All have their pluses and minuses depending on the application and lakes you fish. Within the last few years, we now have another choice — the fiberglass “bay boat.” These vessels are typically built for saltwater inshore-style fishing but are quickly becoming a great choice for the musky angler.
As a full-time guide and musky angler for over 25 years, I have fished from many different styles of boats. I have enjoyed a Ranger 620VS for the past few seasons and am now running a 24-foot Skeeter ZX bay boat. Now that I have completed a full season in the bay boat, I would like to give you some pros and cons of the bay boat versus a more traditional multi-species boat.
When I mention a multi-species boat, I am referring to the typical aluminum and fiberglass boats that many commonly use today, like Lunds, Alumacrafts, Crestliners, Skeeters, Tritons, Tuffys and Rangers. These boats have been around for a long time and are proven fishing rigs with similar layouts and configurations.
Lake St. Clair is my home water. This is a shallow lake with lots of chop and close waves and will test your rig very quickly. It will tell you if it is a good ride, a dry ride and if it’s a well-built boat after just a couple weekends of serious fishing. In my years of being on LSC, I have experienced many different conditions that have put all my boats to the test at one time or another. Guiding and fishing daily will also test your rig.
This story is from the February/March 2021 edition of Musky Hunter.
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This story is from the February/March 2021 edition of Musky Hunter.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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