boats for crappie fishing

[spudjunkie]

Hello everyone. I am getting ready to start looking for a crappie fishing boat.I am trying to figure out what kinda boat to go with. Any suggestions? pro's and cons would be grateful. Thanks for any advice.

[blackfish]

Contact Bill At Big River Marine BRM on CDC.

[scrat]

Spudjunkie; This is totally up to you as just about any boat that will float has been used to fish out of. What you like and can afford with or without breaking the bank. What type of water you plan to fish to how big of a boat you will need. How far you will be going as far as how much horsepower the motor will be needed. Do you want a aluminum or a fiberglass type boat. They are so many out there what I am saying here is that you will need to go to a lake(or water) that you will be fishing and see what others are mostly using there and see what you might would like. And don't hesitate to ask fishermen to take you out for a quick ride so to help make up your mind most of them like to brag on their boat anyway(that is after they are thru fishing for the day). Then afterward maybe deciding on one or two then everyone here can tell you how they have worked for them. Or like blackfish suggested contact big river marine maybe they will have just what you want or can order it for you. Good luck with you new or new used boat.

[Cray]

BRM at Big River can give you the info you need based on where and how you are going to fish. And he won't be pressuring you to buy right off the bat.

[RCC]

Bill at Big River Marine has always been willing to help a person out. He has tons of boat knowledge and if you are looking for a new or used rig, he can fix you up.

[spudjunkie]

I was looking at the ranger 178c. I don't want to start this boat is better than that boat war. I would like to stay with the aluminum boat side but was just curious to what people like. I have been out of the fishing boat seen for awhile. I appreciate the replys you guys have sent so far. I will try to give BRM a call this week. Do they have a website or just a facebook page I would like to see what there inventory is. Thanks again guys.

[Cray]

Just give BRM a call. He has several lines including the Ranger. Great guy to do business with.

[Boa3]

Just remember alum. will blow around a lot compared to fiberglass. In my opinion alum. is more friendly in the fact that if you are in the brush, trees etc. you don't worry about rubbing against them and ruining the finish on fiberglass, the alum. will hold up better. The ride on most fiberglass boats is better in big water. Just a few thoughts to get you totally confused. Glad I could help.

[huntinslabs]

Go up to the main forum and take a ride through the 113 pages of boats onnthe show off your boats sticky. Everything imaginable in there.

[wicklundrh]

There is never a "one size fits all" application. Hence the reason a lot of us have more than one boat (or we use that as an excuse anyway). Get one that will fit what you currently do as well as what you want to be able to do. My boat is a deep V with a wide beam. I use it on big water and for walleye fishing as well as crappie fishing. That said, I cannot get it into some areas I can with a smaller boat. For every guy that tells you something is awesome and they never had a problem with it, there are 10 guys waiting in line to rip it apart! My personal preference is alumacraft.

Keep in mind that ranger was just recently purchased by another company (owner is Johnny Morris). The thought process is that the aluminum line-up might dissapear completely from ranger.... OR.... a rebranding will ocur. Either Tracker boats will be rebranded as Ranger, or Ranger as Tracker. Not sure how that will work yet. Either way, you should be good for right now. Look at the fit and finish of the boat and compare it to other models. In my opinion, the Ranger aluminum series left a lot to be desired. The fit and finish was not as good as their premium line-up. In fact, there were a ton better alluminum boats in the class that had a lot better options and at a cheaper price. Web images don't do any of the boats justice. First hand is the best way to look at them. Ultimately, you write the checks and decide for yourself. That was just my take based on my perception of what I wanted in a boat... your mileage might very!

Have fun and good luck