stfreed

Yes this is what I did in my boat. I upgraded to a 36V trolling motor and put my 3 bank charger on those and then upgraded my starting battery to an AGM 31. I then added a single bank NOCO charger and spliced the AC supply cords of both chargers together. That way in the garage or on the road at the motel just one high quality extension cord charges all 4 batteries.

I just installed the new 3 stage 8 foot Talon. It is only 40 pounds, 41" tall and is lower than my engine cowl so it is not in the way of the rear fisherman and I did not need the tilt bracket to fit in the garage or under low bridges. Less than $1350 after the mail in $100 rebate.

I agree ! I used them several years ago when I put new seats in my 95 Javelin. They were great and the seats were awesome.

weight is a difference. I had 175 Proxs from 2010 til 2014 and put over 400 hours on it with zero issues. pushed my 18 javelin 62 mph with Fury 24 prop

I shopped them all and even Marshaled several Elite events so that I could ride in several different brands before upgrading. I owned an 18' Javelin with a 175 at the time. I was shopping for a 19-20 footer due to garage size. The Triton I could not comfortably drive due to the console hitting my knees (6'2"), the Bass Cat ride sucks (K-Pink about killed my back in 1 footers on Onieda), and the Nitros lack of storage and low gunnels on the front deck bothered me. The Ranger's ride is above all others and I spent several days running the roughest waves Erie and St. Clair. Rode in Skeeter and Tritons that week too and the Miracle Mile is rough no matter what brand you run it in. Ended up with a Z119c Ranger. It was a step down in fanciness from the 500 series and came with a lower price tag. Lifer boat is my plan and the life time hull warranty was the sealer for me. My Javelin was a 1995 and the transom was rotten. Given all that each person has his own needs and priorities in a boat. My opinion is if you can not afford a new Ranger buy a used one. :-)

I liked the idea of the TH Marine Z-launch bungee when I first saw it but I didn't like the idea of dragging my new Ranger up on the concrete ramp like the video shows. SO I made a smaller - shorter version so that I can float the boat back off the trailer then pull forward about 3 feet and have the boat pull up into the trailer bunk boards. This allows me to access the trailer tongue without getting my feet wet, walk out the trailer on a carpeted board that I added along the frame to the boat where I can unhook the bungee and move the boat to the dock or beach it on the sand. I made mine about 6 feet long out of two sections of heavy duty bungee cord that I found on the internet. I added a small carabineer to each end and for less than $15 had my custom launch bungee.

I like having a gunnel. If you have several rods on the deck and fighting fish or fishing in rough water I knew I would have money rolling or getting kicked over board. Looked at the Nitros and frankly that and storage space made it a quick decision to look at other brands. Ended up with a Ranger. Best ride, good storage, most room behind the console, the "flying console" allows rods to be slide back the deck and allows alot more deck room, amazingly stable both fishing and running WOT.

Yes A-Jay. The Trollperfect is definitely worth the money in my opinion. just makes the operation of it very smooth especially in the higher ranges of speed. On Erie and other rough water days it is a MUST !

I second the trollperfect. I run a 112 lb fortrex and it has an adjustable thumb screw that allows you to dial in the perfect amount of friction to help diminish the torque.

My advice is to start on the small side. Don't jump into a 21' bass boat with lots of things to go wrong. If you start out with a smaller Tracker or such and get the feel of it you can always "trade up" down the road. My path was 12' john boat with 6 horse motor, 15 foot fisher marine with 7hp and 20 hp merc that I switched out depending on the body of water I was fishing, then on to a 18.5' Javelin, and now my new Z119c Ranger. Each step gave me some trade in value and to be honest I wish I had my old Fisher Marine back to use as my little lake boat. :-)

I am on the Walmart Everstart Maxx band wagon. I use the 30 series and due to the 36 Volt system I run, I need three but for the price of one AGM I get all three and am good to go. I fish ALOT 3-4 local trips a week in spring-fall with 2-4 week long trips a year) and these usually last me 3 seasons and then I move them over onto my RV for another couple of years. I do run one big AGM for the main motor/aerators/electronics.

I replaced bunk boards on my first old aluminum fishing boat and then on my last bass boat (Fiberglass Javelin) I used treated 2x4 and bunk carpet from BPS. No issues except be sure and use Stainlees steel or Monel staples or they will rust our fairly fast ( a couple of years) and you will be under there re-stapling.

Go to Youtube and search "Dave Lefebre Boat Launch" and you can watch Dave launch his boat solo and use the shallow water anchor remote to hold the boat at the dock and he never has to get out of the truck.

No Bass Elites use them. I have Marshaled several BASS Elite events and the delayed response in steering and the less than rigid mount would not stand up to the Elite tour.

I am waiting on the new three stage 8 foot Minn Kota Talon. I have a 36Volt trolling motor and just do not have any room for hydraulics. The new 3 stage 8 foot Talon is significantly shorter and based on my measurements will be the same height as the top of my 225 Pro XS. Thus garage and low bridges should not require the tilt bracket. The frustrating part has been that MinnKota announced this model back in July at Icast and it is still not fully released to dealers. They have been telling me next week next week since October.

I have Marshaled several BASS Elite events and got to ride in nearly every make on the Elite tour. My choice was Ranger Hands down. Bass Cat on Onieda about killed me, ran the Detroit River in a Triton, Skeeter and two Rangers. Ranger was it for me!! Hands down no comparison. I recommend riding in them all before you lay down $50k and decide based on your experiences. There were things about each I liked, like the partner side rod box on the Bass Cat, the rod strap positions of the triton, but the triton console was just to tight for my knees (I am 6-2)..... and since I fish Erie and other big water Ranger was my choice. I love the "flying" console design of the newer Rangers and it allows me to slide my rods back and gives me a lot of foot room up front.

Livingston Lures for me. I bought 8 or 10 different models when they first hit the market and I have yet to catch a single fish on them. Most have had their batteries go dead so now they are just plan crankbaits, lipless baits and topwater with no sound.

Goodyear Marathon radials - Always. Never Carlisles. blew out so many Carlisles and ended up with so much damage to my camper and boat trailer I will never run them !

Fished solo Sat and half the day Sunday and had 67 bass. 50/50 split on SMand LM. I went to the Lilly pads for the LM frog bite. I just love it. Could have got more numbers staying with the brown ones on the flats but wanted a change and once I got the frog bite going I couldn't put it down. :-)

When is your tourney? knowing the time of year will help people know how best to help you. If it is soon, topwater in the AM, tubes and dropshot as the day goes on. I fish the upper Ohio River but I figure Cinny area will fish similar. Good Luck

Yes they are in the bay. Been up the past two weekends on the main lake but checked the bay out last Friday and they were moving up on the flats then. Guys were having 80+ fish days. They should be locked on beds tight. Pray for calm sunshine but I don't think we will get it this weekend. :-)

I bought 2 - 6 foot heavy duty bungee cords online and ziptied them together. They came with clips on each end. Anyway I attach one end to my locked winch hook and the other to the bow eye. I float the boat off the trailer and then pull forward about 3-4 feet which slowly pulls the boat back up onto the lower bunks. This protects the boat from waves and the bungee holds it up against the bunks so even if there are wakes the boat wont smash around. The truck is now pulled up the ramp far enough that I can walk back and get up on the trailer tongue and get in the boat with out getting my feet wet. unhook and fire up the outboard to take it to the dock.

2014 225 Pro xs 25" Fury on Ranger Z119 holds 37 gallons and I can make 120 mile run no worries. Double locking on the Ohio river can be tricky so I have tested my rig several times. At WOT I get 3.5 mpg and that is running loaded with a partner and getting 70-71 mph. On a long run I can run 55-60 mph and still make the lock and get 4.1 mpg that gives me about 140 mile range with a gallon or two to spare. :-)