fishnkamp

There are lots of good 17 to 18 foot aluminum bass rigs out there you could choose from. If you run bigger open waters perhaps a deep V bass boat might fit your needs better. Keep in mind I vacation on big lakes in TN and KY like Dale Hollow, and Center Hill. I run a Lowe 171/2 footer with a 75. I also run that boat here at home on some of the rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay. G3, Lowe, Alumacraft and others make some nice boats you could find used in your price range. Here is a good example located in Springfield https://fayar.craigslist.org/bod/d/2012-bass-tracker-175-txw/6602877105.html

He probably also got an engine he will not need to run as hard most of the time, and perhaps a better hole shot. I am a firm believer in setting a boat up with max HP. They usually run better that way.

A ten foot jon should be able to be put on your roof. Check into some roof carriers. I used one back when I owned a sports car.

As slonezp said it is a Pitot tube. It is a pickup coming from the lower unit and could be run to a speedometer if you had a mechanical speedometer. With many newer engines running the newer gauges that get their info directly from the engine that tube is not used. If it is supposed to be used on your boat then a tube coming from your speedo has been disconnected.

Before you spend your money consider the Irod Fred's Magic stick. It can be purchased in the Genesis II series for about $150 or the Fiber series for around $110. It is a great frog rod, but is also great for fishing big worms and jigs.

That is the hardest thing to accept, everything you have ever learned says the spool is too loose and it is going to make a mess. The internal portion of the brakes ( the centrifugal weights and pawls) work basically like a lawn mower's governor. What I really like is that when I change too either lighter or heavier lures I never adjust anything. I do not need to. I fish in thew Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers. I always have moving current and usually some amount of waves. This means I do not want to open a reel up to make adjustments for fear of loosing parts or other issues. I use my equipment not only for bass but for big blue cats and stripers. These all feed together on the same bait in the fall.

If you see any of my previous postings you will see I am a BIG fan of the Daiwa reels. I fish a bunch Tatula, Tatula Type R reels and Tatula CTs along with the Fuego predecessor the Exceler reels. The Fuego is built on the Tatula CT size frame and shares the Mag Force Z brakes. This is a great brake system but you will need to learn how it adjusts correctly, which is really easy if you forget how every other reel adjusts. First watch these two videos. After that go for it. You will not be disappointed. BY the way check Cabelas they may have that reel on sale. Ignore the fact he is talking about a different model, the brakes adjust the same.

Champion Boats offered one back in the nineties. I believe it was done when John Story began Viper Boats. I never saw the Champ anywhere other than on Bas and Walleye Boats magazine ( if I got the name correct for the magazine).

Observe the butterfly operation and linkage movement, then try one more thing. Hook up a 6 gallon gas can to the engine. Fill it with fuel and prime the engine using its primer bulb. I would either have it hooked up to a set of ear muffs and your garden hose or back the boat down in the water, but still have it strapped to the trailer at a ramp. If the engine starts and has good throttle response than there is a possibility your boats' fuel lines are probably collapsed. There has been a ton of fuel line damaged by ethanol fuel. You would need to replace all your fuel lines and primer bulb. Also replace any fuel filters as well.

Another idea is to do an experiment when the boat hull and bilge area is dry. Make sure the plug is out in the back. While all is setting on the trailer and good and dry fill that compartment/cooler half way with water. Watch the rear or the hull and inside the bilge area. If that water level in the compartment drops see where it is going to.

If you are looking at fishing down to that depth you need to make longer casts to get the bait down to the strike zone. A rod like like a 7'3" to 7'11" is not a bad choice. Check out rods from Irod, Falcon, and Dobyns. They all offer nice rods designed for deep divers

Go with a 6.X to 1 so either 6.3, 6.4 etc depending on the what your favorite reel offers. The 5.5, 5.6 to one reels are best used for deep deep diving cranks. Those big baits that dive 18 to 25 foot deep put a lot of stress on your hands and that is where you will benefit with the 5 series reels, For all your shallow cranks, traps, wake baits, jerkbaits and cranks diving down to around 15 foot a 6.x reel will provide a more versatile setup. That is what I have found over the years.

No I have no prepared answer, I did have those Shimano reels and liked them for years. The green Curados were good reels. I never felt comfortable having to open a reel to change brake settings while fishing on my home waters. I fish on the Chesapeake Bay tidal waters, which include the Potomac River, the Susquehanna River and Flats and places like Middle River (where Aaron Marten won his Elite victory several years ago) and others. These water have currents, wind and rough water often. During vacations I get to go and fish places like Dale Hollow Lake, Center Hill Lake, Lake Gaston, Lake Erie, Lake Anna, etc. On some of those places the water conditions are much easier to handle a reel like those Shimanos. It is just that I have seen this complaint on the new Shimanos frequently recently. Having a reel that performs very well and has a set and forget brake system is a plus for me. By the end of this summer I hope to replace the remainder of my 12 baitcasters with Tatula CT reels. I still have to stay in the household budget, so I have to replace them one at a time.

I would go with a Daiwa Tatula CT if you are fishing plastics that weigh over 5/16 OZ., counting the hook + lure +the weight. If so, the CT will perform fine. Below that weight I always prefer to use a spinning setup. That reel will be very versatile depending on the rod you have it matched with. The Tatula SV TWS is a great version of a Tatula reel. I is built on the CT frame but uses a special "SV" spool. That spool includes a set of special brakes that allow it to handle lighter baits as well as handle skipping docks and things. It is a great reel but will hold less line and is not as versatile in my opinion. Either way I would recommend the Tatula series reels.

Save the aggravation if it continues. Go to a Daiwa Tatula and forget ever opening that stupid side plate completely. I used t fish with some of the old and beloved green Curados and several E series Chronarchs. A friend lent me a rod to play with one day and it had a Daiwa Exceler on. Since then IO have sold off all my Shimanos and have a bunch of Tatula Type Rs, Tatula CTs and one Exceler. I have never regretted that decision once. You will need to properly adjust a Tatula or Fuego because they run very different to any other reel, but once set up correctly they are a joy to fish with.

Take a few minutes to read an article my friend wrote on the subject of buying a used boat. He is in love with those old Rangers. He also covers how to properly check out an older boat and find a good deal. http://www.baybass.com/node/200 Personally I would go make arrangements to take a boat ride and check it out with the owner. I would have the cash with me and be prepared to take it home with me if it all checked out. I would expect to have a new water pump kit put in and other maintenance like a tune up, trailer bearing repack etc.

I love all the Daiwas with that break system, but you must adjust it correctly. I fish a bunch of Tatula and Tatula CT reels, as well as the predecessor to the Fuego. It was called a Daiwa Exceler and it performs great as well. They made the change because they wanted to use the smaller CT body in order to standardize the lineups. I am not sure why some hate the TWS system, but it has always been good for me. Since there are anglers that do not like the TWS they still offer basically the same reel without the TWS. I fish the Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers so my reels have to stand up to not only bass but stripers, big blue cats, snakeheads and even the occasional bluefish. None have let me down.

new2BC4bass As you know from my previous postings I am a fan of Dobyns rods, but freely admit there are lots of other rods out there and I enjoy them as well. I often suggest certain rods from certain companies like the Ike series rods, especially my jerkbait rod, and certain rods from Powell, Irod, Falcon, and G Loomis. My experience with Dobyns is fairly short, 4 years compared to my 40 years total of fishing. I have never held a Savvy, but I have fished with Fury, Sierra, and Champion XP series rods. I have handled many more than I have fished with, thanks to having a great local shop that stocked many of them. I never expect a Fury spinning rod to compare in sensitivity to my G Loomis IMX spinning rods costing 3 times as much. I have to be honest here, but my wife's Sierra and mine are pretty close. I am very happy with them. Anyway you are correct about each rod series has been improved over the years. Gary's dealers had been pushing for a rod series to be sold below the Fury line for many years. When he finally found a blank material HE determined cost effective and sensitive enough he began a process that took over 3 years before he released the Colt rod to compete in that sub $100 market. It is not just a "price" line of rods, he made sure it still met the standards of a Dobyns rod. By the way I believe I may be going in for my last foot surgery next week. If it is successful I am looking forward to getting you out on the Susqy Flats sometime this year. Of course it would be nice if winter would go away first!

Dangerfield please send me an email to fishnkamp@comcast.net. I would like to share some info offline. Thanks, Bob

What did you want your spinning rod to do. Most anglers prefer the 703S (spinning rod) in all series for fishing grubs, shakey heads, even drop shotting for bass. Now if I was looking for a great river smallie rod to throw small grubs and small jigs then I would run to the 702S. Remember most Dobyns run a bit lighter than they say, like a half step lighter in the spinning rods.

The Savvy series was Gary's entry level up until he designed a better blank and built the Fury rods. The Savvy rods used to be available in both a regular guide series and a micro guide series. Gary is not a fan of micro guides bit if that is what his customer wants then he will build it. The Fury series tapers are very similar to his Champion XP series rods. Obviously the Champ series has more expensive blanks material and components, but they fish very close to the same. I have a friend that fishes with 5 Fury's so I have been able to compare a few of his to my Champs. The Savvy series was replaced by the Sierra series, it is a better blank and fills the need for some of his customers that prefer a slightly slower blank. I fish with 2 of those and love them as well.

Lets back up a bit before we go forward. I am looking at what you already have first. I like your choice of the Ike Delay rod for cranks, and jerks. It is only a 7 footer so you will find it works best with small to mid sized cranks, square bills, even some jerkbaits and rattle traps. You may want to eventually swap that 5.5 reel to a 6.1 to 6.3-1 reel. The 5 to 5.5-1 reels really shine when you are throwing crankbaits that run over 20 foot deep and that requires LONG casts so it usually takes a 7'9 to 8 foot long rod. I do not mean your combo won' work as an all purpose rig but you may find the 6.X-1 works better. I run a Tatula 6,3-1 on my Ike jerkbait rod. my 3 crankbait/trap rods and my 6 ft BPS Extreme rod I use when fishing soft swimbaits like Skinny Dippers and Keitechs and my spinnerbait setup. Realize I fish with over 12 rods under my deck and so some of my rigs are specialized. You had a spinning combo you liked but need a replacement rod. For general finesse purposes, and to keep the price down, I would consider a rod like the Dicks Sporting Goods Quantum Escalade 6'6" medium. It is an IM8 rod that retails for $99.00, but is almost always on sale for $49.00. Another good option is a Berkley Lightning Shock rod. I fish with some very expensive rods but also one of each of these rods. You never mentioned what the other rod was that you already fish with so lets consider the two needs you are looking to fill. I believe the Dobyns 734C is as versatile a rod as you are going to find for throwing many baits. It will easily handle your lighter jigs fishing (jigs up to 3/4 plus a trailer), baits like a Stanley Ribbit, which fits in a category of baits referred to as horny toads These baits are very pliable plastic and get rigged most often with either a single texas rig or a special dual frog hook like this one. This is much different than the typical hollow bodied frog and the rod used to fish them are different. The 734 will throw spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, even some small to mid sized topwaters well. That is a lot of versatility. i would match it with a reel like a Daiwa Tatula CT in the 6.3-1 ratio. My next rod choice would be the Fury FR 735C. It will handle your pitching, flipping, carolina rigging, and it is one of Gary's favorite actions for fishing hollow bodied frogs. My personal situation only allows me to fish with 7 foot rods as that is all I can fit in my rod box. So I fish a Dobyns Champion 705C and it makes a great frog rod, but I also throw bigger heavier jigs in deep water as well as I use it as a pitching rod. My combo has a Tatula Type R 8-1 on it but you could go a with a Tatula CT in either 7.3 or 8-1. Just to throw a few monkey wrenches in here, I also like the Powell Inferno 6'10 medium spinning rod. Check out an Irod Genesis II Fred's Magic Stick. It is a IRG 754 but it i also available for a little less money in the Fiber series. Same basic blank and action, just a bit less expensive components. This may sound funny but I would stay with the Fury series rather than the Savy series.

There are thousands and thousands of baits made out there. However I will always suggest to start with some simple baits to cover the water from top to bottom. Many good ones have already been mentioned. I like some simple baits you can fish on your spinning rod. These will be lighter in weight, which is what a spinning rod handles well. I include small texas rigged worms, or small worms rigged on a stand up style jighead ( we call them shakeyhead jigs). The simple 5 inch grub like a Kalin Lunker grub is a deadly weapon because it can cover shallow, mid or deep water depending on what weight you use. Many anglers rig them with a 1/8 or so worm weight and a small worm hook. I prefer to use a Bass Pro Shops Perfect Finesse worm jighead. I use these on many baits as they rig easily and allow my to change the style bait from a grub to a worm to a creature bait. The Senco worm is a great weapon too. It is so versatile. It can be rigged texas style, "wacky" style with either a small hook or a small jighead in the middle and even as a bait on a drop shot rig. For your baitcaster baits like a 3/8 to 1/2 ounce jig with a plastic trailer such as a grub, crayfish imitation, etc can cover the bottom well. Baits like Rapala floating diving minnow shaped baits have been used forever and still catch fish. The last bait I will cover, since you asked about them, is what is a fluke. It has been answered as a plastic jerkbait, and that is true. The original has a forked tail. They are great baits but I prefer a paddle tail version of a plastic jerkbait called Skinny Dipper. It is made by a company called Reaction Innovation and they make the bait in 3 sizes. One is about 4 inches called a Little Dipper, the Skinny Dipper is about 5 inches, and then there is a Big Dipper. I fish the middle size most often. The bait has a great swimming action when retrieved and an irresistible flutter like a dying fish when paused. I rig them with a special belly weighted hook when I want to stay in less than 10 feet and another type jighead that looks like a fish's head when I want to fish deep. I hope that gives you some eye candy to help you understand what we are talking about when you read all this confusing information. I recommend you go make a small order that would include several baits and the correct tackle that will let you fish those baits in several different ways. Go fish them! Then pick a couple more baits and their matching tackle. Fish them and so on. I would rather start with say 2 packs of "Bluegill" Lunker grubs and 2 packs of "Smoke Salt sand Pepper" and some BPS Perfect Finesse Worm Jig heads than 20 packs, if you understand what I mean. That and several color packs of Sencos along with some hooks and wacky jigheads might be a good start for those baits. Colors always depend on the water clarity. Clear water then go with lighter colors dark stained water darker colors.

What did you want to know? Anything specific? I know this is going to be a bit confusing but here is some of the history on the the Triton VT-17. In 2008 a VT-17 was still being made and owned by Triton Boats. It was part of Triton's original line of aluminum bass boats. In 2010 I almost purchased one, but decided to go with the Lowe Stinger 170, due to its floor plan. There was more front deck storage. Around 2011-2012 Lowe/Chrestliner purchased the entire Triton aluminum bass boat line. Part of that line became the Lowe Boats "HP series" of aluminum bass boats. They moved the VT series of boats over to the Chrestliner boat line. They then dropped my Stinger 170 floor plan. They continued making my hull, but only in the 175 multi species version. Around this time the entire Ranger/ Triton/ Stratos ownership changed again and so once all that happened Triton started building their current boats. Chrestliner may be able to help you with some info on their boat since they continued making a VT-17 VT-18 and a VT-19. Again if there are any specific questions you have try asking them here, I am sure someone could help you.

I own one BPS Extreme ML 6' rod. It is awesome for throwing Reaction Innovation" Little Dippers or Skinny Dippers unweighted or with a light belly weighted hook. I am sure it would handle something like Sencos or light weighted texas rigged worms. I normally have a Skinny Dipper rigged on mine.