Logan S

It was really more of a joke when I put Stratos at the top, as I thought people would tell from my username I owned one . I would absolutely recommend one, but was really putting more emphasis on getting a boat to match your needs rather than picking out a popular brand. Still, I'll take you through my decision process in case it helps someone. I went down my checklist for what I wanted. -at least 20' (my previous boat was 17' and I'd had enough of the size limitations) -lots of front deck storage -large, independent livewells -good trolling motor (came with a new Motorguide Tour Edition 82lb) -single console -good overall condition -good price -reasonably fast (I fish the Potomac and some larger lakes and want the option of running 20 miles without chewing up tons of time) The things I failed (I speak form experience in my previous posts ). -reliable motor (It had a 200ph FICHT...) -good trailer (not really a failure on my part, I couldn't have know it had internal rust) I eventually narrowed down my choice to the Stratos and a Ranger of similar layout. The Ranger was 1 year newer but had significantly more hours, older accessories, less desirable livewells (large divided, not 2 separate), and was $3,000 more. I went with the mine despite the motor... The boat itself I couldn't be happier with. I took a gamble on the motor and it was actually a great motor for 3 years...Very efficient and powerful. Until it wasn't . I ended up blowing the powerhead in a tournament. Since I liked the the boat so much I decided to repower with a new ETEC and once again, couldn't be happier. The trailer ended up rusting behind the axle and developing a crack, this is where it good to have a friend with an auto shop...Welded a few plates on and it's back on the road. The lesson here is to go for a C-channel trailer over a tube-framed trailer if you can... I knew the risk I was taking and I ended up getting 3 years out of the motor before it bit me. The ETEC cost me, but now I have brand new motor with warranty on a boat I still love. Now, if I had to do it all over again? Knowing what I know now, I'd probably go with a C-channel trailer and probably steer away from motor with a bad rep...Although on a used rig any brand has potential to screw you, as you never know what the previous owner did. But I'm still happy with my decision and honestly think I made the best call at the time. If you're going to take anything away from this, learn from both my mistakes and my success. Also remember that no matter what, a boat will always cost you money. For me, it's part of the game and I understand it...I love bass fishing enough to keep spending and not have second thoughts.

Because I own one Any of the big names will serve well, especially in normal conditions. In rough water, size helps before brand... No matter the boat, being in rough water in a bass boat sucks. Bass boats are not made to handle rough water, they are fishing platforms, some are little better than others...But that's where operator experience comes in to play too. If you want a fishing boat purpose built for handling rough water you need to look at walleye style boats or something similar...But then you sacrifice many other things when it comes to bass fishing.

And just in case you have all your goals figured out already, when it comes to how a boat rides it's probably 80% driver, 20% boat. Allow yourself time to become experienced in operating your boat and I doubt you will have issues in any rig. A bass boat is probably one of the more complicated boats to drive well...There's more to it than flooring the throttle and steering where you want

You've received some good advice here so far, I will try to add to it. Length, storage, livewells, overall condition, motor, trailer, etc...All need to be balanced against what you can spend. In general, I'd say you want to lean heavy on length since you plan to fish the upper Bay. You don't want end up wishing you went bigger. When it comes to glass boats, generally a 20' boat can do everything an 18' boat can...But an 18' can't do everything a 20' can. For used boats, motor and trailer condition need to be considered as extremely important too. If either turns out to suck you will regret everything. Get both checked by a professional. For motors, some have bad reputations (the FICHT is probably one of the more notorious ones) so avoid those...Even if you get a 'good one' the resale value will be hurt significantly. Remember, the boat is just a tool to take you to the fish...So make sure you get one that matches your fishing goals! Get your budget figured out, get your goals figured out, and then start looking. Narrow it down by brand once you start finding some that fit your goals. Look at as many as you can and keep an open mind...Whatever you do, don't fall in love with the first boat you look at! I've seen a few people do this and they ended up with something completely different that what they set out for, obviously regretting it. Don't get too caught up in what electronics/extras are on the boat, but don't pass up a great deal either. If a boat is a little out of your price range but comes with $3,000 worth of electronics, a brand new quality trolling motor, or with all of the previous guys fishing gear, it could end up being a better deal in the long run. After all that, if I were to rank the brands you listed...I'd put Stratos at the top (For obvious reasons haha)

Yea, I wouldn't use it with a spinning rod...But any baitcaster should work in a pinch, it doesn't really need to have a dialed in set up. I would grab a Chart. w/black back model and throw in your bag. If you end up in a shallow grassy area on the river, start chuckin'!

Ha! I thought your pic looked familiar but I didn't want guess wrong haha...I used to have an account for a long time but I never really posted and ended up forgetting the name/password/email I used, I just browse while I'm supposed to be working I know a lot of our guys are on here too, Brian has recruited a bunch haha. I have a couple Powells, they're great...Although now that the price jumped they are less desirable to me for new rods. I got the Squarebill, Wacky, and a Max 6-8 Heavy all for $139 each (retail) a few years back. I think they jumped it up to $169 now, still worth it, but before they were a screaming deal. The Wacky is a 6-10 MH/XF and is the best sliderhead rod ever made Being a Co-angler, you can be limited in what you bring so if you want throw it in you bag you can definitely get away with throwing on a spinnerbait/chatter rod so you don't have to add a whole setup to the load out. That's where having the 20 foot floating tackle box helps , I just throw everything imaginable in the locker if I think I might need on TX day. Like I said, it's not a sure bet, but it's certainly worth keeping in the bag. If you have a high tide early in the morning you can probably pop a few on it before the water falls and the sun gets up in the right areas. The fish really have to be up in the 1 foot zone for it to really excel...at least in my experience on the Potomac.

I'm guessing you are talking about the Potomac? It's not your typical crankbait fishing in that usually the goal is rip it out of or just over the shallowest grass. You shouldn't have issues casting, it's about the size of a standard squarebill...It actually casts pretty well in my opinion. I use the Powell Squarebill rod (6'9" heavy/fast), a 6.4:1 reel (not exact..just not a slow or fast one), and usually use 14 lb flouro. With 10lb flouro you can get it down to about 1.5 to 2 feet if you try...Rod tip down and a long cast. With 17 or 20 lb flouro you can keep it way up even on a long cast/fast retrieve. I'll use these setups if I need it to do one of those things, but most of the time the 14 lb covers everything. I also change the hooks since the ones that come on it are pretty wimpy when using a heavy rod, heavier line, and there's more crap to get stuck in then in a typical crankbait scenario. The way the Potomac is these days, it's a more of time-and-place thing..Since the grass is so minimal compared to what it was a few years ago. A lot of times you'll need to get a little deeper than the 1-minus will go (wood/rocks/deeper grass edge, stuff in 3 or 4 feet) so squarebills seem to be the top choice if you are going to fish a crank. But if you get an overcast/rainy day or a flood tide, anything that gets the fish way up and spread out, you can crush on the 1-minus. There's not really anything else besides topwater that can get a good reaction bite when the fish are spread out with only a foot of water between the grass and surface...And a lot of times they don't seem to commit to topwater in that scenario (as much as it seems like they should). I don't consider it a dink-only bait...I know it's called the Baby 1-minus, but it's really not much different in size than any standard size crank. I too have caught some pigs on it.