FASCINATED WITH THE BASS BOAT!!!.....The "best" Bass boat out there?...

What kind of Bass boat do you own?
Why did you choose the one you got?

I know this is probably a worn out question, I'm a new female Angler to this forum...just excited

OK, I'll bite...

Ranger Z518 w/ Merc 150 4 stroke
Lowrance Carbon units w/ TotalScan
Ultrex 80 24v


I bought the Z518 as I looked at all competitors in the 18' range and found the best bang and fit for the money. It was a very close race with a Phoenix 618.

Looking back if I knew I was moving to Texas and fishing the wind, I would have made the update to a 20' rig.

Caymas CX 21 Merc 250 4stroke. Ready to make a switch and felt they were the best boat available and NOT owned by JM.

Not saying it is the best but I sure like it a lot and i have had too many boats to count, Bullet 21 SDC, Mercury 300R, Lowrance electronics and Ghost trolling motor.

I have had nice fast glass boats , can probably get about any boat I would want but I absolutely love my fugly aluminum boat

I love the Phoenix 921 I had last year snd the 920 Elite this year but the Ballistic 204 is an amazing looking boat. Definitely going to check one out

to TFF.

2017 FX21LE Skeeter. Chose this boat because bought my last boat and Fun-n-Sun and wanted to deal with those guys and liked the Skeeter.

You being female will understand this one.


.....I own a Skeeter cause I could pay cash for it and NOT let the Wife know what I really spent.

2007 skeeter sx 190 w 150 vmax. With good T.m. and electronics. The best i can afford.
Its the best because i paid 9500 cash for it 6 years ago and other than scheduled maintenance hasnt given me an ounce of trouble. Probably have it out 100+ times a year.
Id love a new 20 footer with a 250. And one day ill have one. But a 4 year old ,a mortgage that im trying to pay off in 10 years. 401k, and espp. By the time my all my obligations are met. Not alot of meat left on the bone. Prolly for the next 10 years ill have an old boat and truck. Thats paid for but well kept. Dont buy into the notion you need the top of the line boat to catch fish. The best boat is something reliable that you can afford. Now if money was no option id have a new skeeter, phoenix, or basscat

We own a Ranger RT188 with a Yamaha 115 SHO.

We were looking at a Tracker 175TXW with a 75 Mercury on it that was brand new.

Came to the decision to buy it and was waiting for a days and the 1.5 year old Ranger came up for sale for almost the same money.

My wife decided she wanted the Ranger so she bought it.

BassCat Cougar, Cats where it's at.

I liked my Champions and loved my Triton. Spinal surgery put an end to that. Switch to a bay boat 3 years ago and other then the speed or lack there of I dont miss bass boats at all.

I like the one that is paid for .

Any pics so we can officially welcome you into our cult, I mean club?

I'm a Ford guy but my current truck is a Chevy and my previous truck before that was a Nissan. All comes down to the price for me. I'll always have my preferences but if I can get a steal of a deal on it, then I'll probably buy it. That's the same reason why I bought my current boat. 2013 Triton 19SE and I love it. Rides good and has plenty of room (even for me at 6'5").

Welcome to the TFF. It is a great place for fishin 411. Lots of good guys on here that are happy to help. Like most public forums a few are jerks but I am sure this is not your first time on SM

The boat I just sold was a Legend Alpha 211 with a Yam 250 SHO. The finish-out of the Legend was pretty awesome. They did not cut any corners and you could tell when you started looking closely, poking your head down into the bilge area. It was finished out just like the outside of the boat. No wood used in the hulls. The seats were gel filled, not the cheap foam padding that retains water. They were built with vinyl ester that costs about 4X as much as the cheap Chinese resins that many mass-produced boats are made from. The hulls are vacuum infused. It was a great boat and I would buy another but alas Bass Pro bought them & killed them.

Skeeter TZX 190. It's an 18.5 foot fiberglass bass boat with a 175 horse on the back. It had 25 hours on the engine when I bought it. Here's why I bought that boat as opposed to a 21 footer.

1. It fits in my garage. So no need to external storage.
2. It was about 50% cheaper than a comparable 21 footer.
3. I rarely tournament fish, so if the wind is blowing 30 mph and there are 3 footers on the lake, I just don't fish that day. My 18.5 does just fine with reasonable wind.
4. It has all the same functionality as a bigger boat. Nice electronics, live well, you name it.
5. I was okay with only going 62 mph vs 74 mph.

So for me it was mostly a matter of economics.

Love my Basscat Caracal!

Mr. Rick builds a solid boat with his trailers and puts storage, etc where a fisherman needs it. Mr. Wayne at the Boat Shop in San Antonio will get you in the boat of your dreams.

https://texasfishingforum.com/forum...0dfe5340_2cf3_4255_b88b_a46d86aa048a.png

Ken beat me to it. In my opinion Legend built the best boats ever made. I have a V-20 and have no interest in selling it for a long time as it now has every bell and whistle I could ever want on a boat now that I went full Garmin.

Xpress X19 w the Yamaha VMax 150.

I had a super nice Legend but figured out I was cleaning and taking care of it more than fishing! Couldn’t stand to see it dirty....
Bought the X19, ripped out all the carpet and hard decked it. Can psi wash it out/off in minutes after it’s parked in the horse pasture for months and go fish. Really enjoy it!

The best bass boat for YOU is the one that YOU like, and can afford. Most of us want the biggest, fastest, most expensive boat out there, thinking that it is the "best". Doesn't work that way.
I assume that you are a first-time boater, so I would definitely buy used. And until you are a little further up on the learning curve I would go with a smaller boat, say around 18 feet. You would feel terrible if you put a big gouge in a brand-new boat. It's hard to say, "Oh well, part of the learning process." A 2-3 year old aluminum boat like the Ranger RT188 would be my recommendation. It's wider than most other aluminum boats so it is a more stable fishing platform. It is easy to handle when running across the lake. It has adequate storage for almost anything you need, and several power options up to 115 hp. The only real drawback is it does not like wind. Any wind over about 15mph makes for a rough ride when running, and a rocky experience when fishing.
Whatever boat you decide on, before you buy, take it to a reputable marine mechanic and have it checked out. No need to go into details with him, if he's good, he will know what to do and what to look for.
One last thing...before you even get near the water, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! Practice towing, parking and backing. Find a deserted parking lot and take a couple of traffic cones with you. Try to park between the lines. Set up the cones where the corner of an imaginary trailer would be, and pull into the parking spot without hitting a cone. Also use the cones to practice backing up.
And don't beat yourself up over a bonehead mistake. We all make mistakes, some worse than others. As long as you don't hurt someone or tear up some expensive equipment, it's all good.

To answer your original question, my current boat is a 2014 Ranger RT178 aluminum which I won in a radio station promotional drawing

And Welcome to the forum!

2004 Basscat Cougar FTD 225 Optimax. I love it. I had a 1991 Pantera II with a 150 before this boat. I really like the extra safety factor in rough water of a 20' boat with a 225.

You worded this perfectly. Most ask about the “best” bass boat and we are an opinionated lot.

There are so many great boats available and it’s all a give and take. Some want a big boat for fishing bigger lakes in adverse conditions but there are details like cost, storage, maintenance and resale value all to be considered.

Glad you’re hopping into to conversation and welcome to the TFF.

Jackson

took about 5 yrs. for things to fall in place and I got my dream hull, 95 champion 202/95 200 xri/efi.

hands down best ride in rough water.

bought hull/engine/trailer and built it out like I wanted, now have what I consider to be the best bass boat for me (and it is all paid for).
full garmin set up, everything in it is new and the only thing now is a repower to a bigger engine.

it is all personal preference and what you want/can afford although the afford part can be tough.

Like Hopalong. I own a Champion because I fish a big frequently rough water lake ... Rayburn. Champions have the best ride out there. Now Basscat and Charger have now copied those Champion hulls exactly because of the legendary ride.

JacksonBean,
Any thoughts on a Ballistic boat?

I had the opportunity to look at a couple of Caymas boats this weekend at Fork and seeing them brought back old memories of the first ZX models from Skeeter back in the mid 90's. Those were some of the last before the composite showed up but they were the best and were quick hulls. The Caymas looks just like them. GOOD LOOKING RIDE!

Hands down the best Customer Service out there.

This is so much fun loving all the feed back and passion coming through!!
I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures and make comments on y'alls replies

2020 vexus 1980 with 150 merc pro xs

A buddy of mine in Shreveport just bought the same thing!

Man people have a lot of negative things to say about vexus.. But I have yet to have someone in my boat that was not completely and totally impressed by the time we got off the water.

I was just kidding about the pics, but you can if you want to....

Welcome, anyways, to the greatest site on the planet!

I was impressed by how hot boat carpet gets in 102 degree weather. The boat was ehhh.... I am kidding. Honestly, I was shocked by your boat. Very impressive.

https://texasfishingforum.com/forum...umber/14693/filename/20200721_100532.jpg

Wow! Awesome pics and great looking boat!

Don't make me blush

Here ya' go Stick. 16 pages of members bass boats.

https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/13431338/1

And welcome!

Best boat ever is my 1988 Ranger 680t. I’ve fished for walleye, trout, panfish, catfish, carp, and yes, bass out of this vessel for 31 years and would never trade it for anything. Handles rough water really well thanks to its v-hull and has plenty of open room. Then again, I’m biased.

I bought a 2016 ZX190 because I wanted to store it in my garage. Paying for excess storage is not something I was down for and I wanted to be able to go the garage to work on tackle, or anything else I wanted to do in and around the boat.

I'm sure a 20-21' boat will handle rougher water better but I've learned to handle it just fine in a 18.5' boat, sometimes you just have to slow down not matter the size of the boat.

If I were looking for a new boat, I would choose this one for sure.

It’s a great boat EZ, hands down the nicest rig I’ve ever owned. The viper one system has been fun to learn and the livewell cameras are really cool.

Thank you, you may have seen me up at mega bass on Fork. This boats twin sister was there as well, only difference is my buddies boat has black power poles instead of red. That the only way we can tell the difference between them.

A guy on the phoenix page said he test drove caymas and phoenix and caymas ride was sub par and wet? He bought the phoenix that day.

I’ve been in the worst of the worst on Amistad and Falcon in mine and hadn’t had a a drop of water on me. Driver plays a big part in any rig as well as common sense, some just don’t have it.

Tom keeps asking for pics so here....

yes absolutely true... I wont ride with anyone w out my life jacket on at first because of that.. Ive been in a total of 3 other boats with drivers besides mine and two were very clueless, one showed me what spearing a wave meant....

just a bunch of AWESOMENESS pictures are great thank you all for your support and sharing your thoughts I truly look forward to enjoying the TFF!!

Thanks for the help, Ken. I find good in everything, and I see a LAWWWWT here.....

I won't ride in a bass boat without a life jacket zipped and buckled up just because I believe you may need it and its not hard to do. I got used to it tourney fishing and its a good habit not to break.
I can swim. I was a college swimmer so the ability to swim is not the issue. Its what happens when you get thrown from the boat.

2 very nice catfish, what lake?

Bought a Phoenix. The ride in big water was great. But the fishability is what sold me. Really stable, lots of room, custom design colors and customer service has been beyond my expectations.

I bought a 2017 Skeeter ZX250, but if I were buying a new boat today, I would seriously consider a Phoenix, mainly due to ride and handling of the 4 stroke Merc. However, I would only consider a Skeeter or Phoenix as that is what is sold at Fun N Sun and I wouldn't buy a boat from anyone but them, and Fain Caldwell. No, NO man crush, just a really good dude who knows boats!!

Hey Man, I just ordered my CX21Pro a few weeks ago. I should have it the first week in August. Really looking forward to it

Agreed

Bought a classic Lonestar aluminum v-hull - it's all I can afford.

I have a 17 year old legend and am keeping it. But if I was to get a newer one it would be this one listed in the boats for sale page. The price is not bad and it is well equipped.



Sorry but I just went back and looked and someone posted yesterday that it was sold. The 2017 Legend is just as nice but a little more pricey.

KAYAK. After owning 3 boats I finally determined that fishing was more peaceful and enjoyable without all of the powerboat/trailer headaches, sold the last one and fish from a kayak now.

‘97 Champion 191 DC Elite with Merc 150. Got it because I am not going in debt long term to have a shiny new boat. Being an older model, I can fish anywhere I want without worrying about getting it scratched. I don’t feel the need to do 70 mph on the water so it works great for me.

Biggest plus about Champions is their history of being the best rough water hulls of all bass boats. There is a reason the hulls are being brought back into production. The demand for a good Champion is high and resale value stays high as well.

One important factor in a bass boat! The fish don't give a damn what that boat looks like. Its the person behind the rod and reel that counts.

@Big Lunker ....here's a huge AMEN to that

But you have to admit Bass Boats are just sexy!!

But the boat makes you look good trying.

Yeh. I often pull mine around behind my truck...even when not going to the lake.

We've been fortunate to own a number and without question the two best for us were these:




Prairie 29 trawler (32 OA): draft 2' 9". We surprised a lot of conventional "bass boats" with this when we'd pull up to the cattails, weeds, and into shallower areas of Okeechobee and bass fish. From the bow (9' up) you could sight fish in clear water elsewhere quite easy. If it got hot we went inside in the air conditioning. If we caught a bunch, cleaning and putting them into the freezer was simple and fast. If we had a great spot and wanted to stay, finding a comfortable on site hotel room was easy. All that and bought for less than 1/2 the price of a new "bass" boat.

Final Voyage Of The Mischief - our last cruise with it from Florida to Maryland:

The other is this:



The tender for the above: Boston Whaler 13 Dauntless (1993-97 series). This and it's sisters were the most expensive boats ever built by Whaler and almost sank the brand (and resulted in Reebok selling to Brunswick for a pittance of what they'd paid). Premium everything and to this day, most people who see them assume they're brand new. 9" draft. This one has a small live well but we throw everything in a cooler since we live on the water. They are still seen on the bow of ships and yachts of all types since that little boat will handle rough seas. What we like: ours has the casting platform on the back and it has a wide raised platform up front (anchor locker) so we can both stand and sight fish. It's small - easy to dump in anywhere - and 5 gallons of gas lasts seemingly forever with 30 hp. (we re-engined the boat from 40). We're fishing little coves and areas with it that few can get into with all their add on gear that adds up weight and draft. Since they're built the way they were, buying one with a shot engine and re-engining makes a lot of sense.

B/W re-engine story:
Boston Whaler Dauntless 13 Buyer's Guide To Update

The best advice I can give is buy something you will use a lot and like using a lot. That's the key. These worked for us - you'll find something that works for you. Don't be afraid to think outside the box.

Looks Tippy

My take is it looks like Popeye's boat. Looks that way because of the fisheye lens used - it's actually 12 feet wide. Never know it from that photo.

Here's a better photo that shows the beam:

Needs a tuna tower. Helps with spotting bedding bass. Oh and it still looks tippy

Probably so. Had a keel though and was totally stable. Sure embarrassed a lot of others that tried to follow into shallow water. The best thing of all - in the 5000 nm we cruised it oil and diesel was the only requirement (1 gph.) on a Yanmar 4 JHE (normally aspirated 52 hp.)

Looks like a great boat. Ever been to Amity?

Yep. Had to release them though since they weren't up to our standards. In seriousness, one of the eerie things about that boat is the engine makes that same valve clattering noise as Quint's boat. Spooky at night, especially.

I have a 96 Champion 202. I like it because it is paid for and does everything a brand new boat will do. Plus it’s the best rough water boat ever made. Rides like a Cadillac.

I think I saw this Caymas at Lake Belton last week fishing the Texas Boat World Open. Was that you?

The absolute best bass boat out there is mine. Why? Because its mine.

“.....there are many like it, BUT this one is mine!”

You know what comes next.

What?? What comes next SteezMacQueen

The gomer swallows his rifle and pulls the trigger. Lol
The bathroom scene from Full Metal Jacket where the Private goes nuts.

I have a basscat kinda like that

There’s two in Ellis co then. I saw one Tuesday night that had a ton of plastic bottles and aluminum cans in it...with a one legged path to the hotfoot. Absolutely looked like my trash can at my house.

i like this one best --- i spread the cash out on the front deck --dropped it on the trailer ball --headed home !

Wasn't me if you see one this weekend it's me.lol mines really red

2000 203 Champion love it's ride and its paid for
this is my 4th Champion boat
the one in picture below is my old 1993 190

No sir that was probably Mike, he has same boat but black power poles.

Thank you for the link Texan Til I Die!
Yesterday I had a BLAST i got to experience the BALLISTIC what an AMAZING ride!!
FAST nothing but PRESISION PERFORMANCE, smooth in crazy ruff water and over all in a CLASS of it's own.

Beautiful woman in a beautiful boat. What's not to like about that.

I like it!

2018 basscat Lynx with 300 verado pro 4 stroke
I went with Basscat mostly from what owners said about basscat. I looked into them, like I do for any large purchase, and decided I would give Basscat a try. I wanted the LYNX model because I constantly fish with 2-3 people. Whether it be tournament or family fishing with me. I wanted a big front deck but also a boat that can handle the rough water from wakeboard boats. I have been incredibly surprised by the assistance from Basscat themselves and other cat owners. I learned basscat is a complete different animal than what I was used to. Fast but also very durable and very well built. I feel like basscat thought of just about everything when they built the lyxn. The amount of space in the helm area is crazy big. I came from a skeeter fx and wasn't impressed. Feel they are very cheaply built and too much plastic in the boat. Not a boat that you can run fast in and also would beat you to death in rough water. Minimal assistance from Skeeter themselves but skeeter forums were helpful. Also had a 2008 triton 18x2 that was very well built and very happy with but was too small for my growing family.

My new to me 2017 Skeeter FX21 LE.
Reasons
Been in Skeeters since '78 plus a couple other Manfs. and have been happier in the Skeeters.
Fish ability. Stance and Deck pararellnes to water surface.
Overall setup.
Size
Dealers and Plant close and all have been good to me over the years.
8-15K dollars cheaper than other 17 FX LEs w/Dual Consoles, and Ultrexs. In fact one a demo, same color w/DCs, Fortrex, but less hours, listed on BT $18k higher in South Texas.
115 hours on the boat.
Overall shape of Boat, Motor and Trailer.
Location of the seller.
Probably a few more and these are not in any priority order.


[b][/b]

Congrats, Rocky. Pretty boat!

Its fine if you get a single console boat but some of the storage boxes on the passenger side will not open up all the way if you get a dual console. Design flaw on the dual console.

I just upgraded

You gotta BassCat ?

Is Triton fixing to become a "LEGEND"? ....gone just like that?

Same rumor for years yet the 2021's are out. Go figure.