I am considering a bass buster type boat, for the short runs to the hot spot during the week. Do yall have any thoughts on these as far as brand, model or such. What about the "Bigger" busters that look like mini bass boats? Are 'busters any fun to fish from? Seems like this would be just the ticket during the spawn. What do ya think?

I got a 10'bass buster in my arsenal and love it. Very stable, can stand and fish. Comfortable, swivel chairs make it easy to reach everything. Light weight, got mine on a trailer but used to load/unload it myself into my old pickup bed( got a SUV now). Virtually unsinkable, just repaired a 4" crack in the bottom but fished all day, noticed it was listing some but still floated. Easy launch, can drop it in anywhere, literally. Pushed it off a cliff , then walked the bank with its bow line till I could get in. Downfalls are can only fish 2 people, cann't handle much rough water. These rigs are da bomb for ponds/rivers/creeks. Great for whites/crappie this time of year. Highly recommend them but if you do, get the 10 or 12'ers, the 8' is just too small unless it is for 1 person only. Yes they are fun to fish from...

Just out of curosity, what did you fix the crack with? I guess it didn't hold since it sounds like it was listing afterwards or did I not read it right?

HoseA,

There are several types and brands available. The biggest things I would tell you to look at are 1) Weight capacity and 2) the way the seats are mounted. If you can easily lift them out of the bassbuster, chances are that at least once in the future, you'll fall over backwards on a hook-set! The Bantam3X's at BassPro are leveraged in there pretty good. The one's I've seen at Academy will lift out easily. That rig comes with a trailer, but the way the seats are mounted turned me against it quickly.

Kelly

Hey Hose A...I dropped it hard and cracked the bottom. Repair was simple and permanent with fiberglass resin and cloth. The seats can come loose but I've never had that happen. If you'er worried about flipping over backwards, just screw them into place. Weight capacity is more than a comparable jon boat. My 10'er can handle 2 men at a rated 550. I'm #225 and my bud is #230 plus a #60 battery,#30 trolling motor, and gear...no problems what so ever.

The key word is bass buster TYPE boat. The true buster boat has the UV protected hull and this prevents the cracking that most of older type boats where known for. Mine is a pond hopper Buster Boat and was made in 98 and has the newer UV protection. So far I'm pleased with my little boat and I like the convenience of just loading it up and doing some fishing with out having to lug out the big rig, for just some short trips. I don't know about the other manufacturers, but with the new technologies this should be the norm.