Is 17ft long enough for a tournament bass boat?

[Matt129]

Hello everyone, I am looking into buying an old 17ft fiberglass bass boat and I hope to fish in at least some tournaments but I have a dilemma. From what I’ve researched it seems like they say you need to have to have like a 20 foot bass boat to fish in tournaments effectively, but all of the lakes that I normally fish in my area (these lakes don’t host tournaments, they are just the lakes close by) are smaller lakes that are more suited to smaller boats, so you see my problem. This boat certainly has enough power to fish a tournament, 150hp, but I’m just not sure if it’s big enough. Any input is greatly appreciated lol, thanks.

 

[shrew]

Are there entry rules for competing vessels in these tournaments?

A longer boat does a few things:

1) Can be rigged with a larger motor for faster speeds.
2) Longer hull is more stable at higher speeds
3) More deck space is more comfortable for two fisherman.

IF there are no entry requirements for vessel size, then buy what you want.

 

[briangcc]

Most pro's boats I've seen up close have been 20+ feet in length and generally have a 200-250+ HP motor hanging off the back. Most will have 2 power poles as well.

Could the smaller boat with less power work for you? Maybe...if you're not particularly interested in placing because those larger boats are going to get to the best fishing spots a lot faster than you will.

 

[Matt129]

Most pro's boats I've seen up close have been 20+ feet in length and generally have a 200-250+ HP motor hanging off the back. Most will have 2 power poles as well.

Could the smaller boat with less power work for you? Maybe...if you're not particularly interested in placing because those larger boats are going to get to the best fishing spots a lot faster than you will.

Well as far as speed goes reviews of this boat say that it should be able to go over 60mph even 70. It’s got one of those old in-line 6 150hp Mercury tower of power motors on it and it seems like those motors are rockets lol, at least in their day they were one of the biggest outboards money could buy.

 

[briangcc]

It sounds like you've already made your decision then. Good luck with your purchase and fishing.

 

[Scott Danforth]

former co-worker is in the top 5 florida bass fishermen. his recent boat is 21 feet long and powered by a 225hp Merc last time I talked to him. his top speed was just shy of 100 to get to the holes faster and be able to fish longer. He also had over $6k in lithium Ion batteries to power his trolling motor for 15 hours and about a dozen sponsors to cover the tab.

However most importantly, Tracy spends 3 days a week (about 25 hours) on the water fishing in addition to tournament fishing. He knows the water on every bass lake in Florida like the back of his hand

He brought me along once to go fishing. He had a fish in the boat and another on the line before I made my first cast. I caught nothing that day

you dont need a big or fast boat to catch fish. you just need to know the water.

 

[roscoe]

If you are fishing smaller local tournaments, boat size and speed will be less of a factor.

But all tournaments will have boat requirements.

Some require boats to be 16'+. HP limits, and in some cases speed limits. Legal seating space for 2 or 3 people, Fuel systems, bilge pumps, livewell size, aerators, safety equipment, Will all be inspected. Older boats will likely garner closer inspection.

 

[racerone]

If you catch the biggest mess fish out of a 12' aluminum , would you be disqualified from the tournament ??

 

[roscoe]

If you catch the biggest mess fish out of a 12' aluminum , would you be disqualified from the tournament ??

yes

 

[BWR1953]

yes

 

[Scott Danforth]

More restrictive than the size of the boat (17 feet and larger) is the insurance with a minimum of 300,000 worth of boaters liability coverage, live wells large enough to keep the fish, and the other requirements

 

[Matt129]

More restrictive than the size of the boat (17 feet and larger) is the insurance with a minimum of 300,000 worth of boaters liability coverage, live wells large enough to keep the fish, and the other requirements

Wow ok lol, I had no idea insurance was such a big deal in large tournaments. Hopefully the small tournaments near me don’t require this . When it comes to live wells they do appear to be a little on the smaller size but it does have two of them, so I may be able to make do, I’ll measure them. Thanks for all of your help everyone

 

[Scott Danforth]

Wow ok lol, I had no idea insurance was such a big deal in large tournaments. Hopefully the small tournaments near me don’t require this . When it comes to live wells they do appear to be a little on the smaller size but it does have two of them, so I may be able to make do, I’ll measure them. Thanks for all of your help everyone

people in tournaments make their living on fishing. if you damage their rig, you damage their livelyhood

Many states require well over 100k of liability insurance just for recreational boating.

look at the regs for your area. it covers insurance requirements, livewell requirements, electronics requirements, fuel tank requirements, etc.

here are the Florida rules https://www.floridabassfederation.com/schedule-rules/the-rules.html

here is the ABA, only requiring $100k of insurance. https://www.americanbassanglers.com/Rules.php?Circuit=aft&Category=Rules

 

[Grub54891]

Had a friend that was at a musky tournament. I don't know what size boat he had. The weekend was nothing but rain, and the picnic area flooded, When he woke up in the morning he decided to throw a line from while standing on a picnic table, bang he got the biggest musky and won a boat!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Had a friend that was at a musky tournament. I don't know what size boat he had. The weekend was nothing but rain, and the picnic area flooded, When he woke up in the morning he decided to throw a line from while standing on a picnic table, bang he got the biggest musky and won a boat!

I know the Florida requirements are you must fish from within your boat at all times.

 

[H20Rat]

Learned all kinds of new things! Never realized that bass were that picky, that not only the bait matters, but also the size of the boat.

 

[dingbat]

people in tournaments make their living on fishing. if you damage their rig, you damage their livelyhood

Many states require well over 100k of liability insurance just for recreational boating.

look at the regs for your area. it covers insurance requirements, livewell requirements, electronics requirements, fuel tank requirements, etc.

here are the Florida rules https://www.floridabassfederation.com/schedule-rules/the-rules.html

here is the ABA, only requiring $100k of insurance. https://www.americanbassanglers.com/Rules.php?Circuit=aft&Category=Rules

Interesting…have worked, sponsored and participated in a whole lot of onshore/offshore/surf fishing tournaments over the years.

Have never seen an insurance mandate but lots and lots of release forms. Its all about indemnifying and releasing the sponsor(s) from any and all liability.

Then again, your posting “federation” rules which is in effect a “for profit” tournament sponsor/club. Pay to play scheme.

In contrast most of our tournaments are opens or invitationals.
Pay your entry. Show up at the Captains meeting and good luck.

https://www.thebigrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BigRock-Rules-PDF-Web-pgs.-3-4-April5.pdf

 

[Scott Danforth]

Interesting…have worked, sponsored and participated in a whole lot of onshore/offshore/surf fishing tournaments over the years.

Have never seen an insurance mandate but lots and lots of release forms. Its all about indemnifying and releasing the sponsor(s) from any and all liability.

Then again, your posting “federation” rules which is in effect a “for profit” tournament sponsor/club. Pay to play scheme.

In contrast most of our tournaments are opens or invitationals.
Pay your entry. Show up at the Captains meeting and good luck.

https://www.thebigrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BigRock-Rules-PDF-Web-pgs.-3-4-April5.pdf

I posted both the florida and the ABA rules. the OP has to look into the rules for where he is fishing.

 

[dingbat]

I posted both the florida and the ABA rules. the OP has to look into the rules for where he is fishing.

Not sure where you posted the “Florida regulations”. Both links lead to “federation” websites.

 

[roscoe]

Commercial bass tournaments are meant to advertise products and make money for the sponsors.
That includes the guys selling those big go fast boats.
It would be counterproductive for them to have some guy in a $4000 rig winning the tournament.