Wileyw

The Ranger 198 looks like a monster of a boat and is very decently priced. The only problem I have is it is in its first year and is made with the same gauge aluminum that the Tracker 195 is made from. I haven't seen a lot of people post about them so don't know how well they are selling yet.

I would definitely be throwing a rattling or vibrating crankbait, spinnerbait, top water or bladed jig. The bass need to feel the bait if they can't see it.

We do this quite often, too. If you can keep the bluegill away it is a lot of fun.

At $12,995, I don't know if you will be able to find a comparable new boat for that price, but there are some wonderful boats out there that are only a year or two old that can beat that price, and any credit union can beat boat manufacturers financing.

Wow, that is a great deal.

I had a 89 Bomber that was one of the most reliable boats I ever fished out of. It had a Johnson 48 and would run in the mid-30s. It was stable and handled rough water extremely well. I did have to extend the deck back to the console because it ended almost at the back of the seat pedestal and the guy in the back didn't have much leg room. My biggest problem was getting used to two people casting so close together. You have to be very cautious and don't think about fishing with a third person. You'll break every pole you have or hook someone in the back of the head.

I have the Sun Dolphin on my pond in the back of our property. I leave it there for the local kids to use if they want to. It is powered by a single 12 v. deep cycle battery with a 30 lb trolling motor that I keep in the barn. The pond is not 350 acres but sometimes the kids take it out for hours and never run the battery down. The boat has sat out in the weather for over 5 years and it still looks new with the exception of the seats. The sun and rain has been hard on the plastic seats, but it comes with the cheapest seats you can imagine. It is difficult to pull out of the water and get back in. With the battery and trolling motor included, it is very heavy.

Same thing here in Ohio. I split the price when I sold my last boat in 3rds.

If you don't want it to pop off again, 3m 5200.

The worst part is removing the old glue and being careful not to get the new glue where you don't want it.

I believe the stability of the mod-v is a little better when you're standing all day casting for bass. Usually the V-hull has a higher gunnel around the boat and I think most kids parents would prefer that.

Ebay does not store vehicles. I ran into the same scam a few years back.

On my pond hopper I bought two MinnKota Enduras, both 30 lbs. running on a single battery. One in the front, one in the back. When I have a buddy we can fish all day and not wear down the battery. For the battery, an Interstate 27 from Gander Mountain, and the two Enduras. I paid less than $350 or $375 for everything. They are not foot controlled, but we don't spend a lot of time trolling around, mostly just corrections as we slowly make our way around the ponds. The trolling motor in the back works out great for helping to get into and out of some tight spots when used with the front trolling motor but it takes some getting used to. Especially if the co-angler in the back happens to be my wife.

In 2008 Tracker upgraded their hull making it the same dimensions that have been carried on to the current model. Unless Lowe has made their hull smaller since you bought yours, the Tracker was the same width on bottom and had a wider beam.

I like the layout and storage on the Tracker 175TXW better than the Ranger RT178. The ride will also be better on the Tracker which has a better designed hull. I think the finishing touches on the Ranger are better. The main components, steering, motor, trolling motor, batteries, aluminum, carpet, depth finder are all pretty much the same. Tracker is powder coated, a plus. Ranger has a better trailer. Tracker has a wood deck, Ranger has aluminum. Tracker has a recirculating livewell system standard. Ranger is an option. Both good boats and priced pretty close to the same.