Which Boat??

[bigbill]

I finally made up my mind to buy a boat in the springtime. I would like to take maybe 3 or 4 people fishing "maybe at the most but not that often". I would like a nice bass boat with a casting deck but it's people limited. Which leaves me with a Lund.

I really been holding off to see what they do when my town opens up the water shed to fishing. I been hoping they might be mooring boats. It's a 1/2 mile away from me.

Either way it's between a Lund style boat or a big row boat what ever they allow. But I'm thinking why not two boats so I can hit the larger lakes too. I have options and choices to make.

I have a unfished body of water nearby. Probably no motors allowed, maybe electric only.

Next I have lakes with bass, great northern pike, lake trout and salmon. Any size boat.

This makes me think I need two boats. What brand of boats would you suggest?

I'd like a new car but I'd rather buy the boats.

The last time I gave up a new car I purchased my land in vt. Instead. It was only 10k for 7 1/4 acres. Bill

[slonezp]

Aluminum or 'glass? 

[martintheduck]

For the smaller boat, look at smaller jon boats with either strictly a high-power-thrust trolling motor OR a small HP outboard w/ a trolling motor up front. 14ft jon boat is a good option. You'll only be putting two people in there...any more and it will be crowded pretty good.

 

As for the REAL boat.... glass vs. aluminum, length, what kind of water are you fishing (stumpy back waters, open water, big waters, small waters, etc...), how much you want to spend, etc...

 

Look at craigslist everyday for the next couple of months and get a feel for what's in your area. Don't jump into anything. Read everything you possibly can on buying used boats and the various things you might be wanting in a boat. 

 

 

My two cents - spend around $2,000 on a nice little john boat setup and then maybe look into getting "more" boat later on. 

[slonezp]

Would probably have to be a multispecies or fish n ski/

[Lewi]

Would probably have to be a multispecies or fish n ski/

x2..........multispecies.

[cadman]

I don't know what your budget is but  I bought a multi-species boat, because I wanted to fish bass tournaments with my wife and also take my niece and nephews boating when I had time.  I can't speak for other boats, but my choice was between a Lund and a Ranger. All said and done, I bought a Ranger 619VS multi-species  Fisherman boat. It will easily fit 4 people ( although fishing with four is a challenge unless you're all jigging) and if you put the back deck on (optional), you can have a casting deck. I've had this boat since 2007 and I can't complain about anything. Lots of storage and doesn't get wind blown. I will say that this is a heavy boat. There are other good boats on the market, you just have to decide your budget and what you want. Cheaper to buy a multi- species than two boats. Plus the maintenance of two boats could be costly. I attached a pics of my boat. The second pic shows the casting deck on where the butt seat is.