Thats my point. Give the average angler a shot. Takes some of the big boys out and gives the 75's and the Weekend warriors a shot.

The best bass fishing I will likely experience in my lifetime was the first 10 years Fork opened out of a '68 Power Cat with a '69 85 HP Johnson. GOOD Times!

Wait til a little Allison shows up

Mine has never gone over 74....honest.

what are some top speeds that yall have had your 150 at i had a 200 once and had it topped out at 67 with two ppl and fished out of a 250 that we had it at 71 once (dont know if it had more or not wasnt driving) but i have a 18foot skeeter with a 150 now have not had it on the water just courious

65 mph (gps speed). It was about 10 degrees outside & the water temp was just below 50. My boat is a 2001 Cobra 180 with a 2001 Mercury XR6 150 HP.

On a normal tourny day I run 61 mph top end. That is with 3/4 tank of gas, full live wells, & my 80 lb. white shepherd/wolf.
If my partner is fishing with me, I can run just under 60 on top end.

It doesnt make sense to me either. A bigger HP outboard doesnt catch you more fish. We went from an 85 hp to a 225hp and it hasn't caught me anymore fish. Bigger boat is just safer in rough water.

Having a wrapped boat does not always mean skill. Sometimes it means that you talk a good game or that you bought the wrap yourself. Not saying that about you personally but how does having a 150 HP or less mean you fish with a cane pole?

Why does it matter if they have a HP limit. I mean if it is not a success then they will cancel it. Maybe it will be and some who do not want to enter the bigger ones will enter. More power to anyone who does it.

mine is a 20ft with a yam prov 150 and it tops out at 61mph

Has anyone read the article in American Bass Angler magazine? Tells how the new trail came about.

Faster boats, bigger boats or whatever. They are a tool. They mean X amount of value to the fisherman. There is no perfect size to accommodate all tournaments and for most of us cost in purchase and operation are limited. Normally we can only choose one boat.

A comparison from a small boat to a large boat might be like this.
A 75hp boat going 40 compared to a 21 foot boat going 75.
In a large run like 150 miles the larger boat will have over an hour more fishing time in a days fishing.
In a short run that may only be minutes.
Also fishing heavy seas is easier and possible in some cases where a smaller boat just can't do it.

So in some cases the need for a larger boat can be dramatic. In some instances not needed at all but since we usually choose one we get one that will do the most for what we can afford.

Yes, fishing ability is most important but the right boat opens more of the lakes up and increases fishing time........some of the time.

Which is faster than most boats with 250s

I know of several people who may be good sticks, but wont fish tourneys any longer because they get run over on the water during take off.

I fish Media Big D team. We are either in a pro craft 17.6 with a 115 or my boat, Nitro 17.6 with a 115. Both will run about 48-50 on a good day loaded down.

We have cashed checks each year we have fished, but learned pretty quick that we dont need to be in the first flight. You get tracked down pretty quick and passed, which can make the run pretty dicey in the AM.

I think that this exposes more people to tourneys, a few people might leave a "non restricted" trail to fish this one, I enjoy Media to much to leave it, and besides, I like the fact that most tourneys we have one of if not the smallest and slowest boat, and can still compete ( finished 41 out of 201 in the media champ at CC )

I think the real intent here is an attempt to separate the so called "weekend anglers" from the pros. ABA is banking on the fact that there are people out there who like to fish tournaments, but for whatever reason, feel like they don't really have a shot at winning, so they choose to sit it out. By restricting the equipment, ABA is telling these weekend anglers that they won't be competing against the pros and wanna be pros. Now whether or not this actually works remains to be seen.

And one other thought - If this circuit does take off and start drawing good numbers and having good payouts, how long will it take before the "pros" start showing up in either a borrowed boat or perhaps they'll even invest in a second boat.

If anyone is interested, Im starting a trail strictly for boats with 250 or greater HP engines. I think it will eliminate the threat of anglers who spend more time fishing than driving around. Also, you must have side imaging.