In the market for a used bass boat. Does anyone have one they would be willing to sell? Thanks!

Budget and location ?

I know of a garage queen bass tracker for sale in the Spring area. I believe it's a 2013 or 2014 model.

what's your budget? Are you looking for aluminum or fiberglass?

Fiberglass. Budget $0-$45,000

Texasfishingforum.com has a pretty good amount of used bass boats.

Also try bassboatcentral

Have looked at both quite a bit with no luck.

Really wanted to start looking for a newer, used bass boat but I haven't had time to even think about picking up a fishing pole.

There are a lot of used boats for sale but haven't found the one. I am sure I am being too picky but figured I would post here to see if anyone had a boat they wouldn't mind selling.

Cloeren.....I was the factory rep for 32 years for a bass boat company....retired finally last year. Wanted to share some info with you. With the buyout of Ranger, Triton and Legend by Johnny Morris and Bass Pro it has really changed the landscape of the bass boat market. Legend and Triton are basically gone and the word on the street is Rangers quality has drastically degraded since the buy out. Bass Cat was bought out by Ski Natique and has a very poor dealer network so distribution is poor. Skeeter now has the highest market share in Texas and due to the above issues with the other companies along with Skeeter's new products and aggressive pricing the demand for their products have caused a large backlog of orders at their factory. Phoenix is kinda still the new kid on the block (Owned and managed by old Stratos and Triton people) and are not able to produce a lot of volume out of their small factory.
All of this has caused all the dealers inventories to be low and has put a large demand on used bass boats. All the dealers I have talked to have made the same comment that they wished they had more good used boats to sell as they could sell all they could get.
So it is a bass boat sellers market right now with a good robust economy, and high demand of new and used boats. You might want to wait until October - December as that is the time most used bass boats come on the market.
I will make some calls to some of my old dealers in Texas to see if they have any leads on some good used boats and will forward to you. You might contact Ken Parker of Boerne Marine in Boerne Texas. He is a bass boat dealer and is an Aggie or Chris Knight of Nautical Mile Marine in Tyler. Also check with Monte Reagan of Fun N Sun Marine in Ft. Worth. They are the largest bass boat dealer in Texas. These guys are all basically bass boat dealers exclusively and are very knowledgeable fisherman as well.
Hope this helps you and I will see what I can do to help find one as well.

Gunny456 said:

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Cloeren.....I was the factory rep for 32 years for a bass boat company....retired finally last year. Wanted to share some info with you. With the buyout of Ranger, Triton and Legend by Johnny Morris and Bass Pro it has really changed the landscape of the bass boat market. Legend and Triton are basically gone and the word on the street is Rangers quality has drastically degraded since the buy out. Bass Cat was bought out by Ski Natique and has a very poor dealer network so distribution is poor. Skeeter now has the highest market share in Texas and due to the above issues with the other companies along with Skeeter's new products and aggressive pricing the demand for their products have caused a large backlog of orders at their factory. Phoenix is kinda still the new kid on the block (Owned and managed by old Stratos and Triton people) and are not able to produce a lot of volume out of their small factory.
All of this has caused all the dealers inventories to be low and has put a large demand on used bass boats. All the dealers I have talked to have made the same comment that they wished they had more good used boats to sell as they could sell all they could get.
So it is a bass boat sellers market right now with a good robust economy, and high demand of new and used boats. You might want to wait until October - December as that is the time most used bass boats come on the market.
I will make some calls to some of my old dealers in Texas to see if they have any leads on some good used boats and will forward to you. You might contact Ken Parker of Boerne Marine in Boerne Texas. He is a bass boat dealer and is an Aggie or Chris Knight of Nautical Mile Marine in Tyler. Also check with Monte Reagan of Fun N Sun Marine in Ft. Worth. They are the largest bass boat dealer in Texas. These guys are all basically bass boat dealers exclusively and are very knowledgeable fisherman as well.
Hope this helps you and I will see what I can do to help find one as well.

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Thank you for the insight. I will check the boat dealers you mentioned.

Your more than welcome. I will help a fellow fisherman/Aggie all I can. If you end up with a Skeeter make sure you ask about transferring the warranty. They are the ONLY company that will transfer to the second owner if the boat is over 5 years old.....

Gunny456 said:

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Your more than welcome. I will help a fellow fisherman/Aggie all I can. If you end up with a Skeeter make sure you ask about transferring the warranty. They are the ONLY company that will transfer to the second owner if the boat is over 5 years old.....

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Can you PM me your number?

Basscat have a lifetime transferable warranty, and the fit and finish is a step above what you're going to get in a Skeeter. I've fished out of both quite a bit and I don't think you can compare the build quality between the two. Skeeter just cranks out cookie cutter boats one after another and slaps a Yamaha on them as fast as they can.

Drive Hwy. 31 from Bellmead to Tyler. Bet you find some used ones sitting in front yards for sale.

I would suggest you read the bass cat warranty. It is prorated by how old the boat is and is only available if the boat is purchased through a bass cat dealer and after inspection by bass cat. If you look at current NADA you will see that Skeeter has the highest resale value model by model of any other brand. Skeeter has been is business since 1948 and are owned by Yamaha so they are not going anywhere. They are built in Texas in Kilgore and a person can go and take a plant tour to see how they are built. They are the only company that has a factory sponsored and trained Demo Team that does nothing but give demonstration rides all over the country at many events to show the capabilities of the product. They have a very extensive dealer network across the USA and Canada, Australia and Japan. They have been the number one selling bass boat in Texas for many years and have won many CSI awards by the BIA.
I would suggest taking a ride in anything before buying it.....and take that ride on a good rough day when its windy as heck.
I learned a long time ago as a rep to not bash another product. Let your product speak for itself. Skeeter is no more a "cookie cutter" boat than any other brand of bass boat as they are built one at a time and go through extensive QC and are still all hand made. Like I said a person can go see how the boats are made start to finish at the plant in Texas and see for themselves what goes into building a Skeeter.
They also employ some Aggies as well. Guess they have done something right in the last 70 years of being in business and having the highest market share in Texas.

How do I do that? I am not a premium member and never have PM before.

Cloeren, I sent you a pm on a boat i'm thinking about selling.

Gunny456 said:

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I would suggest you read the bass cat warranty. It is prorated by how old the boat is and is only available if the boat is purchased through a bass cat dealer and after inspection by bass cat. If you look at current NADA you will see that Skeeter has the highest resale value model by model of any other brand. Skeeter has been is business since 1948 and are owned by Yamaha so they are not going anywhere. They are built in Texas in Kilgore and a person can go and take a plant tour to see how they are built. They are the only company that has a factory sponsored and trained Demo Team that does nothing but give demonstration rides all over the country at many events to show the capabilities of the product. They have a very extensive dealer network across the USA and Canada, Australia and Japan. They have been the number one selling bass boat in Texas for many years and have won many CSI awards by the BIA.
I would suggest taking a ride in anything before buying it.....and take that ride on a good rough day when its windy as heck.
I learned a long time ago as a rep to not bash another product. Let your product speak for itself. Skeeter is no more a "cookie cutter" boat than any other brand of bass boat as they are built one at a time and go through extensive QC and are still all hand made. Like I said a person can go see how the boats are made start to finish at the plant in Texas and see for themselves what goes into building a Skeeter.
They also employ some Aggies as well. Guess they have done something right in the last 70 years of being in business and having the highest market share in Texas.

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You clearly worked for Skeeter, I get that you think their boats are the best thing in the world. I do find it interesting how you bashed other boat manufacturers for being bought out, but it's a bonus for Skeeter having been bought out by Yamaha. It's funny how you said as a rep not to bash the other boat manufacturers, but you did exactly that in your OP by trashing their owners. Skeeters are fine boats but I strongly disagree that their build quality is above that of the other top tier manufacturers. They have without a doubt the worst trailers of any boat manufacturer, although that has supposedly been improved since they moved them in house over the last year or so.

burtonsnow said:

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Gunny456 said:

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I would suggest you read the bass cat warranty. It is prorated by how old the boat is and is only available if the boat is purchased through a bass cat dealer and after inspection by bass cat. If you look at current NADA you will see that Skeeter has the highest resale value model by model of any other brand. Skeeter has been is business since 1948 and are owned by Yamaha so they are not going anywhere. They are built in Texas in Kilgore and a person can go and take a plant tour to see how they are built. They are the only company that has a factory sponsored and trained Demo Team that does nothing but give demonstration rides all over the country at many events to show the capabilities of the product. They have a very extensive dealer network across the USA and Canada, Australia and Japan. They have been the number one selling bass boat in Texas for many years and have won many CSI awards by the BIA.
I would suggest taking a ride in anything before buying it.....and take that ride on a good rough day when its windy as heck.
I learned a long time ago as a rep to not bash another product. Let your product speak for itself. Skeeter is no more a "cookie cutter" boat than any other brand of bass boat as they are built one at a time and go through extensive QC and are still all hand made. Like I said a person can go see how the boats are made start to finish at the plant in Texas and see for themselves what goes into building a Skeeter.
They also employ some Aggies as well. Guess they have done something right in the last 70 years of being in business and having the highest market share in Texas.

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You clearly worked for Skeeter, I get that you think their boats are the best thing in the world. I do find it interesting how you bashed other boat manufacturers for being bought out, but it's a bonus for Skeeter having been bought out by Yamaha. It's funny how you said as a rep not to bash the other boat manufacturers, but you did exactly that in your OP by trashing their owners. Skeeters are fine boats but I strongly disagree that their build quality is above that of the other top tier manufacturers. They have without a doubt the worst trailers of any boat manufacturer, although that has supposedly been improved since they moved them in house over the last year or so.

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Whatever you say sir. You are an Aggie and so am I so I respect your right to opinion. Never said I worked for Skeeter for 32 years. Just said I was a factory rep for a bass boat company for that long. Could have worked at some of the companies we talked about? Don't recall bashing any owners...just stated facts from info from dealers that sell the other brands. I.E. Rangers largest dealer in Texas at Lake Fork is now a Skeeter dealer. The large Ranger and Triton Dealer in Central Texas is now a Skeeter dealer. Think there is a reason all of the sudden for these changes?? Maybe a call to them would find out why?
Oh and by the way.....the dealers I told OP to call sell multiple lines of bass boats....not just Skeeter. I am just trying to help OP find a good deal. I feel that Ranger, Triton, Bass Cat......are all fine boats....but the fact remains that all of them have recently been bought out. Earl Bentz who made Triton is now gone from the company. Forest Wood and his family (Randy Hopper etc.) are now gone from Ranger. Ron Pierce of Bass Cat passed away last year and Rick, his son, will be at the plant, albeit new owners and management.
Lots of drama and turmoil in the industry right now.........and only the future will tell the final story........but right now all these changes have effected the inventories and climate of the bass boat business with a lot of consumer uncertainty. People don't want to purchase a boat and possibly see the resale value plummet of that brand with all the uncertainty of the future of those brands.
Remember what happened to Champion, Viper, Hawk, Cajun, Hydra Sports etc? When they went under the resale and equity people had in those products crashed.
IMHO a purchase of a Skeeter or Phoenix right now is a safe bet on longevity and stability.
But I am sure you have another opinion...and as I said above.....being a fellow Aggie I respect that. The best thing is we all like to fish right?
Lets just try to help OP find a good deal and a good investment......

10 internet points for proper gif usage.

burtonsnow said:

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Gunny456 said:

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I would suggest you read the bass cat warranty. It is prorated by how old the boat is and is only available if the boat is purchased through a bass cat dealer and after inspection by bass cat. If you look at current NADA you will see that Skeeter has the highest resale value model by model of any other brand. Skeeter has been is business since 1948 and are owned by Yamaha so they are not going anywhere. They are built in Texas in Kilgore and a person can go and take a plant tour to see how they are built. They are the only company that has a factory sponsored and trained Demo Team that does nothing but give demonstration rides all over the country at many events to show the capabilities of the product. They have a very extensive dealer network across the USA and Canada, Australia and Japan. They have been the number one selling bass boat in Texas for many years and have won many CSI awards by the BIA.
I would suggest taking a ride in anything before buying it.....and take that ride on a good rough day when its windy as heck.
I learned a long time ago as a rep to not bash another product. Let your product speak for itself. Skeeter is no more a "cookie cutter" boat than any other brand of bass boat as they are built one at a time and go through extensive QC and are still all hand made. Like I said a person can go see how the boats are made start to finish at the plant in Texas and see for themselves what goes into building a Skeeter.
They also employ some Aggies as well. Guess they have done something right in the last 70 years of being in business and having the highest market share in Texas.

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You clearly worked for Skeeter, I get that you think their boats are the best thing in the world. I do find it interesting how you bashed other boat manufacturers for being bought out, but it's a bonus for Skeeter having been bought out by Yamaha. It's funny how you said as a rep not to bash the other boat manufacturers, but you did exactly that in your OP by trashing their owners. Skeeters are fine boats but I strongly disagree that their build quality is above that of the other top tier manufacturers. They have without a doubt the worst trailers of any boat manufacturer, although that has supposedly been improved since they moved them in house over the last year or so.

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I don't think he's saying it's a bonus that Skeeter is owned by Yamaha. It is just a known commodity. They've been owned by Yamaha since the 90's if I remember correctly. Ranger probably started out far and away the best quality boat on the market, at the highest price point. Now they're still the highest priced boat on the market, but don't carry quite the same quality after the buyout. Rangers are still among the best boats manufactured, but might not be the best value. I'm a Skeeter guy, but think Pheonix is probably the best value in the market today. It will be interesting to see what the old Ranger crew will roll out with Vexus' fiberglass boat later in the year. Those I know that saw their tin can at the Classic were impressed.

Skeeter was purchased by Yamaha in 1997. Yamaha purchased Skeeter to increase their presence in the freshwater market. The guys at Skeeter sometimes felt at times that was a sales obstacle as not everybody wants a Yamaha. All the other companies had the advantage that they could offer all the engine choices..Yamaha, Mercury, E-Rude, Suzuki etc. Skeeter has the dominant market share in Texas and some other states. In my opinion they have done exceedingly well considering it is a one choice engine company. I think that says a lot for the Skeeter brand.

Sir....I called the three dealers that I told you to call today and they asked me what length boat you would prefer. They are to let me know of some boats in the next couple of days. I told them that you were not brand specific....just wanted a good value for the money. Make sure you take a ride in the boat before buying anything. And try to go on a windy rough day to truly evaluate.

I hate to hear that about Ranger boats. I've had two and l and always thought they were way better built than the Skeeters I compared at the time. Guess I'll have to hang on to my Z520 for a long time. One word of advice on buying a boat is make sure there is a dealer close by to service the brand of motor. My old Ranger had a Yamaha on it and it was a pain at that time to get it serviced in the north Austin area so I went with a Mercury on my current Ranger.