Hello... I am thinking of purchasing my first real fishing boat - a 1999 Ranger R-71. 17' with Merc 125... Have only fished out of my 24 foot pontoon fishing boat for catfish, yet want to crappie and bass fish on Lake Conroe... Is this a boat that one could be satified with for a few or more years? Any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated! THANK YOU

Conroe gets very rough as you know. A 17' boat will work but, I wouldn't try and go full bore across the lake in it with the wind and chop that we had this past weekend.

Other than that, I think it will do the job you want it to do.

Well my answer would have to be, it depends.

I was in the same situation about a year ago and these are a few of the questions that I asked myself before hand, and a few of the things that I have learned since.

Will you mainly be using it for fishing and if so with how many people will go out with you on average? If you plan on going out just by your self or with one friend, then I would say it would be no problem. But I think that you will find that a 17 foot bass boat will get quite crowded once you try and fit 3 guys plus all of their fishing gear on the boat.

It has been awhile since I have been on lake Conroe (I grew up in Kingwood) and I forget what the wind is like on the lake. I know that the lakes in the DFW area get a good deal of wind (20 MPH plus) and a longer boat really helps you stay on top of the waves and prevents you form spearing them.

I don't know if this is a factor for you or not, but I found that there are a lot of hidden expenses after you buy the boat. Lights, Anchors, Life jackets, Paddles, Ropes, registration fees, etc..... I bring this up b/c it looks like you are shopping for a used boat (as I was) and you might be able to get the seller to throw a lot of these things in for you (As I did)

For my personal preferences I went with a 1999 18.5 foot Skeeter fish-n-ski and it has worked out well for me.

I�m sure that there are plenty of guys and gals on this forum who can add much more detailed info to this; these were just some of things I remember about buying my first boat.

Hope this helps

Cowtown

I was in the postion in the early spring tring to fish out of a pontoon and it just did not work. My wife went with me one day it was not a good day, so she stated that we needed to get a boat that we could fish out of. I started looking and was torn between a new or used boat. I compared prices and size. I thought about who would be fishing out of the boat and i live on CC so obviously the lake also. I ended up finding a 2000 Ranger R71 and i would not trade it, i love it. It has a 125 merc on it. Most of the time it is just me fishing out of it, but when there is two it is still comfortable. It has one of the greatest rides i have ever been on. I have fished out of a lot of bass boats. It takes the waves really good. It does well on gas also. I did also get extras from the previous owner. I am really happy with the purchase. All the things mentioned above are things to take into account. I know i sound like i was tring to sell you a boat, but really was just saying that i am very happy with mine.

MattH

THANK YOU ALL for your replies! I just want to make a good decision, and not WISH that I had purchased "something else" instead...

HEY JEFF.I HAVE A 1997 RANGER 518 COMANCHE WITH A 175HP JOHNSON.I WOULD NOT TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD.ALL I DO IS CRAPPIE FISH BUT IT HAS PLENTY OF ROOM AND ENOUGH BELLS AND WHISTLES TO KEEP YOU BUSY.NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT IN TERMS OF PARTS AND BROKEN PIECES.

bozo is definitly right it does get pretty rough on conroe, really bad on the weekends,with all the jet skis, giant speed boats going 90 miles an hour across the lake,and all the water skiers.not to mention the wind, I would definitly take that into concideration if you plan on fishing conroe pretty regularly !!

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Robert S.

Jeff...I may as well pitch in my theory. I have a 2000 R91 Ranger w/200 opti-max. I LOVE it. It takes big water...there is plenty of storage room for several fishermen. No danger of snagging your fishing buddies in the back of the head. That tends to piss them off. Two live wells, coolers, two large rod lockers, etc, etc. My nephew bought a new 17.5' Ranger last year at the boat show in Louisville. I would not tell him but the difference in the ride and taking rough water is like day and night. That two additional feet seems like 4 or 5. It is a nice rig, don't get me wrong. The way I look at it is this; how much more could a 1999 loaded Ranger cost (R91) or similar boat, than the smaller one? The boat that I now own was my fishing partner's who had only had it one season, developed liver cancer and passed away. I don't fish waters nearly as large as you do and from what I understand, you have a lot of wind and potentially hazardous waters? There is no comparison, safety wise....oh, and you don't have to have the 200hp motor, obviously, to push a 20' boat. A 150 would probably do fine.....good luck and good fishing, whichever route you go...../Mike)

For what it's worth I owned an R71 several years ago and it was a great rig. I only had a 115hp Johnson and it did the job fine. Now I fish Ray Bob since it opened and its got big water that turns ruough quick. It did fine for me rough or calm. It is a very stable boat for whatever kind of fishing you do.

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