What would be a good starter bass boat?  

One that you pay cash for.  One you have the cash to pay for repairs if it needs them and one that fits your finances so you can actually go out and use it as much as possible.  

I have a friend who has an older Tracker 170 or 175, can't really remember but it was made in the early 90s or so, with a 50 horse merc on it.  He paid 1500 bucks for that boat used, sunk about 300 bucks into it replacing some flooring and extras, worked on the motor some and he has fished out of that boat for at least five years, caught more fish than many people I know.  Frankly, I would want that boat for a first boat, its small enough to get it anywhere and large enough to take some current and waves, plus you can pull it with a busted up '94 chevy corsica (I have done it plenty).

My first "fishing" boat was a very old  16 ft. Quachita stick steer with 50 horse merc on it.  That boat sucked and the motor was taken off the first year and sold for a tiller handled 30 hp Johnson, I gutted the boat and put a single fishing seat in it.  After that it turned out to be a pretty decent little fishing craft.

Other than that, I'd say a jon boat in the 16-18 foot range with a 40 horse tiller and a trolling motor, fish finder and cooler set up as a livewell would get you to where you need to catch some hawgs.

I agree with all here.

One that you can get to water, one that you can fix, to stop it from leaking, and one that you got for free or paid cash for.

What kind of buget do you have and what kinds of water are you going to be using it on?

Lakes in NC, pretty glassy water, budget is between $3K and $12K...

It's my first bass boat so it needs to be great for learning; what I am hearing so far is start with a Tracker 17 or 17.5 that's used and around $3K... learn it, love it then upgrade when I am ready.

Thoughts on brands? or anything else?

Lakes in NC, pretty glassy water, budget is between $3K and $12K...

It's my first bass boat so it needs to be great for learning; what I am hearing so far is start with a Tracker 17 or 17.5 that's used and around $3K... learn it, love it then upgrade when I am ready.

Thoughts on brands? or anything else?

there are a lot of good boats out there for $5,000. if youve never had a boat your first choice might be aluminum. it was posted early a 170 or a 175 tracker. that would be my first boat anywhere from 1995 to now. theres a bunch of them out there. good luck.

One that you pay cash for. One you have the cash to pay for repairs if it needs them and one that fits your finances so you can actually go out and use it as much as possible.

i agree with this 100% pay cash for your boat and everything actually. i paid for my boat a 17ft bass tracker in cash and its nice if i need any repairs i dont have to wait on money cuz my boat is paid for....now im going on my second deployment so i can maybe get a bigger boat that extra money will be perfect.

I fish club tournaments out of a 1984 Bass Tracker Tournament TX with a 50 hp Mercury 2 stroke.  A buddy won our March tournament on Seminole off the back deck of that old boat.  

It is the sort of boat I would suggest.  You never know; you might just keep it for a long time.