Anyone have any information on Champion coming out with a Crappie boat?

[Pole Bender]

I heard a rumor Champion was coming out with a Crappie boat in 2011 anyone know anything about it? I was told the hull would be the same as a bass boat but the top would be set up for crappie. I sure hope it is true and is in the 19-20 foot range and rated for a motor of at least 225hp.

[Lpolk]

[Lea]

Surely you are joking....Champion makes bass boats!!! Where did you hear this? Why do I have the feeling that this is a troll?

There have been so many rumors for so many years. Kinda hard to separate the wheat from the chaf...

[pmgoffjr]

Bass boats? Phoey, they make badass bay boats, when did they ever make a bass boat?

[Pole Bender]

Lea this is No joke! I do not appreciate being called a Troll. I came on the Champion forum for informaiton and I guess all I am going to get is grief.

I regularly crappie fish with 10 different guys who all fish out of Champions so I guess those must not be Champion boats and some one put the Champion name on them by mistake since they are used for crappie fishing!

I called one the guys who crappie fishes out of a Champion this morning to get the phone number for a guy who puts new carpet in boats and he told me he had heard through a Champion rep that they were going to make a crappie boat and he was going to hold off trading his 2008 Champion and I should hold off on buying the 2008 200 Elite I was considering.

I should not waste my time explaining this to you but I am seriouly wanting to know if the rumor is valid as I would buy one and I know other guys that would buy one if it was in the 19-20 foot range.

[Luke]

[QUOTE=Lea]Surely you are joking....Champion makes bass boats!!! Where did you hear this? Why do I have the feeling that this is a troll?

QUOTE]

in all fairness Lea....the Fishhunter isnt classified as a bass boat....it wouldnt surprise me really...they might be concidering tapping into a market thats pretty open as far as crappie boats go....would be a good buisness move i think really

[Bassin Bob71]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pole Bender &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lea this is No joke! I do not appreciate being called a Troll. I came on the Champion forum for informaiton and I guess all I am going to get is grief.

I regularly crappie fish with 10 different guys who all fish out of Champions so I guess those must not be Champion boats and some one put the Champion name on them by mistake since they are used for crappie fishing!

I called one the guys who crappie fishes out of a Champion this morning to get the phone number for a guy who puts new carpet in boats and he told me he had heard through a Champion rep that they were going to make a crappie boat and he was going to hold off trading his 2008 Champion and I should hold off on buying the 2008 200 Elite I was considering.

I should not waste my time explaining this to you but I am seriouly wanting to know if the rumor is valid as I would buy one and I know other guys that would buy one if it was in the 19-20 foot range. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Dude....calm down. Your post does have somewhat of a troll sound to it. Your best bet is to talk to your nearest Champion dealer. I think its safe to say if Champ does have plans for a model like this, its news to all of this on this board.

[Lea]

I apologize......Had not heard of those plans and over-reacted. I'm truly sorry. Was having a very bad day yesterday... Please forgive me and stick around.

OK Pat, You are right. The Bay Boats are great!!!

As are Fishunter etc.

[buzzzzbait88]

I could see it. Its an option on alot of aluminum boats these days and really, the only change would be in the topcap. Change the layout alittle bit and add another seat post up front.

[bassin butch]

OK I will go out on a limb:

After say Mid January 2010 we will have a clearer picture.

The new company may make crappie, walleye, musky, and bass boats and ? .

I will say whatever is in the product portfolio it will be top shelf in quality.

Butch

[H2O_Fowl]

I don't think it would be a bad idea for a fiberglass boat company to make a crappie boat. I can't see them selling alot of them but here in KS we have a major crappie circuit and there is also a national one. Lots of guys fish for crappie. And the competitive ones are ever bit as competitive as the bass fisherman and the guys on the local circuit keep there spots very hush hush. More so than the bass fishermen do.

I fish with some of them sometimes and they practically swear me to an oath I will not show anyone their spots. They have piles for sunny days, cloudy days, west wind days, south wind days, you name it. They are way more structure oriented fishermen than us bass guys.

I don't think it sell as good as say a walleye boat or bay boat but I could be wrong.

If Champion did make a crappie boat I would hope they would concentrate on a hull design that would be easy to manuever with the TM down and be a design that would allow fishermen to be able to easier stay on top of a pile. If there is such a design. Something that the wind did not affect much.

[Pole Bender]

Thank you for the apology Lea I appreciate it.

I know most of you use Champions for bass fishing but in MO a large number of guys use them for crappie even in todays tournament there were 4.

There is a market segment that is open to any manufacture that would build a fiberglass boat specific to crappie. Double front seats with a front live well and bait well along with the same in the rear. A rod locker that would hold 10 and 12 foot rods to name a few things that I would like to see.

I did catch dozen or so bass today with the largest in the 3 to 4 lb range but most were in the 10 to 12 inch range. Their mouths are really red I would guess from the amount of feeding they are doing right now in my part of the world. I do release all bass to grow up and be caught again.

[pmgoffjr]

AHEM.........

Again, look at the 19' bay champ...it's everything a meat slinging white perch (crappie) hand could ever want and is more than budget approved. I sold a train load to crappie hands after they rode in it.

[Lea]

As Pat says, the 19ft Bay Champ just might fill the bill. I can also see where a rig such as you describe, could fit crappie folks to a T. Maybe take the deeper hull of the Fishunter/Coastal Champ and modify the topcap?

Sounds like you had a good bass fishing day...

[Pole Bender]

The deeper hull is a problem in that it catches a lot of wind and is a lot of work to hold over brush piles. I like bay boats and have fished out of a 24 ft many times over the last 10 years for specks and reds and the ride is excellant in rough water. They just get blown around a lot. A bass boat hull is ideal to hold over brush piles in the wind and they are also easy to control. I will just wait and see what comes out and if one does I will find the nearest dealer and go and look at it.

[Lea]

Oh...Somehow I had the idea that the hull would be more like the Fishunter. Now I understand...

[pmgoffjr]

Anything can be easily worked to suit one's individual needs.

The reason for the baychamp suggestion, *MOST* of the ones I sold to crappie hands, they didn't care a whit about using a troll motor, they tied up or anchored over their holes, never used a troll motor.

Putting another seat base on the front deck would be easy, not a big thing there, you could even put three bases for whatever combination your heart desired.

Mostly, it's a easy boat to keep maintained, no carpet to stomp a minner into, slime washes out with a hose...

[dstacey]

Pole Bender I sent you an IM.

[Pole Bender]

You are right about the carpet getting dirty the worst is crappie nibbles, those are a mess to deal with smashed into carpet. A wash down would be a plus to wash it out each trip. I usely just power wash the carpet once a month and shop vac.

I live in Southwest Missouri and spend most of my fishing time fishing open water on Stockton, Table Rock, Lake of the Ozarks, and Truman. There are very few day's without some sort of wind to deal with and if you can not hold the boat over the right part of the structure you aren't going to catch very many fish. Mostly you will just be hung up all the time. Thus the largest magority of guys I know fish out of a bass boat. The newer wide body Champions make an excellant platform. My current bass boat is highly modified with 4 seat positions up front, 2 in the back and rod holders. The biggest issue I have is dealing with the long rods and not having a live well up front. I use a five gallon bucket so I do not have to go to the back with each fish but the fish do not live long in warmer months. Thank you for your input.

[Pole Bender]

Thank you I figured out how to read it and replied.