t bend tex

Hi Catt I kinda been laying low this spring- bad arthritis in my neck and rough water does not mix well! we have caught a few bass and crappie- just haven't worked hard. my wife and I plan to go to our camp Monday morning, staying probably til Friday late. any suggestions for six mile and sandy creek area this time of year? Larry G

according to the dealer sales manager, the only required work to be done by a dealer is the 10 hour checkup at a cost of about $200. All other maint (annual oil change etc) can be done by owner. He also tells me that the 4 stroke has less service issues/problems that the 2 stroke. thanks for all the help. My wife and I are headed to Houston tomorrow, and from there to Toledo Bend for the remainder of the week. I will make my decision within the next two weeks, after looking at several used rigs plus the new 285Xl and new 186XT. we plan to enjoy our TG week pursuing the elusive largemouth bass. Larry G

I'm looking at the Stratos 285XL as well as the Stratos 186XT- not much difference in price- about $2M- the 285XL having a 2 stroke 150 2 stroke and the 186XT having a 4 stroke 115HP. I'm leaning toward the 4 stroke I AM NOT considering a NITRO at all! thanks for the help Larry G

The Yamaha 115hp 4/s = 402#, the 115 2/s = 358#. 150hp 4/s = 466#, the 150hp 2/s = 426#. The 2/s have an oil tank in the bilge area of the stratos, along with the tubing and wiring would add a little weight-maybe 20#. I will look into the maint requirements of both. thanks again Larry G

thanks cart7t- I'm learning- I have only heard of the "good" aspects of the 4 strokes Larry G

catt, thanks for the link- I would think the yamaha 115hp 4 stroke would perform somewhat in the same range. I take a closer look at this one Larry G

thanks catt and way2slow catt, I will make a call on this one. way2slow- A little info on the stratos- Stratos is owned by "Genmar", along with Ranger, Champion, and about 10 other brands, so looks as if they make a good range. The stratos brochure shows the weight of the 186xt @ 1450#, the 285xl @1500 # I had a decent rig now 4 year old 18' vee aluminum, 90hp merc, runs good, overall good shape. My wife and I would prefer a more "bassboat" layout . ours is great for crappie fishing, lots of room, deep, 2 livewells. I think I would like the 4 stroke, from what I have seen around the lakes. I'm gonna keep looking - I'm sure to run across the perfect boat soon. btw, Yamaha is now offering 6 yr warranty on 4 strokes- good thru Dec 1 Larry G

thanks for info on the Yamaha's- because I use my rig at "idle" speed a great deal of time, I fell that a 4 Stroke would be less likely to foul plugs, etc. any thought or experience regarding that. Larry G

What is "winter"? Larry G

In my opinion, "yes". I use them on my boats, farm tractors, pickup and suv. I get a long run time on my troll motors and I have 2 that are three years old and still ticking. I do keep a good on board charger on them anytime I'm not using them. I think keeping them charged is very important Larry G

Just for comparison, the rigs here are: 2008 model 285XL, $25,800 including TTL, V150TLR engine, 24V MK troll motor- 2009 model 186XT, $23,700, including TTL, F150TLR engine, 24V MK troll motor Haven't had time to check out all the bells and whistles yet and gotta take wife to Doc in Houston tomorrow. I'm not up on Yamaha engines- can someone tell me about the two above models? Larry G

Interesting tread- I was on the way into Beaumont, Tx yesterday taking my wife to the orthopedic clinic (she broke her arm in a fishing related accident that I won't get into here), running a bit early, I was lured into a boat dealer. I have been thinking of updating my rig, so I did not resist the urge. after looking at a ratty 96' ranger, we were headed out and took a quick peak at the Stratos line. They have a 186XT rigged out with a 115HP Yamaha 4 stroke. By then, we were running out of time for doc appt, so I didn't get all the info, but I think I recall that boat was rigged with a MK 70# 24V troll motor, and maybe two cheapo sonars. My wife (my fishing partner) and I were impressed with the layout of the rig, and decided we would look into it later, but that I would make a post on BR when we got home- But I see that someone else started one. some comments from me: I am not obsessed with 70 MPH on the water- heck, I don't drive 70 on the way to the lake. I fish the mighty Toledo Bend, but most of my fishing is within 5 miles of my camp. Also- Catt can confirm this- there are thousands of acres of flooded timber in TB, and only in areas of the lake that very familiar, would I even consider running 70. most of my travel even in the boat lanes will not exceed 40 MPH- and 25 is normal. I have had several boats- glass and tin, it seems to me that the tin boats are harder to control with the troll motor because they tend to sit higher in the water, however, a tin boat is usually easier to get off one of those flooded trees when you do get on one. I wonder about the toughness of the Stratos in the timber- Catt, you may have some thoughts on that. there have been some comparing of the 186XT and 285XL. according to their brochure, weight 1450#/1500#, length 18'9"/18'6", capacity 1320#/1110#, max hp 115/150, inside depth 16.5"/19", beam 89"/91". When I have time in the next day or so, I will get a package price on the 186 rig and the 285 this dealer has on hand and I will post it. Larry G

I agree - the wind on TBend has been BAD this year. My wife and I have spent about 25 days during March and April at our fish camp on TB, probably had maybe 25 HOURS of decent wind conditions. All our favorite bass (and crappie) spots seem to be directly in the path of the wind-of-the-day! Larry G

I am one of those blessed with dial up and do not wish to spend the bucks for high speed. Our rural electric coop has a high speed in the works so maybe in the next year or so ! ! nothing else but satilite is available now for me I also use firefox. I just bought a share of the fruit company (APPLE) and it runs faster than windows - Don't complain about the speed of this site til you have experienced dial-up

I generally keep all from the legal min (14" in Texas) up to about 18"- all that is within the legal creel limit. My family and friends enjoy eating fish and I am happy to supply when I can. As far as taste is concerned, I recently served a mix of bass, crappie, and walleye- and no one could tell me what fish he was eating- if those species are prepared and cooked the same, they are all good eatin'. 99% of those over 18" go back in the lake- if I caught a "record", she would not go on the wall, but be given to the sharelunker program in Texas. Larry G

My wife is my fishing partner about 95% of my trips- other times it is kids, grandkids, etc. sHe hates spinning/spin cast gear, loves bait casting gear. She will out-fish me about 50% of our trips- but someone has to run the troll motor-- and that's me! I do not take her fish off the hook, but do net for her. Last trip out, I had to get a hook out of her finger- push it thru and cut the barb. Put a band-aid on the wound, and kept fishing. She fussed about ruining her lure and getting blood on the boat! Her biggest liability: can hang-up her lure as much as anyone I have ever fished with! ! !

I made a typo above. The general limit in Texas is FIVE bass. on toledo Bend the limit is EIGHT. My face is RED! Larry G

I will make a few quotes from Dan Ashe of Texas PWL: Largemouth mature sexually at about 10". for most lakes in Tx, the MLL is 14", giving the young ones at least one year to spawn. an estimated 10% of all released bass do not survive. slots are used on some lakes to help manage the bass population _______ The limit (in general) inTx is 8 with no slot. the limit on Toledo bend lake is 8 with no slot. There is no MLL for spotted bass on Toledo, but they must be counted in the limit of 8 fish. I think C&R is important for tourneys to be politically correct, but should not be a big concern if all fish taken are legal. My wife and I fish many days per year, and keep most largemouth from 14" to about 18", releasing all over 18. We enjoy filets quite often. Last week, I saw a live 11#-14oz LM. The fisherman tried to keep it alive, but failed, kept it to mount! I dont have a problem with someone keeping a goodun' from time to time- I would not want to see someone taking out strings of 6-8 pounders daily or even weekly! Larry G

Just think of the post office in charge of our medical system! When I have something shipped to me, I always specify UPS or FED X. some vendors only use usps (*** for one). The ups driver just picked up a package at my back door (a return item from my wife). She would have had to drive 7 miles to the POST OFFICE to send it usps! Larry g

A black blade/head/skirt spinner bait will put fish in the boat at Night! Use big noisy blade(s) and crank it slow in shallow (8' and less) trashy water. Larry g

I think Toledo Bend would be a great site for a future BR road trip! are most of the motels/lodges/marinas up and running since Hurricane Rita? Larry G

If Dean permits, my wife and I are going up Sunday afternoon for three nights of fishing in the moonlight! We'll try one of those honey holes that you took me to. Larry G

1/2 oz cordell spot in rayburn red or barfish

monday and tuesday of this week, my wife and I were fishing at 5:10AM! very few other boats were moving til about 5:30, but next week-end - LOOK OUT! lots of schoolie action at that time of day- we mostly caught 13-1/2" stuff. Larry g

if you come south on us 96, there will be a WM on your right in Center. Hemphill does have gas and a nice food store. other than Center, Jasper is the nearest WM, about 40+ miles from 96 mile bridge. we prefer to shop the super market in Hemphill- just don't like WM! we have found prices to be competitive there for both food and gas Deneice and I can't be there til the nite of the 21st or EARLY 22nd. we are committed to a seasoned citizen trip with a group from our church and will not be back til somethime the 21st. I'm sure catt will answer also- we've been at the bend since sunday- caught a few but need a good guide for a day larry g