Retrospective thoughts on Cajun

[danieljanse]

In 1984, my Dad and I culminated a long process of bass boat selection in the purchase of a loaded Cajun Brute III with Evinrude 150. I was 15 and we had overnight gone from 14' Jon boat with a 20 HP to a dream come true. We fished on Texas stump filled lakes and opted for the ArmorHull option. Had a Lowrance paper graph and Humminbird flashers at the bow and console. It was silver flake with a blue stripe and gray carpet.
We had traveled far and wide looking at every brand of the day. Looking at the build quality, the way the bilge area was laid out, livewell interiors, we really felt like it was superior to Ranger. Hydrosports were nice and so were Skeeter but everything besides the Cajun seemed to have a lot more plastic, as I recall. The use of brushed aluminum trim around all the box doors was so unique and "tight" looking. It was a beautiful boat and the local dealer in Dallas and ultimately Ardmore, OK where we purchased our Brute did a phenomenal job of presenting them.
Dad worked hard and wanted to enjoy his weekends fishing the area lakes. This was before Lake Fork even existed. Our home lake, Lewisville, was kind of a mess with variable levels based on Dallas water consumption. We would travel to Texoma, Pat Mayse, Toledo Bend, Tawakoni, Murray, Fairfield...Many good times but not all. The pressure my Dad felt to enjoy his time off became a frustration when things didn't go well. The wind would pick up and push the boat around as we fished around stump filled areas. Every time the hull made that horrible squeal when contacted, Dad would curse. Things would usually escalate to a full blown fit. Throw in a few hang ups and...you get the picture. For some reason it seemed like Spring break was always raining. A week long bemoaning of crappy, cold weather with wind blasting and us still trying to get to remote fishing spots. We would go faster because Dad believed you could drive right across the wave crests to smooth out the ride. Then WHAM, we would hit a really big one. Lucky we had the ArmorHull. Eventually, I stopped wanting to go. Girls started getting interesting and hanging out with friends was just fun. It's horrible to say but we had a much better time shopping for the boat than actually using it. Probably should have gone with something used and not sweated all the crap. Still, I will never forget our first time out and reaching for the pedestal storage to put my seat in position. A place for everything...

The boat lasted a long time. The 'Rude went long before the boat was ready to quit. New carpet and seats gave it a new look over the years. Dad didn't offer the boat to me and he basically sold it to a guy for the newer 90 HP Mercury. Guy said he was going to launch it in a pond...whatever.

Today, I own a 2000 BassCat Panterra III, 200hp Yamaha HPDI. I have fished more in the past 6 months and caught more than I ever have. Electronics are a huge part of that and so is YouTube. Back then your only advice came from word of mouth or articles in Texas Fisherman. You never really knew what would work and, sorry, but a paper graph was just about impossible to use...especially for weekend warriors. You just beat the bank, fished a point or tried to find a channel. The hull on my boat had already seen a lot of abuse. I'm careful but I don't sweat pulling up into the shallows or the occasional shore excursion on a rocky beach. Recently added a GPS trolling motor and have never felt so at ease while fishing...spot lock is such piece of mind for the solo fisherman.

Looking back at the Brute, I have to say the Basscat is just a better layout for fishing. The deck has been retrofitted with a flippin platform which I imagine would be tough on the Brute. I walk all the time from front to rear platform changing my position for vertical fishing. The rod boxes were so slender and they had no rod hold-down straps. You had to put the rods in the boxes and they were a pain to get back out. Somehow some hardware turned out to be steel so some rusting started to appear. Rubber consoles started splitting. The entire front deck was a livewell which would have been better used as storage. It was pretty hard to reach in there and get fish and it held a ton of water. The Brute was 17.5' I believe and the 'Cat is 19.5' and much wider. It does not get easily pushed around in the wind and takes on some serious waves with excellent stability. The new engine technology is so much quieter as well. Cajun probably had some better pure fishing boats...our Brute was truly used as a Fish/Ski boat.

I believe the Brute was about $20k. Today a top end boat is over $50k. I think that makes sense if you have incrementally stepped up to that level of investment. Also, having the resources or mentality to not sweat every scratch. If you're fishing with your son or daughter, allow yourself to have fun. I loved catching fish but the best time was when Dad was catching them. His joy was contagious. His frustration was also. Disappointment is part of life but so is finding a way to cope. Fishing is a great opportunity to teach because we learn something new every time we get to do it.

Tight Lines.

[316jughead]

Very nice reading, I also experienced some of that but I was the Dad. My first Cajun was a 1978 Mach 4, Evinrude 115 motor. I now have a 1991 Cajun 178 pro sport, 1991 Evinrude 150 Intruder motor. I rigged it out brand new and fell in love with it, best boat and Motor I ever owned, I fished Texas a lot, the Armor Hide hull, was a first in the Industry, I'm glad I have one. Fishing Fork and Ray Roberts, you know what I mean.