does anyone compete (Successfully) in a bass tournament in a small boat?

[Darth-Baiter]

I remember when I was young, I watched a mountain bike race.  I raced in the slowass rookie event and lost admirably.  but I stuck around to watch the fast guys.  why?  there was a dude absolutely owning the group wearing JEANS and a regular shirt.  hahah.. he won in the end.  

 

got me thinking.  is there a pro basserperson that goes out with say a 16" Tracker and cleans house?  there are no boat regulations right?

 

just curious.

[flyfisher]

All depends on the tour really.  I am sure that there are some locals who win bigger tournaments on their home waters in smaller boats but I have never bothered to look.

[ElGuapo928]

There used to be an old guy that fished tournaments around here in one of those little 15’ Skeeters - pretty much always cashed a check. 

[gim]

I don't think there are any professional level bass anglers even fishing in a small 16 foot boat anymore.

 

At least the ones I've seen are all fishing in 20 foot boats nowadays.  I think Keith Poche fishes out of a smaller Gatortrax boat.

[Kirtley Howe]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

I don't think there are any professional level bass anglers even fishing in a small 16 foot boat anymore.

 

At least the ones I've seen are all fishing in 20 foot boats nowadays.  I think Keith Poche fishes out of a smaller Gatortrax boat.

Last time I checked, BASS rules said minimum 19" boat with minimum 150hp outboad (with a prop...no jetboats allowed). Maximum hp allowed was 250hp. Most pros are running 20-22ft boats with 250hp engines. 

Keith Poche uses a Gatortrax custom made 19" boat with a 150hp motor which works very well in shallow water and on smaller bodies of water, but suffers some on the larger bodies of water. He prefers to fish areas that other anglers can't get to, and with his shallower draft boat and its' unique hull, he can access areas the guys with the "big" boats can't. He used to run a 16' boat with a 90hp motor, but that was outlawed and he was, I think, disqualified in one tournament because of that boat.

MLF Cup rules say a minimum of 18' boat with a maximum of 250hp. No jet boats, air boats, or tunnel hulls allowed. I cannot find a rule about minimum horsepower, but I am sure there must be one.

MLF Cup rules say a minimum of 18' boat with a maximum of 250hp. No jet boats, air boats, or tunnel hulls allowed. I cannot find a rule about minimum horsepower, but I am sure there must be one.

[volzfan59]

I'm pretty sure that Keith Poche fishes out of a 17' Gator Trax. I think that it's either got a 90 or a 115 Mercury on it. Believe he uses it in the both B.A.S.S. Elite Series and the mlf/bpt.

 

Edit, @Kirtley Howe may be correct concerning Keith's tournament rig. I'm probably confusing his tournament rig with his "Off the Grid" YouTube channel boat. Sorry for any confusion.

[TnRiver46]

Ott Defoe has a little tracker jet he fishes out of , he won some tourneys with it before they changed the rules. Mike iaconelli and jordan Lee fish kayak tournament series 

[flyfisher]

I never understood the no Jet or tunnel rule once they said you have to use the same boat all season.  You would have advantages in some lakes and disadvantages in others.  Bottom line is who cares what they fish out of if they are catching and winning, right?  I equate it to someone taking points off a test because they didn't write the date.  Is that measuring mastery of the topic?  

[TOXIC]

I don’t know about the pros but I had my arse handed to me plenty of times in tournaments by a guy who ran a small Carolina Skiff with a tiller. As the old saying goes “it ain’t the arrow, it’s the Indian” 

[Choporoz]

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

I never understood the no Jet or tunnel rule once they said you have to use the same boat all season.   

Maybe because on TV/video/pics, you'd not be able to see "MERCURY" in 4 inch letters on the back of the boat

[813basstard]

I fish BFL and doing Toyota Series out my 17 Xpress with 115. 
No it doesn’t do anything about finding catching fish. What a bigger more powerful boat does is it can get you there and back safer and drier. Big O and Harris can get angry 

[tunaman]

^^^… and further and faster…

 

Small boats can get into areas bigger boats can’t, however. I fished a WON Bass event on Havasu quite a few years ago, and drew a guy in an aluminum 17’-er who ran up river and took me into ‘Disneyland’… had to push pole over a couple of beaver dams through some channels which were only a couple of feet wide with a foot or so of water, but once we got back into the juice it was magical!
 

Quite a few of those tournaments have been won over the years back in the backwaters.

[Susky River Rat]

@flyfisher I am grasping at straws here but, it maybe have something to do with safety. Shallow drafting boats like jets/tunnels are down right scary in the wake of those big bass boats. 
 

@Choporoz I don’t think anyone would have issues seeing the brand name on a 150/105 jet.

[volzfan59]

6 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I never understood the no Jet or tunnel rule once they said you have to use the same boat all season.  You would have advantages in some lakes and disadvantages in others.  Bottom line is who cares what they fish out of if they are catching and winning, right?  I equate it to someone taking points off a test because they didn't write the date.  Is that measuring mastery of the topic?  

They say that the reason is it's an unfair advantage. A lot of the pro's cried and complained that everyone can't afford an additional jet boat or tunnel hull rig.

To my understanding , that's how jets were basically banned years ago when Roland Martin hauled one up north somewhere and waxed the field. Tunnels were banned after Ott Defoe won an Open out of his tunnel hull rig with a hydraulic jack plate and an angler complained.

[gim]

I also feel like it might be a bit related to marketing of the major boat manufacturers too.  You see a lot of the same boats on most major tours and very few are not one of them.

[Darth-Baiter]

24 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I also feel like it might be a bit related to marketing of the major boat manufacturers too.  You see a lot of the same boats on most major tours and very few are not one of them.

great point.  it would suck for the big boat sellers to see their pros lose to a bunch of dudes in homemade tiny boats. hahha..  16" bass tracker.  

[Choporoz]

2 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

 

@Choporoz I don’t think anyone would have issues seeing the brand name on a 150/105 jet.

Gotcha...I thought jet boat engines were inside the hull

[Susky River Rat]

@Choporoz there is inboard and outboard styles. 

[volzfan59]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

great point.  it would suck for the big boat sellers to see their pros lose to a bunch of dudes in homemade tiny boats. hahha..  16" bass tracker.  

I know that it was just a bfl, but there used to be an older gentleman that fished out of a 17' Bass Tracker back in the late 90's, early 2000's. I saw him on Lake Wheeler in North Alabama. Doggone thing had what looked like a 12" jack plate on it. He used to do pretty good in the tournaments.

[WRB]

Dee Thomas fished out of a 15’ aluminum boat on the Delta Nd local California lake for several years. Dee burrowed a boat to fish a few B.A.S.S. events in the 70’s.

Hall of Fame bass angler so yes it can be done. Winning is up to the anglers skill not the size of the boat.

Tom

[Darth-Baiter]

so in summary, the rules require a full blown bass boat.  

[TnRiver46]

9 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

so in summary, the rules require a full blown bass boat.  

As per the rules of major circuits

 

you could fish a pirogue in a small enough derby 

[Susky River Rat]

@Darth-Baiterwhen I looked at doing tournaments even local ones I have to make sure they aren’t following BASS or the like rules. If that is the case then I cannot run my boat because of having a jet and tunnel.

[sschrad]

This is the boat and motor regulations for BASS. Minimum length of 16 feet, must be steering wheel (NO tiller handles) and motor HP not to exceed recommended HP rating that is marked on the boat (250 HP max) Also no tunnels or jet drives.

 

 

 

C9. HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS: Maximum horsepower for all outboard motorboats used in official tournament practice and in tournament competition will be 250 horsepower. Horsepower cannot exceed the limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard. When required, each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must NOT exceed the rating specified on this plate nor the horsepower maximum set by B.A.S.S. Each competitor agrees to submit, by their signature on the official entry form, the boat and outboard motor used in the tournament, to an inspection by factory-trained personnel if there is any reason to suspect the horsepower is in excess of the rating. Normal maintenance of engines is allowed. Changing or altering standard factory parts of a competitor’s engine to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is forbidden, and will result in disqualification. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower-rating numbers on the engine is also cause for immediate disqualification from B.A.S.S. tournaments. Posted speed limits and those imposed by B.A.S.S. must be observed and all boats must be operated in a safe manner. Violations of speed limits may result in penalties listed under C1 above. C10. BOAT AND MOTOR: These restrictions apply during official practice and competition. For the safety of all competitors, all boats must be equipped with an approved type of operable ignition kill switch and lanyard. Only one manufacturer’s lanyard may be used and must be attached to the driver’s body any time the combustion engine is operating and in gear. Any time the combustion engine is operating and in gear there must be a driver in the driver's seat in full control of the boat. Fishing boats that are 16 feet or more in length may be used and must be equipped with wheel steering. No other steering device will be permitted. Any raised platforms or decks cannot be higher than the gunnels of the boat. Trolling motor brackets and electronics are not considered “raised platforms”. Platforms mounted to the trolling motor bracket are allowed, but must be no more than 1 inch thick. Standing on the outboard engine or seats while fishing is not allowed. An electric trolling motor may be used for slow maneuvering. However, trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. The “Long-Lining” or “Strolling” technique is NOT allowed in either official practice or competition and defined as intentionally using a trolling motor or outboard to mechanically extend a cast. No exceptions. Only gas tanks that are installed by the boat manufacturer are allowed. No portable gas tanks or containers capable of holding gasoline can be placed anywhere on the tournament waters or shoreline for use by any tournament competitor. No “barges” or similar craft will be permitted. Jet drive engines, surface drive engines and tunnel hull boats are not allowed during both official practice and competition. Any boat/hull designs other than standard mass-produced units are only allowed at the discretion of tournament officials.

 

[TnRiver46]

Hmmmmm saw a lot of hover strolling especially on lake Murray