Bass Boat or Deep V?

[Doop]

I lived in Iowa/Minnesota for most of my life and recently moved down to Dallas, TX to start a family. We do have plans of moving back up assuming I can find a teaching/administration job sometime within 4-5 years.

My question is this.....it won't be long and i'll be in the market for a boat....a bass boat seems more logical down here but a deep V seems more logical up there. I'll be fishing lakes like Mille Lac, LOTW, some big water. I am at my witts as to what I would rather have. Anyone have any information?

Thanks!

[Captain B.R.K]

Doop, Quite the dimela you have.....life ending I recently got into bass fishin' the past few years and I'd like to have a boat that has some elevated areas in the boat as I like to be higher than the main floor of a deep V.

I think you can get best of both worlds by going with something in the Lund series like a Pro-V , Explorer or maybe a Fisherman.

As for walleye fishing and pushin' some waves on the bigger water you expect to be on, the deep V is a nice feature.

[Doop]

lol.......there are worse tragedies I suppose

I was definitely leaning toward Lunds Tournament V series. It looks like a great boat. What size of motor would I want to at least made sure I had.....?

Thanks!

[Captain B.R.K]

As for motor size I'm going to let someone else opt for that answer as I just know my boats.....the motor, mechanical stuff is out of my league (LOL)

[zepman]

Don't forget about the Crestliner Fishhawk. Either the 1750 or 1850. Both boats give you a real good comprimise between the bass boats and the deep vees. Versatile, in that they can handle a big body of water yet the layout gives you enormous front deck space and more than adequate rear deck space for your elevated presentations. I'm starting to see a lot more Crestliners on the water and I believe it's because of their ability to offer so many different ways to utilize a boat.

[delmuts]

as for motor size; if in your buget, go with the max for the boat. there will be times that the extra hp will be a blessing.( like dealing with rough water and winds)

[Riverratpete]

As an owner of the Crestliner 1750 I would agree 100% with the versitility thing, thats one of the reasons I bought it. I fish big water alot but also like to get up in the slop plus the kids and I like to tube and ski. The back deck is awesome, plenty of room for a couple people. Just my 2 cents, I'm sure this guy will get a million diffrent reasons.options for certain types of boats.

[Doop]

Never thought about a crestliner...honestly. Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate your guys' willingness to offer up some information.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Doop-My opinion is go with Glass.. you said you were thinking bass boat. Yet they are not suited well for walleye fishing, expecially if the winds get up bad on the big waters you mentioned.. Why not go with a Ranger, Triton, Champion, Skeeter walleye boat? They all make really nice walleye baots.. higher sides, elvated casting decks, areas for mounting kicker moters, plenty of storage.. IF that were the life dilema I had.. that is the way I would go.

I have perfectly pleased with my Triton bass boat, but then again, I only fish big waters if I know the weather is going to be alright.

[JLE]

Doop,

I bought a new boat this year as well and had similiar requirements. I looked at most makers and ended up with Rangers new 1850 Reatta and love it. It's a deep V that is lower to the water then the Lund's or Crestliner's and has the best layout I have seen. The boat is also over 8' wide so it's increadibly stable.

[FOOT]

My vote would be for a Warrior. Its glass and takes big windy water with ease. But then I don't target the big mouths (I go for walleye) so it might not be ideal.

[Willy]

I would definitely go with a V boat if I were you. Especially if you are going to be fishing bigger lakes. A bass boat is pretty much worthless in any kind of waves. Glass would be nice if you can swing it. Most glass walleye boats have a nice high front casting deck to fish out of if you want to get high in the air. They don't get rocked around as much, so it's possible for them to be built with higher casting decks.

The only thing is, if you are trying to get into some shallow stuff with a deep glass walleye boat, it's not going to go real well. It takes a little more water to float one of those.

[Bushwacker]

I have an 17' Alumacraft deep-V and a Stratos 19 ft bass boat in my garage right now. After fishing out of the Stratos for about a month now, I am personally sold on a bass boat for my style of fishing and I will be putting the Alumacraft up for sale. I have fished Cass and Winnie with a fair amount of wind, and the Stratos did not have any problem at all. I actually drifts real nice for walleyes because it is glass and it has less area to catch the wind. It is actually a lot drier ride in waves than my Alumacraft is. The main disadvantage of a bass boat that I see is that it gets tough to fish more than 2 people. It can be done though, I took it on vacation last weekend with 4 people and it worked fine, but it was four younger people that like to cast and move around a boat and not care if they can't be sitting the whole time. When my dad goes, he likes to fish for relaxation and it would be tough to convince him to go if he has to stand up for 3 days. Right now its a bass boat for me. In a couple years if my wife and I have kids it will probably be back to a deep-V.

My opinion on motors is max it out. If you don't have max hp on a boat, there will definitely be a time when you wish you had.

[SteveWilson]

You're moving to Texas. Why not purchase a boat (used) that has a history of good resale value in Texas, then when it's time to move back to Minnesota (if you move back) sell the boat and buy one in Minnesota. If you purchase a Lund here and take it to Texas you might find it difficult to sell there if you need to.

[Riverratpete]

oh yeah, I'd definately go with as high as rated motor as possible..can NEVER have enough power

[SCCO9803]

If your going fiber glass, I second the Ranger Reatta 1850. The boat is very versatile. It has a front platform that pulls out when you want to fish from it like a bass boat, or you can fold it down. Also there is a small platform in the rear of the boat that you can move one of the seats up to if you want to be elevated in the back, for fishing two people. The boat is very deep in the middle and wide open like a traditional deep-v. I fished out of the boat for walleyes in Canada and the boat worked great. We launched it from dirt accesses and even portaged it via an outpost portage.

[Ralph Wiggum]

JLE, how big of motor is on your Reata? Mind if I ask how much the package ran you? Looks and sounds like a boat that would fit my style well.

[JLE]

I have a 150 Yamaha four stroke and love it, the only complaint I may have is it seems a little slow out of the hole. The boat was about $2000-$5000 more then the Lund or Chrestliner but I have heard rumors of a price incease.

[ChuckN]

I disagree. My just shy of 19' deep V Skeeter glass boat floats in 1' of water just like my old 16'-17' aluminum boats did. When you talk inches of water...maybe you shouldn't be in that shallow to begin with.

I've went from 16' to 17' aluminum boats to glass. Absolutely no comparison in ride between the two. Air ride seats were mandatory in aluminum, and my back still hurt. No longer the case with 3' swells at wide open. It's a lot of fun driving a glass boat.

[Willy]

I guess I meant more about trying to load/unload. It's hard to load a glass boat at a shallow landing.

I know what you mean about the ride. Tin boats suck in big waves, no matter what kind it is. Glass rides smoother. It's just the $ factor. Be nice to have, maybe someday.

[Doop]

I have seen a few of those Ranger walleye boats and man do they look sharp! The first thing that came to my mind was the amount of money those things must cost. Anyone know what they run? I know there are guys down here in Texas who fish the big lakes like Lewisville and Fork and will swear their bass boats handle well in rough water. I have a tough time believing that.

I like living down here but I miss the walleye and northern. Anticipating very much the move back north

[DougSpringBay]

Hey Doop,

You can't go wrong with a Lund Pro-V. I will have my 2005 available in September. If you would like more information, send me a private e-mail.

Doug

[Pherris]

I had a Lund Explorer that I was very happy with until I took up Bass fishing I soon realized that a "V" boat was not want I wanted so I started looking at Rangers took one ride on big waves in a Ranger 520 and was immediately sold on a glass boat The power of a 225 opti had nothing to do with it I swear . My primary fishing is for bass and for a family a boat like mine is not praticle but I did consider the Ranger 618 I think it is a very practical affordable option. Nothing wrong with my Lund but the Ranger is in a completely different class from my perspective. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

[Superduty]

If you have the money, go with glass. Most "walleye" guys don't realize how much rough water a 20 to 21 foot glass bass boat can handle. I've seen lake pepin at its worst (4-6 footers with 25-30mph winds) from a buddy's Triton Tr-20 and couldn't believe how well the boat handled the waves. In that size boat, anything less than 3 foot waves you can literally hit 'em going darn near wide open throttle. These boats are long enough so that you hit 2 to 3 waves at a time and the result is a smooth ride. I have an 18.5 footer and feel like I can get anywhere the guys in 1775 to 1900 pro-v's can go. The disadvantage to a bass boat is the lack of a kicker motor if you are going to try to troll in the rough stuff. The 6 series(619-621) Rangers are probably the best of both worlds, but you can spend $50,00 if you wanted.If I lived in Texas, I would go bass boat all the way. Good luck!

[HoleHopper]

I currently own a 1968 alum Cherikee with an old 115 evenrude. Fits the budget, the wife, and kid.

But it is the Triton that I dream about at night

What a beauty She is!

Someday!