Buying first boat for Musky/walleye need advice

[TSchultz]

The silicone trick really does work well, but like was said don't unhook your trailer winch/chain till you get in the water. I figure it works pretty good for about 8 launches till you need to reapply.

[Basseyes]

Have seen a few guys trying to launch in a hurry and forget to unstrap the back. But oh man that wouldn't be funny to see a big glass boat slide off and land on the concrete.

[hanson]

If you have 15,000 to spend on a walleye/muskie boat, I'm buying a late 90s Ranger 690 (single console) or 692 (dual console) with a 175 on it. Probably save a little money to upgrade the bowmount and electronics but that will depend on the boat obviously.

I just fished out of a 99 690 w/ Merc 175 on Lake Winnebago in some of the biggest waves I've ever seen and that satisfied every question I had about the big water capability of that boat. Unbelievable! Actually the narrower beam on the 690 seamed to handle the bigger waves better than the newer 620 & 621s. I'm really getting picky when I say that but the wider boat seamed to pound a little harder in that rough water.

Anyway, if I've got 20k plus, I'll be in the market for a 2000 or newer Ranger 620 or 621. The room inside those newer Rangers is very nice!

It would really take a good sales pitch to convince me of something other than Ranger. And I mean a GOOD sales pitch.

[JRedig]

I reapply every 10 launches or so on the silicone. It's not something I *need*, my boat needs very little water to launch, just makes it easier to load. I have yet to find a launch even with low water that I can't power load on.

FWIW, if you leave your truck running water won't get in the exhaust and it really wouldn't hurt much if it did. There's quite a bit of water in the exhaust all the time from the engine any way you slice it, doesn't matter which end it comes in from.

[BoxMN]

The silicone thing is a good idea. I know when we land our boat that has half bunk half roller we usually make sure to get the bunks wet before winching her up. Helps a ton when it is filled with decoys in fall

Biggest thing I would say about what boat to get... don't go over your budget, and even then, I would tend to stay under it. A boat is a toy, and you don't want payments on a toy that gets used only 6 months or so out of a year. With that said, we have at least 5 registered boats and many others, hehe, so I love boats. Just don't be "boat poor". See that all the time.

Good luck, and have fun with whatever you get!

[HugoBox]

we have at least 5 registered boats and many others, hehe, so I love boats.

Sort of our own private Navy I guess! the good news is that unless a boat has been abused you're not going to find a turd for $15K. We have a 1997 Alumacraft TP175 that does the job just fine for us. That said I'd love a glass boat on bumpy days. Everyone will offer opinions on what boat is best and I won't argue that with anyone, I will say though make sure its a good solid motor and enough HP. A great boat does you no good if it has no hole shot or you need to get towed to shore. I bet JRedig is much happier with his 175 than he would have been with the 125 that was on a similar boat he was looking at.

[nathanr7171]

I have a 2004 Nitro 288 Sport which is a good fish and ski.

Now that my kids are 5 and 8 the time is split equally between fun and fishing.

From a fishing standpoint, you're not as close to the water as a Ranger for figure-8ing and rod storage is an issue with the musky sticks, they just don't fit that well, so I don't use the boat for permanent storage.

From a fun standpoint, the ski two pylon is serious, no additional bracing needed. Easy in and out. Decent amount of storage, also has a ski storage area in the floor.

Overall, an excellent boat. It still looks like the newer models (I found an 01 online that looked similar too) and it's a bit unique in this area (central MN), don't see to many of them. Have fun on the lake during the day, then get a few casts in when the sun goes down.

Nathan

[propster]

After using Lunds for a bunch of years and thinking I was satisfied, I finally went to a Ranger 690vs and couldn't be happier. Almost identical to JRedig's but his is one year newer and in a lot better shape, but we love that thing for muskie fishing. Course we don't pleasure boat/ski with it.

[SJMyers32]

Check out the 2001 Reata for sale on walleyecentral dot something cant swing the cash right now plus it would look good behind my forest green truck. Tell me what I missed out on!

[Apex]

I MAINLY MUSKY FISH BUT I DO WALLEYE FISH A LOT TO. I WAS ON THE MARKET FOR TWO YEARS AND COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING BUT BASS BOATS THAT WERE WORTH IT. I GO UP TO RAINY RIVER A LOT AND WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT DEAD RISKY MY TRIP ON WEATHER CONDITIONS. I ENDED UP BUYING A NEW TRITON 177 WITH A WINDSHIELD BECAUSE OF THIS. ITS A GOOD MULTI-SPECIES BOAT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SIT TO HIGH OUT OF THE WATER SO YOU CAN FIGURE 8 GOOD. THE ONLY DOWN SIDE TO IT IS ON BUSY WATERS IT LIKES TO BOUNCE AROUND A LOT, BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH(17-7) BUT CAN TAKE WAVES LIKE A SON OF A GUN. IF YOUR PICKY LIKE ME GO OUT AND FINANCE ONE CAUSE YOU CAN SELL IT IN 5 YEARS AND WIPE YOUR HANDS CLEAN IF YOU WANT ANOTHER ONE. i ENDED PAYING 28K FOR A 32K BOAT WITH PAYMENTS AROUND $250. HOPE THIS HELPS

[mww24]

the late 90's rangers are nice. i have a 96 681 tiller. 17 foot boat. have had it in larger rollers and it is a dry boat. the make a console version to. know a guy with a 617 ranger. also very nice. ive ridden in a lot of aluminum boats and after buying a glass boat. i will never buy a tin boat. good luck.