Am I late to the party? Nitro now at Cabelas.....

So I knew the sale of Cabelas to BPS took place quite a while ago. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Cabelas and today I guess it took me by surprise that the only thing left in Cabelas in north Fort Worth pre-sale inventory was a few Rangers. Everything else is Nitro, Bass Tracker and Tahoe. The Shearwater center console I had been looking at is gone and Mako takes it’s place. I guess ole Johnny is gonna push his stuff at us after all.
On the other hand, I got a nice deal on a Favorite USA Absolute fishing rod for deep cranking and A-rigs.....

He moved those Nitro's in quick. They put one right in the front as you walk in shortly after the deal was done.

I guess it never occurred to me that they would. There was a lot of speculation after the sale and I hadn’t been there since before the sale. Took me by surprise but it really shouldn’t have. My opinion though is that they got rid of the quality boats and brought in some not so good boats. Looking at a Nitro side by side with a Ranger and it was painfully obvious the difference in build quality. Knew it was going to happen just hadn’t really paid attention to see it actually happen. Makes me a little sad, wonder what else they will change. I always preferred Cabelas to BPS.

Well he owns Ranger, Triton, Legend, Stratos, as well. Probably a few others.

I’m sure Ranger will always be sold there while he owns both.

I don’t understand why Nitro gets bashed. Is it a lesser quality boat than your Rangers, Legend, Phoenix and others? Yes. Is it a good quality boat? Absolutely. It’s also comparably cheaper thus it appeals to a larger range of buyers. The difference between my 2014 z7 and my 2017 z19 is night and day as Nitro has come a long way in just that short period of time. They are very solid boats at a good price point.

I guess they are cheap relatively speaking. Every time I am bored and go to the build boat and get everything I want on it they jump up there pretty high in price.

Cabelas version of the yeti on display at my local bps. Going to have to change the name to bass cabela shops.

Love to hear about the painfully obvious build quality issues.

Go build a comarable Ranger (length, motor, features, etc.) and it’s likely to be another $8K or more versus the Nitro. Yes, it’s a nicer boat but dudes are over here acting like they are junk when compared to something like a Ranger. Absolutely not the case.

Wonder why MLF fishes the Nitros if they are so bad...

My only experience with Nitros is my BIL. He owns a 2007 Z-7. It has not held up well and he is extremely meticulous about how he takes care of his stuff. Former marine and has his pilots license and goes over that boat and trailer with a fine tooth comb before and after every time out. Hinges are bad, front deck sags, carpet hasn't held up, seats are tearing at the seams. The hull seems find but the attention to detail on the smaller things is not there. Now the newer models it is hard to say, we need to wait 6-10 years and see how they hold up. Im not bashing them, if that was the only option I had then I would fish from one. I just know that my 04 Skeeter is in better shape than his 07 Nitro. As far as MLF fishing them, they probably ponied up the most money, nothing to do with quality.

I wonder why they also fish BassCat and Phoenix? I guess whoever donates the boats and pays the price?

Nitro is a less expensive boat. It is what it is. Remember, the only thing Nitro is the hull, carpet, interior, and wiring...everything else is the same quality as the rest. ....um.....mostly.

I will agree with this and to be fair I never said they were junk. But when the boats are side by side and I’m looking in compartments and the lids don’t seem to fit well, as in some are too tight and some are too loose, wires not tucked away in the back battery area, the cockpit area controls and buttons are different (touchpad vs rockers) on boats that are marketed in the same class it looks like the cheaper boat it is.
Maybe the newer Nitros are better than they used to be. I personally would rather spend the money that a new Nitro costs on a good used Skeeter, Champion or Legend. Better boats IMO and not play into the conglomerate that BPS is now.
I understand business and markets, I do. I understand that Johnny Morris has built one hell of an empire, but at this rate he will own, if he doesn’t already, the biggest market share in bass boats. I don’t think for one minute that he won’t take advantage of this and “level off” the playing field. I like competition but it gets hard for smaller companies to compete in markets like this. I feel that quality suffers because mass producing boats like Nitro, Bass Tracker, Tahoe etc can’t be done without other sacrifices. Little man suffers still and gets pushed out of the market for good. And now I’m done with that rant.
Only time will tell, unfortunately some things you just can’t buy at Academy or Walmart and I’m forced into the doors of Cabelas or BPS. They will continue on and I will have to make the choice to keep fishing or not. Reluctantly I continue to support them to support my habit.......

I just shake my head as to what boats people are looking at. Nitro Z21 is far superior to skeeters when I compare an SX model to a Z21. But who does that? Rocker switches were on Z8s and lower models. And that was discontinued 2-3 MYs ago. Z18s and below have rocker switches. Wonder what you think about Phoenix?

I will say I sure hope Ranger have more quality, cause they are far more then $8k apart comparing a z21 to a z520\21L. And I could see me owning one, one day, but guessing i will never be willing to put up hat extra cash to buy it.

Anyways I always love these comments. Have fun.

Well said!

Whatever boat you now own is the best boat ever made, at least for the price you paid for it. Same goes for your outboard, trolling motor, rods and reels and especially your fish finders.

JM has leveled the playing field where everybody that wants a bass boat can have what ever price point an quality they want from tracker aluminum to ranger love him or hate him he is a marketing genius. started from a small tackle business to where his company is now a goal that everybody that puts their sweat an funds in a business hopes for.

You are right on Smith, started in the back of his fathers liquor store and from there built and empire and is one of the most respected business men anywhere. He is to the fishing industry what Sam Walton is to the department store business. Can't fault the man for being successful.

You bashers should realize that Nitro is a least a option to not spend $80,000 for a bass boat.

Your right on, That being said I'm still in a 93 PII Basscat

My little nitro has got me on the water every time I've been ready for the last 11 years. I loved the look of these new expensive bass boats but could never justify buying one. You don't need a high quality bilge switch or glove department to catch fish. This may seem a little strange but I fish a few working man tournaments throughout the year, and I get a little satisfaction from watching a 70,000 bass boat go out and not be able to even weigh in because they didn't catch any fish.

You get what you pay for. Nitros work fine for what they cost and the people that buy them enjoy them, and that's good! Us other dudes enjoy our boats. There'll always be somebody to bash the boat you've got. There's always a hater. I get the Bullet haters all the time and to that... well I say a lot of things but for one I just like knowing they'll always stare at the back of my cowling and hear my mota talkin to em

Sam Walton. lol

Thanks for the correction.