Best Bass boat ????????

[John T2268]

Hello , To everybody first time on the forum , I'm in the market to buy a good bass boat , Used . My problem is I 'm sure if I want a glass boat or aluminun . I have a friend that says go glass , and another guy said go aluminun . Years ago a had deep v aluminun lonestar . It was a really nice boat , spent a lot time in that boat . Then like anything else it set for long time and guy wanted buy it and I sold it . Wrong thing to do , now . I'm sure this will bring up a lot of sore subjects . So lets hear what you think .Give me some good bad and the ugly ,of both .

 

[lncoop]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Many factors need to be considered, not the least of which is where do you fish? Tell us a little about your needs and you'll get waaaaaaaaaaay more advice than you ever wanted.

 

[abarron]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Hello,I just wanted to tell ya if i were you i wouldn't jump into anything with out shopping around.I was in the same shape this winter,luckly i found a 1985 skeeter F80 strada,its only 15' but its in pretty good shape,it has a small weak spot around the back drain,but i am going to put a ss plate around it.It has a strong Mercury 850 85hp 1975 that runs like a scaulded dog! So i wish you the best in finding your boat! By the way i only gave 2000.00 for it, and it is mine.No payments!

 

[JET4]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

freshwater only fiberglass or aluminun. saltwater fiberglass

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

For me, the best bass boat is whatever boat I'm in while I'm fishing for bass. Everything else is secondary.

 

[abarron]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Amen Brother! No one can take it from us!!!!!!!!

 

[John T2268]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Love to fish . Bass , Crappie, Cats . Walleyes . I fish freshwater 99% of the time . I live within 5 miles from the Ohio River . I do like to fish lakes an streams . Me an my wife son an dog . Or by myself . I know the Lonestar was a real pain in the butt to load back onto the trailer , Beacuse the trailer really wasn't made for that boat . So a easy loading boat would be nice , .Or at least a good trailer . If you know what I mean . I would also like a kicker motor and big motor .

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

From that description, I'd look into a multi species boat (some times called a walleye boat) instead of a bass boat. A pure bass boat is going to be more limited, more difficult to put a kicker motor on. A multispecies boat will draft a bit more, but will be more versatile and better on bigger water. As for brand, the only experience I have is with my Dad's Triumph which is the ultimate if you don't like maintenance (plastic hull) - but there are several others out there in AL or glass.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Oh yeah, +1 for what CAT said. If I was catching bass from an innertube, I'd be a happy camper!

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

So I'm assuming you're going spend the majority of times on the Big O (no not Okeechobee). Bass, crappie fishing is going to be done in stumpy, hard to get into tributary creeks. Cats and eyes are out in the main river. Tracker and Triton both have nice 17-18' aluminum rigs laid out for bass fishing (plenty of storage, livewell, built in cooler, etc..) I have seen many of these with a 90-115HP and a 9.9 kicker set up in the back nicely. Get a TM with at least 70lbs thrust cuz you're gonna need it in the current. They have come a long way yet still lighter then glass, and more stable then they used to be. BTW, Stratos has a nice aluminum at very reasonable price too.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

So I'm assuming you're going spend the majority of times on the Big O (no not Okeechobee). Bass, crappie fishing is going to be done in stumpy, hard to get into tributary creeks. Cats and eyes are out in the main river. Tracker and Triton both have nice 17-18' aluminum rigs laid out for bass fishing (plenty of storage, livewell, built in cooler, etc..) I have seen many of these with a 90-115HP and a 9.9 kicker set up in the back nicely. Get a TM with at least 70lbs thrust cuz you're gonna need it in the current. They have come a long way yet still lighter then glass, and more stable then they used to be. BTW, Stratos has a nice aluminum at very reasonable price too.

+1 on everything but the Tracker. Unless they've made vast improvements their build quality is not very good. If you do go the metal route, and it sounds like that would be your best bet, also check out Xpress and SeaArk. Here are the links.
http://www.xpressboats.com/index.php
http://www.seaarkboats.com/
Unless I overlooked it the 800 pound gorilla in the room that hasn't been mentioned is initial outlay. How much can you spend? Until you answer that question it's all academic.

 

[John T2268]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Yea I've been to a couple of dealers this last week . Wow , There was some sticker shock going on there . I looked at some Tracker , and Lowe ,boats . I really thinking I would like to find really good used one instead of the up front cost and prerig , shipping and handling plus tax . I even was looking at left over , And I would still have to pay all up front cost . Anyways I just wondering if somebody had any thoughts on one brand vs the other . So far the best one I have heard is one that paid for .

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

The best bass boat is the one that gets you too the bass and then gets you home after catching the bass.

 

[MBO101]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

freshwater only fiberglass or aluminun. saltwater fiberglass

I think aluminum is better in saltwater because of osmosis effect on fiberglass

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

I think that's backwards. I'd prefer fiberglass for strictly saltwater use.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Best Bass boat ????????

Think I read that he'll be in fresh water. For his needs a quality aluminum boat would be hard to beat; maybe an 18' or so Express, SeaArk, or comparable. They're great fishing rigs and have no problem pulling the occasional water toy.