First boat help

[Wolfie729]

I have a 2012 chevy half ton pickup with the 5.3

[Wolfie729]

Sorry also mostly small lake

[6 lb Smallmouth]

So that would be a good starter boat not too small? Anything i should worry about? Wheres a bass group near zeeland MI?

I fished a weekend on Barkley out of a 17' Triton with a 125. It was fine.  It is a 17' boat so storage and decks are smaller but it did the job.  I think that would make a great 1st boat but I would guess that in a couple years you will want to move to something bigger.  What type of water do you see yourself primarily fishing?  For inland lakes, a 17' glass bassboat is fully capable of doing 95% of what you want to do.  If you are planning to fish Great Lakes then you will want to upgrade pretty fast. 

I have a 17' tin bassboat and I have fished the hell out of that thing for more than 10 years from waters down to Kentucky Lake up to Grand Traverse Bay.  As long as you are smart about big water, the boat will serve your purposes.  Good luck. 

[motocross269]

You can get alot of boat for 10k... Remember when buying an older used boat you are basically buying the motor and the boat is just thrown in...

Take your time and dig around...There are all sorts of "Only driven to church on Sundays" rigs out there you just have to do some searching...

[6 lb Smallmouth]

Sorry also mostly small lake

Now that I see this, that would boat would be a very good choice.  Something else I realized is that since you seem relatively new to bassboats you probably don't know what you want to have in a bassboat.  Meaning that all of us who have had several boats and fished out of many know that we want a huge front deck, two big rod lockers, tons of storage, a 250  HP, a hotfoot, ect. ect.  Kinda like when I take novice fishermen out with me and they say how nice my boat is and I just think about how my boat doesn't have a rod locker, doesn't have enough room for more batteries, is too narrow, ect. ect.   Long story short, I think you will be very satisfied in the 17' Triton.  LOL- assuming you didn't spend all last summer fishing out of a 21' Ranger.  

[Waterfoul]

So that would be a good starter boat not too small? Anything i should worry about? Wheres a bass group near zeeland MI?

That is a great boat.  I have an 18' Triton with a 150 and love it.

Check out www.westmichiganbass.com for some tournaments in your area.  We operate a weekend lakeshore series, and 2 inland lake divisions on Monday nights.

There's also a bass club in Wayland.  Not sure of anything actually run out of the Zeeland/Holland area since most of the fishable lakes are east of there.

[Mike S.]

I have a friend, not sure if he's a member on here or not, who has a nice 17 foot Nitro for sale. Not sure what motor, but the pics I saw of it looked pretty nice. I could get you in touch with him if you like.

I started with a 1994 Tracker Tournament TX 17 with a 40 horse Mariner. I paid $2000 for it. I sold it 2 years later for 2400 and bought a 1996 Nitro Savage 884 with a 150 Merc efi.  I got that for 5000.  I fished it for 2 years until it got hit by a car. I got 6100 from insurance and 2000 from a dealer for the wrecked boat. I then bought my 20 foot Skeeter with a 225 and a lot of cool toys on it. Couldn't be happier. It's just the progression of needs in a fishing boat. Just keep in mind, the bigger the boat, the more the expense of use.

[MSURoss]

I have a friend, not sure if he's a member on here or not, who has a nice 17 foot Nitro for sale. Not sure what motor, but the pics I saw of it looked pretty nice. I could get you in touch with him if you like.

I started with a 1994 Tracker Tournament TX 17 with a 40 horse Mariner. I paid $2000 for it. I sold it 2 years later for 2400 and bought a 1996 Nitro Savage 884 with a 150 Merc efi.  I got that for 5000.  I fished it for 2 years until it got hit by a car. I got 6100 from insurance and 2000 from a dealer for the wrecked boat. I then bought my 20 foot Skeeter with a 225 and a lot of cool toys on it. Couldn't be happier. It's just the progression of needs in a fishing boat. Just keep in mind, the bigger the boat, the more the expense of use.

Mike you have any details on the Nitro? I am looking for a boat as well

[Wolfie729]

Ya i would like to know more about that nitro

[Mike S.]

I will get a hold of him this afternoon and get details for you guys.

[Redbone]

I would jump on that Triton. Unless its a Honda motor it must be a newer being that its a 4 stroke. And you are pretty much buying the motor. The boat should come second. You wont run over 55mph and you wont be able to run the big water very often. Also, in most 17' boats you cant put a 7' rod in the rod locker.

I have a 17' Ranger now. I would love to upgrade but I have to wait a couple more seasons. But on the flip side. My truck pulls it like its not even there. I can load and unload it by myself in about a minute. And it fits in the third stall of my garage.

[TimH]

Sorry also mostly small lake

Now that I see this, that would boat would be a very good choice. Something else I realized is that since you seem relatively new to bassboats you probably don't know what you want to have in a bassboat.  Meaning that all of us who have had several boats and fished out of many know that we want a huge front deck, two big rod lockers, tons of storage, a 250  HP, a hotfoot, ect. ect.  Kinda like when I take novice fishermen out with me and they say how nice my boat is and I just think about how my boat doesn't have a rod locker, doesn't have enough room for more batteries, is too narrow, ect. ect.   Long story short, I think you will be very satisfied in the 17' Triton.  LOL- assuming you didn't spend all last summer fishing out of a 21' Ranger.  

Very good point.  Back before I owned a boat, I would have done anything to get a small tin boat just so I could get out on the water.  Once I got my 87 mirrorcraft, I loved that boat, it was perfect...for the 1st year.  Then I started to want a bigger boat, bigger motor, more storage, a rod locker, etc.  So after a few years, I decided it was time to upgrade and I purchased the boat I have now.  It was bigger, faster, more storage, everything I wanted.  It was the best boat...then I marshalled an Elite event and got to ride in a "real bassboat."  I then began finding everything little thing wrong with my boat, and very quickly wanted to upgrade again.  Fortunatley, I came to my senses and realized that for the "fun fishing" and weekend tournament fishing I do, my boat does everything I want, with the best thing being its fully paid for.
Think about this, you will always want a bigger, better, and newer boat, but to the guy standing on shore fishing as you drive out from the launch, you have a boat he would love to have.

[thedude]

my advice -
1. get a good, used boat. don't buy new - you can get a 1 year old boat for 5-10k less than a new one.
2. get a mechanic/shop to verify compression and get a computer readout (if possible) of the hours on the motor and any codes
3. 18' minimum. 150hp minimum. Once the novelty of a new (to you) boat wears off, you will absolutely wish you had something a little bigger.
4. Do your research - there are many brands out there, they all have their quirks and issues. Bass Boat Central is great place to ask questions and get info about specific hulls
5. Set aside some cash for after the purchase. You will likely want to replace a trolling motor or update electronics, batteries, accessories and what not....
6. Take a test drive - with full livewells and enough weight in the boat to simulate the max load you'd be carrying.

if looking at used boats, i'd personally start with champion and bass cat. Ranger's hold their value very well also. From there get into the more mass produced (tritons, stratos, nitro, etc).  I won't start a brand war, but some boats stand the test of time in terms of quality and others don't -I personally wouldn't buy anything made by tracker/nitro if you're in it for the long haul.

[BassHuntress]

We are selling a 1998 Nitro, email me and I will send you info dnlgray23@comcast.net. This boat is all set up and ready to fish tournaments. Newer trolling motor and two newer Hummingbirds, one is a side scan.  The lower unit is new. This is the Nitro mentioned above.

[BIGSHOW]

I agree 100% with thedude. Especially #2. Get that engine checked out by a mechanic. Older ones can't get read outs but you can always get the compression checked. The good thing with the computer like he said is you can see the hours or faults (overheating etc.). With that price range I would rather have a stratos,triton or nitro with a strong motor than a ranger etc with engine issues. This time of year is also tough cause your not gonna get a test ride. But you might get a good deal. If they wan't to sell it have them meet you at a good shop to check it out.

[MSURoss]

I don't want to start a heated debate, but what's been peoples experience with nitro? There's a few nice looking ones out there.

[thedude]

my experience owning a tracker is that they pay a very low wage to have low quality parts and components fastened to a hull.  The hull i have will last forever, but the fit and finish was severely lacking from the day i drove it off the showroom floor.   I think their quality took a big dip in the late 90s (both nitro and tracker) as they really started to mass produce boats in a good economy.  From what i've heard the newer rigs are getting better.

That being said, you can get a really good deal on a perfectly good nitro or tracker because there are a lot of them out there. If you find one that has what you want and in your price range, then you might be getting more boat for your money than you would with other brands.

[Mike S.]

My 96 Nitro was a good boat. I abused it for 3 years, and my partner abused it for 11 years before I bought it. It was 3 years old when he got it, and through my time and his, never an issue. A buddy of mine still has it today, with no issues.

My 94 Tracker got beat to death in the rivers around here before I got it. I thought I beat the rest of life out of it, but the guy I sold it to is still running it 7 years later. My dad bought a brand new TX175 last year. It is a very nice boat. It fishes great, and is wide and comfortable. But, it just doesn't give the ride of a glass boat.

I absolutely love my Skeeter. But, the Nitro is very appealing to me because of pricing. I have kicked around selling my boat to buy a new Nitro. A loaded Z8  for under 40k verses a new Skeeter at 60k plus. But there are differences. There's nothing wrong with any boat if it's what you can afford. There are a ton of used Nitro's out there. As was said, bang for the buck.

[Waterfoul]

My 87 Tracker Pro 170 leaked a little when I got it.  Fixed most of it the first year.  Drove it pretty hard, bumped a few things in the Grand River with it.  Sold it 3 years later for more than I paid for it... still a little leaky.  Honestly I hope the guy who bought it sank far from shore, he was a jerk.  But knowing that boat... he's still using it today.

[Got Fish??]

I like my 1984 pro guide deep-v 16ft tracker. It's in great shape I get a lot of looks when I'm on the water. It's good on gas. I can handle big  water, yet it gos places large boats can't get to. With a 40hp, I can fish all day on 6 gallons or less and it dosen't break the bank. I can handle it by myself in any type of weather. It has deep sides so I  will not roll off the boat. There is  room on the deck for two guys to fish.It fits in my garage. With gear, motor and boat, I have  $3, 000 rapped up in it. I can  tow it with my F-150 and I get 23 miles per gallon. I've had it for ten years.I have to tell you if I get  a new boat. I'm keeping this one too. Shop around you will find what you  want.