New Aluminum Bass Rigs 2024

jlakemizzou reply :

Are the new aluminum bass boats worth it???? I'm not talking about the old john boats with a 20 horse smoke machine attached your grandpa let you borrow for cutting the pasture. I'm talking about the new "tournament Ready" rigs that Ranger has seemed to pioneer and go above and beyond designing. The new (RT188, RT178) or Triton's (X17, X18). I want to purchase a new boat To fish in local tournaments but I'll be honest I can't even begin to afford a sleek glitter finish, fiberglass river rocket. The aluminum rigs seem to be a great starter boat especially when customized to my liking. I'm already aware of the differences in ride quality, speed, wind drift etc with fiberglass vs aluminum. I'm from central MO and I'll be fishing on waters like Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Reservoir, Table Rock, Bull Shoals...all the Bass factories in MO you can think up. Will these new Aluminum rigs handle these waters? All opinions welcome. Help me clear the mud ya'll.

Fishes in trees reply :

The short answer to your question is yeah, for the most part. Lake of the Ozarks, will all the big cruisers and what not on it, can get weird, with big wakes coming unpredictably from any direction. Any of these lakes, when they are white capping, can be a boat driving challenge - not impossible, but a challenge and you are going to get wet.

c21chris reply :

I just bought a new Crestliner VT17 and like it a lot but I don't fish on very big waters.

jlakemizzou reply :

Fishes in trees - thanks buddy. Yeah I can imagine an aluminum rig around those big cruisers can be sketchy. I also think as long as you don't fish on the weekend during the busy season it would be like fishing on just a really big calm lake.

Chris- how do you like it? What lakes do you Normally fish on (what state) 17-18 ft is probably the absolute smallest I'd go size wise on the lakes I fish. Just as a warm and fuzzies for ride quality.

Thanks gentlemen for you opinions. You're helping a fellow basshead making a decision

slonezp reply :

Sent you a PM

jlakemizzou reply :

Got it. Thanks hoss. I'll be posting on there as well

Nice_Bass reply :

I fish lake of the Ozarks all the time in my tracker 175. it is not nearly the boat that some of the newer ones are, however it handles the big water just as good if not better than some of the fiberglass rigs (albeit 15mph slower). I actually prefer it moving in and out of docks. Mostly fish glaize to bagnall and everything inbetween.

J Francho reply :

Ranger pioneered them? News to me. I own an Xpress, and I've got quite a few tournament kills in it. I also run a 22' Bullet, as well as a couple fishing kayaks. It all depends on the water.

Catt reply :

I have several friends who run Xpress Hyper-Lift Series on Toledo Bend & Rayburn. The beam width on their 18-19-20-21-22 ft boat is 95",that's as big as any fiberglass boat on the market & bigger that most aluminum boats. Approx weight is 1,187-1,580 lbs so the wind aint gonna blow you around. Max horse power is 150-250 which is in-line with most fiberglass rigs.

J Francho reply :

They're pretty quick, too. My 18' goes north of 50 mph with a 115. Ask clayton86, lol.

https://youtu.be/_onBOBMagwQ

jlakemizzou reply :

Nice_bass- Awesome! I actually won't be fishing that low on LOZ. I'm the grand glaize and up. A TON calmer water.

J_francho- I'm sure ranger didn't pioneer them but looking at a quality control perspective it seems they are the driving force behind top quality from what I've researched. I mean...it is ranger lol.

J Francho reply :

I reserve comment. They're nice, slow, and retain resale value.

EmersonFish reply :

I live in Mid-Missouri, although my boat lives down at Table Rock. Anyway, my boat is a Tracker Pro Team 185. It gets a good deal of work in at Table Rock and Lake of the Ozarks. If I was in the market now and could afford one of those new aluminum rigs you were mentioning, I would buy a beautiful, well taken care of, used, GLASS boat every time. I usually stick up for the old aluminum boat, and they have their place, but to me, if you are willing throw down over $20,000.00, and you are going to be out on LOZ very often, you'll appreciate the glass rig for the very reasons you alluded to in your post.

But that's just me. Those aluminum boats are capable of anything you are looking to do in Missouri, and I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you get if you invest that much money in it.

jlakemizzou reply :

Emersonfish- I've thought a lot about used believe me. But buying a used "beautiful" glass boat that has been well taken care of, is just plain hard to fine. Especially in the 20-25g range. if you know where to start looking then please let me know.

Thanks for your advice.

EmersonFish reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 7:42 AM, jlakemizzou said:

Emersonfish- I've thought a lot about used believe me. But buying a used "beautiful" glass boat that has been well taken care of, is just plain hard to fine. Especially in the 20-25g range. if you know where to start looking then please let me know.

Thanks for your advice.

I get it man. I was in the same position as you and went with a brand new aluminum boat. It was significantly less money back then, but still the same dilemma. I decided it was more convenient, and safer, to buy new, rather than potentially buy someone else's problems. But I'm saying now, I'd definitely do it different. It may be that I am older and ready for something a little more comfortable and easy on my bones, like the old guy that sells his 5 speed and buys a Grand Marquis. Having said that, my aluminum boat has served me well.

I've been shopping around quite a bit, but my budget is nowhere near the 20-25 range. I see Skeeters and Tritons in the 05'-08' range w/ 200-250hp Mercs on them in the low to mid twenties. Really nice boats, but you're right, they are not sitting on every corner.

I did see an 06' Gambler 2200 with an 05' 300X Merc on it for $27,000.00 on another board. Completely impractical, and I'm sure I would kill myself with it, but I drooled a little bit none the less. I will have one of those before I die.

yugrac reply :

I have a G3 1860 vbw with a 85 hp merc. It will run 40mph trimmed out, and is goes across rough water like silk. I bought just a bare boat and built all the floor. console and storage my self. PM me your email address and I will show you pics of what I did. I was at Whitewater Memorial fishing late one afternoon last year, quit about dark, was loading my boat at the same time two older guys were loading there Z9 nitro bass boat, looked like new. all they could do was keep telling what a nice boat I had, I get compliments on it all the time, I had a conservation officer checking it out one day at Brookville In. said it was one of the nicest boats he had ever seen. Nothing wrong with aluminum boats, you may not get on the lifestyles of the rich and famous with it, but the fish dont know what kind of boat you have.

Catt reply :

A Tracker aint an Xpress & LOZ aint Toldeo Bend

slonezp reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 11:07 AM, Catt said:
A Tracker aint an Xpress & LOZ aint Toldeo Bend

Lund and the Great Lakes trumps them all

Catt reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 12:20 PM, slonezp said:
Lund and the Great Lakes trumps them all

I don't think so!

Y'all don't have to deal with boat lanes

J Francho reply :

I've been to Santee Cooper. Marked boat lanes would be nice in some places, lol.

Nice_Bass reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 11:07 AM, Catt said:
A Tracker aint an Xpress & LOZ aint Toldeo Bend

He is not fishing the Bend!

And great lakes wins...

Largest lakes in the US- North

largest manmade lakes in US- North

Tracker or Xpress- Xpress!

retiredbosn reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 7:42 AM, jlakemizzou said:

Emersonfish- I've thought a lot about used believe me. But buying a used "beautiful" glass boat that has been well taken care of, is just plain hard to fine. Especially in the 20-25g range. if you know where to start looking then please let me know.

Thanks for your advice.

Just bought a 20+ footer with an Optimax 225, 250 hours when purchased 8 years old looks new, cost 21k with a 5 year motor warranty. Found it on boat trader there are loads of barely used boats on the market. FWIW sold new north of 45k bought from the dealer who sold it new.

retiredbosn reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 9:32 PM, J Francho said:
I've been to Santee Cooper. Marked boat lanes would be nice in some places, lol.

Did u see the little half inch pvc pipe sticking up? Those are the unofficial lanes, God have mercy on ya if you get an inch out. That place its just plain nasty.

Catt reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 9:34 PM, Nice_Bass said:

He is not fishing the Bend!

And great lakes wins...

Largest lakes in the US- North

largest manmade lakes in US- North

Tracker or Xpress- Xpress!

When y'all run the great lake how do y'all handle waves?

Do y'all run into them? With them? Quartering them?

With our boat lanes you hit them from what ever angle the boat lane leads you, there is no choice!

Get out of the boat lane you lose your lower unit or bust a hole in your hull!

FrankW reply :

I fish a Xpress 17' Hyper-lift hull I bought in 2000. I looked at all the aluminum boats in my area. Every aluminum bass boat I looked at had one major fault if you fish lakes with a lot of wood. They use ribs on the bottom. A aluminum boat with ribs on the bottom will trap stumps/wood between the ribs. My Xpress has a stepped hull and I don't trap stumps like most other aluminum boats. My express is a very dry ride and fast with its hull design. If someone is considering buying an aluminum bass boat look at the bottom hull design and compare it to an Xpress. The Ranger and Tracker have nice appointments and well equipped but they don't have a good design on the hulls bottom.

Frank

slonezp reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 7:02 PM, Catt said:

I don't think so!

Y'all don't have to deal with boat lanes

My home water is the Fox Chain of Lakes in northern IL. Its the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US. There are days I'd rather deal with rollers on lake Michigan than the boat traffic on the Chain.

slonezp reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 11:44 PM, Catt said:

When y'all run the great lake how do y'all handle waves?

Do y'all run into them? With them? Quartering them?

With our boat lanes you hit them from what ever angle the boat lane leads you, there is no choice!

Get out of the boat lane you lose your lower unit or bust a hole in your hull!

Running waves varies on the great lakes

I kinda play it by ear. The waves are further apart than on a smaller body of water. Riding on top is not always an option. We get rogue waves as well.

On the Chain there is an area called the washtub. I don't think that needs explaining. Another area called suicide alley. I've never been to the bend but I have fished many of the premier bass lakes in the southeast especially on the Tenn river and the traffic is not the same.

slonezp reply :

Moral of the story is to buy the right tool for the job

J Francho reply :

Or more than one tool....

gardnerjigman reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 7:05 AM, EmersonFish said:

I live in Mid-Missouri, although my boat lives down at Table Rock. Anyway, my boat is a Tracker Pro Team 185. It gets a good deal of work in at Table Rock and Lake of the Ozarks. If I was in the market now and could afford one of those new aluminum rigs you were mentioning, I would buy a beautiful, well taken care of, used, GLASS boat every time. I usually stick up for the old aluminum boat, and they have their place, but to me, if you are willing throw down over $20,000.00, and you are going to be out on LOZ very often, you'll appreciate the glass rig for the very reasons you alluded to in your post.

But that's just me. Those aluminum boats are capable of anything you are looking to do in Missouri, and I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you get if you invest that much money in it.

bassinbrady03 reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 9:32 PM, J Francho said:
I've been to Santee Cooper. Marked boat lanes would be nice in some places, lol.

I know right!! It gets dangerous out there.

Nice_Bass reply :

On 4/28/2015 at 11:44 PM, Catt said:

When y'all run the great lake how do y'all handle waves?

Do y'all run into them? With them? Quartering them?

With our boat lanes you hit them from what ever angle the boat lane leads you, there is no choice!

Get out of the boat lane you lose your lower unit or bust a hole in your hull!

The waves get out of my way!!! (I don't fish the GL, unfortunately all that often.)

If I had to do it over, would have bought an express over tracker for sure, but money and marketing got to me and I took the easy way out.

Back to topic though, I do prefer an aluminum on LOZ believe it or not. Much easier to get in between the docks fishing them and don't have to worry so much about scuffs when fishing next to bluff walls.

Boat lanes at loz September through memorial day- wide open lake.

Boat lanes Memorial day through Labor day- 4am to 10am weekends, much better during week.

For sure eaiser than the Toledo Bend as I am not looking for stumps and boats, and 50ft cruisers pretty easy to spot.

If I could do it over, I would still fish a tin boat right now...but that's only because at the time I could not find a fiberglass that had a beam that would fit in the garage.

c21chris reply :

I live in central Illinois. There are a few power plant lakes that have a 25hp limit so that's what I got. I get 18-19 mph with a partner and 20-21 by myself. I haven't ran it on rough water yet.

TX18_E90 reply :

Have a Triton TX18. Bought it last year. Love it. Great fishing platform. You can easy fish two people on front deck. A LOT of storage.

Mine is rigged with my 2010 Etec 90 hp. If I could have afforded a 115, I would have gone that route. Boat rides nice. Handles rough water pretty well, but your not going to be running all out. I've added a 6" JP to mine and I'm turning a 18 pitch prop at 43 mph. That gives me a comfortable cruising speed of 40 mph. Most 115 owners are in the 46-49 mph range.

Ranger seems to be the popular version, but I think that's mostly dealer and name recognition. I liked the Triton dash better. All welded trailer. My dealer was willing to rig my motor.

The only knock I give the hull is it can have porpoising issues. The factory tried to cure this by welding aluminum angles to the hull back by stearn. They are effective at helping control the handling, but caused most hulls to loose 2-3 mph. Adding a 6" JP and proping correctly is a better cure but the JP will void Hull Warranty if discovered. I believe you can now special order them without the trim angles and a 4" fixed set back plate.

kikstand454 reply :

IMHO

xpress , all the way. ... don't look back.

Catt reply :

TX_E90, Nauticus Trim Tabs

Surfcaster reply :

My tournament partner has a new, 2014 18' Triton aluminum with a 90hp Mercury, and it performs and fishes out of very well. Will run 40-45 mph and good fuel economy. I think it was in the $20,000 price range.

190 Tracker TX reply :

^{I purchased a new 2013 Tracker 190TX in July of 2013 and have enjoyed making the purchase. I have made my first upgrades to the boat for 2015; check them out.}

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