Ben

Not real big, 18.5' Stratos but has a lot of storage room plus I have one livewell pluged off and the pumps disconnected and use that for storage also. Other than life jackets and clothing items, and tackle, most of this stuff is doesn't take up bunches of room. Over the years, I've unloaded the boat numbers of time to weed out junk to cut down on weight but everytime I try, it all winds up back in the boat. Now you see why I run a 300 hp motor. The thing is, the 20' Javelin I just bought doesn't look like it has the room this boat has. I think you'll find I listed rods and reels. THe ones I use most stay in the boat all the time. The 3700 organizers are full of hard baits, jigs and enough tackle to handle just about any situation. Those stay all the time. If going to do something special or different I take the special tackle just for that trip. 95% of the time when I go, I come home, throw my travel bag of cloths etc that always stays packed, unplug the charger, hook to the boat that's always loaded and head out. All I have to do is stop and get gas.

The age old debate. The motor manufactors say not to use one, many of the boat manufactors say to use one and there are good pro's and con's from both. I've seen mid sections and lower units busted loose from the motor with them. I feel if the motor is bolted directly to the transome they probably serve no purpose any way. Most motors today are designed to be towed in the trailering position with the mechanical lock in place. This has the motor balanced over the transome so there are not real stresses placed on it. Most people that use transome savers use them wrong also and they still serve no pupose. Most of the people I see using them bring the motor down on it with the trim and stop when it's setting on it. They don't continue to trim down until it pulls the trim cylinder rods down and locks the motor down on the transome saver.

I got to thinking about just what all is in my bass boat and hears a list One paddle One fire extenguiser Three life jackets one throw cusion one whistle one air horn and can of air Small first aid kit One Q-Beam One Small LED flashlight (two AA bat's) six floating markers One three section, twist lock, walking stick (colapes to a short length to fit in a box and is great for pushing the boat off the bank when you have to go for a lure or pit stop). Several cans of Vienna's, potted meat, and Beeny Weenies. and a plastic container of crackers. One 16qt cooler of drinks and water One Butane fire starter Two sweat shirts One heavy Vinyl ponche One heavy Vinyl rain suit (take my good one when the weatherman predicts rain. A couple of hats One spare pair of Polarized sun glasses Several pairs of cotton gloves One role of toilet paper One roll of paper towels 1/2 dozen or so of shop rags Small assortment of tools Socket, extension and pull handle to fit trailer lugs Spare set of spark plugs Eigth to ten rods and reels A dozen or so of 3700 origanizers about 50 punds of plastic baits One gallon of oil Telescopeing lure retriever. Jet kit for rejeting carbs. A couple of small blackligths so if we stay late A spare set of keys to my truck, boat and locks This is all stuff that pretty much stays in my boat year round. I add heaters and coldweather gear, Gotex rain gear etc depending on the weather.

100% true. If you don't have about $1,000 you're willing to spend, you're not gonna do much to realy improve your setup. You can be patient, shop around and find good used jackplates for $100 - $150. The one most important part of any setup is the prop. That's what transfers the motors power to the water and so many people seem to think just because they have a stainless prop, they're good to go and don't see a need in spending money on it. If you happen to be lucky enough the dealer realy knew what he was doing when he proped the motor, you can send your prop off and have one of the specialist like Rich Boger tune it for your boat for $200 - $350. However, most of the time, you find what you have is totally wrong for your setup and have to buy the prop and have it tuned for about $800. Yes, speed wise, you may only see a couple of mph gain, a small difference in hole shot and other handling features, for your $1,000 spent. Some boat are just lead sleds, the hulls peak out at a certain point and no mater what you do, it makes little difference. Others respond very favorably to a little fine tuning.

The manufactor's don't use jackplates to sell jackplates, they use them to sell their boats. In most cases, the jackplate is an option, but without it during their shootouts, they would be sucking eggs to similar boats with one. A properly set up boat will have better holeshot, turn better, drive better, and run faster than one that has the motor slapped on the back and an off the shelf prop. Granted, in some cases there are no overall huge gains but there's enough you can feel the difference. A friend blew the 1994 200 hp Johnson on a 1994 Stratos 201 he had just bought and used three times. He asked me if I would rebuild it for him and do a little of my magic on it. Best speed he had seen before it broke was 62 mph with just him. After breakin, it ran 74 with same setup. I added an eight inch jackplate, and a custom tuned 28" raker and after getting it dialed in, boat ran 78.6 gps with he and I and live well full (both of use weigh over 200 lbs) and handled 10 times better.

A couple of items I always keep in my boat are a couple of sweatshirts with a hood and a couple of those solar blankets, for me and a partner. The sweatshirts get used quit often and I use my rain suit as wind breaker when needed. I've been on the lake buches of times and have the temps drop enough that I've needed something warmer than what I started off with. The blankets are a safety item, never know when you might have to spend the night because of a breakdown or something. They are small and take up almost no room. Forgot to mention, I also keep a large poncho, just in case if someone is with me and don't have raingear.

To get the most out of almost any setup, a jackplate is a must, if for nothing else, to get the engine height dialed in. I also have never seen a boat that more setback than what's built in didn't help. The size/type boat, manufactor's warrenty, the built in setback and the motor weight play a key role in just what size jackplate you need. Don't think I've ever seen a bass boat they used in a manufactor's shoot out that the factory didn't have a jackplate on it. Most have the hydraulic so they can drop the motor for the whole shot and raise the motor for max speed.

Not sure what you're doing wrong but a 2 1/2 lb bass will give you a healthy slab of meat. I keep all my 12" to 13" bass and only the larger ones that are too injured to survive. Before getting to hipped on catch and release, check with the local game/fish biologiest and see what they recommned for the lake. I my case they beg you to keep the smaller fish because the lake is over populated with them and release the larger bass. I asked them if that's the case, why are they so quick to give tickets for fish under the 12" min. It's a kick in the butt to have to throw a injured 11 3/4" fish back that's belly up before you get 30 ft from it. On the small bass, I cut a fillet off one side only. This is so they fry without having to overcook the outside to get the center done. On larger bass, first you have to keep the knife very sharp. I cut down the top half of the backbone with the knife right against the bones but not along the spine. The spine of a bass is so thick, you will leave a lot of meat on the back bone if you just try to go down the whole thing in one pass. After making that firs cut, I trim the meat off the ribs, I don't try to cut the ribs off the fish, they are so big, they will dull a sharp knife in a heartbeat. Then I raise the meat up and cut it loose from the lower part of the backbone. First couple are a pain in the butt to do this way but after you've done a few, it's very quick and easy, so long as you keep the knife sharp. This way leaves very little meat on the bones and renders a big thick slab of meat. I aslo don't cut it loose at the tail end so I can just flip the meat over the tail and trim the skin off, letting where I left it attached hold the skin.

I took this a few minutes ago just to give you a look The engine cover says it a Johnson 50, but it's realy a 48 rude. Only difference between the two in the 50 had VRO and the 48 didn't. I have all that stuff but prefer to premix oil on older motor. New VRO unit is $250 and I don't trust them after they get several years old

Fisher's is a good boat and very popular. The best place to get a basic idea of what a boat is worth is Nada.com. Noticed you said NEW boat, they won't be in there. If you're talking about new to you, they have them after a couple of years old. I have an older 1986 Fisher Hawk 3V with a 1988 48 hp Evinrude in pretty good shape I'm selling for $2,500 but it's not as big as your asking about. It's considered a 16ft boat but is a little less. Being the wrong time of the year to sell a boat, I've not yet made an effort to sell it but figured I would mention it.

In Ga, I use Black/blue late in the year, brown/orange, brown/green and brown/orange/green in early spring. This time of the year when shad are moving into the shallows it use white a lot. With skirted jigs 95% of the time I use 3/16 - 1/4 oz with a chunk trailer. I also use a lot of GYCB hula grubs on a 1/4 football head. These, I'm very picky about how I thread them on, I like some of the grub to be on the bend on the hook so it gives a curved back. It's also helpful to have some swimming jigs (different jig head than bottom bouncers) you can swim through the tree tops and over grass. I will shave or clip lead off the jig head to slow rate of fall if I feel it's still falling too fast when fishing shallow. Most of my fishing is in stained water but if fishing fairly clear water, I mostly pitch a jig. Flipping puts you way too close and if the fish can see you, he most likely is not going to bite The only time I use heavier jigs is when having to get through heavy cover or working them deeper than 10 ft.

I just fish because I enjoy it. Used to tourny fish years ago, but burned out and got where I didn't enjoy it so I ended up quiting all together for a couple of years. Since I retired from the Air Force and moved back to GA seven years ago, and started fishing with my dad, he has gotten to where he really loves it so try to make it home every other weekend to we can fish together. Figure him being 77, I had better take advantage of our time we can spend together while we still have it.

You do realize water weighs eight pounds per gallon. So don't get too carried away on a big tank in a jon boat, unless you have one big jon. Not sure where you're gonna be fishing but normally when stripper fishing it's gotten fairly cold. unless your doing the deep water with down riggers fishing, I find herring do just fine in a 5 gallon bucket with an airpump and stone in it. Just add some salt tablets. Now this is coming from a guy that seldom uses them and has never bought more that two dozen when I did and don't care if they don't live till the next day. If I'm just going to be stipper fishing and not keeping any fish, I just dump them in the livewell. Just remembered, don't do that with an aluminum jon, putting salt in it might give you a bigger livewell than you want before too long.

Jack, Since this is not the right forum for buying and selling call me at 478 960-5531 (my cell phone). I've still got to build the Evenrude XP 150 that goes on the boat (bore and put all new pistons in). That's going to take me a little time, but not as long as it has been. I pulled it off the boat about five years ago, pulled it appart to rebuild but put a looper on it instead and have never gotten around to building the 150. Got to now though. About two years ago, I installed all new 20oz plush carpet (a light blue gray) that I got from Stratos, recovered all the seats in a much better vinyl than factory used and shot three heavy coats of new, clear gel on it. Boat looks very nice and will have a freshly built motor I will break in. I think I replaced all the pumps when I restored the boat.

Just got a great deal on a very nice 99 Javelin 20 Renegade, dual console with a 225 and dual axle trailer. It was a repo I bought at auciton for $5000 in Arizona. Now I've just got to get it from Arizona to Georgia. Figure this will be better suited for my 300hp hot rod motors and will give my dad a little more wind protection than my Single console Stratos 285 Pro. Bad part now is, without the wind blowing in her face, my wife might want to start going with me. Right now, the only time she goes is when going to the river in one of my small boats. Next spring, there will be a very nice Stratos 285 Pro for sale with an freshly rebuilt 150 on it. Boats only rated for 175 so won't have one of my big motors on it. Figure no need even trying to sell it now.

Just because what you see on a bank is bare, don't mean what the fish see's is bare also. For many years, If you didn't fish bare banks or know how to locate fish in locations other than the banks, you would have a hard time finding places to fish on Clark's Hill. When the drought dropped the lake level as much as 14' and is stayed down for three or four years, small pines and weeds grew in a lot of areas that provide good cover for now, but that is vanishing quickly with the lake back up to pool level.

Actually, I think BPS used to sell those things and may still do.

Guaranteed to hurt you bad or kill you if you are not highly experienced in driving high performance boats. Bullets, Allison's etc are not boats that you just jump in and go hauling *** down the lake. First you have to learn to drive the boat itself, your learn first hand the term "chine walk". After a couple of months seat time, you might be good enough to air it out. Then you have to learn the trim attitude, trim up a little too much and you may learn the term "blowout" first hand. Chop the throttle too fast and you might get introduced the term "bat turn". Go ripping down the lake and a boat comes across in front of you or you try to pass another boat wrong and might learn what "blow over" means. These are all terms any fast bass boat can teach you, just those will give you the chance to experience the feelings a lot easier.

Age and size might play a role in this also. For a motor I was going to be taking on and off and having the man handle, I would get a 9.9 or 15 two stroke. Many of the 9.9 and 15's are the same weight motor, just have a little different porting, carb and intakes. Once a motor gets into the 100 lb size, they get awful hard on the back and body unless you're young, 6'0 and weigh 200 pounds. I'm old, 6'1" weigh 210 and don't like lifting the 25 Merc or 9.9 Johnson on/off my jon, and use hand trucks to move the 25 around. As for easy maintenance, I think you have it backwards, there's no motor any easier or cheaper to maintain than a two stroke. The key to both motors is not using old gas and purge the fuel system if they are not going to be used for long periods.

Like he says, they don't call them "Opti-Pops" for nothing. Kinda like the early FICHTS, you're lucky if you got a good one but they did finally work out most of the problems with them (after about 2003).

No but I would go with the ProXS. I'm not up on the black motors real good but I think the Pro is a 3.0 litre and the Opti is a 2.5. If I'm right, there's going to be a tremdous difference in hole shot on a heavy boat. Nothing takes the place of cubic inches when it comes to getting one up and moving.

Salt water and aluminum don't make a good combination. Slightly brackish ain't as bad but if planning on salt water, figure on a fiberglass boat. 1448 will do ok with three people (not three big adults though) but a larger boat would be much safer and more user friendly. From what you're describing, something like a 16 ft Carolina Skiff, with about a 50 hp saltwater motor would be closer to fitting your needs. You should also get a galvanized trailer.

If you want light and fast, it's the way to go unless you can afford an Allison. If you want room, storage and comfort, give up a little speed and get a Ranger, Champion, Stratos, Javelin, or Triton. The 20 ft Bullet is fast and rides like a jon boat in rough water, the 22 ft Bullet is suppose to ride better but not as fast. Both are very sensitive to weight. Load a Bullet down with all the junk I carry in my boat, two big people and full tank of gas and it's not that much faster. Actually, it's not any faster with the motor I'm running now. A friend has a 20 ft Bullet with a modified 225HO and when we are both fully loaded, we run just about side by side but his runs 92 mph running light and mine runs about 82, no matter how it's loaded.

I have three Lowrance X-75's and one Eagle 240 (the Eagle Virsion of the X-75). Personnaly, I like these just fine and have no desire to upgrade. My next upgrade with be to the color displays. As for getting one with the GPS and Sonar combined, I don't thing that will happen. I know it's convinient just having one unit but that's the problem. When it brakes, they are both broken. When you want to upgrade, you have to upgrade both. I prefer to have my GPS and Sonar in seperate units.

I htought the only way you could get a G3 was with a Yamaha, thought that was their package deal line. I would not go smaller than a 9.9 on that boat, I seriously doupt you would be happy with anything smaller. It's going to be somewhat slow with a 9.9. A 25 would make a good little motor for that boat. It would definetly pay you to ride in a similar boat with similar load with 9.9 before going that small. As for the Tohatsu/Nissan, don't think I would go that route either. Yea, you save a few bucks up front, but their parts will eat your lunch when you have it repaired.