (going out to the boat) Berkley Vanish but at any rate I use her line on my crank bait rod because I like the stretch it has... other than that I like it fine. I was worried about it having too much memory when I first loaded it on the reel...seemed stiff...but I have had no problems with memory at all.

BINGO! Glad I read this or I would have been accused of plagerism! Keep in mind as well...that baitcasters are somewhat more personal than spinning equipment. The settings I use will not work for my father in law as an example. He runs his tighter than I like mine...preferring to use the brake and reel settings for control and I run my much looser amd more free. So while people can offer you some general advice...some of it will be the "feel" you develope for your reel and rod.

Good Idea...

thanx for the suggestion Cephkiller... this was a run of the mill crank...bandit copy from the looks of it... but I will keep that little tid bit in the ole brain file...under helpful hints.

I can skip successfully about 50% of the time. Depends on the lure. I cast side arm with a bait caster so my first couple skips were actually completely accidental. Threw out a bait and was like...oh well looky there... I do find that I can pull it off with my more expensive shimano casters...but still cannot avoid the birdnest with my cheaper cating reels. They always tangle. What I did was start with heavy lures/setups and taper off the weight as I practiced.

I think you will find there is a big difference in the gas tank and your boat. Your boat has flex and twist and I have found that most of the putty type products break and pop off. Where is the crack at? The only sure ( well not SURE and you will read why) fix is to have it welded. If it is a jon style it will not be a problem. If it is a "bass" style boat you will have a real hard time finding anyone to do it without stripping the interior. Someone had welded my boat. The second year I owned it, it started leaking...THE WELDS were leaking. I took it to a friend of mine who has an industrial welding service and he said that they probably did not strip the boat when they did it and...being worried about starting the foam/interior on fire...they tried to cool the welds or cooled them too quickly. This left the welds pourous and they cracked and started leaking. Depending on the boat, it age, and its value...you can try the putty. I did it two years ago and so far it is okay. I actually used a scotch3M aluminum 2 part epoxy/adhesive. I think it was the 5200 but would have to look back to remember for sure. The surface prep will kill you. It took me a long time...lying on my back under the boat with a grinder...getting the metal clean and preped as it did to put the expoxy on. Took two days to prep and maybe two hours to put the putty on. The metal has to be CLEAN! you have to get it down to fresh unstained and undamaged aluminum. I went a step further and painted the bottom ( except where the bunk boards on the trailer go) of the boat with truck bed liner to seal the rivets. I only wanted to do this once...and was worried I would patch the leaks and have more show up in a year or two. It did the trick...but it is a messy, terrible job. I would wear a rain suit cause the bedliner soak through everything and completely ruins any fabric it comes across. Even the white tyvec suits do not work. The prep on this is the same...alot of work...you have to get the whole bottom CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN ( more time on your back with a grinder)...then paint it with a Sherwin Williams primer...then put on the bed liner ( the bed liner will not stick to aluminum) If it is a Jon boat style...the best solution I have seen was the truck bed liner...but on the inside. If I were to work out an hourly wage...( my time is worth X amount of dollars)...I would have been better off spending the $1500 on the same boat ( Tracker Pro Team 175) that was for sale around the corner from me.

anyone have trouble with the bass pro XPS series lures? The last two cranks I bought... One does not run right and I cannot get it reshaped to run right...I have tried everything and the thing just spins in the water...like they do when the line raps under and throught the hook. The second got a little bump...tossed it out and it bumped a barge just before hitting the water...it came back missing most of its finish and full of water.

LOL! LOL! yeah I think if I fished with that driver we would have to keep a heart deflibulator in the dry tackle storage!

Oh Dear Lord.... Cant remember where I came across this pic at...

...as a tournament director I can tell you that we take the health of the fish very seriously. We try to be as careful as possible...but yes, all of them do not make it. I hate to know that a tourney fish has died. ...and frankly all of the fish that are caught and released by the guys fishing for fun do not make it either. You may not see the dead loss...as we do not always see it...(we have had three tourney this year and allthe fish went back in alive and well...that does not mean they all stayed that way)...but the stress and handling does kill fish. There is a mortality rate for fun fishing and tourney fishing...catching fish can kill them, plain and straight.

going by dealer is a great suggestion and a big concern of mine as well. I have called literally dozens in my area and there is one that always comes up on top. They always call me back when I leave a message. Never have the "well if you are not buying right now I do not want to talk to you" attitude...and are always helpful. I was looking into aluminum as well...but the wife wants fiberglass....and what the wife wants... The three boats are pretty similar...which is how they ended up grouped together. The Ranger is a little more pricey but it comes standard with some things that are options or upgrades on the Stratos and the Triton...and when you start taking ALL THAT into account this boat thing gets really confusing. I do not like the fiberglass fenders on the Ranger trailer. ( Silly huh...but it is a maintanence thing) I have fished from both the stratos and the triton...and I really like the ride of the stratos. It is the cheapest of the three, but likely NOT after the very basic options are upgraded to something actually functional. Once you add in the options it ranks right up there with the Ranger. Same with the Triton...though the Triton seems to hold its resale best of the three. The money on the tourney trail is also a good suggestion...I jjust fish local circuts though so is not a concern for me.

If you were to choose between the... Triton TR175 Stratos 275XL Ranger 175VS Which would you lean towards and why?

a fifteen year loan on a boat???? I cannot imagine wanting a boat bad enough for that. I agree with the folks who said be careful with financing... I have been widdling down my boat choices for two years now...and if I go NEW...I will likely have to finance some part of it, but will wait until I have at least half as a down payment...and will finance for the shortest possible/affordable term. Finacing is dangerous and should be avioded/minimized when ever possible. I would also wait until that magical time when a new model year is released and dealers have last years models to get rid of...save a few bucks that way. as far as USED goes...I just had a great conversation with a guy in our tourney club who thinks alot like me. He boat shopped for three years...watched the adds, ebay, Iboats...all the places that sold boats...waiting patiently for that one boat he just had to have. He ended up with a 1990 Ranger and this boat looks showroom new! It is this gorgeous little time capsule of a boat that was owned by an old man who fished now and again and took FABULOUS care of his boat. He had it professionally detailed every fall before closing it up...was always stored indoors...he said the boat never even saw rain and I would believe it. Buying a boat is one situation where patience is definately a virtue.

Anyone runnng an E-tec???? I hear some dealers say they are top notch...others say they are not...and one dealer ( who I will not name) said that they are a good motor and anyone who says that they are not probably does not like them because they do not know or have not schooled themselves on servicing them... I thought this was kind of funny... Personally I prefer opinions from people who actually use them...

I agree..everstart.... I have also had good luck with the top end Die Hards.

good point Burley...sir

I feel the action of the lure is important. This is why presentation an important part of fishing. The weeds ruin that.

Potato Creek again...( my problem lake) We did alright I guess...we caught a total of twelve. Just three keepers though. Mostly shorts. Cloudy, raining on and off. water temp 62-64 air temp 65 water stained all fish caught in 4-8 feet water off drops near weeds in shallow water 2 fish-10" 7 fish - 12-13" 3 fish - 14-15" ( our keepers) 3 fish caught on white red chatter 4 fish caught on Cranks ( chatruse and black 3-5') 2 fish caught on plastic worm 3 fish caught on Spinner ( black and Gold willow blade) The pictures atached are weighed in fish...NOT MINE OBVIOUSLY

I guess I am just one of those guys who believes that there is a difference in what you can afford and the "value" of a thing...and I always ask that question...what is the actual value here? If you are someone who places alot of value on 70MPH and the roar of a 250 Horse motor...then you will of course judge things differently...which is fine...that is why capitalism works. I guess it could be argued that if you believe that you are a better fisherman because you fish with top quality equip...if that equip gives you both peice of mind and a certian confidence...then you LIKELY WILL BE a better fisherman because of it. If when you are out there you believe that your equip gives you an advantage or just simply makes you giddy...then you may have spent your money well. I am just not that guy. I have been outfished too many times by the guy in the canoe. LOL!

YOU GO BOY!!!!!

Who determines what somebody 'needs'? Really, none of us 'needs' to fish. We are not starving. Really, none of us 'needs' a boat'. Really, none of us 'needs' a rod, reel and lures. When somebody starts dictating 'needs' it starts to get scary. We are free to do what we want with the money we make. It starts looking at best like a 'sour grapes' type thing that somebody has a better boat/equipment/etc, or at worst like a form of mini communism where everybody only gets a $2000 aluminum jon boat with a 5 hp motor because somebody decided that is all we really 'need'. I'd rather choose where and how my money and enjoyment are spent. Sorry - I don't want to pull this into a political thing, I hate politics, but there are two threads of a similar nature with different folks weighing in on how my hard earned cash should be put to use... /end rant I understand your rant, but I don't think DELee36 is trying to dictate our needs or preferences. He's just making interesting conversation. As for "sour grapes," some of us can afford more expensive boats and equipment but we don't buy them because we have different priorities. When I retire I want to fish whenever and whereever I want with good equipment. I'll forego the very expensive stuff now, so I can put money away for when that time arrives. Now, there is the possibility of dying before I get to enjoy this ideal retirement I have in mind, but that's a chance I'll take. If this were to happen, then I know the money saved would go to those I love, which is still a higher priority than having the most expensive boat in town. thanks senile1...I probably could have worded my original post more cautiously.

I guess my wife is right... I put too much thought into things.