Bass boat, bay boat or flats boat???
 

I am going to be moving into the Fort Polk area and want to find out what would be the best fit for the area. I love to fish so the species isn't so much the problem as what would the most useful in fresh and salt. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

get a bay boat, you cant go wrong.... are you moving on post or off ??/ Reason I ask is because i work on post.

Shadow200--I fish big lake in a 16'champion bass boat and have been for 3 years.Just watch the winds on weather sites and stay out when higher then 10m.p.h. Dont get caught in the squalls be aware because there have been times that i pushed it and had to put my boat on the bank till it blew over.Use common sense and be carefull.

well said man, i've seen 14' flats running from squalls in 3' waves in big lake. Get's kinds hairy out there around those times. I have a 21' bay boat and i've ran 4-5'ers and was taking the lining of my boat seats off with my butt !!!!

Depends on how much you want to spend. Bay or flats boat would be the best for all around.

Well I am moving into the area for work, I plan on living near Toledo Bend if at all possible. I am going to be working on the post out at the flightline on post. The job is a 20K raise from what I am making now so I have a little room to look for what I want.

Well if you will be close to toledo a bass boat may be of more use to you...

If you've never fished toledo...you need to learn the boat lanes too!

cool deal, im right by the main gate.

shoot me your information in a PM and i'll give you a call

if you plan on fishing any saltwater, get the bay boat. Really works great on Toledo when those winds pick up and you'll be thankful for it on Big Lake. IMO, I'd rather go bass fishing in a bay boat than go speck fishing in a bass boat......just my 2 cents.

X2.... i couldnt have said it any better

Bass boats just don't hold up great in saltwater unless you get a gelcoated deck model with an aluminum trailer.

There are several different types of flats boats. They have the fuel tank towards the bow to aid shallow hole shots. A technical poling skiff has a lightweight hull that rides rough and may not do well in the stumps on freshwater lakes/swamps. They make big water flats boats & hybrids (hewes/maverick, egret, lake & bay, ranger) but they don't pole easily at all. Most all of these will have less "hull slap" than a bay boat, but they will ride a little wetter. They do have great storage, deck space, walk around gunwales.

A bay boat with dependable power will give you the option to do some mid-range offshore fishing if your brave enough. If I were getting bay boat I would just bite the bullet the first time and get a quality 22 +/- footer. (that brings on a totally different discussion) The drawbacks with the bay boat may include purchase price, ease of towing, and fuel mileage. Lets face it, a lot of inshore work does not require a 22 foot boat.

You need to figure out what your going to use the boat for 80% of the time.

X 3......

A guy I know fishes toledo out of a 22 foot champion bay boat. He fishes 90% of the time on Toledo. But he does saltwater fish some. Like everyone else is saying u might as well get a bay boat cause u can do both.

Ranger bays are freaking sweet

I'd get the bay boat. Even if you only salt water fish a few times a year. 95% of my fishing is toledo or sam rayburn. Trust me rayburn or toledo will get rougher than bid lake will ever think about getting. You need a bay boat to cut through the waves. I seen plenty of 50K plus bass boats beached on land because they can't get across the lake in a storm. JMO.

thanks for all the input

You get caught in storms on Toledo and gotta run the lake...I promise you you'd be glad you're in a bay boat. Get you a bay boat and you aren't limited on where to fish. Speck 25 and Drost summed it up. Good luck!

I am gonna change it up a little then... what brand/model do you recommend for less then 20K?

careful you've opened pandora's box :p

Hahahaha. Watch this thread blow up. :)

If you want new.. You will have to go smaller... Like 18 or 19 ft... Look at nauticstar or bluewave.... Used options are more open

man.. if you want a diverse boat i say get a smaller bay boat. We have a nautic star 1910 and its a great all around boat. Runs a little under 40mph with a 115opti. It can handle 3-5ft seas not extremely fast but rather comfortable if you take your time around 20 mph. You aren't getting wet in that boat either unless you have a bad cross wind. We've fished 3 ppl off of the front deck before with 2 on the back deck. We were all experienced so we had nothing to worry about. It gets pretty shallow too and its not quite as wide as the bigger bay boats.

Only thing carpet is easier to keep clean than those white floors in the bay boats.

For 20k I would go with a 1810 nautic star or frontier 18

i thought you wanted a new boat :work:

Yeah frontier is where it's at...

Don't do it!!!!! Ask salty!! Lmao!!!!!


Now for the boat........get a bay boat. You'll need the size whether in big lake or Toledo........it gets really rough at both places real quick!!!

ummmm...i havent talked to salty or you in FOREVER... so **** !!!

I HATE to say this, but sounds like an express bay may fit your needs.....you can go to big lake and stump knock in Toledo.......ask asr, hell point ya in the right direction........

:spineyes: xpress in stumps? no way bro. After you put a few waves in the hull from hitting stumps that boat will be worthless.

Xpress
 

If you clobber the stumps it will ding it up, but if you are just fishing in them can't be that bad. I have ran several Xpress bass and bay and they are a good boat.

If you do go Xpress, don't do the HD hulls. Rough

If you plan on fishing toledo bend in the stumps I would go with a aluminum boat thats .125 gauge aluminum. I have seen several xpress boats ride with a lean or porpoise out of control after getting banged up in the stumps. Once you put a nice size dent in aluminum bottom its very hard to get it correct. Sounds stupid but a fiberglass boat is easier to get back in good running shape compared to aluminum after taking a blow from a stump.

The Xpress bay boat I have (X22BAY) has the Hyper-lift hull which is .125" thick. The dry weight of the boat is 1700 pounds which is more than a lot of glass boats of the same size. This boat also has a pad and a V. The HD hull is .100" thick and has more of a jon-boat hull. I had a HD and got rid of it. Anything over 1' seas you got your AZZ pounded. My X22B is not a glass boat, however, it is a great riding boat and really very dry. If you get your AZZ pounded in it, you do not need to be on the water. Currently, my X22B is in AR at their shop. It developed a small hair-line crack (right at 1 year) in a weld-seem thru on fault of me. The hyper-lift is a good hull. I just happen to have a case of bad luck. I know several people that have the hyper-lift hulls (Bay & Bass) with no issues. Unless you bang on something, Xpress has a life time warrany. However, if my boat developes another crack, from my conservation with them, they will likely give me a new hull. So far I have been happy with their response time on repairing the boat. I should get it back next week. All things screw up, it is how a company takes care of those issues. I remember reading several weeks ago about someone having a fiberglass boat with issue and the manufacture replaced the boat.
In the end, no company will warrant something if you cause the damage by hitting something....

Yes
 

That is what I was trying to say about the heavier guage. didnt' say it too well.

Not trying to rag on your boat ASR,but working on boats for most of my life xpress has the most problems. Most people buy them cause they look good and there cheap. In the end buy what your happy with and meets your budget.

the expensive part about the 18 is when you decide it doesn't handle like you want and trade it in for 22 :rotfl:

I hear you......but they are not cheap compared to the other mass produced aluminum boat builders.......ie....tracker, G3, Duracraft..... to name a few.... Also, you see a lot of repairs because they dominate the aluminum boat market.........Heck for example coming back from Toledo Bend a few weeks ago, I bet I saw 10 aluminum boats and at least 7 or 8 were Xpress........hey if I only fished I would have a glass boat.......

Well said........

i'd have to agree with that! there isn't that many spots without a stump or tree.

:confused::confused::rotfl:

I have been looking at bay boats and the Blue Wave Super Tunnel series is looking pretty good to me, but I haven't ever been on one. Can anyone enlighten me on these boats?

Blue wave is a good boat. But theres no need for the tunnel hull if your not in shallow water. You will loose 15% speed compared to a regular hull.

I do man! But i want to be more comfortable in rougher seas and bring more ppl. I have 2 other boats for freshwater fishing lol This guys seems to wants something more for bass fishing but big enough to conquer bays. And a 22ft bay boat won't do much good bass fishing. Well at least i would like something smaller to get in between trees and what not. And you won't need a 36 volt trolling motor to keep you moving all day in a 19ft boat. lol

Thanks for all the replies, I think I will have to wait and see what is available when I get down there. I may just try to buy 2 boats one for bay and one for bass.