Happy New Years Everyone!

Been lurking for a long time, finally decided to post.

My wife surprised me for Christmas and gave me $8,500 to spend on a boat for fishing. Gotta love surprises like that!

Part of my says get a fish and ski so that my family of 5 can enjoy skiing and tubing when I and the 2 boys aren't fishing. Another part of me says just get a bass boat. A third says look into a CC.

I know the main cons of a fish and ski is that it isn't setup for fishing so I will have to give up some amenities and storage. A bass boat would meet all my fishing needs, but then I have 2 people left out for cruising around.

I fish mostly Lake Dunlap and Canyon Lake, but would like to start fishing Austin and others nearby with the boys.

So help me decide which way I should lean in my search. So far, I have found the following that have peaked my interest:

2002 Skeeter SL 190
2000 Triton SF 180
2003 Procraft Combo 180
2000 Procraft Combo 180
2003 Procraft Pro 20
2003 Nitro Z6
2003 Nitro NV

All of those have varied bells and whistles on them depending on brand and age. All are within my set budget, some giving me way more wiggle room to upgrade electronics and the like, some are at the upper limit of my wife's gift.

If there is something I missed I should consider, please let me know. If you have true to life experiences on why I should or should not get a Fish and Ski, please let me know.

Thanks in advance everyone!

Craig

Go with a CC, you won't regret it. Plus you can take the the coast

Double on the center console. Bass rigs fish two people you can load a herd on a cc and enjoy it. Much more versatile.

Fish n skis are the worst idea for a boat ever.

if you are going to bass fish only, i would say get a bass boat. stay away from the fish and ski's. the running joke with them is they are called fish nor skis, because they are terrible for both.

Most fish and ski make it one or two trips but the payments go on ,buy the bass boat and go rent a ski boat or party barge when the need arrises

A friend of mine that I fished with had a ProCraft fish n ski. There were compromises, but we fished out of it OK. Sometimes you just use what you have. I think the family went out more earlier, but by the time I entered the picture his kids were driving, so he was taking them out maybe 3 times during the summer at most. He got tired of the compromises and lack of family use and found a good deal on a Triton 176 Magnum aluminum bass boat with a 115. One of those would be within your budget most likely. If you can find it with a four stroke, they run forever on a tank of gas.

Here's a post for a 176 so you can get an idea of what they look like. Triton 176 It has a 90, and you want to find one with a 115 if you can.

There's nothing wrong with a CC either. I looked at them, but they weren't for me. I sometimes work back into some tight spaces with overhangs in places that I could not get to in a CC.

Here's a '96 Skeeter ZX200 that has been for sale on TFF for a while. The last asking price was $7000. It looks pretty clean in the pics. I'm surprised it hasn't sold.
ZX200 That would leave some money left to rent a ski boat a few times.

Most fish and ski make it one or two trips but the payments go on ,buy the bass boat and go rent a ski boat or party barge when the need arrises

Thanks for all the replies folks!

I am setting up time to go look at everything and will see where the road leads me. I will take all of your opinions into consideration which may help a little bit in the decision making.

Another vote for center console. Had a bass boat and it was good for fishing with 2 people. Upgraded to a used robalo center console (bought it from a guy on here) and it has higher sides, rides smoother in choppy water, and fishes better with more people in the boat. comfortable with the kids and family but also love fishing out of it (which is mostly what i do). I wouldn't ever go back to a bass boat. Just my experience.