Lew's Tournament Pro

[Chief Grey Bear]

Don't know what your smokin, but comparing a Z9 ride to a Phoenix 921 is insane. Not even in the same ball park. Bring your 9 down next week and we will put 5 different riders in the boats. If 1 picks your boat over mine I will give you my boat. If all 5 pick my boat you will give me yours. Pink vs pink. Oh by the way that is not a new hull design on the 9 they have had it and there are changes coming in it for 14 or 15, to make it better.

We will test them at operating speed on a cross wind. Will will test top speed, we will test hull noise, we will test cornering at top speed, we will test fishability in a heavy wind. We will test quartering into rough water in the wind for interior dry ride. You pick 6 other catagories, You can even include price as that would be the only one you would win.

But I will tell you now, you don't want to do that. That is not what your boat was designed to do. It was built to be extremely safe and designed to sell for a point that makes it more than attractive to fisherman on a limited budget. Yes 50 grand being a limited budget, but those are the days we live in.

I will tell you this. Something is cookiing at Nitro Boats and from the word on the street, it is going to have a complete overhaul in the next year or two. Major changes seem to be in the wind.

Good luck and am more than happy you love your boat. You should.

Let me be one of the 5.

[jmes]

Well since we got started talking about boats I thought I"d throw in my 2 cents. I almost bought a Nitro Z-9 but after talking to a few Pro and other individuals

They all told me to ride in 3 or 4 different brands and compare before I buy anything. I rode in Ranger Z 521 with Evinrude 250,Skeeter Z 21 with Yamaha 250 SHO, Nitro Z 9 with a Mercury 250. I did this over several months because I'm real slow at buy anything especaily this kind of money. I wanted to ride in a Phoenix 921 but I didn't get the oppurtunity. After several rides in various conditions I bought the Skeeter. I loved everything about it. The Nitro for the monies is the great buy but the resale for what I can tell isn't very good. If your just shopping for price you can't hardly beat Nitro but for the others things mention earlier there really is know comparison. I also heard the rumor Nitro has a major design change coming

[abkeenan]

How did this go from a thread about Lew's reels to a Chevy vs Ford boat battle? Hahaha. No dog in this fight but went to a boat show last year to really give boats a good shakedown and I think if I were purchasing a new boat Phoenix would be first in line. Running your hand in all the rod lockers/livewells/compartments you know you aren't going to be stuck by some piece of fiberglass like you will with some other manufacturers out there. To me that just speaks of quality craftsmanship and attention to detail which in today's age seem to have gone by the wayside in favor or increasing the production and bottom line. Pride in your product and proud to stamp your brand/logo on what you are producing is something rare today and I think both Lew's and Phoenix can say that they are indeed proud to put their names on their products. My 2 cents.

[balsabee]

I've never had a Lew's reel but I would sure like to give one a try. The only new reel I've purchased in a while was the Academy brand 10 ball bearing Mettle on sale for $25. The absolute best reel for your money and if it breaks return it for a new one with no questions asked. I now have 9 of them. The only other reels I own are Abu Garcia and Shimano spinning reels. As far as the boat choices go the only new boat I would ever buy would be a Bass Cat. I wouldn't even consider any thing else. Since I can't afford one, I bought a used Mountain Home built Champion 202 and couldn't be happier. It runs and rides like nothing else on the water and I would consider it the best performing hull ever built.

[Bill Babler]

I would like to apoligize for my post. It was stupid and borish. Anyone that owns one of the fine Nitro Boats owes me no apology and he or she should think it is the best on the market. I am truely sorry for that stupid post. Should not have cluttered up a great topic on fantastic reels with that kind of garbage.

Good Luck

[Chief Grey Bear]

I would like to apoligize for my post. It was stupid and borish. Anyone that owns one of the fine Nitro Boats owes me no apology and he or she should think it is the best on the market. I am truely sorry for that stupid post. Should not have cluttered up a great topic on fantastic reels with that kind of garbage.

Good Luck

Damit! I was looking forward to some boat rides.

[Champ188]

For what these rigs cost nowadays, it's gonna be rare for a guy to say he isn't happy with whatever he owns even if he truly hates the darn thing. That's why I don't put a lot of stock in owner satisfaction ratings. Hell yes a guy is gonna say he likes something that he paid $50,000 for. Otherwise, he'd look pretty stupid for buying it.

[powerdive]

Love these pissing contests. Bottom line, looks as though almost everybody agrees that Lew's baitcasters are both a great reel and a great value. Happy ending.

Now you boys go fight about your boats.

[balsabee]

Should not have cluttered up a great topic on fantastic reels with that kind of garbage.

Good Luck

I don't feel like it was garbage at all. I've never met you but I trust what you have to say about any of the equipment that you use and I really appreciate your honesty. Boats, reels, lures, whatever... I appreciate the facts and not a sponsored sales pitch. I've even recommended you to people looking for a guide because of what you share on this forum. Keep up the good work. We all want to be informed consumers when it comes to the prices of fishing equipment these days. It's all getting way to expensive to waste our hard earned money on garbage to begin with. Thank you!

[Brett Groeteke]

I must say I don't get the animosity towards Bass Pro. They are looked down on for making a decent product and charging a fair market price? I just dont get it. Are they as smooth as a Lews or Shimano? Maybe not but they are pretty similar, made in the same factories, and getting what you pay for is a legitimate claim. The retails are already fair market price and they are regularly on sale. As far as Nitro goes, I really don't understand the hatred there. Nitro boats today are vastly improved than just a few years ago. While you can't turn on a dime like in a Skeeter or have the top end speed of a Gambler or a Basscat, again the key is value. A new Nitro is thousands less than the other brands. I'm not trying to pick a fight, just sticking up for what I believe to be a quality company in Bass Pro. To my knowledge, no other company in the Industry gives more donations or does more for tournament fishing and I will always shop there because of it.