A small amount of background on myself is that I have been absolutely ate up with fishing since I was just a wee lad growing up in Waterloo. All of my buddies were excited about getting their first car but not me, I saved up to buy my first boat. It resembled a large bath tub with a 35 horsepower Johnson on the back, but I was in love! That was a lot of years and a lot of boats ago and man do things change, I would have never dreamed that some day I would be driving a 225 horsepower performance machine like the Nitro I have today. Through my years working in the boating industry, being at boat shows, fishing tournaments and having owned lots of different boats I have came up with a few questions that will be helpful in choosing the right boat. First and foremost of course you have to figure out what can you afford, and you may be pleasantly surprised, according to Grant Chamberlain from Waterloo Boats “The financing options that we have today are incredible they make owning a boat possible for practically everyone”. Other things to consider are how many people will be in the boat, you won’t be happy with a boat that will only fish two people if you normally have three or four in the boat. What type of fishing do you do, I am predominantly a bass fisherman so raised casting decks are a must have for me. If you fish mostly crappies you may want a boat with at least one built-in aerated bait well. What else will you use the boat for, a jon boat with a 9.9 will not pull a skier worth a darn. Where do you fish, if you spend most of your fishing time on the lakes or Cedar River around Waterloo then that jon boat with the 9.9 will be great. Write the answers to these questions down and use them as a check list when you go looking for a boat. I strongly recommend even if you are not planning on buying a new boat that you still buy from a dealer. I make this suggestion for several reasons the biggest of which being that a good dealer will always be there for you, to answer questions, show you how things work, maintenance and so on. A dealer can also be very helpful with setting the boat up with the right accessories. Picking the right accessories is harder than it sounds, you can’t just say I need a trolling motor and a depth finder you may end up with a paddle and a stick with hash marks on it, Everything has to match the boat and your fishing. Spend some time and think about the things you will want to have and get everything when you purchase the boat. If you are getting a loan for the boat a few hundred dollars worth of accessories will not have much of an impact on the payment, even if you are not getting a loan for the boat you still want to add your goodies now, this is when the dealer often gives up there best deals on accessories and installation. Some of the most obvious add-ons are a trolling motor and depth finder(s), but accessories do not necessarily mean things that attach to the boat, a spare prop for the gas engine and one for the trolling motor as well, anchors and ropes are all good things to have but you may want to add some skis or a tube for some non-fishing family fun and don’t forget the things you have to have like life jackets and a throw-able flotation. Take your check list with the answers to the questions and the list of extras you will want into the dealership and together with the dealer you will be able to pick out the exact boat you want. I have owned a boat since I was 17 years old and could not imagine not having one, I truly enjoy being out on the water and encourage everyone to join in on the fun. I will be available to talk boats and fishing one on one with anyone that would like to stop by the Waterloo Boats booth at the sports show this weekend at the UNI dome. Until next time keep your lure wet!
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