There are times that I'd much rather dedicate my time to saltwater fishing, both inshore and off. I sold my bass boat back in the early 90's and bought a 24' Aquasport CC. I gave up bass fishing because I got tired of fishing the same local lakes, but the jit skiiers is what pushed me over the edge. I kept one of my Loomis rods for the occasional bass trip, but invested in saltwater reels and built my own trolling, bottom, and inshore rods. I spent a lot of time wading the Indian river for trout and snook. I also did a lot of off shore trolling and reef fishing for snapper and grouper. The best thing about saltwater fishing is you never know what you might catch. I've caught redfish while targeting snook. I've caught dolphin while targeting kings and caught a porpoise while targeting spanish macks.
The type of saltwater fishing I was doing is very costly, especially trolling. Rods and reels are basically the same price for salt/fresh but there is ALWAYS something broke on a saltwater boat the needs attention. The salt is a BIT** when it comes to protecting your gear. Gas is expensive, especially if you fuel up at the marina.
I sold the Aquasport in the late 90's and went without a boat unil 2006. During my "boatless" time, I targeted snook from the local bridges and inlets. Bass fishing was left for the local neighborhood lakes.
I got the itch in 2006 to buy a bass boat to fish small, local tournaments, but wanted one that I could use in salt, without worrying about ruining the beauty of a nice bass boat. I looked at several flats boats but settled on a Tracker. I can use it inshore and for bass. I can also go off shore on calm days for dolphin. I feel bad for those people who have never hooked into a snook, permit or dolphin on lite tackle.
Now that I'm getting close to retirement, I'm considering a bass boat to use exclusively for fishing tournaments in the SE states.
I would hate to live without being able to bass fish and saltwater fish and doubt I could choose just one. My passion is for fishing, be it salt or fresh.