Sorry Zander you blew it!

[Snidley]

Sorry Zander you blew it. lol. Now I love TT and it is mainly for the reviews which i use to make most of my purchases BUT in the article about economical watercraft missed by far the best unit out there , the Hobie Floatcat. I have been using a Floatcat for 10 years and after fishing it and being around other manufacturers economical fishing craft I have to point out why the Floatcat is superior to all. The main issue is convenience. I know that many guys think an inflateable pontoon boat/float tube is more convenient but they are not. The Hobie can go from car to water fully rigged in 5 minutes. Transport is by cartop and you can easily carry the largest Floatcat by carrying (it's only 40lbs. ) or by dragging it (it's rotomoulded polypropolyne, like a hard Kayak). It can be rigged with a very comfortable boat seat, it can be rigged to troll (for Salmon, Steelhead, Muskie and Pike) and easily carries up to 5 fully rigged rods and reels as well as up to 100 lures, a lipper, pliers, spreader, anchor etc. Because it is a solid tough boat that CANNOT DEFLATE or really even be damaged you can fish fast shallow rockey rivers as well as pounding surf that conventional boats cannot handle (winds up SALMON TIME) and inflateable will be torn up in. If you fish for hard fighters like Salmon, Muskie or virtually all Salties one of the things that happens is the end of fight thrashing at the boat and with a face full of trebles this can be disasterous with any inflateable. No problem with the Hobie ( I got rammed at full speed by a huge Salmon while it was hooked up last year and it was simply a bump with no damage at all). All in all my Hobie is the best thing I have ever purchased, period. Certainly there are circumstances where and inflateable , like Sea Eagle's premium offerings, will offer some very attractive features especially for Bass fishing and I use a Basstender style bathtub boat frequently and they also offer, for Bassin' , features that can be attractive. I must say though that for allround versitility dureability, and convenience nothing can surpass my Hobie Floatcat 75. I might also add that the Hobie offers one other huge benifit. That benifit is the incredible fitness that rowing and flippering all day can bring. This feature, which admitedly is also the feature of SOME inflateables, cannot be underestimated. Even a slow fishing day can still provide solid excercise as well as an intimate connection to your local environment that is impossible to beat. Right now Bass fishing is slow here in Toronto but there thousands of 20 to 35lb King Salmon just offshore and soon they will be coming inshore at night to explore the rivermouths they will run in the fall. Nothing can beat a nightime hookup on a rampaging King Salmon out in the lake and with my Hobie I can be on the water in minutes, for free, and in complete safety even in 6' swells or with big fish trashing a face full of Gammie trebles. If anyone out there is considering selfpropelled fishing then they would be crazy not to consider the Hobie as the premier option for this aspect of our sport. Snidley

[PikeMan]

I was disappointed that no Canoes made an appearance...

I got a Mad River 14 foot canoe last year as my first boat (not counting the family bass tracker) with my Graduation money, and its great as a solo boat, certainly better than a Kayak; with all the extra space and stability, I have found it much easier to fish from than from my families Kayaks, and it was just as affordable (granted I did get a good deal, regularly the boat was a $1000, but there are very useable canoes to be had in the 350-500 dollar range), and turned backwards and sitting in the front seat (so you sit more in the middle) the balance is great in a small canoe.

[BassFreak]

Man this might have been some good reading as I am interested in the floatcat, just couldnt get past the no paragraph breaks.

[Snidley]

Sorry Basscat. It all came out in one big burp. snidley

[dampeoples]

I think it was a good article, looking at the article as an outline, with ten options available at Bass Pro Shops, I think it was a good mix. Sure you can get boat x or y, and boat z might be better than the rest of them out there, but it's TT, not Consumer Reports!