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driving myself crazy looking for a boat that will "do it all"...

been reading and areading and reading, trying to find out as much info as I can about what would best suit my needs, but there is so many choices it is hard!!!!

Wanting to sell my 91 Stratos 201DC Pro and get into a Center Console that will allow me to:

drift the flats
fish the creeks for reds
work in and out of the oyster bars
go to the "near shore" reefs for sheephead and such
and still be able to bass fish out of

looking for something in the 19 to 22 foot range with a 175/200/225 hp.....

a removable T-top would be nice, but not really a "have to have" thing

but once you start looking.....you get over whelmed with the choices...

how about some of yall posting what yall have, and the experiences you have had ...pixs would be a great help!!!

There is no such thing as a "Do It All" boat. You need at least 3 boats.

If the Stratos is paid for, keep it for bass fishing and buy a small skiff for creeks, and an intermediate CC for floating the flats and near shore reefs.

tin can wrote:There is no such thing as a "Do It All" boat. You need at least 3 boats.

Can you please try and convince my wife of this.

GAJOEY wrote:

tin can wrote:There is no such thing as a "Do It All" boat. You need at least 3 boats.

Can you please try and convince my wife of this.

Easy just start bringing them home and tell her they are her current and future birthday presents. (let me know how that works out)

Actually, tell your wife you need 4


Bay + Flats + Bass +Offshore

She will love you for it....

DT

Last I heard Tin Can, has a pretty boat that will do all of that for sale right now. The near shore reefs would have to be reserved for really calm days, other than that...

How about a 22'zx skeeter bay?

I did the same thing. I racked my brain for the perfect boat. I had a 24' offshore and 19' bay. Got rid of both of them and got a 22' bay boat. I go deep on good days and inshore the rest of the time. It won' do the creeks. I draft about 13". Has at-top though. I'm looking for a 16' welded with a 20, 25 horse for the creeks. Good luck. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

I already put my 20' bass boat(91 stratos 201DC pro)in the creeks around Keaton and Spring Warrior.....usually the water is to skinny at the low tide so I have to wait on the incoming and high tides to get back into some of the larger creeks,,, and I would do the same with my bay boat.......I know it will never get to the places my 14' jon boat would get to when I used it at Econfina.....

and as long as a bay boat can drift over and around the oyster bars such as the ones at the rock garden or the first major oyster bars just north of the entrance of Spring Warrior, and able to get several hundred yards into some of the bigger creeks in that area......I would be more than happy......

because my funding is limited, I still have a lot of looking to do.....but my mouth drools when I see a 22' Scout Bay boat with a 200hp hanging off the back.....

tin can wrote:There is no such thing as a "Do It All" boat.

Smart words. No boat can do it all. A Bayboat is as close to an all around boat as it gets, hence the recent popularity surge. However, bayboats are not good "really in close" boats, no more than they are good offshore boats. For example, fishing inshore around Spring Warrior is no place for a 22 ft bayboat. Of course you can fish in and around the rocks and creeks if you are carefull, but you are extremely limited for time during normal tidal swings.

A good compromise would be to:

1. quit bass fishing
2. get a nice bayboat for most of your fishing and pleasure applications
3. invest in an 15' - 17'aluminum boat for true inshore fishing (preferably a 17' tricked out, all welded outfit, but it certanly doesn't have to be.
4. get a friend with an offshore boat.

Good luck with your decision.

Quit messing around and take a look @ BB. She'll fish anywhere and when she wont , a new lower unit is only 3800.00!!!

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mojokoko/BOAT0004.JPG

That's what I'm talkin about.
You would be amazed how shallow that boat will go.

Bay boat and a kayak. The kayak thing is so easy you'll feel like you're cheatin.
Best thing about them is you can catch more fish because you'll fish more often.
A kayak checks off 4 of the 5 priorities on your list:

slayer wrote: drift the flats
fish the creeks for reds
work in and out of the oyster bars
go to the "near shore" reefs for sheephead and such
and still be able to bass fish out of

Bottom Line My Carbon Kevlar Egret will do all three things, no problem!!!! and I will make you a hell of a deal ,Ask anyone who has had one,call the Manufacturer, get on the web. Sea trial it.

BUT, you can buy three dif. boats for the price of 1 Egret