Flatts skiff vs. bass boat

"Tim Apple" wrote in message
...
And again I have another comparison question.

More or less a thought, i'm not buying a boat anytime soon... Is a bass
boat capable of going on sal****er? If you were to do both...i.e. live
somwhere where sal****er and freshwater are available...would you be
better off with a flats skiff(my preference so far) or would a bass boat
be good enough? Just curious to peoples thoughts on the subject.

Tim Apple

I live in Las Vegas, near Lake Mead. I bought a BassTracker 16' with a 60hp
Johnson. It was a screamer on flat water, but wouldn't do well at all in
wave action unless you powered up and jumped from wave to wave. Fun,
adrenaline pounding, white knuckle excitement, but hard on the kidneys. But
when the water was flat, or we were in the Colorado River below Hoover Dam
..........

WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO ! ! !

Hull shape would be critical in wave action. That is why dories are
crescent shaped. I would even be a little skeptical of the bass boat idea,
as they are (AFAIK) designed to ride on progressive "steps" of hull, and
don't think their pointy bow would do well with wave action. Might even
just heave under.

Check with local dealers and owners. Keep score. You will soon arrive at a
consensus.

Steve

Tim wrote: "More or less a thought, i'm not buying a boat anytime soon... Is
a bass boat capable of going on sal****er? If you were to do both...i.e.
live somwhere where sal****er and freshwater are available...would you be
better off with a flats skiff(my preference so far) or would a bass boat be
good enough? Just curious to peoples thoughts on the subject."

Tim, I live in South Louisiana near the dividing line for sal****er and
freshwater. I have both fresh and sal****er within 25 minutes of my home.
Although I rarely fish fresh water most of the fisherman that fish sal****er
run bay boats because of the possible chop on open lakes and bays. Those
that run flat (Carolina Skiffs) or Jon boats fish mostly with them to target
redfish in the shallow ponds. I see very few bass boats fishing sal****er.

When fishing freshwater, I see some flat type boats and bass boats but very
few bay boats.

I owned a 14 foot Jon that I use to fish sal****er only in the winter since
crossing open bays is not usually a problem and the distance needed to get
to a deep hole is usually 3 miles or less. The rest of the year, I fish out
of an old 17 foot Boston Whaler. Most of my friends either fish freshwater
exclusively or sal****er very few fish both. Those that do fish both use
what every boat they chose to purchase either, flat, bass or bay boat. Most
do own a second boat used for duck hunting and that is usually a Jon boat
with a go devil on it or a mud boat. They also own pirogues.

By the way, I usually fish 6 or 7 times a month. Tight lines, headed to the
honey hole in the morning.

Sarge

Tim wrote: "More or less a thought, i'm not buying a boat anytime soon... Is
a bass boat capable of going on sal****er? If you were to do both...i.e.
live somwhere where sal****er and freshwater are available...would you be
better off with a flats skiff(my preference so far) or would a bass boat be
good enough? Just curious to peoples thoughts on the subject."

Tim, I live in South Louisiana near the dividing line for sal****er and
freshwater. I have both fresh and sal****er within 25 minutes of my home.
Although I rarely fish fresh water most of the fisherman that fish sal****er
run bay boats because of the possible chop on open lakes and bays. Those
that run flat (Carolina Skiffs) or Jon boats fish mostly with them to target
redfish in the shallow ponds. I see very few bass boats fishing sal****er.

When fishing freshwater, I see some flat type boats and bass boats but very
few bay boats.

I owned a 14 foot Jon that I use to fish sal****er only in the winter since
crossing open bays is not usually a problem and the distance needed to get
to a deep hole is usually 3 miles or less. The rest of the year, I fish out
of an old 17 foot Boston Whaler. Most of my friends either fish freshwater
exclusively or sal****er very few fish both. Those that do fish both use
what every boat they chose to purchase either, flat, bass or bay boat. Most
do own a second boat used for duck hunting and that is usually a Jon boat
with a go devil on it or a mud boat. They also own pirogues.

By the way, I usually fish 6 or 7 times a month. Tight lines, headed to the
honey hole in the morning.

Sarge

If I plan to use the boat for both SW & FW fishing, I would get a flat
or bay boat designed for use in the brine. The bass boat designed for
lake fishing will not do well in SW environment - corrosion, high
waves & rough water, etc. On the other hand the flat or bay boat would
do well in the lakes. My bay boat draft is 11 inches, which would be
fine to go into shalow part of the lake. It can handle most of the
conditions on the lakes, except thunderstorm and 35mph wind.