Boat for bass....and maybe inshore salt?

[Josh]

So, I've been looking around for my first "real" boat for a bit. Nothing fancy (used, not new), ~14-18ft (room for two adults to fish), outboard, prefer console instead of tiller, but not dead set on that. Mostly been looking at bass "semi-v" styles (think basic bass tracker aluminium) because the primary use would be bass in lakes around where I live. Price range $10-15k? I've found a couple that fit the bill, but so far they keep falling through for one reason or another.

Since I've yet to find anything, I started wondering if I wanted to maybe change my search to something that could handle some basic inshore saltwater too. With the idea being to give me the option to fish for cutts or salmon if I wanted to. Possible? Foolish idea?

What would I be looking for as far as a boat that could do both lake bass and some basic salt? Or is that just going to end up with me having a boat that can't really do either very well?

@Nick Clayton & @Evan B I feel like you'd have info here maybe?

 

[dirty dog]

Something to think about is a drift boat.
I met a guy at the Thousand Trails camp ground in La Connor a few years ago that was going out to fish for salmon and set some crab pots.
He had a 5 hp outboard on the boat.
He told me he could go around through Discerption pass with no problems.
When the tide changes the water can get pretty rough around the islands and the rocks.
He said that the drift boat just rides right over the undertows.
I've seen some guys out on Diamond lake when the winds kicks up and there are white caps. Just point the bow into the wind and keep fishing.
They (the drift boat) will float in inches of water, skim right over the weed beds.

 

[Scudley Do Right]

I used my 20’ Lund Alaskan for all of the above. Mine was a tiller but they make an SC. I don’t know what they go for now but I sold mine in your price range a few years ago. They also make a 16’ and 18’. Could also look into a Smoker Craft.

 

[Pink Nighty]

Love the drift boat idea above, I've seen guys launch them in birch bay for crab and for fly fishing it makes a lot of sense. Stable casting platform, shallow draft etc...Unsure about the ability to mount power poles on it, but then youd have a river boat as well. Three-fer

 

[Chadk]

Is this for just you, you and 2-4 others? All the above?

 

[Josh]

Is this for just you, you and 2-4 others? All the above?

Likely just solo or me and another adult. Perhaps me and two preteens once in a while.

 

[Josh]

He told me he could go around through Discerption pass with no problems.

I'm not going to lie, I find that sketchy.

That said, it would depend highly on the tide I guess.

 

[Chadk]

Likely just solo or me and another adult. Perhaps me and two preteens once in a while.

My fishing kayaks have been amazing. I ended up selling my small alum boat now that the kids are old enough to handle a kayak safely. With my Old Town kayak, I can fish Puget sound, big lakes, even moving water - though I've yet to try it. I want to do a run or 2 on the Skykomish this year. I can stand and fly fish just fine on my OT (not the others). 1 of them has a custom integrated trolling motor. The other has one I can attach if I want.

I like that I can quickly throw one in the back of my truck and be on a local lake in just a few minutes. No trailer and easy to launch myself. And if I'm bringing several kayaks, I have a utility trailer with a truck rack added to carry as many kayaks as needed (though I have carried 4 in the bed of my truck before). Super easy and efficient, no gas motor to deal with like I used to, trolling motor optional, but there if needed, and my OT pedal drive is amazing and fun to use. I can fish water that is just inches deep to offshore ocean fishing if I really wanted to (lots of kayakers go out in the pacific and other ocean waters in the bigger and more stable kayaks).

 

[Josh]

My fishing kayaks have been amazing.

I do have a nucanoe fishing kayak (paddle though, not pedal) and I sometimes think of upgrading it to something pedal drive that I could stand on more easily. It's been on my list to ask you about your OT setup after seeing the pictures in your "covid fishing" thread.

But the "boat" project is a different goal for me. I want to be able to take my father in law or one of my kids bass fishing more often or even just encourage the wife to read in the sun while I fish a bit a quiet lake.

 

[Anyfish]

I have an older 15' Smokercraft Alaskan with a tiller 15hp and a saltwater trolling motor. It works well in every lake I have fished for bass and trout. I do fish it in the south sound a little, but not as much as I would like and it does fine there as well. Have fished in around Olympia, Tacoma, Hood Canal and other places with no issues. For me it is really just limited on distance with the smaller motor. Two adults can fly fish fairly well, but three would probably be a bit messy. We do fish 3 people often, but usually the younger kid is spin fishing so he just goes in the middle.

 

[Chadk]

I do have a nucanoe fishing kayak (paddle though, not pedal) and I sometimes think of upgrading it to something pedal drive that I could stand on more easily. It's been on my list to ask you about your OT setup after seeing the pictures in your "covid fishing" thread.

But the "boat" project is a different goal for me. I want to be able to take my father in law or one of my kids bass fishing more often or even just encourage the wife to read in the sun while I fish a bit a quiet lake.

That makes perfect sense.

 

[Nick Clayton]

I have zero experience bass fishing, so I can't speak specifically to that, but I do have plenty of lake experience in general.

Immediately upon reading your post my first thought would be that my current boat, Ranger RB190 would be ideal. However they are pretty tough to find used, and probably wouldn't find one in that budget. The guy I bought mine from primarily bass fished, mostly in small local tournaments, but also fished src. One of his reasons for selling was that he was way more into bass fishing than anything else and he decided he'd rather get a full on dedicated bass boat. The reasons he listed is that the Ranger was more apt to be blown around in the wind due to higher sides than a traditional bass boat, and that the center console was in the way for casting (gear rods). I've read that before regarding CCs and bass fishing, but not sure I am totally convinced it would be an issue unless you're a die hard tournament type. Same with the wind issue. I haven't noticed any issue with that on the sound.

When I think bass fishing, and lakes in general, I think stability first and foremost. A boat that won't lean back and forth tremendously while moving around in the boat during fishing. Generally to achieve this you'd look at boats that are more flat bottomed. The downside is that a flatter bottomed boat isn't going to handle chop in the sound very well. It's going to rattle your teeth out. Naturally you wouldn't choose to head out on the sound in any sort of nasty choppy water on purpose, but it has a habit of appearing often enough even when not in the forecast that it's something to consider.

I'd think one of the modified V hull type aluminums would make a good compromise, but my current boat is the only one in that department that I have any experience with. It handles chop just fine, but is super stable on drift. Three guys on board can all be on one side of the boat without any issue or major listing. Something I really appreciate.

A boat that size with a console is obviously going to sacrifice a little room inside, it's just the nature of the beast with a console type boat. A tiller will provide a lot more interior room for sure. Personally I prefer a console for a few reasons but it really comes down to personal preference there.

Storage is something else to consider. I've owned a handful of boats in the size range you're looking at and my current boat has more storage than any of them by a large margin. I knew this was a cool feature when buying the boat but didn't realize just how nice it is until I started fishing it. Being able to have rods, gear, lunch, safety gear, rain jackets etc stored out of the way, and out of the weather is so nice. A lack of storage wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but man it's sooooo nice to have.

Personally in your budget range I wouldn't consider anything with a 2 stroke motor. Buying a used boat the motor is the most important thing. After years of having 2 strokes, the convenience and peace of mind of a newer 4 stroke is so nice. There's plenty of well kept 2 strokes out there, but IMO I wouldn't go that route. Not having to mess with oil mixing of any sort is so nice.

Aluminum is going to be lighter and generally easier to maintain than glass, and probably provides more options in the style of boat you'd be looking at. That said, I've always preferred the ride of glass in any sort of chop and I wouldn't shy away from a glass boat if the right one came along. How shallow do you need a boat to go? That's also something to consider. My Ranger will run extremely shallow, but not sure how big of a deal that is for general bass fishing in WA.

I think in a lot of ways finding a boat that would excel at both bass fishing and the sound would be a bit tough, especially if you're interested in hanging downriggers for your Salmon fishing. If that would be a plan, be sure to look at how feasible it would be to mount them on anything you look at. It could be done on my current boat, but not ideal.

I used to have the 15 Alaskan mentioned above and that boat could do an awful lot. Wasn't the most stable at drift, which I think would be a disadvantage for bass fishing, but it was a very versatile boat.

Something like the Lund mentioned above could also be a good choice.

Out of the boats I've owned, and excluding my current ride, my Triumph 170cc would check a lot of your boxes. Wouldn't be the perfect boat for each of your uses, but could do just about everything pretty well.

The hard part about finding a boat that checks the boxes you've laid out is there just isn't a ton of that style of boat in this area. They aren't terribly popular. There's a ton of super cool aluminum bay boats out there, which would probably be perfect for your needs, but finding one up here would be difficult. You'd likely have to be willing to travel somewhere to pick one up, which would add a new layer to the PIA factor of boat shopping.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts!

 

[Josh]

Excellent info,Nick. Thank you!

Personally in your budget range I wouldn't consider anything with a 2 stroke motor. Buying a used boat the motor is the most important thing. After years of having 2 strokes, the convenience and peace of mind of a newer 4 stroke is so nice. There's plenty of well kept 2 strokes out there, but IMO I wouldn't go that route. Not having to mess with oil mixing of any sort is so nice.

Agreed. I also neglected to mention that I'm not willing to go with a 2-stroke due to some 4-stroke requirements we have up here on a couple of the best lakes.

 

[Bugmeister]

I have zero experience bass fishing, so I can't speak specifically to that, but I do have plenty of lake experience in general.

Immediately upon reading your post my first thought would be that my current boat, Ranger RB190 would be ideal. However they are pretty tough to find used, and probably wouldn't find one in that budget. The guy I bought mine from primarily bass fished, mostly in small local tournaments, but also fished src. One of his reasons for selling was that he was way more into bass fishing than anything else and he decided he'd rather get a full on dedicated bass boat. The reasons he listed is that the Ranger was more apt to be blown around in the wind due to higher sides than a traditional bass boat, and that the center console was in the way for casting (gear rods). I've read that before regarding CCs and bass fishing, but not sure I am totally convinced it would be an issue unless you're a die hard tournament type. Same with the wind issue. I haven't noticed any issue with that on the sound.

When I think bass fishing, and lakes in general, I think stability first and foremost. A boat that won't lean back and forth tremendously while moving around in the boat during fishing. Generally to achieve this you'd look at boats that are more flat bottomed. The downside is that a flatter bottomed boat isn't going to handle chop in the sound very well. It's going to rattle your teeth out. Naturally you wouldn't choose to head out on the sound in any sort of nasty choppy water on purpose, but it has a habit of appearing often enough even when not in the forecast that it's something to consider.

I'd think one of the modified V hull type aluminums would make a good compromise, but my current boat is the only one in that department that I have any experience with. It handles chop just fine, but is super stable on drift. Three guys on board can all be on one side of the boat without any issue or major listing. Something I really appreciate.

A boat that size with a console is obviously going to sacrifice a little room inside, it's just the nature of the beast with a console type boat. A tiller will provide a lot more interior room for sure. Personally I prefer a console for a few reasons but it really comes down to personal preference there.

Storage is something else to consider. I've owned a handful of boats in the size range you're looking at and my current boat has more storage than any of them by a large margin. I knew this was a cool feature when buying the boat but didn't realize just how nice it is until I started fishing it. Being able to have rods, gear, lunch, safety gear, rain jackets etc stored out of the way, and out of the weather is so nice. A lack of storage wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but man it's sooooo nice to have.

Personally in your budget range I wouldn't consider anything with a 2 stroke motor. Buying a used boat the motor is the most important thing. After years of having 2 strokes, the convenience and peace of mind of a newer 4 stroke is so nice. There's plenty of well kept 2 strokes out there, but IMO I wouldn't go that route. Not having to mess with oil mixing of any sort is so nice.

Aluminum is going to be lighter and generally easier to maintain than glass, and probably provides more options in the style of boat you'd be looking at. That said, I've always preferred the ride of glass in any sort of chop and I wouldn't shy away from a glass boat if the right one came along. How shallow do you need a boat to go? That's also something to consider. My Ranger will run extremely shallow, but not sure how big of a deal that is for general bass fishing in WA.

I think in a lot of ways finding a boat that would excel at both bass fishing and the sound would be a bit tough, especially if you're interested in hanging downriggers for your Salmon fishing. If that would be a plan, be sure to look at how feasible it would be to mount them on anything you look at. It could be done on my current boat, but not ideal.

I used to have the 15 Alaskan mentioned above and that boat could do an awful lot. Wasn't the most stable at drift, which I think would be a disadvantage for bass fishing, but it was a very versatile boat.

Something like the Lund mentioned above could also be a good choice.

Out of the boats I've owned, and excluding my current ride, my Triumph 170cc would check a lot of your boxes. Wouldn't be the perfect boat for each of your uses, but could do just about everything pretty well.

The hard part about finding a boat that checks the boxes you've laid out is there just isn't a ton of that style of boat in this area. They aren't terribly popular. There's a ton of super cool aluminum bay boats out there, which would probably be perfect for your needs, but finding one up here would be difficult. You'd likely have to be willing to travel somewhere to pick one up, which would add a new layer to the PIA factor of boat shopping.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts!

When I was just starting boat-shopping a while ago I think you sold one of your Triumphs on the old forum. Layout and the boat overall looked sweet and someone snapped it up right away as you priced it pretty reasonably. I checked around online and i think the manufacturer stopped making them a few years ago (?) so those might become collector’s items.

I finally hit pause on shopping for two reasons: 1) prices for used center consoles like 15-17’ whalers were pretty offensive, and 2) my wife put a condition on the effort by saying I could only buy it if we had a moorage for it locked in on Lake Washington. Lake Washington moorage = almost impossible to find and reaaaaaaallly expensive. That effectively powerboat-blocked me.

 

[Nick Clayton]

When I was just starting boat-shopping a while ago I think you sold one of your Triumphs on the old forum. Layout and the boat overall looked sweet and someone snapped it up right away as you priced it pretty reasonably. I checked around online and i think the manufacturer stopped making them a few years ago (?) so those might become collector’s items.

I finally hit pause on shopping for two reasons: 1) prices for used center consoles like 15-17’ whalers were pretty offensive, and 2) my wife put a condition on the effort by saying I could only buy it if we had a moorage for it locked in on Lake Washington. Lake Washington moorage = almost impossible to find and reaaaaaaallly expensive. That effectively powerboat-blocked me.

Ya Triumph stopped production a handful of years ago. I've only had one of them, and currently still have it, so wasn't me who sold on over there. May have been Rob Ast. He had the same boat as mine and sold his through the classifieds.

Triumph made several models including a 19' and a 21', but I only have experience with the 170cc. They also made a tiller model that was really sweet. Totally open inside.

Reading online you'll find plenty if mixed reviews on Triumph, but IMO it's the single toughest, most versatile boat I've ever owned.

 

[Chucker]

Good info from Nick there. I would add that you shouldn’t count out fiberglass boats for what you want to do. The ride is indeed better than equivalent aluminum boats, and that’s always going to be an issue in the sound. Downside is weight, and that affects what you are going to tow it with. You also don’t have to worry about galvanic corrosion with a glass boat, it seems to be the thing that stresses out tin boat owners the most. My bass fishing knowledge is limited, but it seems to me that if it’s got an electric on the bow, its going to be awesome. Boston Whalers are built with reinforced areas for bow mount motors. I don't know about other brands.

You do see a lot of aluminum bass boats out on the sound, so there’s no doubt that they can handle it.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

I’ve had a bunch of outboard powered boats over the years and could give you my thoughts, but Nick and others have adequately covered a lot of it already.

Having said that, this book has been the best source of information I’ve found and covers everything from hull selection and how they differ from one another, to seamanship and everything in between about selecting and choosing the right small boat for the intended use. It’s well worth reading.

 

[Bryan]

Take a look at Klamath Boats, they have some options that might fit your needs. https://klamathboats.com

I purchased my 15'2 last summer from Coos Bay Marine in Coos Bay, but they also have a dealer in WA. And, I believe they have a new dealer in Portland, also.

Well built, welded aluminum modified V-bottom.

If you see anything of interest and would like to connect with the Coos Bay dealer, let me know and I'd be happy to introduce you to the owner. I'm a very satisfied customer, but no other affiliation.

Cheers,

Bryan

 

[Rob Allen]

I cannot speak to inshore fishing at all. But. Unless you fish small ponds bass boats are far and away the best fishing platforms for still water.
Tin boats are good for shallow lakes with little to no wind or somewhat unimproved ramps.

18 foot fiberglass boats are suitable for any still water with an improved ramp.
21 foot boats are good and are the preferred choice for large lakes or rivers where wind and other boat wakes are a problem
19-20 foot boats are expensive compromises between the two.

 

[headduck]

You ever see a livinston cat.

Not gonna win any races, not super blingy, but durable, versatile, stable and with a cult following.

Off the hook boat works makes real cool accessories...

One of those smaller whalers looks like it may fit the bill as well.

Arima sea pacer has more casting space (bow access) but still doesnt have the deck like a bass boat. Comes in a 17' variety. Very versatile and stable. Plenty capable for inshore and some more froggy times too. Good on gas as well.

@Nick Clayton - any issues with the low freeboard on the ranger? When do you call it a day inshore? I imagine a bit of wash over the gunnel if it gets a little snotty... but have no real experince with a ranger other than lakes and delta.