I have been in the Bass Cat Family (Sabre) for just a few months and this will be my first post here. We looked at most of the top brands. I have to agree with what the others say and add that they are fine boats all the way around. As I go along I am continually finding things that I appreciate about the boat. Some things that really impress are the quality, walk around on the decks and notice that there does not seem to be any movement, just feels solid, head out across a rough lake and again just feels solid. Feel around the edges of the compartments and bilge area and notice it is pretty well finished out with the Bilge area clean and laid out for easy access. Look up under the driver console and notice everything is clean and in place. I for one really appreciate the fact that I can visually confirm how much fuel I have. In addition to the boats, look carefully at the trailers, larger tires/wheels than most, led lights, heavy double rollers up front, two pins in the swing away that really locks solid. Look at some of the trailers on other boats, you may have a hard time finding one built as well. Set up on the front deck and notice how far you set out over the bow, it gives you a good view of what is below you and though it may be perception it seems to assist in making the boat easy to manuever along with putting you further away from the rear angler. Another thing and it may seem small to some, but a few weeks after we got the boat, we got a hand written thank you from Rick Pierce at BCB. Not some standard printed card that most companies send, Heck most places seem to have lost the art of handwritting. It give the feeling that they do appreciate my business and maybe they will treat me the way they should so that one of these years, when I get ready for another boat, BCB will have an above average chance at my business again. Really though what you get is that you have the opportunity to do business with a small family company that really seems to appreciate their customers. From the way the boats are layed out, they seem to be built and designed by fisherman. If you have a question you can call up there and get someone on the phone that actually builds the boats and can give you a serious answer. It seems like with so many things, we have to deal with corporations where the customer is absolutely nothing but a number. I am glad that at least my boat comes from a company that I think appreciates my business. Heck it just gives me a good feeling and I am proud to recommend them.
I am disappointed they have not improved. I thought maybe we had just stopped on a bad day. First off they seem to have some nice folks there, but the rest is lacking. This is our experience with them. When we first got in the market for a boat, we started researching the major brands and narrowed it down to three choices and we tried to find some dealerships we could look at them side by side. Anyhow I called over to find out what they had, as it was pretty good drive for us. They had two of the boats we were considering and the other brand was right down the road from them. Anyhow we get over there and they have around three Cats. They were all three looking bad and one was just terrible, filthy and very weathered. I doubt you could make them look completely new, even though they were advertised as new boats. Anyhow we ended up leaving there and going down the road to their competetor and nearly bought another brand there. However, we knew we really wanted a BC from all the good reports we had read. We also prefer to buy American and deal with smaller companies and dealerships were you can get service when you need it. Needless to say we went to another BC dealer that treated us very well, takes care of their boats and we became proud owners of a BC.
As basschaser mentioned, dont worry too much about the stumps, just run in the boat lanes. Anywhere else be sure to idle. I just started fishing Fork a few months ago, but have not had any problems. I do see a lot of guys running in unmarked areas that I will just idle through. I figure they know right where the creek channels or open areas are. I am finding Fork a hard lake to fish. Ill go one trip and do decent and then not catch anything the next couple. Reading what the reports indicate usually get me nowhere. I find I usually do better if I fish what I think instead of what the reports say and more or less go against the grain. The fish in that lake get a lot of pressure compared to others, so I think by they time word gets around, it is time to change. It can be a tough lake to fish particularly when you dont fish it real regular. Probably the biggest reason I go back is it just has a fishy feel to it and you always have the chance at one of those monsters on any cast. I also cant stand not doing well everytime and I want to learn the lake and improve on it. I dont know what everyone else is thinking, but I imagine the spawn will be a little early this year, as it has been a somewhat mild winter and Easter will be early this year.
I dont know the size either, however I can tell you, they are more than big enough to hold limits of good size fish on each side, with room to spare.
I dont think he favors people according to their occupation or their hobbies so long as it is not an immoral activity. He desires us all to serve him and to be a good witness in bringing others to know him as their lord and savior. The reason so many of the 12 were fisherman, as I have been told, may be due to the need of persistents and patience in helping to lead others toward him. These are qualities that fisherman need and generally have. These traits are very useful in witnessing to others. I know for one that I need to spend more time being a fisher of men.Last edited by Fisherman74 on March 11th, 2008, 3:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Patman would be a good choice as it is a lot more open for running, versus Millwood has a lot more timber. While there are some areas of timber on Patman, for the most part if you will just stay in the main lake you are good to go for the biggest part of the main lake. Since you have not been on the lake, just to be safe I would do as BCB said and stay closer to the dam end. There is a real good park, with a good ramp and dock (Core of Engineers) off of FM2148 near the dam area. Take Hwy 59 South out of T-Town, watch for FM2148 to your right. (There is a store next to the turn off.) Once on 2148 watch for the Dam Road to the left, but just as you turn onto the Dam Road, take an immediate right and follow that road on around to the Park. Takes maybe fifteen minutes from Texarkana. Hope the boat works out well. Do watch the wind as that lake can roll pretty good, when the wind gets up.
I dont care for this 10% ethanol for this reason. When they went to it here around Dallas a year or so ago, I found that I lost about two miles a gallon while running it in my vehicle. Performance has been harder to judge, but I think it may have hurt performance at least a bit. Needless to say I try to fill up outside the area when convienient. With that said, I would think it has to have at least a similar effect in other engines, including outboards. I also know it at least seems to go bad quicker while setting in a gas can. I am not a fan of ethanol at least not at the present. From what I have read in reality it is not any better for the environment by the time you factor in the production of it. Not to mention, if it takes more to go the same distance, then it seems to me, it is not as effecient.
We are in the Wyile Area, just North of Dallas. The Tornado sirens went off around 4am this morning and it sounded pretty bad for a few minutes. Fortunately it calmed back down real fast and as far as I know there was not a Tornado and everything seems to be ok at least in our area. I know others were not as fortunate, our prayers go out to them. I think they may be a little more sensitive about blowing the sirens around here, as last year we had one that hit our neighboorhood, less than hundred yards from us. I remember when that one hit, I dont remember the sirens going off. It was literally here and gone before we could even think about taking cover or had any kind of warning. It was just a little rain one second, then a shrill noise the next and it was gone, within seconds. I hope this weather will calm down for us all.
I generally dont solicit business on the forum, however since it has already been mentioned, I will throw my hat in the ring. We recently started a Farmers Insurance Agency here in Wylie, Tx and I would appreciate the opportunity to put together a quote for any of my fellow Texans. We have some competitive rates and can offer agreed value on newer models. Plus we can cover your vehicles, home and business, etc…. Scott Lawrence 972-442-3933 [url=mailto:[email protected]]clawrence[/url][url=mailto:[email protected]]@farmersagent.com[/url]
When we bought ours, the dealer asked us for sizes and colors and we recieved everything BCB a few weeks later. Bass Cat has been good to deal with. It has been refreshing to find a company that still seems to value their customers. Be sure to go to the OI if you have time.
Good post, we all need to remember our life jackets. A while back, I went and got one of the mustang hydrostatic auto inflatable jackets and it goes on when I leave the dock and generally does not come off until I get back. I decided you are probably as at much risk while fishing as you are while moving. I will admit I have fallen in while fishing, but fortunately never have while under power. I got to studying what if you hit your head or otherwise get hurt or just disoriented, things could end badly. I know some make the argument that the auto vests dont offer any impact protection and while that is true, most of us pull regular life jackets off when we stop and thus are unprotected while fishing. However, those auto vests are comfortable enough to wear all the time. I do realize there is a slight possiblity the thing might not go off, however I will make my choice and know my risk and feel better that I have a jacket on all the time. One laying in the seat sure is not going to help when you are looking up at the boat. The auto vest does have a couple of added benefits, it is a bright color when open and it provides a lot more bouyancy than standard jackets. Everyone has to decide for themselves. Hopefully we all make the right choice for ourselves.Last edited by Fisherman74 on January 15th, 2009, 8:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
http://www.mustangsurvival.com/index.php Check out the above link and go to the video page and you will find some videos explaining how it works. Basically the hydrostatic release is designed so that the vest will not inflate from spray or splash. It actually has to submersed to allow the water to enter the valve to activate the vest. If I understand correctly and someone correct me if Im wrong, submersing it actually puts enough pressure on the valve to allow it to open and allow water to enter the valve and activate it. The older or more traditional style is not as well protected from the elements, so a good splash or real high humidity can occasionally disolve the little pill that is used in them to block the pin that activates the CO2. However from what I can find even with the traditional style Mustangs they seldom activate from just a splash as they are pretty well protected. I hope that helps. It took me a while to fiqure out what the difference was when I got mine, but that is the just of what I got from researching it. Another plus with the Hydro, it actually has a zipper closure rather than the velcro style. One more thing to note is that the inflatable Mustangs provide a lot more bouyancy than traditional vests. I hope that helps.
We went to the expo and overall we had a good time and can at least say we have gone to one. That said, it was not very organized at least from a parking and getting around stand point. I also didnt like them having the drinking in the expo, particularly when you have so many kids around. It was being sold and one company was even giving away shots of whiskey. As far as coverage, I wonder if BASS could find another network to cover this if ESPN will not provide at least live TV coverage of the final weigh in. All that said, hopefully they will have it in Shreveport again, especially since the turn out was so good and maybe the town will be better prepared.
I was not aware ESPN owned BASS. What I dont understand is they have several channels, most of the time nothing is on half off them, then the others have reruns or repeat news that is days old. I would think they could at least take five minutes out of each hour to give a current update. I guess their main concern is collecting membership dues.
I just recently went through this type deal. I had some minor chipping / scratch right in front of the eye about 4-5 inches in lenght. It occured when the bow caught in the gap in the roller, so it was rubbing against metal. It was not bad and could of probably been left alone, but I cant stand it being anything less than right. So I ordered the retro no gap kit and put that on. It is just the two end caps, so you will need to get the roller to if you want to replace it at the same time. Anyhow that solves a lot of the problem, plus the new bolt they send is shorter, so you dont have as long a bolt sticking out. To put my mind at ease I took a little quick fix marine tex to and filled in the chip/scratch so that it would look better and be taken care of for good. If I was doing it again, I would use the regular marine tex as the quick fix sets up faster than you can smooth it out. Also use a little tape, so you dont get it anywhere you dont want it. The biggest thing though is realizing the bow is slightly off center. You really have to keep that in mind, which is easier said than done.
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats
