fishnkamp

First I am glad no one was hurt. All of the things that have been said above here are true. A StingRay hydrofoil will assist you in running more level at slower speeds. They may also cost a bit of top end speed. Running more level and not allowing the boat to porpoise is one of the things they were designed to do. I know there are a lot of different manufacturers with different models but I have always been happy with a genuine Sting Ray. By the way I had a friend with that boat and I owned a ProCraft 20 footer just a year newer. Before you put one on give us some info. Do you have a jackplate, manual or hydraulic? Take a yard stick lay it on the bottom of the boat extended out to the lower unit on the engine. Now measure from the yard stick up or down to the center of the prop shaft ( the engine must be straight up and down at the time) using a tape measure. We call that the prop to pad measurement. What prop does it have on it. Is it aluminum, or stainless steel ? What brand, size and pitch. Also take it out for a run and tell us when the boat was trimmed out for best top speed what was the rpm and speed. I guess I forgot to ask is this the boat you hit the floating log? If it is did the boat perform any different after that encounter?

If that is one of the new tournament MB Speed Spool lfs series it already has a 95mm handle. Check your box and see what it says. I am not sure there are longer handles for them.

Well a 7 foot medium heavy action rod with a fast tip is just about the do it all rod. I have at least two on the boat at all times. You will usually find them marked as 1/4 to 3/4 and 1/4 to 1 ounce, I use them for tx rigged worms, carolina rigging, creature baits, jigs, spinnerbaits , chatterbaits, almost anything with the exception of topwaters, jerkbaits, crankbaits, big swimbaits, frogs or punchin baits.

Are you asking about a spinning or casting rod?

If you already have a good 6'6" to 7' medium action spinning rod then i recommend either a 7 foot Medium Heavy or Heavy rod baitcasting rod. Go find an Abu Garcia 7 ft MH fast tip rod. All Veritas2 rods run a bit heavier than you would think so I run a 7 foot MH micro guide series to fish frogs but it would flip and fish jigs as well. You could also get the same rod in a 7'3" or the 7'6' but the 7'6 may be a little stiff for lighter 1/4 to 3/8 jigs. The action is up to you. These rods retail for $99. They can often be purchased online for less. Check here they are selling them for $60 http://www.manventureoutpost.com/products/Abu-Garcia-1324165-Veritas-Casting-Rod-7'3"%2C-Medium{47}Heavy-036282615717.html There are lots of other choices but it will perform well for you.

Lets see if I can give you some easy questions to answer and those answers will help us make some informed suggestions. Let me say I have owned 11 boats in 40 years, so I am asking these in order to give you an answers from hard learned lessons.. My boats have included canoes, aluminum jon boats, aluminum bass boats, and 2 fiberglass rocket ships. I have changed boats mostly as the demands of the bodies of water I fish have changed. 1 Look at the bodies of water you would fish with it. Are they small ponds, small lakes, small creeks and small rivers, larger deeper rivers, big lakes or big tidal bodies like the Chesapeake Bay or California Delta? 2 Are you looking for a boat to fish a body of water that will have a horsepower restriction? Perhaps electric only? 3 What is your budget? What area do you live in? Scott F was right to include species of fish and yes what will you tow it with or would you just load it in the back of or on top of a pickup? Species of fish matters because if you want to fish a species that trolling will be a technique then certain type hulls lend themselves to doing that. Anyway answer these please and I will try to help you. Also I am sending you an article my friend wrote. It will cover lots of details on buying a used boat. Get yourself a glass of your favorite beverage, find a comfy chair and spend a bit of time reading Bryan's article. I think he covered the basics and most of the advanced details. He wrote it as he was spiffing up one boat to sell and purchase another. These are all of the things he put together and as you will find he is an advance boater with many years of experience.

What I meant was this. When fishing baits like light weight texas rigged worms, shakey heads and drop shots, especially around cover like docks, rock bluff walls and downed wood, often the best presentation can be one that drops perfectly vertically without pulling away unnaturally. A spinning rod is best when that straight fall is desired. A baitcaster in this scenario will require you to hand pull a lot of line quickly to stop it from swinging away as if falls. Using a spinning reel you will want to open the bail, make the cast and let it pull all the line necessary to fall. If you sort of slow the line a bit at the end with a finger and use your other hand to close the bail, then you will have no loose coils that will get wrapped over as you reel the line in. Using the reel handle to close the bail, while having any loose line ,can also add to the problem because it can add line twist. This can cause the "birds nest " issues on a subsequent cast. If you simply get used to stopping the line with a finger, and slightly raise the rod as you close the bail, the line will tighten a bit on the reel and no line twist or coil issues are created. This method was taught to me years ago by a fishing guide and I never forgot it. I have also used a bunch of different lines on the rods my wife and I fish. When I have tried to use some of the best modern fluoros or copolymers I find 8 pound test is about the max size that work on a 2500 or 3000 size reel. My choice has become the Berkley FireLine original in 14 pound test (.009 in diameter- so it is almost equal to most 6 or 8 pound mono). I just add either a 8 or 10 pound leader made of P Line CXX in moss green. It has worked well in big Tennessee lakes like Dale Hollow and Center Hill, clear drinking water reservoirs here in MD as well as a the tidal water here on the Chesapeake bay and Potomac River. And no I did not say you "HAVE TO USE A SPINNING ROD" but I was trying to explain why it may be the preferred equipment. I also was trying to understand why the OP was experiencing his difficulties. In the rod locker on my boat is about a dozen rods that I fish with, most are baitcasters, but 3 are G Loomis spinning rods. I pull them out when the lures are light and I need a very sensitive rod to give myself the best opportunity to succeed.

That is wrong. if you reassemble the seal, back bearing, hub and front bearing all correctly you should pump more grease in through the grease zerk in the axle. The grease should build up in the back and come out through the front bearing. If you see grease coming out near your rear seal then either the axle is badly grooved or the rear seal was compromised. If the rear seal can not keep grease in, nothing would keep water out when you launched your boat. I would remove the hub, clean and inspect everything again ans pay special attention to the axle. Make sure the edges and seal areas have no sharp edges, and the sealing surface for the seal is not heavily or deeply groove. If so that axle will need either a wear sleeve or replacement. This may be why you suffered a bearing failure to begin with.

Check out Bryan's posts on his website about polishing up his Ranger R70. It turned out amazing so it brought more money when he sold it. A lot of his old posts will give you a how to for your project. Kris of course can give you tips also since he is doing it all to his Ranger as well.

If you are having fraying problems take a q tip to your guides.if the cotton stick you have a guide problem. I have run Fireline, Suffix 832, Power Pro and SpiderWire Stealth and found little problem with any of them fraying. You may have to replace some guides on your rod.

I am curious why so much trouble with a spinning rod and reel? Is it the line coils that give you trouble. Shakey head and drop shotting require line to come off fast so the lure can hit the water where you want and get a straight drop down. That is best accomplished with a spinning reel. The setup I use is a 7 foot Loomis IMX rod ( but any good quality rod works) it is a medium action handles lures 1/8 to 3/8 with a Pflueger President. I use Berkley FireLine original or Fused braid ( I like the neon green) and a 4 foot P Line CXX moss green 8 to 10 pound leader. There are almost no coil issues as long as you hand close the bail. Try your best spinning combo, spool it this way and see if that helps.

Order some from Bass Pro

You could look at manual shallow water anchors like this. I have a much bigger aluminum bass boat with a 70 pound trolling motor on the front deck but still have trouble when fishing docks in tidal current so I have bought one like this and a similar one that mounts to my trolling motor. You could shove one or two in the ground then fish an area completely and move again. http://www.shallowwateranchors.net/ Just an idea. If the water is faster running rivers than an anchormate and a mushroom anchor works.

A 14 to 16 foot jon is a great starter boat. I have had 11 boats in 40 years of fishing. My first was a 12 foot jon. That boat had the regular three benches and we fished three out of it often. I was fishing an electric only lake as well. Before you go changing boats consider doing a little mod to yours. First make the driving station in the rear. Add a seat mount like this from Bass Pro and a seat like this In smaller boats you are going to be safer and the boat more stable if you stay sitting. If you want to build a box to fill in between the seats you could build it say 8 inches high add a door and you have some storage. Add two deep cycle batteries in order to switch between them and a 12 volt 50 pound transom mount trolling motor. Also look used, sometimes you can find good deals on transom mounted trolling motors. I ran a 15 foot mod v bass boat with two 12 volt Minn Kota Endura Maxes to fish a real big drinking reservoir. I would add these pieces and a small depth finder and enjoy what you have. In the future you can look for a deal on a bigger boat. Here is a picture of he 15 footer I had. I originally had a 25 hp gas engine on it. I pulled it off and used it on a different boat. This is a good size to upgrade to but a trailer and a tow vehicle is a must then.

Just stay with the Tatula, Tatula CT Tatula Type R and Tatula CT Type Rs. They work and last.

Look at a Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0. These rods handle well and are pretty versatile. Veritas rods run a little heavy compared to their ratings. So the lure rating is correct for this rod. The action leans a little towards a medium hvy/hvy. I use an original Veritas 7 ft MH with a fast tip for my frogging rod, but it would easily handle jigs, heavier worms ( like 1/4 to 3/4 just not the finesse worms like shakey heads) and tx rigged creature baits, even a carolina rig up to an ounce. In the same rod series look at the medium action moderate tip rod. It throws crankbaits and rattle trap type baits well. They retails for $99 but places like this you can get it for $80. I know you can find it at Dicks sometimes too. Look here http://www.joessportinggoods.com/product/abu-garcia-veritas-2.0-casting-rods-32758.htm?variations=488820&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ep4p&utm_term=&utm_content=&ep4p_ref=google_pla&gclid=CKS_yNLKv84CFY1bhgodhfIOPA For a reasonably priced quality reel look at a Diawa Exceler. I fish two and a lot of Diawa Tataula and Tatula Type Rs. All terrific reels. An Exceler is a workhorse it retails a t $99 but can be picked up for $60. Look here https://www.*.com/Daiwa-Exceler-EXE-Reels-p/daiwa-excelerexe.htm. That will give you a terrific combo. If you want a faster reel like a 7-1 then check elsewhere on line. That combo will run you about $140 and that is pretty good. I would buy this combo now with the 6.3-1 reel use it till you are ready then I would purchase a rod for cranks and traps, a 7 ft medium/moderate. I would move the 6.3-1 reel over to it and purchase a 7-1 to put on the Veritas MH rod. That will make it a little better for frogs. Otherwise you will do fine. Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Micro Cast Rod 7' Med Hvy Taper Line Wt. Lure Wt. Guides Handle Type Handle Length Stock Price Qty Fast 12-20lb 1/4-1oz 10+Tip Veritas Micro B ***/2" In Stock: 3+ $99.99

You say you mainly fish plastics. Are you talking about weighted plastic worms jigs with plastic trailer and plastic creature baits then look at these two rods. First the MJC68MHF This is a 6'8" medium heavy rod with a fast tip. Here is the description from St Croix's website: "MJC68MHF / JIG-N-WORM: Number one choice for jigs and worms. Abundant power to move fish from heavy cover" The next rod is in the same basic category but is your true 7'1" Medium Heavy rod again here is St Croix's description: "MJC71MHF / JIGS & BAITS: A super versatile rod that’s perfect for searching open water with big spinnerbaits for active fish. It’s also ideal for jigs, worms and working heavy cover" If you mean you fish unweighted Sencos, floating worms, tubes, grubs etc I would rather have a 6'8" to 6'10" Medium spinning rod with a fast or extra fast tip. This is what lures they list for " The Plastics" Mojo casting rod. Read this description: "MJC71MF / PLASTICS: A great rod for fishing soft plastics including Senko®-style baits. Ideal for tubes, grubs, small worms, light jigs, small spinnerbaits and buzzbaits." Based on these descriptions and my guess you meant fishing traditional worms, jigs and plastic creature baits with 1/4 to 1 ounce weights texas or carolina style ( and not finesse plastics ) then I would choose between the 6'8 MHF Jig and Worm rod and the 7'1" MHF Jigs and Baits rod. I fish both size rods in Powell's. My 683 Powell Max is my favorite & most versatile rod I own. I love it for pitchin around docks, lay downs any target fishing situation. It is just as good in more open water situations but I have another rod that is 7'1" so it gets more of those duties. I have 16 rods under my deck so I am in a different situation. The 7'1' would be a fine rod if that is what you prefer. If you did mean the more finesse lure like the 'Plastics" rod described i would go to a spinning rod like this one instead: MJS68MXF / WACKY STYLE: This is the ultimate finesse rod with a focus of working Senko®-type baits wacky (weightless) style. Match this with a Pflueger president and go catch fish! .

Have you held a Irod or Dobyns? Are you asking about spinning or baitcasting rod. I fish some Dobyns, Powell's, and Irods, I have never seen a balance problem with them, most balance right in front of the reel

sorry I know a bunch of dealers in 8 states but not one in your area. Give a boat dealer near you and see if they know a place to get seats and custom boat covers made. Often they " Know a guy!" LOL

Where do you live, just the general area?

Go you fish 3 people on the boat?

Given the price being close I would go for the Ranger. The Ranger boats were well made and had good components used on them. One thing the seats in a Ranger are great. The deciding factors for me would fall this way: Condition of the boat, what engine and how does it run, I would get a dealer to check compression and pull records off the engine ecm,what does the seats, electronics live wells etc. and then witch one do I like better after a boat test ride. The ZX225 is a great boat just remember it has a Yamaha engine on it, that is a bit more expensive engine and may even be a 4 stroke which is good too. They run a little different and much quieter.

Pull the front tube section out. Use rod sleeves and do not look back. The only time I like having an organiser in is if it is in one of the really deep rod locker and many rods can be stored below he tubes. Then the tubes help organise my most used rods but I can still get a rod out from below.

A local marine upholstery place could probably repair it for you reasonably. Do you ever fish 3 people? I have removed the middle seat out of my last two boats. i only fish two people and dislike walking on the seats. Yours fold up which is nice but for me I like that middle wide open.

If you can get Power Pro Spectra braid in 40 pound test it is equal to 10 pound diameter. That will work well. The Sufix 832 is just as good. I fish both the 832 in lime green and Power Pro Spectra in Moss green. You mentioned you had tried P Line, I like P Line but it takes getting the right line for the right job. P Line Halo is amazing Fluro, one of the most abrasion resistant fluoros, but that means it is a bit stiff. Never use any Halo above 8 pound test on a 3000 size spinning reel. If you use 10, 12, or 17 on a baitcaster it will be great, but it is recommended to stretch the line out before using it if it sits on the reel for a long time. Also line conditioner help too. One thing for sure it hold up to the rigors of fishing and it is tough. I dare you to try to cut through 8 pound test with your teeth, it is not happening. I also like 10 # P Line Cxx in moss green for leaders. That is a way you can alter your presentation if you need to, when using braid. Lastly spool 1/2 your reel with a quality mono like Strem. It will tighten down tight to the reel arbor and also give a smooth backing to the braid. Your braid spool will fill more reels and you save money when filling a reel. I like 14 pound mono and use a uni to uni knot.