What kind of boat do you have and how does it handle Kansas winds?

[criddy]

I currently have a pontoon boat and am tired of fighting the wind when trying to stay on the fish. I am trying to decide what to get next, originally I was thinking about a fiberglass bass boat but I really don't need to go 60 mph and use a ton of gas. I'm leaning towords a modified v or deep v aluminum. What kind of boat do you have and how does it handle the wind? I'm really interested in hearing from the deep v owners.

[drakewoodie]

I have a '89 Tracker Pro-V 16, and fish Milford with it all the time. It handles the waves fine but it catches quite a bit of wind if you're trying to stay in one spot and its windy. But it handles great in the waves. My buddy has a Tracker Grizzly mod-v 1753, its better about not catching the wind but if the winds blowing good I would much rather be going across the main lake in my deep V then his mod-v.

[crappieslinger]

I currently have a pontoon boat and am tired of fighting the wind when trying to stay on the fish. I am trying to decide what to get next, originally I was thinking about a fiberglass bass boat but I really don't need to go 60 mph and use a ton of gas. I'm leaning towords a modified v or deep v aluminum. What kind of boat do you have and how does it handle the wind? I'm really interested in hearing from the deep v owners.

I too have a pontoon and actually catch more crappie from it than I did any of the V-boats I had previously. I use the wind in my favor when sitting on a pile. I have a 75lb I-pilot and set the spot lock upwind about 10-15 feet depending on the wind speed. Setting the spot lock and letting the I-pilot take over I can cover the entire pile in a short amount of time just by letting it do its thing. If the winds gets over 25 mph I normally start drifting for walleye as that is always a good time to catch walleye.

Given the smooth ride in any weather conditions no matter the wind, the freedom to move around and the ability to take up to 12 people on my pontoon, I would never go back to a V bottom boat.

It is all in what you need or want. If I had to go with a v bottom boat I would not hesitate going with an Alumacraft, I have had a Champion, Ranger, Tracker and an Alumacraft and would buy another Alumacraft in a heartbeat! The Ranger and Tracker were very cheaply made boats and it seems they were designed on a drawing board by a clueless engineer as opposed to in the field. The Alumacraft was the best boat I have ever owned. It was obviously designed by a fisherman with ease of use and functionality in mind.
I now own a Lowe Pontoon and I love it but the quality of Lowe is not what I experienced with the Alumacraft.

[PurpleCrappie]

Take a ride in a Champion with an optimax(sips fuel).Criddy if you want to take a ride pm me I live in O.P.

[DuckHuntingUSA]

Crestliner Superhawk handles big water well. Acorns getting bounched off the seat isn't as much fun when you get older. But flying is fun if your landing well.

[bluebasser86]

2007 Lowe Roughneck 1652 VPT with a 60hp Mercury 4 stroke. Does surprisingly well in the wind. I take it on Melvern, Milford, Perry, Hillsdale, Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock, and Grand and have never felt like it couldn't handle it. Of course I'm not out there in 30mph winds but I've been in some pretty big waves and done just fine. Unfortunately probably going to have to sell it with our first baby on the way later this year

[crappiedoc]

Take a ride in a Champion with an optimax(sips fuel).Criddy if you want to take a ride pm me I live in O.P.

As Clint Eastwood says "a Missouri boat ride"? Given a few of those myself. One observation about the wind from my perspective, I've fished a few walleye tournaments and those multispecies boats can make a man without one very envious. I've watched them cruise 40mph in a 35mph wind in upwind, downwind, and crosswind. How much do you want to spend is the real question.

[cbass12]

For those of you that have a Deep-V, do you find that the wind pushes it around more than a lower profile boat when you're using the trolling motor? My dad and I have been thinking about getting a different boat but can't decide between a deep-v or a 17' bass boat.

[PurpleCrappie]

I have a 06 champion 187cx with a 150 opti. and 82lb. thrust motor guide for the ks. winds.However, I do not walleye fish but mainly fish crappie,bass and whites-wypers.Furthermore,it is a great all around boat for kansas res.due to the ride and fishabilty.I looked hard at several alum. deep vees before purchasing this boat(g3,alumacraft,lowe) just don't like how down you sit while driving and decks are not flush like a bass boat for casting.Oh, I have fished for walleye in canada several times but does that count

[KAG]

For those of you that have a Deep-V, do you find that the wind pushes it around more than a lower profile boat when you're using the trolling motor? My dad and I have been thinking about getting a different boat but can't decide between a deep-v or a 17' bass boat.

I have a deep V 18ft Lund with 115 4 stroke. I use to have a Champion 20ft bassboat w/200hp. The Lund does not stay on station well in the wind but then again there are no wind and wave action that will defeat it either. When its windy and I am fishing areas exposed to the wind i troll, I drag anchor and chain but it just doesn't stay put in winds well. But I bought it for its ability to handle rough water and my belief in their overall toughness. Tons of storage and in winter when there is ice I use it as a ice breaker . Deep V's are very stable no matter the conditions. With that being said......there are very few bad boats anymore. Some do one thing or another better but none do anything bad. I am not a fan of a pontoon but many have them and love them, pure personal preference.

The worst thing about a Lund is the cost $$ (ouch) I wish i would have got a bigger motor but only because after having the 200hp Champion I feel like I am crawling at times. Also I haul it around down muddy rocky roads a lot and like that its metal. No matter what you get play to its strengths and do your best to accept its weaknesses.

All in all I am glad I went with a metal deep V but I would have went used instead of new as a good used one would have already been rigged out.