Aluminum bass boats

[New2TheGame]

I'm looking for a new boat, I'm wondering if anyone has owned a glass and now owns an aluminum bass boat, or vice versa.
I'm thinking about buying an aluminum bass boat because of the areas I fish (Louisiana stump field) .
Any comments, suggestions?

[Crack1874]

I fish out of an 18' Aluminum Polar Kraft dual console and wouldn't have it any other way. I fish tournaments out of weekly and have no problem...........If I had to do it over again I would do it the same and suggest the same to anyone else

[Kal-Kevin]

I'm a tracker fan and like Crack1874 I would never go the other way. My tracker has a 50 horse merc on the back and it goes places places that the big one can not get in to. I never worry about stump or hitting anything. I know that they can get to the other end of the lake faster then I can but we are there to fish not race. there has been a lot of times they get there and move on when I come along and clean their house.

the big thing I would look at is what type of water do you plan to fish and how big is the body of water you plan to fish the most offten?

there are thing like how the boat sets in the water that you must weigh for your self the big the water the big the boat is best.

[Pferox]

Aluminum is a good choice in boats.
If you plan on doing any kind of live bait fishing, try not to get carpeting, instead paint a non skid surface on it.
No matter what you do that carpet gets pretty messed up when you start usin a cast net, or any live bait, and is difficult to clean.

I prefer glass boats, but then I do lots of salt fishin, and my next boat will be a bay or flats boat and metal ones are quite hard to find.

[New2TheGame]

Good points,

I like to fish for big cats in the spring and the slime would just kill the carpet. I can see it now, the cast net, live shad, big slimy cats...not a good choice!

I'm going to fish rivers, no lakes in the near future. I was worried about motor size. Glass boats that I see have big motors.
I thought about buying a big boat, but then if I win a good tournament I'll have a big FREE glass boat. I just want something to fish from to get better.

[Crack1874]

I have learned more from fishing out of a aluminum boat then I could in a glass boat. Instead of worryin bout controlling the boat I can concentrate on fishin. My boat has a 115HP Johnson, so it will run about 60mph so I don't have a problem with speed..........Pferox check out Bayrider and Xpress for flats boats, Xpress has a 22' center console that is pretty good lookin.

[Ouachita]

I started out in an aluminum boat, then went through 4 fiberglass boats, and am back to aluminum. Since I'm currently not allowed to fish local tournaments I decided to switch, but I do miss the smooth ride, the speed, the big wave handling of a 20' Ranger. There really wasn't enough good reasons to keep a high cost fishing boat with no hope of enough wins to offset those costs.

Glass boats are simply heavier, though not much more, but that difference requires more push power. I figure I used 3-5 times more fuel  in glass boats. Big factor considering today's gas prices.

If I upgrade back, probably to a Legend, I'll keep the aluminum boat anyway. It'll go places I wouldn't dare take a glass boat, easily bouncing off stumps with no damage to the hull, and can be beached roughly when camping. If I had it to do over I've get an Xpress, made right here in Hot Springs. They are just roomier. They don't require much motor to get going. They are much cheaper than glass boats.

Some disadvantages are they are noisier (even when dropping something on the carpet) and can be blown around by wind more than a lower profile glass boat. I don't like being in it when I hear thunder or see lightning flashes. It's rough riding on rough water, but is very good at slicing through waves safely.

Jim

[Buzzman]

I started out in a Ranger Cherokee - 17 foot aluminum boat with a 90 horse motor. Was a great boat and did handle the rougher seas very well. I graduated to a 20 foot glass Ranger. Other than storage, and as Ouachita mentioned, the biggest difference was in how the boat handles in the wind using the trolling motor. The big glass boat almost "sticks" to the water in heavier winds compared to aluminum boat. It definitely is easier on the boat control for two reasons:

1. The aluminum boat road a lot higher in the water and caught more wind.
2. The aluminum boat was a lot ligter.

Both characteristics can be a benefit depending on how your using your boat.

[Pferox]

Thanks crack.
I looked into a bayrider, nice boats.
I'm tryin to stay around 17 feet, they are easier to pole. 
My perfect setup would probably a 17 to 19 foot bay boat in glass.
And then a 12 foot metal jon boat for those little ponds and lakes.
Maybe someday.
Right now, I'm tryin to get the Old Flair back into the water. 

Which ever boat I get I'm definately going to try to stay under 90 horses, otherwise I can't afford to fish 3 or 4 times a week like I did when the Flair was runnin.

Before my bud Mark bought his NV flatsboat, we would fish everywhere in a metal 16 foot Tracker.
That was a good all around boat, great for some things, and accecptable for others. We even rode into Tampa Bay near the skyway with it, thats the day we both decided it was time for a bigger boat. 

[mitchell]

Just FYI! Saw a Coastal series bass tracker at bass pro this weekend that would be right up your alley. It has a plastic type covering instead of carpet. Looks good for live bait fishing.

Mitch

[Way2slow]

Depends on what you want out of a boat.

I have both, a 16 ft Fisher aluminum with 50 hp Johnson and a 18.5 ft Stratos with 250 hp Johnson.  Towing weight on Stratos is close to 3,200 lbs  Fisher might be 1,000.  Takes my full size V-8 chevy truck to tow the Stratos and could probably tow Fisher behind a bike.  Fuel consumption on Stratos is 20 gals per hour if you run her hard, Fisher will probably run a week on 20 gals.  Fisher will run about 40 mph, Stratos will run about 80.  Fisher will beat you to death on rough water, Stratos is like riding in an easy chair.  Fisher I have enough storage for bare essentials and the Stratos I can store any and everything I might ever need.

[spetro]

Sounds to me the aluminum is the way to go for you.  It appears that you have a target area and you seem focused on what you'll be fishin' for.  Go for it!

[Ouachita]

I took my former Ranger down there many times fishing tournaments, and all the stumps, snags, barbed wire fences in the water, etc. kept the hull scuffed and scratched up. When I first got the last one I wiped it down after every trip out, waxed, buffed, patched scratches. Eventually it was just too much and I cleaned the hull maybe once a month, usually around boat payment time. If most of your fishing will be there, welded aluminum would be my pick. I'd go for as flat-bottom as I could stand if just fishing Louisiana, as then you can float into slack waters no Ranger will reach, and you could drag the boat over low water humps to reach isolated pools. I'd put a prop guard on the motor to keep the prop off the stumps and out of the mud. In that thick cover you might consider getting a higher power trolling motor than for open waters. Duck weed, hydrilla, etc can stop even a flat bottom, packing against the bow. I wouldn't get a bow that's flat, but pointed to plow through the slop.

Jim

[john]

I own the Tracker Avalanche and LOVE it. It's rigged with a merc 175. It'll do 72 mph with no one on board and fishes great. It's beam is 96in. so there is plenty of room. I went aluminum because I fish Canada where there are lots of rocks.Parking on the beach for shore lunch makes aluminum preferable due to rocks and alum won't crack

[FishHawk]

I own a Crestliner 1750 FishHawk with an 88 HP Evinrude on it and I'm more than happy with it.  Even with a Deep V-Hull I fish a lot of places that guys only use flatbottoms and jetboats in.  Takes a lot of abuse on the Susquehanna River, but rides smooth and wonderfull in rough water.  Last year up in Canada, I had 3 consecutive days of 4 - 6 ft of chop on the lake ... you get a little tired of it after the first couple of hours, but the boat took it like a champ.

I'd like to throw a little more HP on the back end someday, but it'll probably be cheaper to just buy another boat. 

[Wildcat26]

I have fished aluminum for many many years.  3 months ago I bought a Skeeter 190 tournament boat.  The boat is much more comfortable to fish out of, does better in rough water and holds a line better on  turns.  And the biggest surprise to me is that when trollin and you hit a stump it just slides off.  My aluminum boats would often get stuck and require everything from shifting the weight in the boat or cranking the big motot to get off.  The ridges on the bottom of an aluminum boat tend to catch on stumps.  But the Skeeter slides off by its self.  Can not get the Skeeter in everyplace I take my Alumaweld with the 25 but I get it everywhere I was taking my Tracker 185.

[Jared LeBlue]

Wildcat, I bet you enjoyed that bigger glass boat in the wind the other day at our Cotile tournament. Aluminum boats have high sides and are light so the wind catches them and moves them easier. In a heavier glass boat you can get in the wind and actually fish.

[Hawg Caller]

 I got a glass boat, and knoked a hole in it last yr, so i picked up an aluminume boat over the winter!
In my honest opinon, you cant go wrong with aluminum,cuz you can weld it!

[JayPea2006]

I am a Tracker owner and love mine. It is an 05' PT175 SE and it has all of the features of a glass boat. If you want something a little sturdier then Tracker has the Avalanche. Looking at it, touching it you would never know it was aluminum. It looks just like a glass boat because the hull is punched out and pressed by a single step 100 ton press. Beautiful boat!