what is the oldest bass boat owned and used by any member

[Ranger-85]

My 1985 Ranger 350V with Yamaha 150 still Fishes (Bass and Crappie) Never been in salt. Power Head was replaced in 87 by yamaha Free LOL Has head milled w/220 carbs and reeds and a Pro v lower unit I love this boat , Garage Kept all its life ,still has same carpet and seats.Will run 64 GPS with the Predator Prop 62 with Tempest But I never run it hard anymore Too old for that stuff,

[TrackerPro16]

Those are some nice older boats! I see a 'newer' boat from time to time but when I really stop and think about it I have to conclude the boat I have now works well for me and the family, we own it, and buying someone else's problem child would just create, well, more problems. It is a 2001, so not all that old, but I will probably keep it until I don't fish or cruise the water any more.

[Casslaw]

These pics take me back! Those were the days your name was on the engine but the boat wasn’t covered in decals. That Mercury is one of my all time favorites, I can almost smell it idling!

[luvdmymerc]

I don't own it but fish out of it pretty regularly. My buddy Andy and I fish out of his '77 MonArk McFast....

[okiebass]

Sold my 84 350V ranger 2 years ago ---it was still a great boat

[Lil Mo]

‘89 Bass Tracker 1800TF with the original Evinrude 150XP. She’s still in great shape and does everything I need. When it comes time for a restore I will have it rebuilt/restored and repowered and still come out ahead.

[dean c]

1987 374V with 1988 XR4 and just about broken in. Second owner.

Wow...wow...wow....just gorgeous. I remember sitting those Rangers at the boatshow when owning one was just a dream. Awesome rig there sir.

[BigEasy]

That ProCraft sparkles as if it’s new! Are you the original owner? That must be kept in a climate controlled unit! Beautiful.

I love these pictures. In 1990 I was 14, my dad bought a Gemini 179GT (Billy Westmorland Edition, have no idea who that is) with a Mariner Mag II 150. That is the boat I learned to tournament fish out of and I loved it but the transom cracked. Those were the days of sparkle!!

Are you kidding me? You have no idea who Billy is???

Ever heard of fishing for smallmouth bass at Dale Hollow?

Ever heard of blade baits in the winter?

That man was the king of kings

[flipit]

1992 Ranger 372 with a 2000 Yamaha 175. Original engine stolen, boat still has original pumps seats and carpet and everything works great. Very happy to still have her i am the original owner, sold it around 1998 when it was stolen and stripped. Guy that bought it pulled it in the garage and it sat until he called me last year for some missing trailer paperwork as he was going to donate it. I bought it back from him put a used motor from BBC and have been running all year. New graphs this winter and some trailer cleaning and it will be perfect. I have had newer Rangers over the years but was done fishing for awhile with 2 kids in college and one heading to school next year. Thrilled to be back fishing with the first boat i purchased new.

[Sports1]

1986 Stratos 179 with a 150 Mariner Magnum.

[jc1992]

I have 3 oldies that I keep going for different purposes and also because 2 of them were my great grandfathers. The first is a 1984 tidecrafts 14ft sticksteer with a 40hp mercury thunderbolt. 2nd is a 1986 17’8 Raycraft with 150hp mercury black max. Boat originally was bought with a 115 on it off of a tidecrafts spitfire that was wrecked and my dad bought the raycraft hull to replace it then upgraded to the 150 in 1989. The third I bought simply because it was a hell of a deal. It’s a 1986 kingfisher 15ft fro hull with the side consol and 1986 50hp yamaha. I bought an 88hp evinrude to put on it but decided against it and the 50 does very well. The boat still has original everything and Was in mint shape except for the nose. The previous owner has everything covered but the nose would stick out so the gel coat is gone there but I use it for a duck boat and also fishing for crappie when the stick steer is getting repairs done

[JR19]

I like the old school sonar/GPS combo on the dash. I bet few have used or even know how to use a compass to navigate a boat. I have done it a couple times in light fog back in the day before GPS.

[Casslaw]

Are you kidding me? You have no idea who Billy is???

Ever heard of fishing for smallmouth bass at Dale Hollow?

Ever heard of blade baits in the winter?

That man was the king of kings

Actually I don’t and the internet wasn’t around when I had the boat...this was ‘89 and I was 14 years old. I grew up in Florida...had no idea what a smallie was back then. Now I really want to catch them fiery eyed monsters but in Florida...not gonna happen! My brother lives in lower Michigan and has never caught one, only lm.

Ill find a good pic. I do know that the Gemini Boats had an issue with the transom cracking and it certainly happened to ours. It was “my” first real bass boat and I thought I was king s**t on turd island! My dad had a 78 Ranger before that...it was sold around 81-82 but he always talked about that boat.

[JR19]

Actually I don’t and the internet wasn’t around when I had the boat...this was ‘89 and I was 14 years old. I grew up in Florida...had no idea what a smallie was back then. Now I really want to catch them fiery eyed monsters but in Florida...not gonna happen! My brother lives in lower Michigan and has never caught one, only lm.

Ill find a good pic. I do know that the Gemini Boats had an issue with the transom cracking and it certainly happened to ours. It was “my” first real bass boat and I thought I was king s**t on turd island! My dad had a 78 Ranger before that...it was sold around 81-82 but he always talked about that boat.

Considering Billy Westmorland's rise to fame was in the 70's it's understandable you have never heard of him. He has been past away for a few years with the 70's and 80's being the height of his career. As for your brother living in Michigan and never catching a smallmouth there is no excuse for that. There is several waters with the opportunity to catch smallmouth in Michigan. Lake St Clair is right outside Detroit Michigan. One could argue it's in the top 5 best ever smallmouth fisheries in the world. When conditions are right you can catch 40 SM in the 3-5lb range in one day. It's not going to happen every time you launch the boat but when the timing is right it is possible. In my opinion 3-4 lb SM are the most fun to catch because they jump so high. There is nothing like 5+ but once they get real big they don't seems to jump as much as the ones less than 5 lbs. I am convinced if you tie a 3 lb SM to a 5 lb LM the 3 LB SM would pull the 5 LB LM around the lake. SM are notorious for being aggressive fighters that pull like a freight train and jump like an acrobat.

[jsharp]

My cousin still fishes out of a '78 Bumble Bee that he bought brand new. He is still running the '78 Mercury 115 that came on the boat and it still runs great.

[Casslaw]

Considering Billy Westmorland's rise to fame was in the 70's it's understandable you have never heard of him. He has been past away for a few years with the 70's and 80's being the height of his career. As for your brother living in Michigan and never catching a smallmouth there is no excuse for that. There is several waters with the opportunity to catch smallmouth in Michigan. Lake St Clair is right outside Detroit Michigan. One could argue it's in the top 5 best ever smallmouth fisheries in the world. When conditions are right you can catch 40 SM in the 3-5lb range in one day. It's not going to happen every time you launch the boat but when the timing is right it is possible. In my opinion 3-4 lb SM are the most fun to catch because they jump so high. There is nothing like 5+ but once they get real big they don't seems to jump as much as the ones less than 5 lbs. I am convinced if you tie a 3 lb SM to a 5 lb LM the 3 LB SM would pull the 5 LB LM around the lake. SM are notorious for being aggressive fighters that pull like a freight train and jump like an acrobat.

Thats is what I keep seeing on the TV but when I ask him...it’s only lm. He’s not a serious fisherman even though he has a Pantera II, he uses it maybe 6 times a year. I figured he would have accidentally caught one by now but he’s a bank pounder from Florida so he most likely has no idea how to find them...even though I try to tell him what I’ve learned from reading and tv.

I will get so smallmouth country someday! 40+ 3lb’ers sounds like a lot of fun!

[JR19]

ST Clair and 1000 Island area on the St Lawrence River in NY are both on the short list of places I would like to fish. I am fortunate that I live about 1 hour from the famous Dale Hollow. I rarely fish it because most of it is in TN and all I buy is a KY license. There is plenty of water in KY to fish but best SM fishing is in TN. Plus Lake Cumberland is only 30 minutes away from me and it has good opportunity for SM. I think Dale Hollow has more big SM but Lake Cumberland has better numbers of SM. About the only time I target SM is from Oct-March but only when fishing for fun. In a tournament Dale and Cumberland have such restrictive size limits it would be impossible to win without catching LM or spots.

[Bassman Ia.]

I like the old school sonar/GPS combo on the dash. I bet few have used or even know how to use a compass to navigate a boat. I have done it a couple times in light fog back in the day before GPS.

Brand new 1985, with an Eagle Paper Graph and an Eagle Flasher. Hard to believe that was 33 years ago.

[ratchet1300]

1990 Champion 184DCR Yamaha ProV 150. Still hits 60 mph in spring.

[Les Young]

ST In a tournament Dale and Cumberland have such restrictive size limits it would be impossible to win without catching LM or spots.

Gene, a whole lot of tournaments are won on Cumberland with a limit of smallmouth that go between 16 & 18Lbs. in winter & summer both. Many 5 fish limits of smallmouth on bright moon lit nights weighed in which is in contrast to what a lot of big name smallmouth guys saying about them not liking bright moonlight. Have saw 20 lbs. for 5 smallmouth a few times too on Cumberland. I have caught some nice ones on green too after anything from a sickle moon on up going towards full came up late at night. So far my best there is 5 pounds 3 ounces, but have had a couple on that were better, but lost them at the boat. One night next summer we'll try to hook up & see what we can come up with on Cumberland as far as smallmouth go if you want too.