Choosing the best boat for your fishing comes down to one truth, every boat is a compromise, so you first figure out exactly what you want to do, then find the boat whose trade-offs line up with those priorities. There are countless boats, types of fishing, and on-water activities, and a boat that does one thing perfectly will be poor at another. In this How 2 Tuesday I answer a question I get all the time, mostly for saltwater inshore and offshore but it applies to freshwater too: how do I pick the right boat?
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Start by accepting that every boat is a compromise, then figure out exactly what you want to do before you ever look at a manufacturer. Decide how many people you typically take, what species you chase, how much live well storage you need, and what else you want to do on the water. Find the boat that satisfies about seventy percent of that, then narrow down the specific type, then the manufacturer, then the price range. A boat that does one thing perfectly will be poor at others, so match the compromise to your real priorities.
Because a boat optimized for one kind of fishing gives up performance in another. An ultra-shallow skiff or a canoe is great in skinny water but useless and even dangerous offshore in twenty-mile-an-hour wind. A full offshore center console handles big seas but cannot sneak into the shallows. There is no single boat that does everything well, so you have to figure out what you most want to do and then choose the boat whose compromises line up with those priorities.
A skiff, like a seventeen-foot Yellowfin, is a small, highly specialized three-person boat you push with a pole or run with a trolling motor, built to go in very shallow water and operate quietly for permit, bonefish, and tarpon. A bay boat, like a twenty-four-foot Yellowfin, holds four or five people, has a bigger engine, more fuel and live well storage, and can still reach shallow water, so you fish the same species but carry more people and gear, and even venture a little offshore on calm days.
When you plan to spend most of your time offshore and only occasionally come inshore. A bay boat is designed for the bay and can go offshore only when the weather is nice, and you never want to get caught out there on a day you should not be. For serious offshore work you want a full center console like a thirty-six-foot Yellowfin with triple engines, big live wells, and huge fuel capacity, which handles big waves and wind that would be unacceptable in a bay boat and impossible in a skiff.
It is one of the biggest factors. A seventeen-foot skiff fishes well for you and one or two others and no more. If you regularly take your kids and their friends to the sandbar, or carry four or five anglers, you need a bay boat with the room, seating, and storage to match. Ask yourself how many people you will typically bring and how old the kids are, because the answer quickly narrows which type of boat actually fits your life on the water.
Yes, the same logic carries straight over. Figure out the mix of things you want to do, a little water skiing, some barbecuing, some bass fishing, and decide whether that points to a pontoon boat, a fish-and-ski, a bass boat, or a specialized river setup like a John boat with oars and a motor for running and rowing current. The more specialized you go, the better it is at one thing and the worse at others, so pick the boat that satisfies the most of what you actually want to do.
Here are the steps I walk through. I cover the examples and reasoning behind each one in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
A canoe is great for some things and horrible for going offshore in twenty-mile-an-hour wind, where it will not even make it. An ultra-shallow skiff is the same story in reverse. The first thing to realize is that you have to figure out what you want to do out of the boat, then choose which model lets you do the most of it. I lay out the thinking in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A seventeen Yellowfin skiff is a quiet three-person shallow-water specialist. A twenty-four Yellowfin bay boat carries more people, fuel, and live well storage while still reaching the shallows. A thirty-six Yellowfin center console handles big offshore seas that would be impossible in either. I compare them in detail in the episode, so press play in the player above.
How many people do you take, what species do you chase, how much live well storage do you want, and what else do you want to do? Answer those and you can find the boat that satisfies about seventy percent of it, then dial in the type, the manufacturer, and the price. I walk through it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Picking a boat is a big process. Ask a lot of questions of people who have owned boats before, find out what they thought of their choice, and remember every boat has benefits and drawbacks.
If you are a freshwater person, the same idea applies, from pontoon to bass boat to a specialized river John boat. Figure out what satisfies the most of what you want, then the style, the manufacturer, and the budget. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
choosing a boat · skiff · bay boat · center console · Yellowfin · flats fishing · offshore fishing · permit · bonefish · tarpon · trolling motor · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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