Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 09/16/08: Buying Your First Bass Boat

Bass tournament fishing requires knowledge of how, when and where to catch fish but buying a boat correctly rigged can make you more effective on the water. Let’s examine some of the prerequisites for rigging your boat so you can do more catching with less fishing.

1. Hull Length: The longer the hull the less pounding you will experience when the wind and waves produce those nice 3 to 5 foot swells. I recommend a minimum of 18’ 6" to be able to navigate these types of waters. The longer hulls will enable you to bridge those swells instead of going over each and every one of them.
2. Hull width: A hull with a 90" beam or larger will create a stable fishing platform good for those windy days or even when you decide to flip or pitch a weedline. The wider beam will stay more level with the water when both you and your partner are on one side of the boat. It also allows greater stability when cutting across larger swells at an angle.
3. Motor Size: 150 horsepower minimum to get you to your spot quickly. This is not so much to beat your competitor out (although it helps) but to reduce your downtime fishing. Downtime fishing is when your bait is not in the water and plodding along at 30 mph will definitely increase your downtime.
4. Power trim/tilt: Even if you decide to save money by purchasing a smaller rig, or the lakes you fish don’t require a big motor you still need to consider getting power trim/tilt. The trim will enable your small rig to get the best performance it can by reducing motor drag. The tilt is great when fishing shallow water or heavy weedlines as you can lift the motor electrically versus going to the rear of the boat and straining your back.
5. Trolling motor hand or foot controlled: This is a personal preference for bass fishermen. The pros of a hand control is that there are less parts to break and no cable to freeze up. The downside is that you tie up your hands more often with controlling the speed and angle of your approach.
6. Gas Tank Size: a 35 gallon minimum size on boats with larger motors. Many lakes and river systems have marinas with gas, but your downtime fishing will suffer.
7. Depth finder front and driver side: This is a must if your serious. The driver side depth finder will allow you to search for underwater humps, weedlines and drops quickly while using your big motor. The front depth finder will allow you to track the drop off, hump or weedline while you are fishing.
8. GPS: This is a must have for today’s competitive fisherman. Not only will it allow you to mark your off shore hot spots but it can come in handy when navigating back to the ramp on a rainy or foggy day.
9. Built in Cooler: Not essential, but great to have. It saves on floor space and keeps your drinks ice cold.
10. Batteries: A minimum of 2 trolling motor batteries and one starting battery. This will ensure you don’t get stranded when fishing hard with the trolling motor (if you are depending on the starting battery as your trolling battery).
11. On Board Charger: Pull the cord out from the back of your boat and your ready to plug into your home extension cord. No need to hook up the batteries via clips , undoing wiring, etc. and these will prevent overcharging or undercharging situations.
12. Livewell Timers: These are essential to save batteries and reduce noise while fishing. Turn it on, set the timer and forget it.
13. Livewell autodrains: Don’t settle for the manual plugs, the automatic drains are great!
14. Drive On Trailer: Trying to save a few bucks by buying a tilt or regular trailer will be a headache in the long run. Settle on getting a drive on up front.