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Muskie Fishing -> Muskie Boats and Motors -> Ranger 2200 Bay Boat
 
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Message Subject: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat
dcates
Posted 2/3/2011 3:28 PM (#479560)
Subject: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat




Posts: 462


Location: Syracuse, Indiana
I am looking at purchasing an '07. Any thoughts, experiences, or advice as to suitability as a muskie rig? I fish both smaller waters (Webster has 500 acres) and large (Lake St. Clair).

Edited by dcates 2/3/2011 3:32 PM
VMS
Posted 2/3/2011 3:37 PM (#479564 - in reply to #479560)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 3479


Location: Elk River, Minnesota
Esoxfly....

Best person to talk to on this one. He has one beautiful ranger bay boat and I believe he uses it in St. Clair quite a bit. He will have some wonderful insight on what to expect and how they are. Awesome guy to deal with as well!!

Steve
Muskie Treats
Posted 2/3/2011 3:45 PM (#479570 - in reply to #479560)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 2384


Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot
His boat is essentially a 620 hull vs. the new bay boats which are completely different.

I've fished out of Larry Dahlberg's Skeeter (24') and I was impressed. They seem to handle the big waves well and have a lot of room. If I get my way I'm probably going to go with the 22' Skeeter on my next boat.
Detroithardcore
Posted 2/3/2011 6:44 PM (#479616 - in reply to #479560)
Subject: RE: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat


The Bay Ranger's are awesome and there Hulls are great for both big and small water. What's the Max. Rating of HP on this 07'? The only downfall is some of the newer Bay Ranger's have a Max. Rating of 150HP. In the past and EsoxFly was able to get his Bay Ranger with a 225HP which is nice for big water like LSC. I have a 620 Ranger and have fished out of Esoxfly's boat. Same hull just different layout. I'd be happy with either boat. Plus with a 22 footer your boat will and should handle nice on St. Clair. Benefits of a Bay Ranger include no carpet (easy cleaning), plenty of space and room to fight fish and be able to stand up while traveling. This gives you much more visability and less "jarring" on rough water when standing up vs sitting down. Although the SRS (soft ride seats) in my traditional 620 are great and rough water on LSC doesn't bother my back when sitting down. You can't go wrong with a Bay Ranger if your plan is strictly fishing. It's a great fishing rig.
esoxfly
Posted 2/4/2011 12:29 AM (#479671 - in reply to #479564)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 1663


Location: Kodiak, AK
VMS - 2/3/2011 4:37 PM

Esoxfly....

Best person to talk to on this one. He has one beautiful ranger bay boat and I believe he uses it in St. Clair quite a bit. He will have some wonderful insight on what to expect and how they are. Awesome guy to deal with as well!!

Steve


Thanks for the kind words Steve. I'll do my best to answer some questions, though my boat is a bit different than the 07 in question.

I use my boat 100% on LSC. There are significant changes from my hull to the current bay boats. As treats said, my boat sits on a (225hp) 620 hull. Ranger slapped a center console, bay cap on it and called it a bay boat. I'm a saltwater guy at heart, and was shopping for a 620, so when this boat came along I had to have it.

What's happened since my boat is that Ranger has designed and built "proper" bay hulls. Their newer bays are chined like a bay boat should be; they're quieter and chine slap has been minimized. You'll also notice the flat gunwhales, square transom and no set back. The trade off is hp rating. By going to a quieter, shallower hull, they lost hp. They don't make the 2000 Bay any longer, but when they did, it was rated at 150. Even the new Bahia, which is longer and wider than my boat is only rated at 150. The benefit is that it's quieter and only draws 11" They'll still handle big water just fine, you'll just not have the power to length ratio of the 620 hull.

As to their fishability for muskie, it's top notch. Being able to 8 and work a fish down the side of the boat and not have a console in the way is great. Room and storage isn't bad, but it's not great. One thing to keep in mind is how you'll be fishing. There's a leaning post and a basic seat along the back, but if you're into trolling, you won't have the comfortable seating you do in a 620 or other multi-species boat. My boat doesn't even have seats. I pulled the rumble seats out of the back because I never use them. If you want to sit in my boat, you have to sit on the casting deck or the Just Encase in the back. I'm 100% caster, so it suits me fine, but it is something to keep in mind.

Standing up in my opinion is the only way to go. I'd ridden in 620's and bass boats before my boat, but now that I'm used to standing up, I feel like I can't see anything when sitting down! In fact, I doubt I'll ever have a sit-down boat again. It's great for visibilty and for taking the waves with your legs and not in your back and abs. Some guys feel a little weird standing up at first, but it's very stable and like I say, it's the only way to go if you ask me.

There's no carpet, so it works well for me and my dog's hair!

I must admit, I like my older styling a bit better than the newer ones. My cap still has 620 curves on the bow rail, gunwhales and stern as well as the higher hp rating per foot. Ranger also managed to put a 20" transom on my boat vs the 25" on 620's and the current Bays. Not sure why they did it, but I like the 20" shaft. I've thought about if someday I'd ever be interested in a newer Ranger Bay, as they're sweet boats. I just like my 20'er vs the larger 22'-24'. I fish alone 99% of the time, so 20' is plenty for me and handles big water very well.

If you're ever up on LSC, look me up. Look for the green Ranger Bay with two Power Poles and a black lab on the bow.

Here's a couple of shots showing the cap layout and the styling vs the newer bays, but the fishability and room is the same.

Edited by esoxfly 2/4/2011 12:48 AM



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jonnysled
Posted 2/4/2011 7:28 AM (#479683 - in reply to #479671)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 13688


Location: minocqua, wi.
nice boat!
Halfpint
Posted 2/4/2011 7:40 AM (#479685 - in reply to #479560)
Subject: RE: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat


One thing you might want to consider is the height of the boat with the center console. Might not fit through the tunnel at webster.
esoxfly
Posted 2/4/2011 8:14 AM (#479691 - in reply to #479683)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 1663


Location: Kodiak, AK
jonnysled - 2/4/2011 8:28 AM

nice boat!


Yeah, I thought you might like it. LOL
Slime King
Posted 2/4/2011 9:13 AM (#479699 - in reply to #479560)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat





Posts: 493


Location: midwest
Halfpint is right. You most likely won't be getting through the tube in most cases, if at all. You would have to use the other ramp.
dcates
Posted 2/4/2011 4:20 PM (#479794 - in reply to #479699)
Subject: Re: Ranger 2200 Bay Boat




Posts: 462


Location: Syracuse, Indiana
Thanks to all. Hadn't thought about the tubes - no way could I get through. I'll have to factor that in to the decision.
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