Bass Tracker on rough water?

[RDrew]

I'm looking at a Bass Tracker Pro Team 175 w/50Hp merc. I appears to be all I'm looking for in a boat but I'm concerned about rough water. Big Green Lake in Wisc. is 7mi x 2mi wide. The boat of choice on the water seems to be Deep V's like the Lund Pro-V. Do you think the Pro Team 175 would be an acceptable ride on waters with up to a 2 foot chop? Would it provide a safe and pleasurable fishing experience? Your comments would be appreciated.

 

[UP Fisherman]

Re: Bass Tracker on rough water?

Hi Drew, I own an 05 Pro Team with a 50hp merc. I take the boat out on an 8 mile long by 1 mile wide body of water and it handles that with ease. Although it isn't often I have to deal with 2 ft rollers. The boat seems stable in winds and rollers. I am presently planning on taking it on Lake Superior for some near shore fishing. The previous owner used to take the boat 12 miles into Lake Michigan and he seemed to think it was fine. However, if I was dealing with 2-4 foot rollers on a regular basis this would probably not be my boat of choice. I would probably look at the Pro Guide or Targa series or even another brand. Hope that helps.

 

[Frdtrtnfx4]

Re: Bass Tracker on rough water?

Hi Drew, I have an 06 pro team 175 with a 60hp mercury bigfoot. I have taken it on Lake Oneida in NY and Lake Ontario in some constant 3-4ft rollers with some 5ft rollers mixed in. I wasnt really that nervous and I was really impressed how the boat handled. Just make sure when fishing the waves are hitting you from the transom or bow, getting hit from the side is a little scary. The boat will rock, so a pedestal seat is nice to have to balance on. One thing is you will get wet when driving the boat, because of how low they sit in the water, so have some rain gear in the boat. If you plan on using this boat for occasional big water use you would be fine, if you plan on constantly fishing big waters, a deep V would be a better choice.

 

[Blarney413]

Re: Bass Tracker on rough water?

I use my boat in the CT river and some weekends its packed with jet skiers, water skiers and ponton boats. They all hang out in the same mile-2 mile section. I would NEVER be able to fish in that section and it is pretty tough to ride through. I always just push through until I can find a spot that only gets waked about once every ten mins. If you can get away from the rollers I would say you will be fine and have a great time fishing. If the rollers are constant then you might want to take a look at the deep Vs.

 

[GeoHawk]

Re: Bass Tracker on rough water?

I used my Pro Crappie 175 on Lake of the Woods until this year, and that lake can get pretty rough. Like Frdtrtnfx4 posted, in rough water you really want to be oriented perpendicular to the waves/chop, other than that it was a great fishing platform. 2-footers shouldn't be a problem at all, but again, those mod-V boats don't have a lot of freeboard to protect you from the spray.