Duraflame

I did find out from the dealer that the sea pro was a salt water boat, and it also has some bad oxidation on the motor cover, meaning it sat outside a lot. The dealer didn't have much other info, which is concerning, as it might be recovered from a hurricane or something. I'm going for the HS. My 4 stroke kicker will solve the fuel usage issues, I just need to find a good mount and install it. I also like the fact that the HS comes with a brand new Simrad gps/sonar with sidescan, which can also be hooked up to an autopilot in the near future. It can mark fish at speeds up to 35mph.

I'm not sure I understand your point. I need a boat that I can slip all summer, as well as sleep on it occasionally. The hardtop WA is exactly what I need, plus this has a larger than normal canvas, which includes the two jump seats behind the helm seats, so there is sitting room for 4 when conditions are wet. This boat also has an 8ft 6in beam, which is a full foot and a half wider than my old open bow Lowe. The locking cuddy allows me to store my gear on the boat. Although the boat is in SC, it has been used solely on lake murray, with only a few trips to salt water. It has always been stored on the trailer in a barn, and has never been slipped, so I'm not terribly worried about bad stringers or transom, but I'll certainly be checking them out. There's no way I'm going back to an open bow boat, especially on lake Michigan, as they are dangerous if caught in a fast moving thunderstorm 5 miles out. A big wave over the bow or transom has caused many boats to sink. Plus, they can't be slipped. The qty of WA boats available down south allow for a much lower asking price than similar boats in the great lakes. Yeah, I'll have to spend a few thousand rigging it for salmon trolling, but I'd rather be able to start from scratch than deal with another owners rigging and holes drilled into the gunnels.

The boat is in South Carolina. I'm heading down Friday and on Saturday I'm going to do a full inspection and then take it out on Lake Murray, just outside of Columbia, SC. The seller got another offer for full price from a guy in VA, but the seller promised he would hold it for me. If all checks out, I'll be pulling it back on Saturday. One nice feature is that it has never been slipped, rather it has always been stored in a barn on a trailer. I'd love to have a mechanic check it out, but I won't have the time. I'm a pretty mechanically knowledgeable guy, so I'm going to have to do it myself.

This Hydra Sport is pre the outboard bracket, and therefore has an open transom. However, the owner has done a good job enclosing it. I'm headed down Friday to check it out, and if it's as good as the photos show and performs well on the water, I'll be bringing it home. Thanks everyone for the advice.

I have a dilemma. I have two boats I'm quite interested in, but I need some opinions to help me decide. Boat 1 2004 Sea Pro 220 WA - 2004 Suzuki 200hp 4 stroke - Bimini soft top with side curtains - Dealer bought on auction, no details - Mechanically checked and approved 1998 Hydrasport 225 - 2003 Yamaha 225hp ox66 2 stroke with 459 hours - Freshwater only - Hardtop with full enclosure with 6 rocket launchers - Owner selling The Sea Pro is about $2k more. I'm quite perplexed here, as I really want a 4 stroke, but I also really want a hardtop with full enclosure. I'm planning on installing a 9.9hp 4 stroke kicker, so I'm leaning towards the Hydrasport. I also think that the Hydrasport is a higher quality boat. Thoughts? Thanks,

Well, I now have my sights on a 2002 24' Wellcraft Walkaround, with a newer 4stroke Evinrude 200hp. Looks like a nice rig, but I don't know much about those boats. Any major cons I should be aware of? Thanks,

I'm looking to stay under $25k. Walkarounds are preferred, in the lengths of 24ft to 28ft. Trying to avoid two strokes if possible, but will consider one that has a kicker mount, or low enough price that I can add the kicker mount. The boats I've seen in the great lakes region are tremendously higher cost than the ones from the saltwater coast, especially New Jersey. Even some freshwater boats in NY are much less in comparison than what I'm seeing in MI and OH. I know salt water is tough on boats, but to save $10k, I'm thinking it will be worth driving to NJ.

Well, I just found out that the boat I'm looking at has an offer on it. So it looks like the search starts again.

I have a 9.9hp 4 stroke kicker, do you think that would be enough to push it. I think the dry weight on the boat is less than 3k pounds.

I lost 300' 45lb copper and the 11" paddle and fly, another 11" paddle and fly, a spoon, all when a boat cut across the back of me and ran his downriggers through my gear. Just recently lost my boat when it got crushed when my barn collapsed. I haven't been able to dig out my rod/reels and tackle yet, so I'm sure some of those are crushed as well.

I'm looking at buying a 1998 Proline 251 WA. I have heard mixed reviews on the Proline brand, but I like the layout with the 250hp outboard. The only negative I see right now is that the engine is a 2stroke. It looks like it would be a good boat for Lake Michigan, and it would set up real nice for salmon. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott

Dang, looks like registration is closed. I'm bummed.

The first pic looks like it was taken down by the gary steel plant. That is a great area for early coho's.

I run a lot of my own flys, some of which are over 7" long, and they perform very well, especially during low light hours.

The first king I ever caught on my own boat was March 17, 2012 out of Portage IN. It was 80deg that day, and I had no clue what I was doing. I was trolling a bunch of thunderstick Jr's and some Net Craft knock offs, using 6ft bass spinning rods and cheap Mitchel reels. I had one downrigger, and the rest were flatlined with inline weights. The Coho were in thick, and several were hooked in the prop wash, we could actually see them hit the lures. It was really neat, and I wish I had it on video. It took me 30 minutes to reel in the 16lb king that hit the thunderstick that was 30ft down on the rigger in 45ft of water. I can't believe it didn't burn that reel up that day. We ended up catching another 14lb king and a bunch of coho, all on those cranks. I quickly decided to invest in some heavier tackle. But for some reason, I haven't trolled crankbaits since. I'm definitely going to run some this year, especially early. That reel later gave out, fishing for pike. It lost it's anti reverse, and the gears occasionally skip. It was a lot of fun reeling those kings in on such light tackle though.

Thanks for the detailed report. I've been having trouble out of Saugatuck recently, with three skunk trips two weeks ago. Decided to take a couple weeks off to wait for it to pick back up. I'll probably head out later this week.

Well done, thanks for the report. I won't be out until i get my house in Saugy in June, can't wait.

Thanks for the info and quick responses. I probably won't get to choose the house I want anyway, as the wife will want to have some say in that dept. Unfortunately, she has a bad track record. It has taken me 7 years to fix our current house so I can get it on the market. Regardless of where I buy, it will be closer than Indianapolis, so I shouldn't be too picky I guess. Thanks again.