Thoughts on Mako Skiffs?

[Jason85]

check out sabine skiffs! They make some awesome skiffs!

[ultralite09]

Can anyone recommend a boat dealership? Anything other than Cabelas or BPS

The few good dealerships around here would be Fun N Sun in Hurst, and North Texas Marine.

For your usage, I would be looking pretty heavily at a center console aluminum boat like an Xpress Center console. It'll handle just about everything on these lakes and still draft well for shallow water bass fishing.

I will say, if there's one thing that I would have to have on my boat, it would be a Minn Kota Ultrex, get it in the heaviest thrust that you can afford. Youll thank me later.

[Hunterlo70]

Thanks everyone!

[kevin nicholls]

Well I hate to be on the wrong side of this but I have a Mako Pro Skiff 17 and it’s been a great boat. Y’all are probably right about it not being a good fit for the OP. I’m a saltwater guy and I fish shallow for reds. I’ve had boats my whole life and they all have faults. Mines a 2012 model and it does everything I want it to do and has been very reliable. Sorry fellas, mines a fishing machine. Haha.

[Hunterlo70]

Well I hate to be on the wrong side of this but I have a Mako Pro Skiff 17 and it’s been a great boat. Y’all are probably right about it not being a good fit for the OP. I’m a saltwater guy and I fish shallow for reds. I’ve had boats my whole life and they all have faults. Mines a 2012 model and it does everything I want it to do and has been very reliable. Sorry fellas, mines a fishing machine. Haha.

lol thank you for your input

[Quackerbox]

check out sabine skiffs! They make some awesome skiffs!

while I agree have you seen what he sells them for? Talked to the guy at length at the fishing show. Attention to detail is second to none for a tin boat and youre gonna pay for it

[Jason85]

while I agree have you seen what he sells them for? Talked to the guy at length at the fishing show. Attention to detail is second to none for a tin boat and youre gonna pay for it

I have not seen what sell for but i from what i hear they are great skiffs. I'm sure they cost a lot!

[hooligan]

My buddy has one and it’s a good boat, not real fun in rough water but it serves it’s purpose of fishing skinny water well. At the price point l, unless you go used, there isn’t a lot better imo. If you go 2-3x the price then yes here are a ton of better options

[alwaysinshorts]

Main thing is what are you using it for? Your location shows dfw, if you're fishing lakes around here I would caution away from a skiff type boat and get something with a v hull.

If you're truly looking for a skiff, only experience I've had on skiffs are on an Ankona Copperhead and a Hewes Redfisher. Which are both excellent for what they're made for


As for Mako, I would caution away from it and ANY manufacturer that is carried by bass pro / cabelas. Even Ranger, I would only buy from a Ranger dealer. Too many horror stories about service issues with Tracker Marine

I second everything that is said above.

I have a poling skiff and i love it for what it is supposed to be used for. If you plan on using it in anything above 1.5 foot chop you need to think about that purchase. Skiffs are not made to handle any type of wave, they are meant to be able to get into areas where other boats cannot.

I have heard too many stores about the newer Mako's and the service with Bass Pro

[flatlander]

I was looking at a larger Mako at the end of last year and the big hold up for me was the Mercury engine. I haven't heard one good thing about them lately.

If I could get a Mako with a Yamaha or Suzuiki I'd have pulled the trigger.

[Hunterlo70]

Thanks guys for your input. I think I may be visiting North Texas Marine sooner than later to look. I am picky though - I'm going to put in a lot of research on potential boats before purchasing. Thanks again!

[skeeter]

Just because mako is owned by tracker doesn’t mean they are built by tracker, right? Is ranger still built by ranger or by bass pro aka tracker?

Brunswick owns a lot of company’s but I don’t think they actually make all their products. Same with pure fishing and many other parent companies.

I always thought mako was a good boat. I’ve actually been lookin at the 18’ mako cc. Wanting to use it for bays and lakes.

[mudmauler]

Well I hate to be on the wrong side of this but I have a Mako Pro Skiff 17 and it’s been a great boat. Y’all are probably right about it not being a good fit for the OP. I’m a saltwater guy and I fish shallow for reds. I’ve had boats my whole life and they all have faults. Mines a 2012 model and it does everything I want it to do and has been very reliable. Sorry fellas, mines a fishing machine. Haha.

Had the same boat and used for same purposes. Great boat for what you pay. Definitely buy from a dealer and not bass pro or Cabelas. My local dealer took care of me same as if I bought a 50k boat. I have to agree that the mercury is not the best motor available in its size but it did the job for me. Not really many other options for the price. It ran shallow enough for me to get in those back lakes and handled any chop I would go fishing in. Good entry boat for sure. Got a lot out of mine when I did decide to sell last year.




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[GrapeApe]

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=407563

This should answer any questions.

[Capt.Bryan]

I wouldn't worry about the brand or who makes it if it's in your budget. I would be more concerned with usability for your intended purpose. I too considered a Mako skiff when I was in the market of down grading from a 24' Blazer Bay. The down side of the Mako 17 skiff was there was no storage or rod compartments. If your primary target will be bass the less clutter the better. Very little deck space, add trolling motor and seats/bases and depth finder and your pushing 20k. For that price point I would jump over to the aluminum Tracker tx190, larger boat with depth finder, trolling motor and fishing seats with lots of storage and a larger motor. You would still be able to use it for whites, crappie and stripers as mentioned above. And still at the 20k price point. I ended up finding a good deal on a Nitro z19 prize boat that was traded in to upgrade to a larger boat. No complaints about the boat, mercury motor or quality issues. A 50k+ rig is not in everyone's budget so get what you want and go fishing.