Hello,

I am very close to purchasing a Lund Rebel 1625 and wanted to see if anyone who spends a majority of their time fishing for Largemouths can share their experience of fishing from a Deep-V.  I like the idea of a multi-species boat so I have the ability to mix things up at time.  The high sides might also be good to have when I have my kids out there with me.  I used to have a fiberglass Nitro, but wanted to go with something lighter and easier to manage on my own this time around.  Any input would be appreciated as I may be closing the deal this week.

Thx.

I'm not familiar with that particular model, but the guys at In-Fisherman seem to do rather well from a Lund...

In some cases, a deep V is a better option.  I fished for bass for years out of a 17' Sea Nymph tiller.  Most of my fishing was on Lake Ontario.  Many times, I'd see guys heading in, while I was headed out.  just realize, wind will not always be your friend.

You are right on all of it PF. It's lighter, easier to manage and definitely safer for the kids. I bet you'll be plenty happy going this route. Plus, it's a Lund. Pull the trigger.

I fish out of a 14 ft. Mirrocraft deep-vee for bass all the time,no troubles.I wouldn't think twice about buying the Lund,should be a great boat.As J said they will get blown around some but you learn to compensate.Good Luck!

A boat is a platform on the water to get you to where the fish are.  Or, where you think they are.

No single boat is going to do everything well.  A bass boat is purpose built for one thing, to be as efficient as possible for the pursuit of fishing.

Everything except the rods you are using is safely stored out of harms way, but readily accessible.

In the Lund you are describing, you cannot store as much gear out from underfoot.  But, it is definitely safer for the kids, and definitely will take more weather.

You seem to know what you are looking for, and a bass boat is definitely not it.

I fish out of a 14 ft. Mirrocraft deep-vee for bass all the time,no troubles.I wouldn't think twice about buying the Lund,should be a great boat.As J said they will get blown around some but you learn to compensate.Good Luck!

I have a 17ft Mirrocraft deep v that I tourney fish out of. Less storage than 'glass, less deck space than 'glass which makes flipping/pitching a little more difficult, blows around alot in the wind. I don't have to worry about beaching the boat and can run shallower than a heavier 'glass boat. still catches fish and cashes checks.

I've been fishing tourneys for 5 or 6 years and this boat is not really made for that, BUT I can make a day with the kids, pull a tube, and not have to worry about the kids falling out.

A musky/walleye boat may also be a consideration.

I've had a bunch of aluminum boats, including 3 Lunds. I have also had 3 glass bass boats (Rangers). Many people comment that they downsize boats to something that it is easier to manage by themselves. I've never quite understood that - unless you are talking about using very shallow ramps.

If you are using ramps where you can float your boat off - the glass boat is just as easy to launch as an aluminum boat. And if you can float your boat off you should be able to drive that glass boat on your drive-on trailer in about 5 seconds and step off.

With the right adjustments and accessories aluminum boat trailers can be made almost as easy to use - but wind and current can be a much bigger pain when loading an aluminum boat.

IMO the only advantage an aluminum boat has in the "ability to manage with one person" department is that you can nose it up on a rocky shore with less worries than a glass boat.

The primary advantage of an aluminum boat is that it can be used in much smaller water with shallow ramps (which is why I'm using a Lund to fish from these days), is cheaper to run, and cheaper to tow.

In the multi-species department, deep-v's often have an advantage. Trolling is often easier in a deep-v - especially if your bass boat has a 200hp and no way to hang anything else on the transom. I replaced one of my Rangers with a Lund because I was spending a fair amount of time trolling for salmon and trout, so I wanted a smaller motor to troll with, and was doing some striper fishing and didn't wanted to dunk my RangerTrail in the salt.

But bass tournaments were not quite as much fun in the Lund due the boat being much slower and less stable on the water. As stated above, the deep-v does make it a much bigger pain to use in the wind and the lighter weight means they get bounced around a lot more than a glass boat. (That may not be the case with the big heavy 20'+ pro-v series.)

I brought my kids up bouncing between Rangers and Lunds, and I don't necessarily agree that one is safer than the other. Make them wear life jackets.

Sure, they are less likely to fall out of a deep-V when fishing in calm waters, but if the water is rough and you need to get off quick when real danger is present, then a heavy stable glass boat is the safer option in my experience.

I like both and having been bouncing back and forth between them for 20 years.