Bass Boat Owners! How Far Do You Usually Run? Let’s Talk About Your Trips!

[LuckyLittleFisher]

🎣 Fellow anglers, how far do you usually run on a fishing trip? Are you a short-distance casual fisher or a long-haul explorer?

For me, some other day, I was launching at Lake Okeechobee just as the sun was coming up, feeling like a tournament pro (even though I was just out for fun 😆). I had my spots marked, my rods rigged, and my cooler packed. But as I sat there idling out, I had that familiar thought: How far do I really want to run today? Should I chase the bite across the lake, or play it safe and fish closer to the ramp? Do I have enough gas if I go for that ‘just one more spot’ moment? And let’s be honest… am I willing to make that long ride back if the wind kicks up? 🤣”

 

Everyone has different habits, so let’s chat about it! 👇👇👇

 

💬 What does your typical fishing trip look like?

• Your bass boat + outboard setup (brand, horsepower?)

• How far do you usually run in a single trip? (what’s your longest run?)

• Typical cruising speed & top speed

• Fuel consumption (how many miles per gallon? how much do you usually fill up?)

• Biggest factors affecting your trip distance (weather, gas prices, fishing spots, permission from home? 😆)

 

 

💡 Here’s my setup & experience (for reference):

• Tracker Pro Team 175 + Mercury 75HP 4-stroke

• 21 gal tank

• Typical trip: 15-30 miles (Lake Okeechobee, running from Clewiston to Harney Pond)

• Longest run: 50 miles (exploring Kissimmee Chain from one end to the other)

• Cruising at 25-30 mph, top speed around 40+ mph

• Fuel economy: about 6-7 mpg, depends on load & water conditions

• Biggest struggle: navigating the vegetation and wind chop—sometimes feels like I’m in an airboat! 😂

 

Let’s hear your experience! Drop your setup, trip distances, and best fuel-saving or fishing spot strategies! 🎣⚡️

[DaubsNU1]

Lakes I fish in Nebraska/Iowa are 5MPH limit and quite small, under 500 acres. I do get the Lund up to South Dakota a few times a year.

 

💡 Here’s my setup & experience:

• Boat: Lund Adventure 1775, Mercury 90HP 4-stroke

• 20 gal tank

• Typical trip: 15-20 minutes @ 5 MPH  : )

• Longest run: 20 miles (Lake Francis Case in South Dakota)

• Cruising at ~25 mph, top speed around 39 mph

• Fuel economy: I usually burn through one or two tanks of fuel per season fishing around home.

• Biggest struggle: Finding lakes where I can let the Mercury EAT!

 

 

[IYAOYAS]

Stratos 486 SF with a Johnson 150 2 stroke

35 Gallon tank

My typical trip of running spot to spot is about 5 miles for the whole day on my home lake.

Longest run I've ever made was in the Florida Everglades. Ran over 20 miles of canals.

My boat trimmed out runs right at 50 mph depending on wind and water state.

fuel economy: not good. Being a 2 stroke it guzzles gas, also trim is relative to fuel consumption so I try to keep trim moderate to where I am running around 4800rpms at about 46mph

Biggest struggle: being a fish n ski deck space up front is minimal but the comfort I pick up in the ride and seating well outweighs the disadvantages of having a small deck 😂

Hartwell is a herring lake so I am always chasing bait. Fishing Herring lakes is like trying to read a crystal ball until you get used to and understand what is happening with herring and how they're behavior is vastly different from the usual forage species.

[A-Jay]

Average might be 5 miles.

10's not uncommon.

And 15's probably the longest.

All those are all one way. 

Running inland lakes of northern MI in a 2016 Lund 1875 Pro-V Bass with 2018 ProXS V8 4.6l 200 HP.

Gas tank's 39 gallons.

Not concerned with mpg.

Sometimes it's s nice.

sometimes it's not

A-Jay

 

 

 

[Jig Man]

I run a Nitro Z20 with a Mercury 250 four stroke.  I have a Humminbird one boat network with Solix units and a 112# thrust Minn Kota trolling motor and mega live.  I carry 4 agm batteries for the trolling motor and Merc along with a lithium for the electronics.

 

The boat has a 50 gallon gasoline tank but I rarely put more than 20 gallons in at a time to keep it fresh.  The boat top ends at 70 mph but I believe it uses close to half a gallon per minute wide open so I don’t do that often.

 

The number of miles I travel in a day depends on the fishing pattern.  Sometimes they are using specific cover or structure so I may have to go some distance for fish.  Sometimes I just barely get out of sight of my truck.  The lake I mostly fish has 1000 miles of shore line and is over 50 miles long.

 

My farthest run was in a tournament where we ran 65 miles one way.  We had to buy gas on the way back.

[TOXIC]

So hard to “average” a day on the water.  Too many variables.  River, lake, weather, species of fish we’re looking for, etc.  On the rivers it’s not uncommon to run 15-20 miles one way.  On the lakes it’s usually no more than 10 unless we are on Okeechobee or St Clair.  Those can be up to 50 miles.  Our choice of boats allow us to pretty much go wherever we want and feel pretty safe in all conditions.  Personally I run a 21 foot Ranger with a 250hp Yamaha HPDI 2 stroke. 

[GRiver]

My boat 

15ft Polar Kraft…. Mod-V, All weld, with a 25 hp Yamaha 4 stroke. 7/gal fuel capacity.

Most trips around 7 miles, 1 way, then it’s trolling motor from there.

 My farthest is about 15-20 miles 1 way.

Cruising speed around 20 mph….. flat out, around 30 mph with perfect conditions.

Never really figured my mileage, it just sips the fuel. If I’m going far I’ll carry a 2 1/2  gallon reserve. I figure it will get me to or at least close to refuel.

Only thing that I watch for is weather…. We have so much lightning here.
Nothing will make your shoulders touch your ears, faster than being up the Ocklawaha with all the trees and lightning storm sneak up on ya.

All in all I’m very happy with my boat, it very cheap to operate. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

Most of my trips are less than 10 miles.   When I'm on LOZ or St Clair it would be probably 10-20 miles.  Rarely do I run WOT.  Most of the time its about 4k RPM or so.  That gives me about 4-5 MPG.

[Alex from GA]

Rarely go more than 10 miles either in GA or FL.  Run 20-24 mph if the lake is smooth otherwise 14-15 to be comfortable.  16' bass type boat with an '86 50 hp Merc engine, about 5 mpg.

[JHoss]

The majority of our lakes are 9.9hp restricted and all but one of our local trails is catered to that, so I run a Weldbilt 1448 with a 20 horse tohatsu.

 

Seeing as most of the lakes are between 500-1500 acres, it's hard to run too far. On those lakes, I probably average 5-10 miles in a day running between spots. On the occasions we fish rivers, I'm usually running well over that- maybe up to 50 miles in day. 

 

Max I've gotten was 28mph, but I usually cruise around 22 with a partner and tournament load. That drops to 19-20 when the livewell is full. 

 

My tohatsu sips fuel and I'm usually good for a couple trips with the 3 gallon tank on board. If I'm fishing a river and expect to make a long run, I'll bring a couple extra gallons.

 

Size of the water body and permission from home are probably the biggest factors. Can only run so far on a 1000 acre lake and the wife and kid don't appreciate all day trips unless its the 2 tournaments a month I fish. 

[GaryH]

My miles travel on the water vary depending on the lake. I may go 10 to 50 miles per trip. Cruising around 40-45mph depending on the lake, weather conditions, and boat traffic. If needed to get to a spot fast mid 70’s. 40 gal. Fuel tank and no idea as my mpg. Running a 21’ Skeeter w/250 Yamaha sho. But I try to avoid @A-Jay idea of fun.😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LuckyLittleFisher]

  On 4/1/2025 at 2:54 PM, Jig Man said:

I run a Nitro Z20 with a Mercury 250 four stroke.  I have a Humminbird one boat network with Solix units and a 112# thrust Minn Kota trolling motor and mega live.  I carry 4 agm batteries for the trolling motor and Merc along with a lithium for the electronics.

 

The boat has a 50 gallon gasoline tank but I rarely put more than 20 gallons in at a time to keep it fresh.  The boat top ends at 70 mph but I believe it uses close to half a gallon per minute wide open so I don’t do that often.

 

The number of miles I travel in a day depends on the fishing pattern.  Sometimes they are using specific cover or structure so I may have to go some distance for fish.  Sometimes I just barely get out of sight of my truck.  The lake I mostly fish has 1000 miles of shore line and is over 50 miles long.

 

My farthest run was in a tournament where we ran 65 miles one way.  We had to buy gas on the way back.

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As a beginner, I am still trying different things. For example, should I try as many different fishing spots as possible, or should I cast more at relatively few fishing spots? Which way can help me catch more fish? This is an interesting exploration for me. As you said, this also depends on the fishing pattern. When you go to explore long distances, how far do you usually go in total during the whole trip?

  On 4/1/2025 at 7:01 PM, GaryH said:

My miles travel on the water vary depending on the lake. I may go 10 to 50 miles per trip. Cruising around 40-45mph depending on the lake, weather conditions, and boat traffic. If needed to get to a spot fast mid 70’s. 40 gal. Fuel tank and no idea as my mpg. Running a 21’ Skeeter w/250 Yamaha sho. But I try to avoid @A-Jay idea of fun.😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What makes me curious is that 10-50 is a very large range. In what situations do you need to run such a long distance?😂

[Junk Fisherman]

What does your typical fishing trip look like?

• Your bass boat + outboard setup (brand, horsepower?)

I have a multispecies boat- a Tuffy X-190 with a Yamaha 175.

 

• How far do you usually run in a single trip? (what’s your longest run?)

- This depends where I go.  On Lake Michigan I will usually run about 7 miles away and have a total of 15 miles of running on a day.  Another lake I fish is no-wake and I often never even start up the big motor.  Another lake I fish I can only use my kicker motor.   

 

• Typical cruising speed & top speed

I'm not a speed guy.  I usually keep my RPM between 3500-4000 and that's about 35 mi/hr.  Top speed is 50ish.  

 

• Fuel consumption (how many miles per gallon? how much do you usually fill up?)

IDK- Chat PT says about 4-5 mi/hr.  I top it off when going on big water.  

 

• Biggest factors affecting your trip distance (weather, gas prices, fishing spots, permission from home? 😆)

I guess the wave conditions but I only fun fish on Lake Michigan if the water is calm.  If I'm using my kicker motor I only go 5 mi/hr so I am selective as to how far I go for time purposes.  The cost of gas never affects me.  

 

Didn't have a great picture of my boat so this will have to do.  

 

[DogBone_384]

The lakes I can put my Ranger in are small, 700 acres at max.  It doesn't take me long to get across them.

 

I run a Ranger RT178 with a Yammy 70 HP.  I use about 1/2 a tank of gas per season.

[LuckyLittleFisher]

  On 4/3/2025 at 10:50 AM, DogBone_384 said:

The lakes I can put my Ranger in are small, 700 acres at max.  It doesn't take me long to get across them.

 

I run a Ranger RT178 with a Yammy 70 HP.  I use about 1/2 a tank of gas per season.

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people like me may drive ten laps on the lake😂, and I easily travel like 20 miles per trip. Some people by the way prefer to stay in a small area and may not even use big engine for a whole day. How about you? @DogBone_384

  On 4/3/2025 at 10:17 AM, Junk Fisherman said:

What does your typical fishing trip look like?

• Your bass boat + outboard setup (brand, horsepower?)

I have a multispecies boat- a Tuffy X-190 with a Yamaha 175.

 

• How far do you usually run in a single trip? (what’s your longest run?)

- This depends where I go.  On Lake Michigan I will usually run about 7 miles away and have a total of 15 miles of running on a day.  Another lake I fish is no-wake and I often never even start up the big motor.  Another lake I fish I can only use my kicker motor.   

 

• Typical cruising speed & top speed

I'm not a speed guy.  I usually keep my RPM between 3500-4000 and that's about 35 mi/hr.  Top speed is 50ish.  

 

• Fuel consumption (how many miles per gallon? how much do you usually fill up?)

IDK- Chat PT says about 4-5 mi/hr.  I top it off when going on big water.  

 

• Biggest factors affecting your trip distance (weather, gas prices, fishing spots, permission from home? 😆)

I guess the wave conditions but I only fun fish on Lake Michigan if the water is calm.  If I'm using my kicker motor I only go 5 mi/hr so I am selective as to how far I go for time purposes.  The cost of gas never affects me.  

 

Didn't have a great picture of my boat so this will have to do.  

 

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Thank you for your detailed sharing. Sometimes I wonder, a small boat can have three kinds of power, which seems to be too much investment.

[DogBone_384]

  On 4/3/2025 at 11:00 AM, LuckyLittleFisher said:

How about you?

Expand  

 

I prefer fishing from my kayak most of the time.  There are only a handful of waters within 2 hours I can use my Ranger. 

[GaryH]

  On 4/3/2025 at 9:24 AM, LuckyLittleFisher said:

As a beginner, I am still trying different things. For example, should I try as many different fishing spots as possible, or should I cast more at relatively few fishing spots? Which way can help me catch more fish? This is an interesting exploration for me. As you said, this also depends on the fishing pattern. When you go to explore long distances, how far do you usually go in total during the whole trip?

What makes me curious is that 10-50 is a very large range. In what situations do you need to run such a long distance?😂

Expand  

The various size of the lakes I fish and where the ramps are located to where I want to fish. Sometimes you don’t have the choice of where you’re going to stay and it maybe miles from where you intend to fish. The choice comes down to do I want to trailer closer to the other ramps or just run the lake. Other times it’s just that places you’ve marked as best locations are miles apart. 

 

 

 
 

[TnRiver46]

Til I start hitting rocks 

[Susky River Rat]

I have an 18’ CCJ g3 gator tough with a 115/80 jet. I believe it’s an 18 gallon tank. I usually cruise around 27 full speed is 30-32. Running a jet I get around 2.5 miles to the gallon. I would say 10 round trip and under is normal for me. Although I can make runs in the 20 mile range round trip.