Fish & Ski Boats- looking for opinions

[Jason F-18]

So I have been researching boats lately (hope to get one this year) It really seems like the best thing for the family would be a fish/ ski. What I'm looking for is folks who own or have owned one.

What do you have?
What are likes/ dislikes?

Any other opinions?

Thanks for the input

 

[Jason F-18]

OK, since it seems folks here are out of opinions (is that possible?)

Maybe you know someone who has one or have fished from one. What were your impressions?

Come on, what do you think? Good/ Bad/ Ugly

 

[Carl Guffey]

<font face="georgia,palatino" size="2">I fished out of one for 18 years. I had a 20' Stratos with a 150 evinrude XP. It was a great boat and I never had to do anything wth it or to it. The best part is that I fish a lot at night during the winter and to be able to hunker down behind a windshield to dodge the cold, rain, and snow is quite nice. I added a few things such as a deck extension backinto the cockpit and a small door to help cut on the breeze. But all in all I couldn't have asked for a better boat. Also, I have been known to run 90 gallons of fuel through it on aweekend pulling tubers and skiers. </font>

 

[ArmySarge]

I had a 18 foot Stratos fish n ski. good boat. with wife and 2 boys had plenty of fun pulling them on tubes and the like. As for the fishing....I didn't like to fish from it. I kept on hitting the windshield when I cast and there was not much room on the front deck.

But for family fun it really shined. I had a 150 Merc with a 6 inch jack plate and it would top out at about 58 with us in it and about 62 empty.

 

[m17glock]

IF you can find one, the best fish&ski i have ever been in is a Viper Corral !
choo choo snake man has one so you might pm him with questions.

the one i was in was a 20ft model and had full size rod lockers ( not to be found in any other fish&ski) , wasnt that much different to fish out of than my 20ft viper cobra and ran nearly as fast with a 225 on it (65+)

while the front and back deck were both smaller than my cobra they still had the same space as most 18ft bass boats

 

[m17glock]

here is a link to some pics of cobras and corals

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...a=X&ei=zO3HTdaPHY63tgf66JC4BA&ved=0CEsQ9QEwCg

 

[blownf150]

My brother has one. It's ok I would prefer to fish out of my bass boat though. However when we fish for stripe we take his since it handles the water below the dam. But you do tend to hit the windshield when you cast. I'm not a fan of how his is laid out as far as storage goes. To each their own he loves it. It has pulled me around on a tube and wakeboard just fine.

 

[TnSabre]

I had a javelin fish & ski and it was nice for pleasure days on the water with the family, but with 2 boys that liked to go fishing it did not have enough space for all 3 of us to fish out of the boat together and I usually had to leave one of them at home. Did not take long for me to trade it for a bass boat. I did not like leaving a kid at home because I did not have room for them in the boat to fish. This was my only problem with the fish & ski. If there are only going to be 2 people fishing from the boat when it gets fished out of, then you should be fine.

 

[sportsman0822]

I just bought a fish and ski this past February, and I had been looking since around October, I was looking for that sweet deal if you know what I mean. starting out I was like you, probably had no clue as to what I was looking for, so I just started looking at a lot of different boats, and started seeing the pros and cons of each. for me family and friends was first, and fishing was secondary. I knew that at any given time I wanted to be able to take out my family of 4, and maybe another family for a day of fun wakeboarding, knee boarding or tubing, and so seating was essential, and that took me out of the running for the fish/ski boats, and put me in the bracket of ski/fishing. this is my first boat ever, and I am still learning. I bought a Caravelle fish and ski run about type 17-1/2ft with 135hp Volvo penta it came with fishing seats trolling motor, fish finder ,live well, and I love it. now then like I said I have learned a few things since then, and if I had it to do over again I would insure it had a few small extra features: a true bimini top, (i say true, b/c it was advertised as having one, and when i went to fit it up it was something else) an extended swim platform, and maybe a little more hp. my next boat will more than likely be a Tahoe ski/fish. the reason for in/outboard, well just better overall pulling. for skiers. the biggest con is the fact that there is minimal pole, and tackle storage. but I sacrificed that for the family. Now that gas is nearly 4$ a gallon the horsepower thing is not bothering me so much. I can typically get 2 full days of pulling wakeboard, knee board, and tubers on one 20 gallon tank. Best family investment I have ever made. Going fishing with dad tomorrow. Looking for that lunker. good luck, and have fun.