fishnkamp

I read your entire write up several times. so I am not ignoring your budget. That black max will catch you some fish. Lots of guys start with that reel but usually it is matched up with the Black max rod. I have never touched one of those Cabelas rods. Well I did a whole lot of looking online and the best thing I can find would be a Lews Laser Pro Speed Spool combo from Cabelas. That is a combo featuring a Lews reel that retails at Cabelas for $119 alone. The combo normally sells for $170. It features an IM7 graphite 6'10 MH rod and their 7.5-1 reel with dual braking and 10 bearings. The right handed version is on sale for $99.88 and if you order online you can use the promo code "freeship" when ordering and get it with free shipping. I am not sure that you would pay tax on an online order either. If you do pay the tax that would make you go over your budget by only $5 to $10 and for that you are getting a $170 combo that I do not think you would be upgrading from anytime soon. As for your line I fish that P Line frequently. It would make you a great setup. The reviews on that reel are very positive as most Lews product reviews are.

Lets start this a little differently. What type of fishing do you like to do. Also what are your other rod and reel combos. That reel is very versatile, a little on the larger size but still very versatile. Do you fish fresh or salt primarily? Do you fish for cats at all?

I would consider it to be a huge project. His opinion of what the engine needs is questionable. The Force engines were made by Merc but hardly thought of that well. It might be hard to get parts. It might just need to be totally replaced. What condition is the trailer in? Where are you located ( what state) and what is your boat budget. I bet we can find you something that needs far less work. I think you may find that incredibly low cost to purchase it is going to cost a bunch by the time you get anything done. If that were an aluminum boat then that project would be different.

You will like the Dobyns rods. gary makes some good stuff. My wife and I both fish Dobyns rods for frogs. Mine is a Champion XP DC 705C and I love it. She has a Sierra series rod. Both fish really nice.

It seems we have run around some of the same places. I guess the time to remember the hip boots IS before you get wet feet! So how do you like it down in SC. Do you have some good lakes nearby?

I was not trying to suggest any boat in particular, in fact the opposite. I was using those other boats to demonstrate how two similar models from one manufacturer can vary. That was sorta the premise of your question. What is the difference between similar boats. The Xpress boats are great and if they look right to you go for it. I was just trying to show how two boats can appear to be the same and yet different. It is real important in my opinion to go sit and crawl around each model you might be interested. Make sure you take into account how you like to fish. Most rigs come with a standard package. Lets say you fish in rivers or lakes with lots of current, you might be getting a smaller boat but need a 36 volt trolling motor. Or you could be fishing out of a 19 foot fiberglass but only on lakes so maybe a 24 volt tm may be enough.

The simple and safe thing I do is have a set of hip boots with you in the truck. When I go get my trailer I change into a good old pair of hip boots. Now you can put them on and step in the water without the unwanted squish of the wet shoe, pants leg etc. Another benefit is the wadwers usually have good deep tread so I rarely worry about slipping on a slimey ramp. Summer is different, then a simple water shoe and a towel is all that is needed. The other much more expensive solution is something like "Rope a Boat"

Chris my experience has been that between the 17s 18s and 19 the differences fall into horsepower ratings, and floor plans. Obviously the longer the boat the higher the max hp rating, and I always go as close to top HP as possible. It may sound funny but a boat with max hp can give you be fuel economy as well as performance, at least while not running flat out of course. The cruise speed is often higher because you can run a bigger prop. Also you need less time to jump on plane with the larger engine. If I was looking at the Xpress X18 vs the X19 I would go with the max hp of 150 on the X18. I would go with either a 175 or 200 on the X19. Notice the hull on the X19 is the same width in beam so it only weighs about 100 pounds more. Several other things happen due to floor plan changes. Again I am going to stick to Express just for my examples. Often times on a smaller boat you will have a shorter rod box. In fact sometimes the rod box will extend back further in the cockpit (on the passenger side) making a dual console not available. In this case the deck is a tad longer on the X19 and a step is built in to access the front deck. This can be a great advantage when you get up and down tons of times a day. Many times this step is a cooler or a storage box and that can be very useful. Many times the "standard package" includes more useful stuff on the bigger more expensive boat. Things like a 24 or 36 volt trolling motor, battery chargers, better electronics may come standard. In my case, when my wife and I were choosing our last boat we researched most of the boats in the category we wanted and it came down to a Triton VT 17, the Lowe Stinger 170 and Stinger 175. It literally came down to the storage on the front deck. I never wanted a boat with 2 livewells, one in the traditional location and the second on the front deck. That meant the 175 was out. I preferred the Stinger 170 over the VT17 because of the two huge front storage compartments on either side of the center rod box. Almost everything else was the same. The Triton did have a step up cooler which would have been nice. Now compare two 18 footers by Chrestliner Boats. There is a PT 18 and a VT18. Completely different cats for sure. Look at the obvious first. The floor plan is visually not that different. The PT18 stays wider further up past the console. The beam on the VT is 92 1/4 and the width at the chine 64, the beam on the PT is 96 and 68. That can make a difference in how that hull plays in rougher water as well as how much realestate you have on the decks. The VT tops out with a 115 and the PT takes a 150. Next look at packaging. The livewell is larger on the PT, the trolling motor looks like a Fortrex and not a Maxxum, things like the seats are nicer on the PT. It is all these little things that take time to notice. I hope that gives you some ideas for what to pay attention to if you are doing some research for your next boat.

That reel was killed due to very well known issue with them locking up and the factory had no fix. Not all of them had a problem, so don't kill me, but enough that it was a well known issue and ended its run. My wife owns one and I pray it does not start doing it. If I had done some simple research before I got it for her I would have gone a different way. That is on her Irtod Genesis II jig rod. For her Dobyns frog rod I chose a Pflueger Supreme. That is a nice reel. You might want to look at one of those or go look at one of the Daiwa spinning reels.

That helps avoid getting backlashes!!!

What is your budget? What does he fish on it in terms of weight.

Here is my two cents for what it is worth. Now my wife fishes nothing but spinning and I have had some challenges finding her the right rods for such techniques as jigs, frogs and popping perch, pop rs. etc. Lets tackle the worm, jig rod. My wife loves her Irod Genesis II IRG 713S. It is matched with a Pflueger Supreme. I do not see why that would not also handle your poppers as well. For smaller baits like drop shots, tubes, grubs, shakey heads, fluke style baits etc I would look at a Powell Inferno 6103 MEF. That is a workhorse. Rod number 3 is where I am confused. Does he want a heavier rod that can throw a frog and bigger walk the dog style baits? If so her heavier duty jig rod is a Dobyns Sierra SA 705 SF and it is a great frog- walk the dog, heavy jig rod. If he would rather have a rod to throw wake baits, shallow to mid depth cranks( down to say 15 ft) rattle traps etc than he can save a bunch of money on this one and go with a Berkley Lightning Shock rod. My wife and I both fish with G Loomis rods, Powells, Irods, Dobyns etc and yet the Shock series handle traps and cranks for both of us. When the striper bite is on here in the fall, I need to have 3 or four different traps tied on at the same time. For bass, I have a great Falcon rod and a great Irod that I use for cranking most of the time. To save money and fulfill our needs in the fall, I load a couple of Lightning Rod Shocks onto the deck and they always perform well. Her spinning version is a 6'6" medium power mod action. It is perfect and costs like $50. If he chooses this rod, then he could upgrade to a higher priced rod for #2. With the $100 savings, I would suggest a G Loomis GL3 series 6'6" rod, either a SJR782 or a SJR783. These rods run $210 and $240 from American Legacy. You know the quality and sensitivity of the G Loomis stuff. I love my SJR 722 ( that is the 6' version) for all kinds of plastics, and it fishes stuff like a Rapala minnow well too. If I replaced my 721 and 722 rods today, I would go with the 6'6" versions. Those rods get used for everything from Ned rigs, tubes grubs and a ton more.

That Dobyns is a great versatile rod and can handle that weight jig. Sometimes a tad bit shorter rod can aid in the skipping docks, so you need to play with a few rods that maybe someone around you has. Another nice rod choice might be an Irod Genesis II 704C. Irod makes a nice quality rod and that will be well inside your budget at $150. Check out the Irod website and Tackle Warehouse for the rod.

My brother in law and his wife are moving to the North side of Ft Myers area. So I did some research because my wife and I will take a few trips down to see them and of course I intend to haul our boat as well. The river that runs through the area, the Caloosahatchee River, boy I had to look that one up for spelling LOL, drains water from lake Okeechobee to the ocean at the west end of Fort Myers. The closer you go to the big O the fresher it is. There is a dividing line between more fresh and more tidal influenced water along the way. I was thinking of launching my aluminum bass boat somewhere near the town of La Belle. Here the river is not as wide and it has plenty of canals and back water areas to explore. Check out this Scott Martin you tube video of him and his mom launching in that area top fish. There are lots of other options, it is just that one caught my eye. My boat is a 17 1/2 foot aluminum and I really would rather not contend with the big cabin cruisers you will likely see all around the saltier area of Fort Myers. I hope that gives you a place to start. Of course I expect some secret fishing info when we make our trip down! LOL. If I was you i would do some research on the waterway using things like Google Earth for locations and study the water information using the free Navionics webap, https://webapp.navionics.com/ This combination of resources is an excellent starting point to find new fishing spots no matter what part of the country you live in. I use it everytime I go to a new lake, or I am laying out my game plan for a fishing trip on waters I know well.

I use this and it works really well: There are other videos to watch on you tube. The factory ones show you pulling the trailer out farther and letting the boat settle on a concrete ramp.I never do that i let it settle back on my trailer and then push it off as I climb on as he does.

You are going to have to take a regular boat trailer and create a custom one. Take a look at this video for an idea.

Go for it. Yak fishing is really cool. You will get a fish's perspective for sure. Check around your area. There are kayak fishing clubs around me and they do hold tournaments. It will also "get you fishing for sure. You can learn a lot of the same techniques and there are tons of how to videos on you tube for kayak fishing. I do not think it is a "kayak or boat" situation. I think you will find a use for both in your future.

You are corect on the Sierras. They have plenty of power just a little slower graphite. My wife's frog rod is a Sierra 705SF. No lack of power just a bit slower graphite than my Champ XP DC 705C. I was at my dealer today and had a rough time leaving. he had a Sierra 683 SF that would be awesome to add to my collection.

Well first most yak guys like shorter rods. So right off the back I think of it as if it were a 7' or 7'3 med/extra fast when fished standing on a boat. Depending on its power & how light the tip is I bet you could throw baits like count down Rapalas, or floater divers like those baits. I am sure it will fish baits like Reaction Innovation Skinny Dippers with either belly weighted hooks or even 3/8 to 1/2 swim bait jigheads ( think of the jigs that look like a fish head). I bet it would be fine for baits like shakey heads and smaller texas rigs. A little experimentation is in order. I would find a ton of things to do with that rod. The benefit of a true medium power moderate action rod is found when you fish a treble hook bait like a jerkbait or top water popper, even a wake bait or small crankbait. The mod action rod allows you to keep those trebles pinned in the fishs mouth,

Glen has a sticky note about that brand on this site. There were some lets say "childish" members on here years ago. They were running the reputation of that company into the ground in posts here. Glenn (the owner of this business we call Bass Resources) was told by that company to either stop the issue or suffer great financial hardship and legal trouble. The poor behavior that some members chose to display here is the reason that there are things in place to censor that companies name from being displayed. The shame of it all is that I have no idea of the quality of the products they produced back then, but they produce very competitive products today. All this means is that if they were aloud to be discussed by its loyal users the overall opinions would be rather good pr for them. Those members were also quickly blocked from being here, so the issue ended right there. I hope that explains it for you. Frequently when there are issues it is caused by a few bad apples, but we all deal with the consequences. I am glad you found a rod to suite you. If you decide you need another rod for this duty the Ike rod is my main jerkbait rod. i use it for wake baits and jerk baits mostly. It will handle baits like the pop r or small to mid sized poppers/topwaters. I have a heavier action rod for throwing baits like full size spooks. Then again, I throw them on heavy mono for bass and stripers, not 12 pound test P Line floroclear like what I choose for my jerkbaits and wakebaits.

Sometimes it is worth leaving the boat strapped to the trailer and backing down your local ramp. Get the engine in deep enough that the engine is fully covered. Start it up and let it run a few moments. My engine will not pee till the thermostats open, which only takes a few moments. This is of course after you make sure you did not loose the key that goes on the shaft and inside the impeller, the impeller is installed correctly etc. Also as many have said you may have bad thermostats as well, or just corrosion blocking them. This might be best done professionally, most good shops will have a tank they can test run your outboard in rather than ear muffs. You do not want to damage your engine here.

If you prefer faster graphite then do not order the Sierra, it is a tad bit slower. Now if you can put one in your hands first then by all means do so. My wife owns a Sierra 705SF and uses it as her frog rod. She loves it. I just wanted you to be aware it is a tad slower graphite ( both the spinning and baitcasting blanks) For me the action of the Sierra would make a nice spinnerbait/ chatterbait, paddle tail swimbait rod. I would go with a 734 unless I wanted it to be a tad shorter to use around docks and things better. The Fury series is going to act and feel more like your Champion. It is interesting to me because she has that Sierra 705SF and I use a Champ XP DC705C as my frog rod. Both work well for their purpose. When I want to throw larger spinnerbaits I use my Falcon BuCoo micro guide rod. It is a 7'MH MF called a "Trap Caster".

Give The Tackle Trap a call. They do a lot of upgrades as well as carry tons of upgrade parts. They are great guys too.

The reviewer was full of bull. My wife fishes nothing but spinning reels. Of the 6 rod and reel combos she loves to fish with 5 are Pfluegers. Four of her reels are Presidents, one is a Supreme and one is a Symetre from Shimano. The only reel I would not buy her again is the Shimano. I am holding my breath on that one as many of those reels lock up. I wish i gone with a Supreme instead. They are excellent reels. Hers has 40 pound braid and is on her Dobyns frog rod. No trouble there at all.

Honestly I would go somewhere you can put a ST Croix Premier series rod in your hand. I owned two of those rods in the past and they speced as 6 foot medium and fast action and a 6'6" medium/fast action but they fished much more moderate. Go check them out.