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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | Just wondering how many people use 'glass bass boats chasing muskie. I know all you normally hear about is deep v multi-species boats. I'm continuing to bounce ideas around in my head for a new boat. Seems like it would work well being close to the water for figure 8s and such. |
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Posts: 501
Location: S.Wisconsin | I dont run one yet but as soon as my truck is paid for i will be trading the esox mag in for a champion or ranger bass boat. I had the chance to fish out of Sennetts legend bass boat and was very impressed with how it handled rough water and how much room there was. Performance is also better than the big deep boats. The only drawback i see is a smaller live well but i have only used mine one time in 7 yrs so i guess i can do without Dont own one yet but hope this helped a bit.
Edited by little one 1/26/2012 12:24 PM
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Posts: 1316
Location: Lebanon,Mo | I bet bass boats are 10 to 1 for musky fishing in the southern range.. |
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Posts: 147
Location: Chesterton, Indiana | They would work out well as long as the water wasn't too big or you are not really fond of a windshield like I am in the very cold months of fishing. |
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Posts: 2082
| Ive had a Ranger 195VS for 7 years. 50" Livewell and simply an awesome casting platform. I remember the first time a friend fished in the back of my boat his comment was "I can break dance back here". If you are somewhat careful two people can cast from the back of the boat! I fished Mille Lacs and LOTW a lot out of this boat no problems. The only draw back to me is that bass boats don't allow for a kicker motor.
Edited by IAJustin 1/26/2012 1:54 PM
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Posts: 13
| I have run an 18ft Triton TR for a few years now. I have made trips up into Canada the last 3. It handles very big water with ease including Lake Michigan, all within reason of course.
Lakes |
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Posts: 305
Location: Not where I want to be! | I have fished out of a Ranger Bass boat for 10 years now. By far the best platform IMO. They handle rough water very well,(may get wet once in awhile) and the boat control is outstanding. |
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| I run a 1996 Champion 191DC Elite and it works well for musky fishing and handles rough water fine if you know how to drive it. That said, I can't wait until I can upgrade to a 621 or similar for those 5% of days I want a deep-V in big wind or to troll. |
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| Had a Cobra 201 that handled big water great. Huge front deck like a back yard, only problem is when you want to troll which pushed me into a 620. |
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Posts: 164
| I have a Ranger 175 vs which is great to fish out of, but you have to be careful with the fish in the net. I have had a few fish almost jump out of the net due to the net being so close to the water. |
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| A buddy of mine is running a Triton 215X and he LOVES it for chasing skis-----you can put an 8 footer down on the front casting deck--------tons of room. He has a 250 Merc Pro XS on it and it just sips gas------ amazing! It's an awesome ride-----Good luck---Jobu |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | I have a Javelin 17 Venom. I love fishing out of it. However, it is way too small at 16 1/2'. There is not enough storage for baits, even with my deck extension. Be sure to think about that with bassboats. The rod locker is small but it does fit 9' rods. Storage in other ways is great however. I have 4 batteries in the bilge with the 26 gallon gas tank. I do miss troling at times, but I could put a kicker on if I really wanted to. I'm torn between a bassboat and a deep v for my next boat. You compromise a little either way. |
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Posts: 19
| i have been fishing from my Stratos 201 for 3 years now. love the deck space, i fish 3 people all the time with plenty of elbow room, its low to the water so figure 8's are easy, and handles big water pretty decent. however, trolling with a 200 horse and a hot foot causes issues. haha. may be looking into a tuffy. |
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Posts: 1040
| I've got a 188 DVS Ranger, the Muskie Edition. Huge casting decks, two windshields, 50 inch livewell and a 7.5 foot rod locker. Tons of storage too. Great muskie boat. I use it on inland lakes up to 3000 acres and it has also seen time on Green Bay. It handles rough water well, but just like in any boat, you have to use common sense when on the Great Lakes.
As far as kickers go, you can put a kicker on almost any bass boat. If you look around long enough, you will find people who specifically put kicker plates on the back of bass boats. I worry about performance when considering this and have not done it. I may in the future, but I'll take the kicker off when I do not want to troll.
But yah, the only downside to a bass boat for muskie fishing is the kicker motor. Now if you get a 4 stroke engine on the bass boat, you can troll, but you lose some power on the hole shot. |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I have run bass boats for the last 6 years (last one being a Ranger 185). They are great to actually fish out of...if you get one that is big enough the front and back decks fish like a dream. If you customize your storage you can have plenty of it, minus a good rod locker. You can even install rod holders and do some trolling...
However, there are definitely some drawbacks and some major issues. They can be plenty nasty on big water, and it doesn't have to be the great lakes. I have been on LOTW, Eagle, and Lac Seul in 25+ mph winds and it is anything but comfortable. You can and will get wet. Having to drive across 3+ footers is certainly anything but comfortable either. yes you can do it, but it's not fun. Having to deal with 6 8+ rods also becomes difficult and the there really just is never a good place for a net either.
The bench seats are a magnet for big musky hooks, you can be careful all you want but at some point you or someone in your boat will slip up during fishing or travel and tears will happen. The windshields are pretty much useless, it's fine on a hot July day but miserable on a 40 degree day when you are zipping across at 50 mph. Also anything you leave out (maps, lures in the wrong place, cigs if you are into that kind of thing) will blow out the first chance you make a mistake....
I was content with them until last year...An August trip to LOTW with sustained winds was just too much to handle and didn't allow me to fish where I wanted to...I think if you fish the southern zone up through Wisconsin you are good to go..MN, lake dependant...Canada? doable but not great. I switched out to a 619, hoping it works out better for those weeks where the weather does not cooperate.
Edited by Musky Brian 1/27/2012 1:10 PM
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| I have fished out one once. The only thing that I remember was how aweful it was to work on a fish in the net. We had big waves and I had kneel on the deck with waves crashing over me. That turned me completely off. I also troll, so there was another reason.
Seems like it would great for casting only. |
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Posts: 1040
| Yah, you will take on water in tough conditions.
And on the flip side, you are much closer to the water for figure 8's. You want to save your back? Get close to the water for your figure 8's. I have an 8.5 Croix and do not have to bend down at all to do a deep figure 8. And as far as net work goes, my buddy showed me how to put a loop on the center storage cleat. The net handle goes into the loop and the pressure of the fish pushes down on it so you are hands free when dealing with the fish in the net.
A drawback is floor space. My boat can get plenty cluttered with the Frabill Bait Bucket and a bag or two. There isn't much walking room or space on the floor.
If you install railings on the boat, you can troll plenty of lines. I could put four rod holders on each side of the boat and have plenty of room. If you do some reseach on the net, you will find some nice rod holders that attach to your front and/or back mooring cleats. No drilling involved and they are plenty sturdy. I use mine a lot when sucker fishing. And with the cleats that I have, I can have my rod holders on there and I can still use them to tie up. When casting, I can take the rod holder off of the bracket and the bracket does not interfere with casting or doing figure 8's.
The only "cons" that I can't get around with the bass style boat is floor space and big waves. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Guest - 1/27/2012 12:26 PM
I have fished out one once. The only thing that I remember was how aweful it was to work on a fish in the net. We had big waves and I had kneel on the deck with waves crashing over me. That turned me completely off. I also troll, so there was another reason.
Seems like it would great for casting only.
Which model were you in? I think the BEST thing about fishing out of my bass boat is how close I am to the fish and how easy it is to get at them. I only need the shallower bag which makes it even easier to net and release the fish.
About the only negatives is that on super windy/big water days they can be wet/rough and trolling is so-so at best. Pretty much everything else is superior to the deep v designs IMOP. |
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Posts: 720
| Big bass boats ride the big waves, and walleye boats plow through them. |
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Posts: 292
| ran a ranger r80 sport for a few years and was by far my favorite boat but would rec a single console for the extra space. just my preference. |
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| Not having a kicker on a bassboat is a downside for not only from a trolling perspective but from a safety perspective, having a kicker in case something happens to my main engine. Has happened where I ran out of oil on my main and used the kicker to make the 6 mile run back to the launch or any other main engine issues. At least with a kicker you're not a sitting duck, especially in big wind |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | 36 volt trolling motor...I can cover much more than 6 miles |
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Posts: 797
Location: North Central IL USA | Not for me. I don't like sitting that close to the deck of the boat when driving. Due to back issues, I really need to sit high enough so that my legs are pretty much at a 90 degree bend.
I'm all screwed up - I fish bass and Muskie out of a walleye boat - LOL |
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| Schuler- good luck with that. I've got a 36v system too and after a 15 hour session on big water in a 3-4 foot chop you're not getting very far with a bow mount. Again, it's all relevant to the water you fish. I fish a few of the great lakes and rarely fish a lake under 10K acres. Won't catch me on a GL with just a bow mount to get me out of a jam. |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | I run a 21' Triton , dual console ( if you care about your passengers). I've had this boat on Superior several times. Leech can get rough at times and she will handle it if you drive respectful of the water. Deck space, acess to the water /fish, manuverability, and able to float in a foot & 1/2 is all why. Personally I would never look at anything less than 20' again. If they came out with a 25' bass rig that would float in shallow and perform the way this boat has. I'd risk the divorce!! |
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| I run a 18 ft Sabre BassCat, if you are a caster most of the time you can't beat it. I have been out in pretty rough water with it. When you get bigger than four foot waves I rather be inside. Thanks, Al |
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Posts: 553
Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | I have fished out of lots of walleye boats (Tundras, 620s, 621s, etc) and IMO bass boats are the nicest boats to fish from. There are certainly drawbacks like net storage and ability to troll or actually cast in rough water (they handle running in rough water nearly as well as deep V boats) but being closer to the water on figures 8s makes a huge difference for me. Because I fish mostly southern reservoirs I will soon own a bass boat. And it's nice to have the ability to run 60-75mph for tournaments. |
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Posts: 582
| I used to run a stratos bass boat for muskie fishing. I loved it. Now i am in a ranger reata and love that too. But it great being able to get shallower, and have the large deck in front of the bass boat.
The only thing i didn't like was it was a cold ride. I love having a full windsheild now on the reata. I tend to fish more when its cold outside than i did with my small wind sheild. A bass boat will also not seat many people which is another draw back. No where to sit etc... Also, in my bass boat you were either idling along or going full speed. It didn't do half throttle real well. It was propped for high speed.
Edited by jackson 2/14/2012 12:31 PM
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Posts: 720
| To demonstrate what kind of platform a bass boat is for musky, go ahead and put this on mute if you want and just watch the boat in use in open water on St. Clair. It's stable, has tons of room and handles the seas well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEFqNINmLA
Edited by Bondy 2/14/2012 11:40 AM
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