Nitro changes line up for 2016

New Rangers

The Allison owner/manager had been spreading rumors the Nitro would take the Ranger consoles and showed a picture, but they don't look the same to me.

Woohoo. New like up of trackers....

They are still doing the low ball price thing too. I guess they'll never give that up. That being said; it would be funny to see someone take one of these rigs equipped at their base level and nothing more, and go out and win a major. I promise you there are folks out there that could pull it off............

I like these new Nitros but I wonder if they are still going to be tight lipped about how they are constructed? They love to tell you how they build a trailer though..........

Look up Steve Kennedy and how many BFL/regional level tournaments he won out of a 40hp Bass Tracker and then a junky 90 hp 18 ft Ranger he bought for $1500 (so he could get priority FLW entry). He still fishes the elites out of a base level Z-8 that he won. No power poles, 5 inch graph. I know when he started competing out of it he had no graph on the bow, and then I saw a pic of him with a graph laying in the deck that I guess he could move around.

I thought Kennedy runs a ranger.

Yeah they dont have videos. But u can tour the plant anytime u want. I have.

Heck I fished out of a ranger z520 with a 225 this weekend. Fished out of alot of rangers. When u get down to it, what does it do differently. To me its just a status symbol that someone spent more then others. They are both great boats.

They are still doing the low ball price thing too. I guess they'll never give that up. That being said; it would be funny to see someone take one of these rigs equipped at their base level and nothing more, and go out and win a major. I promise you there are folks out there that could pull it off............

I think this is his third year out of this Z-8. The trailer used to have a Nitro badge but he removed it because he doesn't like to advertise a brand for free. He's also famous for taping over the Yamaha badging on his old outboard; he says he quit doing it because people wouldn't stop asking about it.

To clarify, that is a Triton. Compare the bilge plumbing on the side to a Z8.

To clarify, that is a Triton. Compare the bilge plumbing on the side to a Z8.

You sure that's not the same ranger he has had for yrs?

You may be right, he may have gotten a different boat. Regarding the motor, Kennedy has tended to repower periodically rather than buying a whole new boat. In this case he may have gotten a used boat with low hours? I'm not sure if Yamaha is still making that motor now that the SHOs have been out for a while.

Anyway, he takes a much different approach to boats than most guys.

Look up Steve Kennedy and how many BFL/regional level tournaments he won out of a 40hp Bass Tracker and then a junky 90 hp 18 ft Ranger he bought for $1500 (so he could get priority FLW entry). He still fishes the elites out of a base level Z-8 that he won. No power poles, 5 inch graph. I know when he started competing out of it he had no graph on the bow, and then I saw a pic of him with a graph laying in the deck that I guess he could move around.

He is a beast! Still don't know why big name sponsors won't throw money at him. Maybe he just doesn't like the sponsor game and wants to do his own thing. Either way he kicks butt and doesn't get hardly any credit

So $50,000 for a boat with no electronics and no power pole?

Yep! Sweet looking rig, buy that sucker, take it to the lake and enjoy....... And lose 33-40% of the value of what you paid in 12 months on a brand new Nitro. Nitro's are the Hyundai's of bass boats.

I, personally, think the Nitro lineup is the best LOOKING boats made. Maybe they are cheaply made...maybe not. I know I've had one in the past and the only thing about it that DIDNT suck was the Nitro part. Lol. The motor, TM, charger, electronics, all were problems. And as far as I know, the problem parts are pretty much the same brands used in the over priced boats.

So... Mercury Pro XS. Same on all boats
MinnKota Fortex... Same on all boats
Lowrance/Hummingbird...same on all boats
Interstate Batteties....same on all boats
PowerPole/Talon...same on all boats
They almost all use the same brand bilge and live well pumps.
Atlas jack plates

Show me where the real advantage of buying a 60,000 dollar Skeeter, Ranger, Legend, Phoenix,etc vs a $35,000 Nitro equipped the same. Even if the Nitro depreciated rapidly, it would still be just as dependable to fish from. A $25,000 premium to "stay dry"? Haha. I used to pole down my boat and jump in to get wet. Lol.

When I get my new boat, it will likely be another Nitro. I have been on the fence at buying a Ranger. I just keep coming home after talking myself out of laying down $20,000 MORE for the same Mercury 250 Pro XS motor, Fortrex 112 TM, Hummingbird electronics, hotfoot, Interstate Batteries, MinnKota 4bank charger, dual power poles, etc that come on a $49,000 Nitro Z8. The Ranger equipped the same way is $65,000!

The difference I have seen in a Nitro vs. Other brands seems to be things like hinges, etc. Again I have owned a ChampioN and now a Skeeter. BIL owns a Nitro and have fished out of it a lot. His seats are tearing badly, hinges are poor quality, the finish on the inside is poor. His front deck is sagging where he stands. My ChampioN was an '96 and much etter shape than his '07. My '04 skeeter is in better shape and he babies the heck out of that thing. Maybe those little things have been improved but I don't know. The thing that gets me is. The base model Nitros have nothing and once you upgrade everything it really isn't that far off the other brands. The other thing I hear a lot is Bass Pro, I have gone in one and the guy knows jack squat about them and this has been in more than 1 Bass pro.

Like stated above. You
Are looking at 50k for a empty boat. Add two hds12s for 6500$ them 300$ to mount them. Along with twin blades at 3800 plus brackets 200$. And one hour labor. So about 61k for the boat rigged..... I was honestly disappointed with the z21 interior. Plastic breaks and there is a lot of it. The nitro's market is mainly the first time buyer. Price all of the other big names and it'll suprise you what you can purchase. Also when comparing to a skeeter calculate the additional 3k for the yamaha sho motor. Mercury pro xs is the cheapest engine available.

So $50,000 for a boat with no electronics and no power pole?

I might be wrong but I think you can get a new skeeter zx250 with 9" touch screens and one power pole for around that price? If not its close. Give me the skeeter in that case. I've had two nitros and never had a problem any different than my ranger and now my skeeter. I actually liked the two intros I had a lot. Very fish able and looked great. I do like what I have now the most though.

WOW, you know what I find funny; Nitro is the most abused boats on TFF. Everyone finds a reason to dog them out. Cheaply made, doesn’t hold value…blah blah blah. The funny thing is how large of the bass boat market do they own. But that really doesn’t matter. The best boat on the market is whatever you can afford…bottom line. Don’t make a mistake and absorb someone else debt because it’s a popular status symbol. There are a lot of pros at all level that fish out of Nitro and all of them do not get them for free, but what do they know, they just fish for a living. Maybe the person that said nitro’s market is mainly the first time buyer is right. However my first boat was a Pro-Gator (not well known boat) but I took good care of it and it held it value very well. My last boat was 2006 Nitro 929, big heavy boat and not the fastest on the water. but man what a front deck and it could take big water better than any other boat. It held its value too (of course I took very good care of it), guy drove from New Orleans to buy it over several other boats he looked at in the DFW area. Hey here is a fact, all boats have issues…fix the little things before they become problems and your boat will be fine.
Truth is I can admit that I am bias. But I can also speak from experience (as a non-boater) that I have rode is just about every boat brand out there. Hey, if you want to debate measurable qualities or lack thereof, go for it. I am happy for you if you got the money go spend $65K plus Ranger, Skeeter or any other boat, but IMO the Nitro package is a good bag for your buck purchase? Of course for all of you who bash other boat models, I am sure you are the serious big-time pros…right. Wait a minute I just remembered, it’s not the boat that wins the tournament, it’s the fisherman. BUT just in case I am totally wrong. Please let us know what professional series you fish (BASS elite or FLW) so we Nitro owners can follow you and learn how that boat made you a winner.

I was at Cabelas not long ago and their 521 Ranger stickered for 84k.

I bought a Nitro. Same core components, and if a hinge comes loose i can tighten a screw.

I might be wrong but I think you can get a new skeeter zx250 with 9" touch screens and one power pole for around that price? If not its close. Give me the skeeter in that case. I've had two nitros and never had a problem any different than my ranger and now my skeeter. I actually liked the two intros I had a lot. Very fish able and looked great. I do like what I have now the most though.

These people crack me up. I catch more fish out of my 1200$ kayak with my HDS-5 then most of these guys with 80,000$ boats.
But at the same time if youve got the money to spend go for it! Lord knows I would, but you only look good untill the point the boat hits the water. Then that 80,000 boat can't cast a line for ya. I fished out of an 96 challenger 18' bass boat with a 150 for years and won plenty of tournaments on it.

it boils down to buy what you want, and can afford it's your money. But if you're buying an 80,000 boat on a 12 year note so you can feel like you're the next elite champion, I wouldn't value you're opinion too much. You must not understand the time value of money very much

Kayak tournaments can't pay the bills buddy. I hardly have any time off, I'm not going to invest time in a kayak tournament.

My point was merely that buying a 80,000$ boat doesn't put you on the bass master elite series no matter how big it makes genitals grow

These people crack me up. I catch more fish out of my 1200$ kayak with my HDS-5 then most of these guys with 80,000$ boats.
But at the same time if youve got the money to spend go for it! Lord knows I would, but you only look good untill the point the boat hits the water. Then that 80,000 boat can't cast a line for ya. I fished out of an 96 challenger 18' bass boat with a 150 for years and won plenty of tournaments on it.

it boils down to buy what you want, and can afford it's your money. But if you're buying an 80,000 boat on a 12 year note so you can feel like you're the next elite champion, I wouldn't value you're opinion too much. You must not understand the time value of money very much

I guess you missed that part that's in bold. I fish to have fun, and I've won some tournaments and struck out more than I can count.

No need to be a keyboard warrior there buddy. You can think what you want