Last week Texas Fish & Game had the great pleasure of attending a special media event hosted by Tracker Boats at Big Cedar Lodge on Missouri’s Table Rock Lake.
Besides getting one on one time with top pros like Rick Clunn, Kevin Van Dam, Tommy Martin, Dennis Tietje and others, we had a chance to test out and learn more about a variety of boats.
The one that most strongly grabbed my attention was an aluminum boat.
TF&G Publisher Roy Neves and I got to spend some time testing out the 2010 Tracker Pro Guide V-16 SC.
With plenty of storage space plus some get up and go in the motor department this boat would be a great choice for anglers on a budget.
(Courtesy Photo)
This is a deep v boat designed to withstand rough open water as well as navigate in smaller systems. With two full grown men in the boat we found it handled well, got surprising speed with the 50 horsepower motor (Mercury Elpto 2 Stroke) and withstood the large wake thrown by other boats on the lake well.
This boat’s real pluses are the amount of storage space available allowing anglers to haul plenty of gear.
Check it out…
#2 lockable rod & gearboxes hold rods up to 7′ (2.13 m)
#23-gallon (87.06 L) bow aerated livewell w/timer, pump-out & baitwell insert
#3 movable fishing seats/6 seat-base locations throughout boat
#Huge storage compartments (2 in bow, 1 aft, 1 in floor)
#Easy-clean vinyl cockpit floor
#Cranking battery by Interstate
The optional fish package includes Minn Kota 12V, 42-lb. thrust PowerDrive trolling motor, Lowrance X50 DS fishfinder & Interstate trolling battery along with a factory-matched trailer w/ w/13″ (33.02 cm) EZ lube hubs, swing-away tongue, retractable safety cables & all-welded frame w/GalvaShield protection.
Four-time Bassmaster Classic winner Rick Clunn fished out of a similar model at last year’s classic on the Red River in Shreveport, La. and told me aluminum boats are great for bass fishing and anglers that cannot afford a super fast, big, fiberglass bass boat should not feel left behind.
“From a practical standpoint, that tournament was in the Red River and you can get in a lot of places in an aluminum boat and do a lot of things you cannot do in a big fiberglass boat. You can’t get there as quickly but there are some advantages,” he said.
Rick Clunn fished last year’s Bassmaster Classic in a Tracker aluminum boat. His main tournament boat is a Nitro Z9 CDC which he calls his “dream boat”.
(Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
“I fished a lot of my early Classics in an aluminum boat. The fish do not know what kind of boat you’re in. It is a lot more about what you do than what you are fishing in. People who can only afford aluminum boats should not feel they are necessarily missing something or that they cannot catch a lot of fish.”
To check out the 2010 Tracker Pro Guide SC click here.