Stren northern 2007

[Skip Johnson]

I sighned up with the stren series today, theres still about 80 boater openings for all 4 and alot more openings for co anglers.

[Eric]

Did you switch boat brands, or are you just willing to give up almost all of your winnings for not driving their boat?

[Duke]

What is the schedule this year? I heard they had eliminated the Northern Division.

[joshimoto son]

Duke,

Actually they eliminated the Midwest Division. Made me sick to my stomach.

Between the extended travel and the new regulations on boat ownership (2000 and newer for Co-angler and 2004 or newer original ownerfor Pro's) I decided to not fish Stren next year.

Almost makes the BASS Opens look better (no boat affiliation) but the travel is even farther yet!

It keeps getting harder for us Midwesterners all the time.


joshimoto son

[MBell]

Whast the deal with boat affiliation.  I took quick glace at the rules and nothing seems new.  I broke down the numbers for the strens a few years ago, and it was the best thing going, when comparing with the time and money you put into it.  $825 seems like a lot, I remember $650 just a few years ago. 
-Matt

[Skip Johnson]

Im staying with Skeeter I like the faster boat and ranger wont offer me team deals, having to pay full price for a ranger every couple years is a deal breaker, yeah if I was to win one and not own a ranger it would  hurt a bit but not as bad as some may think, with skeeters team deal I get a better boat for 10k less than a ranger and skeeter pays 2k for any win with 30 boats or more.

[Duke]

I'm confused about this boat deal. Are you saying that to fish a Stren event as a boater you must own a Ranger boat no older than 2004? and as a co-angler (who doesn't fish from their boat) they must have a Ranger boat no older than 2000? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but that makes it pretty darn expensive to participate; especially if you're not a pro that makes a ton of money. Am I wrong about this?

Duke

[Skip Johnson]

Duke
The FLW stands for forest L wood the owner of ranger boats, FLW gives a winner bonus to those who own a newer ranger, the pay for a win in a stren tournament is $25.000 but if you are a ranger owner you get a boat worth $40.000 for a total prize of $65.000.
co anglers win is $5.000 and if you own a ranger you get a boat valued at $30.000 for a total of $35.000.
It is total BS especialy for a co angler that probobly is a co angler becouse he does not own a boat, I have owned 4 skeeters and plan on byuing a 5th soon!

FLW is the best tournament organisation out there and theyre trying to strong arm everybody into buying a ranger.
cant say rangers are bad boats, they look nice as I pass them

[MBell]

Oh now I get it, a ranger boats only last 7 years and if you fish as much as pro it will only last 3 years(just kidding).  I get the ranger bonus, but the year thing is a shady deal.  I will be buying another boat in the next few years and I will consider a ranger, because I want the best boat out there not because of this stuff.  Doesn't really matter as much now that they don't come north. 
-Matt   

[joshimoto son]

Thanks for the follow up on all the questions Cast n Blast... you saved me a bunch of typing.

I would'nt have a problem making a one time investment of a Ranger boat to fish any of the FLW stuff.

I was fortunate enough to fish in both organizations (BASS and FLW) this year. Both are very good, but FLW REALLY has their stuff together when it comes to every aspect of tournament fishing.

I just think that pushing boat sales by changing the rules is wrong, the market is flooded with boats already, what do you think this is going to do to us all when we go to sell our own boats?

Shame on FLW. (maybe too harsh...?.... I don't know?)

I hope they did not shoot themselves in the foot.

joshimoto son

[Skip Johnson]

joshimoto son
I couldnt agree more, I almost bought a new ranger this year after I totaled my skeeter but they wouldnt offer me a team deal!
if I didnt have to sell the ranger every couple years to stay with the ranger incentives I would own one but heres how I look at it.
I buy a ranger at full price lets say a 2007 521 it will cost me $49.000 to $50.000 out the door then I have to sell it every couple years, Id be lucky to get $35.000 for it!
heres the real hard part to swallow, you put down 10%=$5.000 then you make about $500 a month payments for 2 years=$12.000 and when you sell it you gotta move it or make two boat payments so you sell it for $35.000 but you still owe $40.000 so your out another $5.000 +$12.000+$5.000= about $22.000 then you have to come up with the 10%($5.000) for your new boat!
I dont know about the rest of you guys but I make about $80k a year and theres no way I can afford to fish and pay those kind of fees just to hopefully win a boat which brings me to the next deal breaker!
I won a team tourney on lake mead about 12 years ago, the prize was a rigged boat and $10.000, I took the 10k and my partner took the boat, according to him by the time he paid the earnings tax sales tax and regisration he had to come up with 10k that year just to keep the boat, thats why you see all these boat certificates up for sale so much.

If I buy a skeeter I get a team deal a 21 I class wich I think is a much better boat than a ranger I can get it out the door for $44.000 I dont have to pay for my jerseys hats stickers etc, to stay on the team you must sell the boat by 18 months, team members get $2.000 for every win if theres at least 30 boats, at the end of 18 months if I dont want to buy a new boat I can stay on theyre real money program for $20 a year and I still get $1.000 for every win with 30 boats+!
I am buisness minded, I own my buisness and I can say that If I ran it the way ranger wants us to throw money away I would be bankrupt.

[joshimoto son]

C-n-B,

Glad to see even though we have different boats, we can still be "in the same boat" on a subject.

I only hope the "right" people are reading this, I am sure going to miss fishing the FLW.

joshimoto son

[djkimmel]

To clarify, Forrest Wood sold Ranger Boats quite a few years ago. He is still involved as the iconic founder of Ranger Boat in many of their activities. He has a large cattle ranch near the factory and they now have a museum to honor him next to the factory complex.

Ranger Boats (Wood Manufacturing) is presently owned by Genmar, a privately held company headed up by Irwin Jacobs, who also owns FLW Outdoors.

Mr. Jacobs honored Forrest Wood further by renaming Operation Bass to FLW Outdoors and now calls the FLW Tour championship the Forrest Wood Cup.

Genmar is one of the largest pleasure boat manufacturers in the world, owning many major boat brands including Champion and Stratos.