Which was thee best bass boat you’ve ever owned?

[Rainyjaws]

Which one shines above the rest you use to own and why you pick that boat over this boat

[MN Fisher]

Oh boy - that's gonna open a can of worms. You're gonna end up with a list that contains just about every manufacturer and multiple models.

[FryDog62]

Before my current bass boat, was hard to beat the Yar Tiller. Definitely punched above it’s weight class... 

[slonezp]

The one you can afford?

 

[Bluebasser86]

I really like the one I have now. My little 15' Cajun with a 50hp was a fun boat though. I wish I could have talked my dad into swapping motors on it when that one was shot. It fished like it was so much bigger. 

[Jig Man]

The one that I liked the best was my Champion 206 Elite with a 225 Mercury Optimax motor.  I kept it for 14 years.

[Captain Phil]

My first boat was a boat I built myself out of an 8' x 4' piece of plywood and some wood planks for the sides. I've owned everything from Jon boats to 40' sport fish.  My first real bass boat was a Terry Bass with a 50 Johnson and stick steering.  Since then I had over a dozen bass boats, including Hydrosport, Ranger, Gambler, Skeeter and Storm. This year, I purchased the Ranger RT185 that I'm fishing out of now.

 

Hard to say which one was the best.  They all had their positives and negatives. Back when I bought my first Terry Bass, we plastered the sides with decals and painted our names on them.   It was all about "Look at me I'm a bass pro!" Today we have wrapped boats and power poles that do the same thing.   When Hydrosports came out, it was about speed.  My 18' Hydrosport would run 65 mph on a radar gun, pretty fast in the eighties.  My Gambler was the highest quality boat I have ever owned.  You can pick out a Gambler blindfolded using only your hands.  The Storm was like fishing off an aircraft carrier.  It was made to run Lake Okeechobee on bad days and it did that well. I would have to say the best all around bass boat I have ever owned was my Skeeter.  I fished tournaments and guided out of that boat for ten years and it's still running today.  It was the best bass boat for the money.  I'm older now, so my fishing has changed.  I no longer need speed, but I still like a racy look.  I don't want to own a tow truck and anything heavy is a problem.  Modern aluminum bass boats are a miracle of engineering.  I love my little Ranger and wouldn't change anything about it.

[Dwight Hottle]

 

This was my 2nd boat for fishing Erie. 20 footer with a deep V & 19 degree dead rise. She always got us back to the ramp no matter what happened. Plenty of room to fish three guys when needed. 

[A-Jay]

The 1875 Pro-V Bass is the only bass boat I've ever owned.

Does it all for me.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[gim]

20 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

the only bass boat I've ever owned.

Haha.  Beat me to it.

 

My current boat is also the only bass boat I've ever owned too.  So that's my answer.  Ranger RT178.

[J Francho]

I've had several boats, ranging from 16' semi-v tiller utility boat, to a 22' Bullet w/ Merc Racing 2.5L.  My favorite by far was my 18' Xpress w/115 Merc.  

 

[GaryH]

I’ve own several bass boats and several pleasure boats but my favorites where my Gambler I ran in Florida and my Skeeter I run now.  

[TOXIC]

My current boat is great.  My last boat was a NITRO 929 that I sold in Florida before I came back.  The bells and whistles on the NITRO were failing or non operational but I put that boat through hell with guiding and tournament fishing and it never once failed me.  

[slonezp]

I've never owned a bass boat.

[J._Bricker]

A Ranger, the only make I’ve owned. This is my second boat, it had the original power head had 920 hours, lots of storage and was as dependable as day one when I let her go. I was brought up with the ethos, “take care of your equipment and it’ll take care of you” and that boat definitely did. My new Ranger boat is now my favorite and look forward to her being just as dependable ?

 

[Catt]

On 10/5/2021 at 11:29 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I really like the one I have now. My little 15' Cajun with a 50hp was a fun boat though. I wish I could have talked my dad into swapping motors on it when that one was shot. It fished like it was so much bigger. 

 

I had a little Stratos 258 with a 70 hp, fun boat to run, & at 15' 8" it handle rough water extremely well.

 

My favorite boat wasn't mine but I spent hundreds of hours in it. It was a Champion Mean 16 with a 115. 16' long with a 90" beam, I  felt comfortable in that boat regardless of conditions.

[gm4511]

Early 90's Stratos 264/Evinrude 150HP.  Great boat, well laid out, would hit 64 on a good day.

[Russ E]

After owning a few aluminum Jon boats and mod v bass boats, I would have to say my current Ranger z175 is my favorite.

Compared to my aluminum boats the fiberglass boat is like a mini aircraft carrier. Not as hard to control in the wind, quiet in the water, smoother and faster ride.

[NYBasser]

I started off with a Tracker PT 185 and now I’m running Phoenix 920 Elite. Needless to say that there’s no comparison between which is better lol

[Deephaven]

Best for me is my current rig

 

 

It isn't as fast as my previous bass boats, but being a tiller it is about as fun to drive.  It handles rough water better than my old wheeled boats, fishes more people (including my 2 boys) better, and doesn't give up the ease of manuvering that made my other boats fun.  The tiller/vantage in the back also make boat positioning super easy while keeping all the little ones in front of me.  At the moment, even if I didn't have kids I wouldn't be going back to a normal bass boat....but for me this is a bass boat.