Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Jaguar vs. other deep V hulls
SteveD.
Some background – formerly had an Eyra (awesome, awesome boat) and fished mostly small lakes and river/bayou systems in Louisiana. It was absoulutely the perfect boat for that application. Made a two year transition to Texas without being able to fish – picked it back up this past fall and its all new water to me. And HUGE lakes with incessant wind and big waves. Its like I moved to a different planet as far as fishing goes.I knew there would be some lessons to learn the hard way here, putting in at never seen before landings in the dark, and running lakes with rocks and no boat lanes. I bought a big deep V aluminum bass boat to absorb some of these learning curves without destroying pretty gel coat, and for the most part that has been a good decision for my first year of tournaments here. Ive certainly banged into some stuff that wound have been an insurance claim on a fiberglass boat just out of pure ignorance of the water. The boat actually rides great on big water but its not a dry ride.Anyway, Im thinking Ill transition back to a big glass boat next spring now that Im comfortable with finding my way around here. Issue is, the deep V ride has spoiled me. I dont have a need for huge speed but I now have about zero tolerance for getting slammed in big water, and just about every day here is big water. Does anyone here have any experience with the Jag in rough water vs. something like the 522D or other deep V hulls? Ive been in a Jag but not in rough water. My Eyra was outstanding in rough water but its not a deep V. The Ultrex has just about made having some extra freeboard sticking up out of the water a non issue. It holds my current huge boat perfectly still even in big wind and waves. Really the 522D is the only other option that would be an upgrade from my aluminum. The aluminum boat I have now is super soft and smooth, but it really soaks you. I need the bow flare that a fiberglass boat can give you to shunt the waves away from the boat and not up in the air where they just land in my face.
Ran Big Sam last month in legit 3 footers in a 17 jag. It is about as good as it gets in a bass hull. Still about 25 was as fast as I want to travel in them. The boat will literally go over two footers at speed with no issues. It is the ultimate big water bass boat IMO.
speck wrote:Ran Big Sam last month in legit 3 footers in a 17 jag. It is about as good as it gets in a bass hull. Still about 25 was as fast as I want to travel in them. The boat will literally go over two footers at speed with no issues. It is the ultimate big water bass boat IMO. Thanks. Does it run flat or does the nose have a tendency to elevate then slam down? Always wondered why trim tabs arent standard on 21 foot class bass boats to keep the nose down a little.
Nothing in bass Boats will outperform a Jaguar in our opinion. The Lynx is nice, the Caracal fine, though the Jaguar with w VRod is extremely comfortable.
Trim tabs get beat up pretty good in stumps.
Bass Cat Boats wrote:Nothing in bass Boats will outperform a Jaguar in our opinion. The Lynx is nice, the Caracal fine, though the Jaguar with w VRod is extremely comfortable. I guess what Im asking is how it compares to the non-traditional bass boat with the deeper V hulls. There are a few on the market that are on walleye hulls. I have no doubt it will outride or at least be as good as the other 21.5 foot traditional bass boats made by the other manufacturers. There are a lot of choices in the 21.5 foot category but Im very happy with my last Basscat experience, so not really comparing to those hulls because Id just buy the Jag all else being equal.
The Jag does not pound unless you hit a steep wake at high speed. The V does its job nicely. I had a 24 bay champ and fish lake Ponchartrain. I real 3 footers or bigger nobody is running 40 plus without some major pain. You will not have buyers remorse.
Jag is best rough water bass boat in the market. Just like your previous eyra the dryness is second to none. All bass cats likely have the driest rides on the market. Put an engine 300 and above and it can perform on the top end with your eyra.
PhilAddison wrote:Jag is best rough water bass boat in the market. Just like your previous eyra the dryness is second to none. All bass cats likely have the driest rides on the market. Put an engine 300 and above and it can perform on the top end with your eyra.Thanks Phil – I never really understood just how dry my Eyra was until I got in my current boat. It is weird to hit a wave with no impact but the next thing you experience is a full dose of a wave in the face. The Basscat hulls really push the water low and away, and seem to engage the wave a little further back than my current boat, so even in a crosswind the spray passes behind you. I miss that here in Texas where I never seem to be able to escape the wind.
I have owned a Jag, I would not be intimidated in the ugliest stuff Rayburn can throw at it. The boat performs well with 300+ Hp Verados and I am not sure some of the new Mercury 4-Strokes dont open up some new applications for the Jag as well.
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