Today’s bass boats are nothing short of incredible and expensive! The accessories you can add to a bass boat are really cool and can make a huge difference in your ability to fish effectively. But which of these inventions has truly had the greatest impact on the sport of bass fishing? Today, we’ll do a walk-thru from the front to the back of the boat and go over each of these features and their importance.
When you buy a bass boat today, it’s very similar to buying a new truck or car. There are all kinds of accessories that you can select to make your boat even better. There are some you might consider a luxury item while others are a necessity if you want to compete.
Let’s first look at the very front of the boat and talk about the trolling motor. Nothing, in my opinion, has had a greater impact on the sport of bass fishing than the trolling motor. In 1934, O.G Schmidt invented the first electric trolling motor in Fargo, North Dakota. This invention revolutionized bass fishing by allowing an angler to navigate a body of water with ease without having to run the big engine. This device is used not as the primary means to propel the boat but makes navigation much easier especially in shallow water. From its inception, the trolling motor has served one purpose….to move the boat around quietly without spooking fish and is a standard feature on today’s bass boats.
Today, these high-tech trolling motors can lock a boat down on one spot in open water. It will literally hold the boat in one position automatically with the push of a button, allowing the angler to fish an area or a spot more effectively. The days of using an anchor to hold a boat in place are gone with today’s new trolling motor technology.
Also located on the front deck of the boat are high-tech electronic fish locators. These units have made bass fishing so much easier, not just for professional anglers, but the novice angler as well. They allow anglers to see fish as far away as 100 feet on a screen the size of a small TV. They give great detail about the structure and contours of the lake bottom. They show water temperature, depth, GPS coordinates, timber, and grass and will tell you the composition of the bottom as to whether it’s hard or soft.
Why is this important? Hard spots are where bass like to set up, especially during the spawn. Today’s sonars show debris from lay down logs and rocks to brush piles along with clouds of baitfish. The detail is so good that an experienced angler can tell if the fish he’s looking at are bass, white perch, or catfish.
Moving further to the back of the boat, let’s look at the dashboard. Today’s top of the line bass boats are mostly digital. Your gauges, including the speedometer, RPM, and temperature gauges, are all digital. Some have gauges that monitor the gas, oil, and battery levels, while some boats have a water temperature gauge for the livewells, ensuring that you can maintain a good temperature level for your fish in order to keep fish alive for weigh-in.
Another advancement, that might be the best safety feature ever invented for a bass boat, is the hot foot. The hot foot is a gas pedal that allows the angler to drive the boat just like a car or truck, with both hands on the steering wheel. It also allows for better boat control when navigating rough water conditions.
There’s also another feature that has become one of the best accessories you can put on a boat…. a shallow water anchor system called Power Poles or Talons. Power poles are made by a company called Power Pole while the Talons are made by Minn Kota. Power Poles fold out from the back of the boat while Talons are mounted on the back of the boat and descend straight down. Both are really good: it’s like comparing Ford or Chevrolet; which one do you like the best?
Both are great tools and will do exactly what they are designed to do, anchor you down in one spot. The only drawback to these units is that they are only designed for shallow water of 12 feet or less. When they first came out, I was a skeptic and thought it was a waste of money until I added one to my boat and realized how useful it was to have these on your boat. They come in handy when you’re having to sit down and retie or cull fish. They also come in handy when you are launching your boat or docking up for a weigh-in.
As you can see, bass boats have come a long way since the days of stick- steering banana style boats. The features you can add are nothing short of incredible, but they do come with a cost. Major boat brands like Ranger, Skeeter, Caymas and Triton all have boats that fall into the $90,000 plus range.
To compare how far the price has jumped in the last 23 years dating back to the early 2000’s, a fully loaded bass boat back then cost around $30,000. But today, some boats are hitting the crazy $100,000 mark! Why? The cost of building materials and the high level of accessories it takes to build a bass boat today have increased.
So, if you’re in the market for a new bass boat, prepare yourself for sticker shock as companies continue to improve and upgrade these high-tech water rockets that can reach speeds of 80 MPH.
Till next time, good luck, good fishing and make sure to check out Tackle Talk Live podcast, as well as the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show on You Tube.
Steve Graf Angler’s Perspective
