It won't be a bust. It will be a 797!
Jason Blake in Corsicana, Texas, at Blake's Boats, is today ordering a 797 for me. I finally pulled the trigger. It was quite an experience. I really struggled between the Bass Cat Caracal and the Charger 797. Both are all composite, 96 inch beam boats. Both companies have been building boats for a long time. And you don't stay in business that long not doing things right. My decision was part price, part experience with the product, part listening to guys such as yourself on boards like this, and last part, just a gut feeling that bigger is better. The 797 has to be my choice. I want the safest, most stable ride on the water, and the most stable, fishable front deck. I, like some of you, will be in rough water, as Lake Falcon, down on our southern border with Mexico, gets bad rough at times, and you might have a long ride back to the ramp. Same with Choke Canyon Reservoir. Those are my big water fisheries. I will fish a couple power plant lakes where the 797 will be overkill.
I do not need tournament speeds, as I do not fish tournaments. I need quality. And, having owned a Charger in the past (2006 model 496), I know the quality of a Charger. I am going with a Mercury Pro XS because that is what the 496 had on it, and it was flawless. I am going with the Ultrex 112, and Lowrance 12 and 9 3D electronics. Dual console. No power poles, as I seldom fish shallow enough to use them. No Hydrowave. No radio, speakers, forward looking infrared radar (huh?), no heated seats. No boat wrap, offset deck lids, lighted grab handles, etc.
I will have a four inch thick transom, a 70 inch wide place to stand and fish, a boat I can trust, a console for a partner to huddle behind, and a tandem axle trailer for the long runs down to Falcon. (2.5 hours each way). Most people REALLY have to want to go to Falcon, as it is isolated down there. But, when you have experienced it, you will go back!
I highly recommend Jason Blake at Blake's Boats. I have never met him in person. But I have never had such a pleasant, honest, up-front business dealing. He is quick to email or text answers to all of my questions. I hope to be a good representative for him and for Charger down here in South Texas. The Bass Cat dealer in San Antonio, Texas, who will remain nameless, was fantastic as well. He spent a very long time building and pricing a Caracal for me, and I feel really bad that he did not get my business. But, he deserved it.
I'm glad to be back into the bass fishing business after about a six year absence. (well, I will be in about 8-10 weeks, anyway). I have the best of both worlds. Bass fishing and shallow water kayaking for Redfish along the gulf coast. And I am really fired about soon running a Charger again. I remember some of you guys from six years ago. Hello again.
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Originally Posted by HondaRay
