Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Puma (BCB) Modification
Scot.
In the area I live I am fortunate to have a wonderful Largemouth Fishery minutes from my home (Tidal Potomac/Mattawoman Creek)Another tremendous benefit of the nearby resources is that Blue Crabs are prolific all over the nearby waterways as well.It is rather foolish to NOT have my Puma set up to do some crabbing to enjoy great eats all summer long…with that said I do not want to tear my boat up using it for such a task.My thoughts are to get some rubber material or something and to trim it properly to the contours of my boat to ensure my carpet stays clean…this sub-floor could be taken in/out with ease and sprayed off outside the boat…all of that sort of thing is rather ez to figure out. The one issue Im thinking about is how to set up a good clean way to run the trot line and how to provide the provision to lift the line from the deck of my boat. I would rather not make any permanent mods and am thinking I could utilize the pedestal seat provision as a point of installation and then anchor the swing arm near the gunnel of my boat which will support the swing arm well away from the side of my boat in a fixed non pivoting position to run the line. The perfect spot for this anchor point falls right atop one of my boats lids and Im not coming up with a slick way to fix that anchor point w/out modification. The one thing I could do I suppose is make my sub-deck from plywood or something and afix my swing arm to that any darned place Id like.Has anybody done anything to their BassCat to use it as a crabbing vessel…if so…Id love to hear your ideas and tips
I use my go devil hunting boat to raise crab traps. I could not imagine using my bass boat, its dirty, messy, stinky business. Good luck with this. May be cheaper in the long run to buy a cheap skiff or aluminum boat.
http://hydroturf.com/products/Sheets_of … rf/47_x_86Worked for me on another boat! If youre careful and keep it clean, I see no reason not to use the PUMA, a trotline is basically easy to use, if you were running traps Id say no.Last edited by SAMRUSH on June 13th, 2010, 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.BAYOU BANDIT
We use Hydroturf on our Gator Trax Hunting Boats, gatortraxboats.com and our Excel Hunting boats, excelboats.net the stuff is incredible, 3m adhesive, water/ice channels that work great, soft,when its cold and ice goes in the grooves,it breaks apart when your weight squishes it down……Excellent stuff….Brannon
Id have to be hospitalized if I saw you crabbing out of a Puma.A 5000 dollar investment in a used aluminum boat with a 20 hp tiller handle motor would save you the equal amount of damage to your BC, and reduce the worry factor by a thousand fold.
blakesfav wrote: Id have to be hospitalized if I saw you crabbing out of a Puma.A 5000 dollar investment in a used aluminum boat with a 20 hp tiller handle motor would save you the equal amount of damage to your BC, and reduce the worry factor by a thousand fold.Agree. The only crab boats i know are the Time Bandit and the Northwestern.
Cornelia Marie and “Wizard” also Phil………Though Time Bandit seems to have more fun loving group of fishermen too!96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner
I have a 16 Tracker Grizzly with a 25 hp Merc, foot control TM, and fishing seats. It makes the perfect “support boat” for my bass boat. I use it for putting out brush piles during the winter, the occasional duck hunt, frogging, running yo-yos, and generally for anything fishing related that would trash my bass boat. Ive also used it as a tournament back up rig, using an ice chest for the live well. Now my 16 year old is starting his tournament fishing out of this boat, and it works perfectly.This would be a great setup for crabbing, as the cages and such wont hurt the side of the boat as you lift them in. I paid 8500 for the whole thing new, and I see them for 5000 used on occasion. In addition, it can be towed behind a 4-wheeler, making it quite handy for those hard to reach small bodies of water that are loaded with big bass.
Im sorry fellas…I disagree…a BassBoat could easily be set up to be used for weekly crabbing running a line (no traps) without damaging the boat or even getting it dirty and smelly for that matter. I guess you hadnt noticed Im looking for ideas on covering the entire deck with an easily removable sub-floor for crabbing expeditions in order to PROTECT my boat. You can also bet your butt Ill be using a few bumpers in certain areas to ensure no scrapes etc. on the side gunnels of my boat to avoid rubs from unforeseen mishaps with the scoop net. It will of course be at least a bit of additional work in comparison to an aluminum hull because I wouldnt leave anything “crabbing” on the boat unless of course I am crabbing….keep in mind, Im talking two-three outings per month throughout the summer for weekend dinners with my bride etc…not anything commercial. Honestly I think itll be comfortable as hell to crab from and using my MK Terrova with Auto Pilot will be fantastic for running a line. Im thinking a two-piece subfloor made from plywood and covered in one of the suggested flooring materials would be the way to go and would require zero permanent modification. Get off your pedestals BassBoat boys and use your imagination…I paid near 50K for my boat and Ill be damned if Im not going to exploit it and use it for everything I can, I already fish nearly every single weekday of the summer…Ill tell you something else too…bet my boat will be cleaner than most in 5 years too….3 years in it still looks new.Also..I am NOT and NEVER EVER WILL BE a tournament fisherman…Im certainly not suggesting this is a “standard practice” but Ive seen some of the TX guys boats…talk about torn up!!!Im going to proceed but will also say that once I try it if it appears that the boat is going to get a bump here or a bump there then no, it will not be used for crabbing because as I originally said..it just aint worth it if it is going to tear my boat up.
Ill also add…Im not talking about crabbing in muddy ass creeks..Im talking about nice clear clean salty areas of the Potomac closer to the Bay or in the Patuxent River…of course the motor would get a good flush after such an outing. There is a creek nearby that is semi-salt and is also known for JUMBO crabs..it IS a muddy deal to be crabbing in that area and I would not want to do it in such a spot so…another BIG benefit is the fact that the Maryland waterways notoriously get clobbered by storms that pop up out of nowhere throughout the summer…storm rolls in..I can get up and go quick like in my Puma!!
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats
