Our family of 4 has outgrown our 18' bass tracker. We're looking to upgrade to bigger. We don't bass fish much, but we love catfishing year round and chasing white bass in the early summer.

Suggestions on what to look for? I know we need more space. I do NOT want carpet because of the mess of catfishing. Maybe a center console? Would love the seaark style boats but they're not alot of em around here.

What should we look for?

We're most likely going for a used boat.


Lavon is home lake but we can drive around.

Thoughts?

G3 Sportsman series are like the sea ark style, and more of them around. Closest dealer to you would be Blackbeards on Texhoma. Not sure you will find too many of these used however.

for 4 folks, I wouldn't go under 22' whatever you get.

Sea Ark, or G3. One of those will be my next boat. Or, if I stick with a pontoon, it will be an Angler Qwest 824 Catfish.

Our family has enjoyed our fiberglass center console bay boat immensely. It is as versatile a boat as any I’ve owned. Mine is rigged up for catfishing but we also pleasure boat in the summer as well. I pull my son on the tube in the summer when the fish stop biting around 10:30. I fish big water lakes like Texoma, Lewisville, and Twok in the roughest conditions and we fish up in 2 ft of skinny water as well . Safest fishing boat I’ve owned easy. I make long runs across big open water and the big bay gets me there fast and dry where all my other boats failed in that department. I kept my eye out for a used boat with low hour and when I found it I threw down. Wife said it was the best investment we’ve ever made for our family and I agree. I take all the uncles, aunts, cousins, friend, heck anyone who wants to go catch some fish. The memories we’ve made and the good times had on that boat is priceless. Get the biggest boat you can afford. I’ve heard a lot of guys over the years say “I wish I would have got a bigger boat!” Never hear anyone say “I wish I would have bought a smaller boat!” Good luck! Post some pics...

what Gato said.
If you want to be able to comfortably bust waves, you're going to want a bigger v-hull, like Gato's talking about. Have a look at what the guides are using too. They hate to cancel trips and have to keep their customers feeling safe too--which is a higher bar than simply being safe.

I'll throw in my 2 cents worth here... In line with what Chris said, I am not a fan of the jon boats like the Sea Ark and the G#. No offence to those that like them, I just prefer the deep v hull with the taller gunnels. I have kids with me most of the time and I think it's safer for them. I have a Tracker V16 WT. Love having the windshield, especially in the winter. My one complaint about my V16 is it's a little small. I would like something bigger but in the same style. Like Chris, I have been in some pretty rough conditions and as long as I use some common sense, I can make it safe to where I'm going. The deep v aluminum hull boats are safe, tough, dependable and easy to maintain. I see a few of the Tracker Guide series around, I also see Lund Deep V boats on Lavon. Again, no disrespect to the flat bottoms, they are very popular. Just not my thing...

Tim makes a great point, regarding gunnels. My whalers are safe, notoriously safe, can't sink 'em even when cut in half. However, when the wind picks up, or a wake-boat plows through, my sense of safety fades. The low gunwales makes it feel (yup, just feelings) like I'm in a bad place. Same with throwing a net in good waves. Low gunnels remind me that if I slip or lose my balance, there's little of the boat to help slow me down.
My favorite boat in rough water was a Lund I had when fishing Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, for walleyes--similar to chasing the big winter blues, like Gato (and others) do. I appreciate the durability of a well constructed aluminum hull too.

The thing about center consoles is they are not all designed equal. I have a 19' Kenner. Great boat and I love it, but as others said it is getting a little to small. I would like a 22' as I believe it would take waves a little smoother. My Kenner{2006} has very good walk around [ floor space ] room. Many of the newer boats have more raised decks and built in steps which leaves little floor space for ice chests, live shad tanks and tackle boxes or other gear. Yes some have these things built in, but think about what you take with you and where you would put it to keep open walking space. As many before me have said all boats are a compromise and no boat is perfect. I love my center console for general purpose fishing. Whites, crappie, stripper and cats both rod and jug lines. Lakes Buchanan, Granger and the Bays at the coast. Its a great all around boat.
Go sit in the boat with the whole family for about 15 minutes and let everyone have their say about how it fits your family. That will get you close to something that fits you best. That's what we did when we bought an RV last year and it fits us very well.
Fiberglass = low noise ,smooth. Aluminum= tough, durable and noisy.

Depending on your family, don't rule out a tritoon. Tritoon is much better in rough water vs. a pontoon.

If it was just me, I would go with a 22+ center console for just fishing... But my wife and 2 boys wanted to play and be able to haul friends around, etc. Ended up with 23.5 Tritoon. I have a nice 5 foot rod holder on the ski bar on the back, and multiple removable rod holders. Removable 36 volt trolling motor. Works great to fish, handles rough water well, ton of storage, and cleans up and hauls neighbors around in style...

Good luck.

Ken