I'd take a Bullet against any boat out there in rough water. I ran my 20XRD on Falcon, Amistad, Rayburn, and Toledo and it is softer than my current Ranger Z520 or my brother's FX21.

Fit and finish of a Bullet is second to none. I fished hard out of one for 5 years and it looked as good as the day I bought it. Balsa core, but they also strengthen it with Kevlar.

Here's some other pros & cons from someone who's actually fished out of one:

Pros:

Less fuel used when towing or running- less wear and tear on your boat engine and truck engine

Tough- the boats are tough and anyone that says differently because they are "light" has never put one to the test

Storage- My model Bullet had more storage than any other boat I have ever owned for tackle and rods (there is a con to this)

Switches- switches are easy to replace and can be found for a few dollars at just about any auto supply, Wal-Mart, or hardware store

Livewells- livewells are huge, especially if you remove the divider (there is a con to this though)

Draft- the boat drafts SHALLOW water

Run rough water extremely well because of the dead rise and responsiveness

Cons:

They do blow around in the wind, but with an ultrex and powerpoles now that is no longer an issue

Storage- the middle storage compartment in my boat would hold just about anything, problem was some stuff would end up towards the bow and you might forget you have it and the older models did not have an organizer. Also the rear latches were located directly behind the seat and you had to lift the seats up slightly to open them (this was fixed). Battery storage and access to bilge pretty much sucked.

Livewells- My livewell was fantastic for keeping fish alive, problem was that it was black. mix that with dirty water and it gets hard to cull fish when trying to see what's in there.

Rub rail screws would back out occasionally (fixed that with loc-tite and never had an issue after that)

Never run a phoenix, they look like good boats.

Just my experience and a few things I didn't see mentioned above. Hope that helps, always good to run both boats in varying conditions and see what you are comfortable with.

I took the rod rack out of the port side box and just store my rods in there in rod sock. I've had over 20 in there. I have a few rods in the center box, usually spinning rods that don't get used often. At the front of that box, directly under the step, I have 2 large plastic containers with all of my soft plastics filed front to back in their bags. Starboard side rod box has a few tackle boxes in the factory storage system, light weight stuff mainly. I also keep the throw cushion and extra life jackets in there. All my heavy tackle goes in the back behind the passenger seat. I have more room to store stuff than I will ever need.

I am looking at a 2015 XRS, and it looks like none of the compartments have any kind of organizers to them. I think it would be frustrating just laying everything down stacked up. did the guys that owned one have this problem?

Go to the Bullet forum at www.bassboatcentral.com and those guys can help big time. Not a better group of people out there when it comes to helping you learn about a boat brand. The Bullet guys are very helpful and will shoot you straight with pluses and minuses.

I have fished out of several bullets and I have ZERO issues about how they fish, handle rough water or are laid out. I spoke with Mike Langford at Lake Fork Fiberglass and he stated that they are one of the best built boats around. So coming from someone that repairs boats, that is saying something! Randy Oldfield is on the Bullet Pro Staff at Lake Fork. I would suggest you get with him for a demo ride and I am sure you will be impressed with how smooth and dry the bullet runs. If I were in the new boat market today, Bullet would be at the top of my list. If the lack of rod storage racks is an issue, you can always add those yourself.
I have no experience with Phoenix boats so I can not give you an honest opinion on them.
I currently own a Skeeter and I can tell you this, I would not buy another one!

Both are great boats and you honestly cant go wrong with either. I own a Phoenix now and absolutely love it! But have fished out of Bullets numerous times, and they are great boats as well.
I'd drive both boats and see which one you like. And see which lay out you like better. I went with Phoenix because of the boat and the passenger layout for my wife.

I used the center giant storage box for my rods. I used the starboard side rod box for Plano 3700's and the Port side for PFD's and my net. All my soft plastics went in the two large boxes behind driver & passenger seats.

+1

my apologies, I am an idiot. I was looking at a picture of a Stroker that had the tiny rod box and storage.

No worries bud. You can put a TON of rods in the big center box of the Bullets. I have climbed in there a couple times to escape a sudden hail storm on the lake. It is a Huge box.

Now you can buy another factory built compartment for the insert area that helps out a lot.

And dont sleep on those Strokers, I bet they average 8-10 MPH faster than bullets with the same motor.

My next boat will more than likely be a Bullet or a stroker.

Hate to bust that bubble but a 20 foot Bullet and a Stroker will run basically hand in hand with same setup, one might be faster than the other just depending on the hull. Now, a stroker is faster than the 21'10" Bullets by a few miles an hour, but that's cause it's a big ole boat at almost 22 feet long. Not even 8-10 separate those. They're all in that same class, Stroker's are great boats too. Don't think Chub is making any boats right now but hopefully that gets going again soon. Another very well built hand laid hull.

Yore not bursting anything.

You want to compare a 20' Bullet with a 21' Stroker when it suits your side then want to down play it when it goes the other way.

Im still fairly certain they are that much faster boat for boat. Not saying that about the newest Bullets though, maybe they figured out what Chub knew in the 90s...

Stay clear of Strokers and fishing. Seems a few been had some issues last year. Also they are like a tin can fishing. I�m always scared to death I�m going to shove a stump thru the floor!

Honestly if ur looking at 80 to fish. A few of the Bass Cats will fish at that loaded with 250s

I�ve fished out of and own Strokers for years and they have there pros and cons like every boat but tough or worried about a stump has never been one. Half the stumps in Toledo bend know my boat. Bullets are nice boats with real good performance so i would pick bullet over Phoenix.