As for Safety it all depends on the lakes you fish. If you fish the big bad ones then you better be looking at a 20'. (Rayburn, Toledo, Falcon, Livingston, Amistad) If you fish the smaller lakes or the rivers then you can get by with the smaller boats.

As long as you "never" ride in a 20ft boat you will be fine in a 17ft. I fished just fine out of a G-3 and a small ranger untill I fished out of a 225 skeeter on a windy day. I came home dry and not beat up.

I fish out of a 17.5 champion and that boat handles big water pretty good. You don't feel as safe as you do in the bigger boats, but it handles the water pretty well and is a dry ride most of the time.

Would I trade for 21ft'er, yes I would but mine works pretty good.

buy as big of a major brand name boat as you can afford it will ride better an be safer an when you get ready to sell it or trade it you will recover more of your money good luck.

I can`t wait for a manufacturer to step up to the plate and build a 24ft. bassboat.I think there has to be a few others than myself that enjoy fishing huge lakes that are not bank beaters.Fishing offshore structure with out having to wory about the wind would be great!

I have an 18 ft with a 150. Its got the exact same beam as a 521. I think the key to fishing in a smaller boat is keeping the width.

Lake Fork boat lane run on a weekend...nough said!

Bigger is always better. More room, more stable, more storage, more is better. It is a common misconception that smaller outboards get better fuel economy. This is not true with the new technology available today. I have the privilege to be able to get a new boat every year and have done so for the past 20+ years so I have a little more experience than most. Not boasting here.... I have the One in a Million dream job.

The fuel economy on the new Optimax Mercs is without equal. I have owned three and now have a Yamaha 250 SHO. I can honestly tell you there is nothing even close to the Optimax's for fuel economy. The Yam HPDI's are a distant second... had two of them... Been there done that...

Not hating on any others but it is what it is. A Merc 250 Pro XS will get better fuel economy that a Merc EFI 150 on a 20' bassboat loaded down to fish at 60 mph. You will be at WOT with the 150 and 3/4 throttle on the 250.

Several years ago Bass & Walleye magazine tested all the 250 outboards including several 4 strokes. All were rigged on a heavy Ranger fishing boat. The Merc 250 XS beat all of them on fuel economy including the 4 strokes. It won every single category, holeshot, topspeed, acceleration, with the exception of noise level. It was louder than the others.... Duh!

That may have been more info than you all needed but I am bored too. Wishin I was fishin!!

Been retired/fulltime on Fork sixteen years, 17.6 champion..,now a 187 champion.
cant really tell the difference in rough water .both handle very well.
some things about the 17.6 were better.

Here was my first bass boat. A 1976 Skeeter Wrangler II 16 footer. It came with a Chrysler Charger 115 hp outboard and a 12/24 volt TM. I fished out of it for 12 years until the motor blew and the transom rotted. It was a great handling boat and would run 60 mph (fast for those days). I hope my Alpha 211 outlasts it. I know it can't out fish it.

Great posts...Love the stories.

thanks, maybe in the next few years, good fortune will shine upon me and get a bigger boat. I will tell you the truth about something though, I have come to love bass fishing out of my pontoon boat more that the bass boat at times. I know, its hard to look cool in the pontoon boat that hits 24MPH at WOT. LOL.

Good Luck Sunday, Tuffmen.

Texas Weather and wind are what gives the Bigger boats an advantage. On smaller lakes with 4-5 mile runs being max the advantage is minimal, but on lake like Toledo bend, Big sam, Amistad, Falcon, where 20-30 mile runs are common that big boat gives you a huge advantage.

There are a few occasions each year (1 or 2) that a bigger boat might be nice. I run an 18.5 with a 150 and fish tournaments all year and have never felt that the boat kept me from fishing where I wanted to fish and how I wanted to fish. My boat has a wide beam that carries forward of the console and handles rough water well. I may not run 60 in 20MPH winds but I get there safe and dry.
The bottom line at least to me is get what you want and learn how to drive it. Ride in as many as possible and use your experience to make your decision.

Yeah baby! I want Yami to make their F350 in a 20" shaft and bolt that sucker on a Ranger Z524 Comanche if only they would start makin it. Then I could get me a Ford F250 dually to haul it around. I'd wrap that big boat in the Environmental Defense Fund's logo and the motor cowling in PETA's just to make a statement.

I'd be the first guy on my block with a $175,000 tow vehicle/bass rig combo. What a dream come true.

Big boat for me. I want the ride and stability.

I fish out of an 18ft right now, and cannot count the number of times I've wished that I had a bigger boat due to weather and big water.