Hi Guys, I have fished for bass before, but are

V

Visman

New member
Hi Guys,

I have fished for bass before, but are now taking it more seriously....

I want to invest in a boat and would like to know, what to look for in a boat? I am also interested in joing a club as I belive you can gain a lot of experience very quickly. Which clubs would you guys reccomend? I am in the PTA area.

I went to a private farm on Saturday and caught 4 small mouths. My wife 1st time trying to catch anything, caught 3.

Please give me all the info you guys could possibly think of.
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Are you wanting to target specifically bass?

Or other species (Artlure) on Lure?

Where in Pretoria are you?

On the bass side - VC will be the best to ask.

On the artlure side (I will help).

Boats are a tricky one. - How much $$$ are you wanting to spend - once this is established I can point you in the right direction.

 
 
V

Visman

New member
Hi there,

 

Yes - I want to fish bass only.

I am from Centurion...

I am looking between 50 and 80 000

 
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Okay thanks buddy.

You should be able to set yourself up with a pretty good rig then.

If you want a new hull I know there is a guy building a boat called a bullet in Groblersdal - Based on the Zim Ruffnek x16 hull (one of the best). Sells for about 45K including 2 live wells etc - nice boat.

Motor gonna set you back about 40K new (pick them up 2nd hand for around 20K)

Foot operated trolling motor 7K

Fishfinder aroun 3K and then of course your deep cycle batteries.

This is one route to go.

ANother is to buy seconhand.

16ft Hull is more than enough. If you want to fish competativly then speed is a high priority - VC will reiterate this. If you can get to the spots faster than the other boats you have a better chance of taking the prize.

Look for a Deep V hull. Only 2 motors worth buying Mariner or Yammie -try and get autolube's. Another interesting fact the Yammie 130 v4 is way more economical than a 85yammie and has of course way better speed too.

Heavier boat is more stable especially in rough water but is slower. A lightboat is quicker but a way rougher ride.

[align=left]Buy the best quality Foot operated trolling motor you can buy -as you will spend more time on this than on the main motor and buy good quality deep cycle batteries too - they make a difference.[/align]
[align=left]Fishfineders are also an intergral part of your equipment and can set you back lots of $$$ but it is the difference between catching the winning fish and not - in the type of fishing I do it isnot so critical - I use a fishfinder to see how deep the water is and where the shoal of makriel are.[/align]
[align=left]I am happy to assist with any further info you may require as I follow secondhand boats and prices closely (out of fun/habit)[/align]
[align=left]Hope this helps[/align]
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
[color=#006600]Visman[/color] wrote:
Hi Guys,

I have fished for bass before, but are now taking it more seriously....

I want to invest in a boat and would like to know, what to look for in a boat? I am also interested in joing a club as I belive you can gain a lot of experience very quickly. Which clubs would you guys reccomend? I am in the PTA area.

I went to a private farm on Saturday and caught 4 small mouths. My wife 1st time trying to catch anything, caught 3.

Please give me all the info you guys could possibly think of.
Click to expand...

Ok first off. Where did you get smallies?
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
ok Boat wise your bass seekers are very good boats. We fish of a Bass seeker 570 with a 250 Pro Xs. Yes that is a lot bigger than your 475. But value for money that 475 is a good buy. I am just not so convinced with the motor but the seeker 475 with the Mercury on for 89900 is a very good buy as well. And they Handel ruff water very well.
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
Ok club wise there are two clubs in the Pretoria area. Centurion Bassmasters and Pretoria Bassmasters. I am in Pretoria Bassmasters. I am not so sure about centurion but in our club the guys are always willing to help witch I have heard is not the case in Centurion. But I am only saying that from what I have heard
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Hey Visman.

Yes boat websites are good -biut if you want a good deal it is way better to buy private - saves you bucks in the long run. The websites are good but personally I would not buy from any boat dealer - guess I have had 1 too many bad experinces so I prefer to judge formyself. Also the baot places tend to window dress faults with the hulls - and the thing is they know how to do it as it is their trade - private individuals are a little inept at covering faults. Also it is very easy to see when you meet an owner that takes pride in his fishing vessel and more often than not they are very forthcomming with faults and the strong aspects of a particular boat and motor.

You need to decide what it is that you are after - Each individual has their own preference - I for example donot like a fast gas guzzaling boat - they have super high running costs and I can still fish as well as the top guys - it just means I have to fish a different style to gain quality fish.

With reference to your question about bass clubs - Johan VC will be online at some time or another and will readily provide you with assitance here - I will ask a couple of my bass master buddies and see what they come back with.

I can however help you with Artlure Clubs  -

Pretoria Spinfishers 

Salmo

Classics Spinfishing Society

These are the three pretoria based clubs I am not willing to post contact details for the above clubs on a Public forum - but I donot believe this is the info that you are looking for anyways.
 
V

Visman

New member
I will post pics tomz.

I am not 100% sure that it was smallies, but I think it was.

The place is in Muldersdrift... Kloofzight

 
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Hey Visman are you wanting to fish competativly?

Theres quite a bit of a debate as to what circuts are best to fish for aspiring bass pro's and I would be quite interested to hear some comment on these. Both from Newbies and oldhands

Look forwards to your photies..........
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
Yes I agree with Ryan, around R80K you should be able to get yourself a very nice boat. To add what Ryan said. Speed in competitive fishing is a major yes. As you have 250 boats fishing a tournament and you know there are 4 spots producing big fish. Now first of having a good pull off number is very important but you need a boat with speed to overtake the guys in front of you. For example: Last year’s inanda classic was won by Shannon from Boat center and he won the comp in the first 30min of the comp. When they come back to weigh the fish there were still guys pulling off
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
Good comps to fish would be the BETT and the SA Bass cast for Cash. Don’t waste your time fishing the ESA Pro series. From what I have heard it’s a waste of time
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Yeah funny but that seems pretty much the verdict from my mates in the bass side of things. They say that the ESA circut is dominated by nepitism towards mates and sponsors getting good kick off places from the launch - and that there is also fiddeling with the weighins.

Like I say this is based on hearsay and is not firsthand information - VC what is your experince with these compo's and out of the compo's you have attend if I was starting out - which one should I attend?

Seems like ESA has just become one big money making gravy train. but on the same token I belive they contribute much to the sport by way of their fishing shows.
 
J

Johanvc

Sealiner
What I have heard is that rules don’t apply to all. As people I know fish the ESA pro series now in all comps there is a 40m casting zone around where you fish and these guys just don’t give a dam to rules and when the guys complain nothing gets done about it. Where as in other comps that guy that moved in to your spot gets disqualified.
Well a good comp to start fishing would be the SA bass cast for cash as if you win or come in the 3 places you go to another comp at the end of the season. And if you win that you go and fish one of the FLW comps as a Go angler in the states. Another good one will be the Old BETT arranged by Lional Botha. They are always willing to help new anglers.

Yes I do believe they contribute to the sport. But really think they need to broaden their show a bit. Not all guys can afford a boat so they should do some bank angling and also. Not only the dams down in Natal produce big fish. We have some lovely dams up here as well. But they show more dams down by the coast.
 
R

Ryan

Sealiner
Kewl Thanks for the insight VC. Now I know where to start my "pro-bass"career. thanks buddy

Visman - sorry bud never fished there before.........
 
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