boat for the bay

Moving to corpus christi this month. Looking to buy a boat and be a guide within the next couple of years. I was wondering if anybody has any preference on a good bay boat and length of the boat for a guide would be.

I have been looking for the same thing. My search keeps leading me back to Ranger inshore series bay boats. Their 2310 can be rigged inshore flats with tower second helm. Their new 2510 is the boat I like the most even has head for those emergency moments. Either one of these boats are up there in price the 2510 lists at 85,000.00 then the adds come in and can top 100,000.00. The 2310 right around 90,000.00 fully loaded. both are rated for 300 hp. Go check out Ranger.com it,s worth the effort.

Ranger has always been a great boat, but i've read that Tracker Boats bought them out and will take over. if this is true, you can look for the hull to go the way Mako went--------downhill.

All depends on where you want to fish. You say bay...you can fish with 3 very different types of boat...depending on where you want to fish makes a huge difference on the type of boat you need.

Minimum 22' and up. You need to decide on what kind of fishing you want to do. Wade, bay, offshore, inland etc. I love my 23' stoner fury. I can float it in 11" and get up and out in 16" soft bottom and run 64mph loaded when I want. Get ahold of Texas Watercraft and Marine and take a ride.

Blue Wave!!!

if you're going to guide out of Corpus, ask some Corpus guides what they run and why. probably wont see many rangers or blue waves

Look at a haynie if your guiding. Lot of leg room and they tend to run pretty good. A shoalwater would be a good boat from Portland Marine. It really all depends on how your looking to fish. Are you wanting to soak croakers along the reefs or pole the grass over in redfish bay. If you get a big boat like a haynie or shoalwater make sure you get a tunnel. And make sure not to under power it. If you think you picked out the right size motor go one size up. In the bays its better to by too much power then not enough. Makes for a long day plowing through the bays and not able to get on plane. CXJCHEROKEC is right stoners are nice boats. You also might want South Shore Boats.

At least 22'

preferably 24' for guiding

You are in the fishing reports forum, but, what others have said about getting at least a 22 ft for guiding is correct. BUT, you said it would be a couple years before you were ready. Why suffer hauling a big rig around, and paying for the gas while you learn the bays in the next 2 years. I would buy something easy to haul, good on gas, and something more likely to hit the water on a whim. For me, that was the 18 ft. cc Nautic Star. Blue Waves and Kenners are common as fleas though, and so they can be had for less $. Get something used, try and wear it out, and when you are ready to guide get the big boat. Have fun and get on the water as much as possible.

What good does it do to learn a bay system in a boat you won't guide out of. Can u even access the same areas with "new" boat, how will it run when the weather picks up, how does it drift, how well does not fish etc. As a guide you load and unload all by yourself anyways. If you fish a tourney, a good guide will scout the day before fishing alone or maybe with 1 buddy. No excuses not to go full bore from the get go.

gotta agree with cxj, I wouldn't buy and learn how to fish effectively out of a boat for any period of time and buy something different with the intention of guiding out of it. unless youre going to buy (for example) a beat up RFL, fish it for a couple years, and then buy a new RFL to guide out of.

If I were going to guide out of corpus a 25ft illusion or extreme would be a great choice

All though I'm not a guide, I would check out the Epic SC 22. It's priced right with all of the goodies on it and floats in 12" of water. It's an excellent rough water boat as well. With the Carolina front end it stays dry. I'm a bay guy but check out Epic face book page and there are people taking the Epic 22 out to the rigs and say its a great open water bay boat. The boat come in 22.5' or 24'. I absolutely love mine.

BODA, that is exactly what he said he was going to do. Fish a couple years, then turn guide. My advice was based on that plan. I would buy a dependable but used 18 ft boat and wear it out learning the bay and fishing techniques. It will be cheaper to run (100 hp vs 200 hp) and easier to hook up and haul to the water in a moments notice. That makes it much more likely that you will spend as much time as possible on the water, like hitting the bay for the remaining 2 hours before sundown after you finish mowing the yard!

I don't think our friend will need two years to figure out how a boat will drift!

For what it's worth, having been a guide, I have to agree with starting out with an adequate smaller boat, preferably used, to learn the bays and the tides in. You will learn where you can run and where you can't, you will learn seasonal patterns (including the different water levels at different times of the year), and you will learn what fish will feed in what areas on what tides. You will learn (hopefully) how to put together a "milk run" for different seasons and locations, where you have short hops between productive spots as you follow the tides. All of that will be easier -- and more affordable -- in a smaller boat.

You will already be familiar with the water you will be fishing when you get a bigger boat, and you'll know where the bigger boat can run. Additionally, as you learn the waters and the fish, you will learn more about the boat you will need to put clients on fish in those areas. If you have to keep running aground to see where you can run, your learning curve may just be a little too flat. You can explore areas in the smaller boat that the larger boat may not be able to run to, or can only access on high tides. I can tell you, it's no fun getting caught in a back bay or lake or slough by the tide; a smaller boat will let you explore those areas with less worry. And it'll be easier to get out of there when you do get caught. You just might find that you prefer that type of fishing, and change your whole perspective on how you want to put your clientele on fish.

You will need to be able to put your clientele on fish in all kinds of conditions; not just on the good days. Do your homework in a more versatile smaller boat, and figure out the best boat to take advantage of what you have learned. And remember, you don't necessarily need a big flashy boat with a gas-guzzling 300 or 350 to put your clients on fish. You do need to know where the fish are apt to be, and how to get to them, and the best way to get clients of all skill levels catching them. A larger platform will be less crowded, and can certainly result in a softer ride across a lot of open water, but it may or may not also limit some of your options. A boat (and knowledgeable guide) that can access remote, less-pressured fish may just serve you -- and your fishing style & clientele -- better than a big open-bay rig that burns $100 of fuel a day. You gotta pay your dues and do your homework to succeed.

Jim,

Excellent post and reply. I am a weekend warrior learning how to bay fish. I will say that learning is a lot of fun but also frustrating at times. My learning curve is some what flat but that is due to my location being the DFW area and my limited time spent in Port A, I go when I can. I am going again the first and last week in September, if I continue to struggle with my learning curve I will hire a guide too go on my and hopefully understand more about the ins and outs about bay fishing. I went with a guide one year ago and was hooked for life !!! I went home and purchased my center console boat and haven't looked back.