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bworner.
I am preparing to order a new Bass Cat Puma or Puma FTD. I earlier made my decision to purchase a Bass Cat Puma, then the Puma FTD came out. I do not know that I am crazy about the triangular live wells and smaller rear storage of the FTD, but I have been told that the capacity of the triangular live wells is greater than the capacity of the Regular Puma live wells. If you have experience with the triangular versus the regular Puma live wells, please state which live well and rear storage system you like best between the Puma FTD and Regular Puma. Mr. Pierce, who I am probably driving crazy at this point, assures me that the triangular livewells are an improvement for tournament fishing, but I wanted to get feedback from boat owners. Also, if you were to purchase a new Puma, would it be the Puma FTD or the Regular Puma? I immensely appreciate any assistance you may provide.
OK Corky…………………….after having mine on the water for 3-4 weekends in a row there is more storage in a Puma FTD. The smaller storage areas allows you to seperate and organize things a little better. The rear deck storage is larger than it looks. The ice chest between the seat opens up another storage area at the front deck as well. Havent used the livewells yet and if I dont start doing better, I might not be using them much next week in a tournament either! Bite the bullet and put all your second thoughts to rest. Get the Puma FTD! Put a Mercury 250 on the back and 99% of the time there will be nothing on the lake that will pass you!
I have the regular Puma the only reason I went with it instead of the Cougar FTD was the rear area. The Puma has a much larger area were the fuel tanks are than to other, I store 2 extra gallons of oil in there with ease. I have herd of guys storing there spare prop there as well. Also the larger storage areas is better for a fishing partner and his or in my case her gear. If you fish by yourself then I would go with the FTD the boat rides better with the weight of fuel further back! I run with 20 Gallons of gas most of the time because of this, so I hardly use the larger tank.
Thanks Phil Addison and GAPuma. Mr. Addison has been very helpful as I have gone through this process of making up my mind which boat to purchase. My goal is to put all of my reservations to rest and order my new Puma (or Puma FTD) this week. I am on vacation all week and will probably perseverate about the decision until Friday. Geez, this shouldnt be this difficult of a decision. At least I have the brand name down. Next decisions are engine, trolling motor, and electronics. I think I will have to go into therapy with all of these decisions. My thinking right now is Mercury 250 or ETEC 250HO, Humminbird 997 and 797 interlinked, and Motorguide 24 volt tour edition 82 pound thrust. Thanks again guys.
I previously had the Puma and have been running the Cougar FTD since January. The triangular livewells work great. They do hold more water and seem deeper. Most importantly a Bass Cat livewell system does what you need. (Keep the alive and in good shape). Go with the Puma FTD and the Mercury 250. My opinion on trolling motors is you can never have to much.
Tough choice Corky and I would let the rear storage be your decision. While I havent owned the Puma FTD I, like David, have owned Pumas and now a Cougar FTD and the rear storage doesnt bother me since you have underseat storage. I fish team tournaments and with a partner almost always and 1 of my tournament partners like the Puma better and the other likes the FTD better so it really is a personal preference. I personally like the “attitude” of the FTD hull (which the Puma FTD has too) over the regular Puma. One thing I can say is dont be afraid of the triangular livewells. They do a great job and I like the angle the lids open to keep fish from jumping out and onto the deck and the slightly smaller opening for the same reason. You will like the sidefinder technology if you take the time to drive around and check things out. I wont own another boat with out the sidefinding technology. As for motors, I run a Merc and it is hard to beat the ProXS motor for all around performance and fuel efficency. My dealer has a 250HO and he likes his and neither of us had any problems with either of them. I also say to get the bigger troller, the 82 will be fine but the 109 will be better. Good luck and the hard part is the wait. Judd Lasiter
Basschaser; Do you run three or four batteries with your 36 volt system? I was going to get a 24 volt system just to keep from having to lug around a fourth battery. I have had good luck with 24 volt motorguides in the past while fishing southeastern lakes. I just moved to Texas a few months ago, and these Texas lakes might be better suited with a 36 volt trolling motor.
I run 3 batteries and have for the last 3 seasons with only one problem and it was a charger issue and not a battery. I wouldnt hesitate to run 3. I do charge them as soon as I get home and I keep a very close eye on the water levels. JL
Corky, Ill add my 2 cents worth here for you to think about. My 08 boat, which is now sold, is a Cougar FTD, with a 250 Pro XS, 36 volt TE 109 Motorguide–with a 3 battery setup ( I have always run 36 volt motors, both MG and MK, and have never run 4 batteries). My next boat will be a Puma FTD, simply because I like the FTD layout, and will regain the net storage, which is really handy. Like Phil Addison said, the more numerous, but smaller storage allows you to put things in specific places so you can find them quickly. On the Puma FTD, I also like having the day box and the front cooler adjacent to each other, as I often use them for day storage for tournaments. The livewells are magnificent–they hold more water, and the smaller opening adds a measure of safety from fish jumping out on the deck. I added Oxygenators to both of my livewells this year, and never had any issues with stressed or dead fish all year. Like Phil and Judd said, I also recommend the 250 Pro XS–Ive run 3 now, and have had zero issues–for a big engine they are very fuel and oil efficient, but will get you up close to 80 mph, if you want to stand in it. I also agree with Judd that you cannot have too much trolling motor, so I like the 36 v MG Tour Editions. They have been trouble free for me, and are very easy on batteries. On batteries—dont scrimp here—Todays outboards require a lot of Cranking amps. We run a lot of auxiliary equipment. Get 30 or 31 series batteries for all your batteries, mount them in the aluminum BassCat trays, and maintain them. You will not have power issues. Stay away from 24 series cranking batteries. They are just not big enough to handle things any more, in my experience. Good luck on your selection, and thanks for being a part of a great FAMILY. Mike Whitten/Germantown, TN
Hey phil, you set yourself up for this question. Who is the other 1%???? COULD IT BE A PUMA FTD WITH A 250HO???? Just kidding..Your Signature …
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