rangerboats I Found My First Bass Boat

[gim]

I've already mentioned this but I own a 2015 model of this boat.  I have my electronics flush mounted in the console and it only allows for a max 7 inch screen.  It may have changed since 2015 though so that is worth looking into.

 

I'd skip the jack plate too.  If you want a shallow water anchor you can use a talon with a sandwich bracket.  That is what I have on mine.  But if you are intending to use an Ultrex with spot lock then a shallow water anchor is probably unnecessary.

 

I have a 24 volt 70 pound thrust Maxxum bow mount and it has always been enough for the boat.  Get the 75 hp outboard unless you fish lakes that have outboard hp restrictions.  You mentioned you fish a lake with electric motors only, so a good bow mount will work in this situation.

[ATA]

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

But if you are intending to use an Ultrex with spot lock then a shallow water anchor is probably unnecessary.

I was thinking of the same thing, but ive seen so many have them I was thinking so ill have it also :), So thats not necessary.

[gim]

Just now, ATA said:

I was thinking of the same thing, but ive seen so many have them I was thinking so ill have it also :), So thats not necessary.

I'm not saying its completely unnecessary.  When I bought my boat, the Ultrex didn't exist.  If it had, I would opted for that and skipped the talon.  I'm not saying I don't use my talon because I do but one is really not a true one spot anchor.  You need two of them.  They are very expensive and they're heavy too.  It will add some weight back there.  I use my talon the most when I'm loading/unloading the boat to be honest.

[K1500]

I’ve got a trolling motor with anchor mode and no power poles/talons. I agree that for the fishing I do, anchor mode is sufficient. I can see how talons would be nice, but they are heavy and get in the way of a back seat angler, not to mention they are expensive. 

[jbsoonerfan]

I would bite the bullet and get a spot-lock anchor and shallow water anchors at the same time. I didn't get poles when I bought my boat and fished out of it for a while then decided I wanted them. I also went with a "cheaper" TM with spot-lock before upgrading to an Ultrex, so I would also advise just going with the Ultrex if you are even considering it. 

 

I went with 8" graphs and wish I would have went with 10". It all seems like major expenses up front, but it beats buying twice which is what I have already done with my TM and will end up doing with my graphs. 

[GaryH]

4 hours ago, ATA said:

I was thinking of the same thing, but ive seen so many have them I was thinking so ill have it also :), So thats not necessary.

They serve two different purposes. Spot lock is great in deeper water. In shallow water the spot lock will stir up the water too much.

I love my Ultrex and also love my power poles. Different tools for different jobs. 
the big thing is what kind of water are you usually fishing.

[ATA]

8 minutes ago, GaryH said:

They serve two different purposes. Spot lock is great in deeper water. In shallow water the spot lock will stir up the water too much.

I love my Ultrex and also love my power poles. Different tools for different jobs. 
the big thing is what kind of water are you usually fishing.

when I think of pros and cons, I am deciding to don't have power pols.

1- extra money.

2-in RT178 you can have only one power pole and anything not symmetrical is not really my thing .

3- weight of power pole.

 

 

[Dirtyeggroll]

9 hours ago, ATA said:

when I think of pros and cons, I am deciding to don't have power pols.

1- extra money.

2-in RT178 you can have only one power pole and anything not symmetrical is not really my thing .

3- weight of power pole.

 

 

You will be fine without powerpoles. 
 

you can always add them later if you change your mind.

[Bluebasser86]

If you're fishing lakes that don't get hit by a lot of wind, or aren't overly shallow, then there's not a lot of need for power poles IMO. I fish lakes that are both shallow and windy and I still manage to catch a few fish without them.

 

I had a 16' aluminum Lowe for my last boat. It had a 60hp 4 stroke Mercury and would run in the low 30's. Unless there's a hp restriction on the lakes you're fishing, you'll never wish you had a smaller motor.

 

I'll pile on and say you'll want at least a 70lb 24v trolling motor and make sure it's a variable speed and not a 5 speed motor because the differences between speeds, especially at the higher speeds is so great and they go through batteries faster.

[Allen Der]

Have you considered the Tracker with the Pure watercraft electric motor?  Might be out of your budget though

 

https://www.purewatercraft.com/product/tracker-pro-team-175-txw-bass-boat/

[J Francho]

$25k for 25 mph/20 mile range on the OB.  It's not terrible, but not economical either.  The Tracker package is $36K, which would buy you a ton of boat on the used market.

[ATA]

1 hour ago, Allen Der said:

Have you considered the Tracker with the Pure watercraft electric motor?  Might be out of your budget though

 

https://www.purewatercraft.com/product/tracker-pro-team-175-txw-bass-boat/

That is something I really need to look into it, thank you for sharring.

22 minutes ago, J Francho said:

$25k for 25 mph/20 mile range on the OB.  It's not terrible, but not economical either.  The Tracker package is $36K, which would buy you a ton of boat on the used market.

Yes and I am looking into it, most used boats don't come with good trolling motors or outboard motors and the prices also not really low, but I know if I keep looking, ill find something.

[J Francho]

Trolling motors are sometimes sketchy.  The last two used boats I bought, one I had to replace the TM.  In both cases, the outboards were flawless.  One was a '98 Mercury 115 EPLTO, the other a 2000 Merc Racing Pro Max 2.5L.  That Pro Max purred like a kitten, and started with a flick of the key.  You gotta really do your homework buying used.  If you go that way, start watching videos about it and asking tons of questions, both to the seller and the forums. 

[Deephaven]

12 minutes ago, ATA said:

That is something I really need to look into it, thank you for sharring.

Yes and I am looking into it, most used boats don't come with good trolling motors or outboard motors and the prices also not really low, but I know if I keep looking, ill find something.

It is a terrible year again to buy anything.  Welcome to Covid.  As for the trolling motors not being good on used boats, it is unusual to have one with spot lock but I would take an old cable drive MinnKota over one of the digital ones with spot lock anyday.  I use my foot a ton and hate the Fortrex and such.  In that case adding a power pole would be super helpful.  

The other thing I would say in a used boat is make sure that it is new enough to have fuel injection.  The carbureted models are a pain in comparison.  

[Allen Der]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

$25k for 25 mph/20 mile range on the OB.  It's not terrible, but not economical either.  The Tracker package is $36K, which would buy you a ton of boat on the used market.

 

Right it's not economical yet, but if you fish electric only lakes it could be worth it.  Needs a government subsidy like on electric cars.  I heard they're looking into it for E-bikes, so maybe boats are next

[ATA]

Just now, Allen Der said:

 

Right it's not economical yet, but if you fish electric only lakes it could be worth it.  Needs a government subsidy like on electric cars.  I heard they're looking into it for E-bikes, so maybe boats are next

That I was thinking about, Since I am in CA and they already not registering diesels 10 year older, and they have goal 2035 no gas car in CA so I am now thinking the same, They might to do that to boats as well.

[J Francho]

That's an interesting point. A boat is a bit of a long term purchase. It would stink to have to comply with new laws a few years down the line, instead of buying into the compliance now. I hadn't thought of that. 

[ATA]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

That's an interesting point. A boat is a bit of a long term purchase. It would stink to have to comply with new laws a few years down the line, instead of buying into the compliance now. I hadn't thought of that. 

Thats what happened in my business, I purchase couple 26' Internationaltrucks and this year they didn't register them and I need to pay $1000 plus for this year(even I cant use them), and I need to pay to destroy them.

They will not give you any other option, only option to sell them in another states, Anyways I am not into dealing trucks. So long story short, I lost a lots of money just by a simple law and that law wasn't something that we know two years ago when paid for the trucks, They just announced it before new year. So I don't want same thing happen to me in boat as well.

 

[BayouSlide]

40 minutes ago, ATA said:

Thats what happened in my business, I purchase couple 26' Internationaltrucks and this year they didn't register them and I need to pay $1000 plus for this year(even I cant use them), and I need to pay to destroy them.

?

[Deephaven]

7 hours ago, J Francho said:

That's an interesting point. A boat is a bit of a long term purchase. It would stink to have to comply with new laws a few years down the line, instead of buying into the compliance now. I hadn't thought of that. 

I consider boats short term purchases.  Flip them all the time.  If you buy them used and right they cost you nothing.  Never works with new.  At 10 years old boats are usually done depreciating....sort of defines where the right window to buy is.  I get it some people like new, totally fine, but not for me.

[E-rude dude]

Any trolling motor that has spot lock is worth the extra $$ you pay for it. Saved me many times while fighting fish, re rigging lures, waiting for the ramp to clear, using the coffee can, eating lunch, get a drink, checking out equipment, getting tackle or rods, etc, etc. 

 

You will NEVER regret it.

[E-rude dude]

Also I have a Triton TX18 with dual Power Pole Micro anchors. Much lighter than Talons or hydraulic anchors, will hold my boat up to 20 mph winds( who wants to be out in that anyways), cheaper than the others, and there are 2 different transom mount Power Pole brackets available. One for Tracker one for Ranger either will work. The only down side is don’t run with the pole in the anchor. You have to take them out and reinsert. Not that big of a deal. If you have a co-angler that’s their job. If not they aren’t in your way anyways.