TEAM TALK: TIN FOR THE WIN??? (ALUMINUM BOAT TAKEOVER???) 

As a HS fishing coach I can't agree more with this message today! Thank you!! LEARN TO FISH KIDS. Don't worry about a sponsorship, don't worry about how fast you can go, worry about catching fish, reading a lake, and reading whatever electronics you have.

Don’t forget, Christie won last years classic and some wins and really good finishes on elite series in an Xpress

Really appreciate this video! I just finished my last college tournament with the MLF national championship in Florida last month. I fished all of college out of a 16.75 Lund impact and had decent success doing so. The tournament organizations focus all their media attention on collegiate anglers with pro ready boats. Too many collegiate anglers now believe it’s what they need to succeed. Please keep pushing this message its something very important for the future of fishing!

Can’t agree more. I have an 18ft Ranger RT188 with a 90hp that I went in half with my dad once he retired. We are beating the snot out of it! It was $38k out the door with a Ghost and 2 high end graphs, it goes 45mph and we are the last to the spots on tourney day. But, it is super fishy, we are placing well and sitting 2nd for the year. Not bad for the slowest boat in the club! 😊

Got into my first boat last year and fished the last 2 club tournaments of the season out of it. 1989 Gambler 206TE with a 1994 Merc XR6 150. Ultrex with upgraded remote. Helix 10 with Mega transducer at the console. Drove 4 hours and bought it for $7800. You don't need a $100,000 boat to fish tournaments and WIN. Experience and knowledge will go a lot further than a fancy boat.

I watch a lot of your vids. This is by far THE BEST video you’ve sat down and done. Bravo sir !!!

This is the hardest truth you have spoken and this video deserves more views

I have a GatorTrax 20’ model similar to Poche’s with a Merc jet motor. I have had numerous really nice and fast glass boats. I will never go back….love this boat, how crazy durable it is, fishable it is, etc….bad ass boats!

Thanks for redeeming yourself after hurting my feelings about my Tracker 175TXW 😂 Love your videos keep ‘em up!

Over/Under Ikon 👍👍👍 Speaking of pros that always talk about their roots. Dustin Connell talks frequently about his early stages of fishing and the different low dollar boats he used just to learn how to fish. So much respect for someone who doesn’t shield the truth just to sell sponsors products.

I LOVE THIS! It's the angler and drive that is what Win' s.

I have learned a lot from this channel . Loved the lithium battery video . I always get great ideas from you guys . Just got my first real boat from Kent and crew at gator trax . They are true craftsmen of their trade . Took 8 months to get it built . It’s an 18/62 GT with 140 Suzuki . Twin power poles and went with 36 volt Ionics and a 12/125 for house battery . Went AGM on cranking thanks to you . I feel like you are helping so many people . Keep up the great work !!

There's no replacement for experience and knowledge, and you're 💯 correct about starting off simple and not going straight into debt. Just to correct something you said, Keith is running a 115 on his boat, he upgraded this year from a 90....I watched him that tournament and I absolutely loved watching that man win, he fished "simple" and did exactly what he likes to do and he absolutely hammered them.

I know you guys do a lot of tournament based boat builds but I would love if you guys could make a video on “how to make your setup work better” because I just don’t see the vast majority of us buying 80k plus setups and I bet a lot of people aren’t getting the most of what they have now. Thanks for the great videos it’s a Friday favorite for sure.

In Bass Elite series I can name a few guys running tin. Bill Lowen - Express Caleb Sumrall - Express Jeff Gustafson - Lund John Cox- Crestliner * Keith Poche - GatorTrax * * Cox and Poche fish both MLF and BASS. Also Jon Cox only runs single graph on bow and Console. He is a shallow water angler, only. I’m not even sure he uses Spotlock, last time I watched him he runs a Fortrex, and he wins a lot of money. He just finished 5th in the Bassmaster Classic.

Hi Andy. I really appreciate your views, as far a Gussy's win, he did prop Lund, and Lund has a congrats, on their web site. Aluminum boats is all we fish out of, were novice fisherman, small lakes, full of stumps, etc. so when it was time to get a boat. I bought a 1990 Lund Rebel Mr. Pike 16 with a 1990 Johnson 50 HP outboard. We did allot of upgrades to the boat, brought the casting deck up to the 21st century and added a rear casting deck. Yes I'm mechanical, but if you have any skill with your hands you can build off of an aluminum boat easier than a glass boat. The internet is full of how to's I leaned from Tiny Boat Nation for ideas. The outboard runs great, we do all the maintaince on it our self. Lower on it reseal, water. pump carb overhaul, VRO delete. We only use AMSOIL products, including the trailer.

I have a tin. I have had both. The tin was just way cheaper. So I could raise my family an fish a lot. Love the honest vids. Thank you.

Awesome cricket imation. I've looked at some tin boats but still sporting a1997 Champion.

Have to agree. The rise in popularity of tin boats will certainly help keep the glass boat market in check a bit. The first boat I had was an '87 Skeeter SF150. The first new boat I bought was a Lowe1654 with a Merc 15 4 stroke. Sold both of those and bought a Nitro Z19. Wanted a Skeeter but couldnt justify the price. Ho estly the Lowe made me a better fisherman. I couldnt just pick up and run miles down the lake because it was so slow. It forced me to learn everything about the areas I was fishing.

Glad to hear your coming around! Great video and advice.

Love this video so much! Gotta give tin the love. Just because you have a glitter missile doesn't mean your any better then the guy running a tin. It's the fisherman not the boat👊

I bought a tin with a 150. I love it and do not regret it. I fish the California delta and go places that the fancy glass boats will not go.

I couldn't agree more. I've been playing this game for 35 years and I started out in a 16 foot tin boat. I've slowly worked my way up the ladder of broken down boats. Now I can fish out of anything I want but I try and tell the younger guys you can't be $150,000.00 in debt and have fun at this game we play. I'm 63 years old and it's taken me a long time to get where I'm at I can hold my own in all the local derby's but I have fished out of some real pieces of junk over the years and still done pretty good. I always tell the young guys you can't start at the top and you don't have to just look the part. Do the over under thing.

I have fished from a fiberglass boat pretty much my whole life. I’m 53 now and boat my first aluminum boat over the winter and I am extremely excited about it. Lund Pro V !

Ran into Bill Löwen on St Clair on a windy day and it looked like the Express was running really nice.

This is your best video/ commentary you have put out to date Good luck topping this one

I appreciate the change of pace here since I feel like normally you talk down at tin boats.

Keith won an Open last year & took a lot of heat for going backwater. I think it's great Him & Ott are the river masters!

Keith's boat has a 115 Merc, the boat he ran last year had a 90 and was a smaller boat

Man you kept it 100 I like that we need more talk like that the. Tin Boats need to be shown more in tournaments because like you said you said you go out and spend $100,000 on a boat $70,000 on a truck then your fishing supplies Rods & Reels damn putting Electronics on the boat you will easily spend $300,000

Sold a used x19 to get a used x-21 that needed work but that's what allowed me to even be able to afford it. After some time money and elbow grease I have a like new rig with all the accessories I wanted and I own it outright. I couldn't ask for more performance wise. The boat fishes great on the water, big or small, and pulls easy down the road. Although I still think the showroom new price on a majority of tin rigs is still bonkers.

I think it's great. Also would be great to see guys running 18.5 footers. It's so expensive now 20 footers really are only for sponsored guys or people willing to take second mortgages. I think it's important to remind people the boat does not catch the fish.

Seeing KP get his win in his lil tin and spank all those glass boys filled my heart with joy! Even better to see Gussy do it in a big tin. Just proves you don’t havta spend $100k on a boat to handle business. KP could win one out of a pirogue!

I fished fiberglass rigs for decades. I made the switch to aluminum. I could not be happier.

Jason Christie- the classic , and an elite Jeff Gustafson- the classic , and an elite series John Cox- everything lol Keith poche- open win, and MLF win. Bill lowen- elite series win Keith Carson- npfl win John soucup - npfl everything. . All of this done in a tin rig. Don’t forget randy blauket , and all of the guys of the past that won because they were in a tin rig. Don’t sleep on the tinny. You’re right Andy hats off to the guys that dominate in a “sub par” boat. More anglers should consider the power of a tin rig💪🏻

I'd love to see a video about the top 5ish 18 foot 90hp aluminum boats. Obviously the GatorTrax would be number 1 but would like to hear about other good options on the market. The other thing about aluminum boats is since they're lighter you don't need a $60k Tundra or Silverado to tow it. You can easily tow one with a smaller truck like Tacoma or Colorado, hell most SUVs out there could tow an 18 footer with a 90. The smaller tow vehicles are obviously cheaper to buy and are better on gas (when not towing) so you're saving a ton of money there.

The bit about forward facing sonar is funny. I imagine the same was said about side imaging and every other sonar advancement over the years.

You said it right , everyone can't afford or can go in debt for a $100k boat , I've had them , new and used , and fiberglass has gone through roof!! My last new fiberglass was $38k in 2007 , and I don't want to another one that cost 85-120k You can win tournaments in a smaller boat ...

This makes 2 years in a row, that Tin won the bass master classic... Aluminum boats forever...

John Cox from Florida runs Crestliner. John Socoup runs Express....Bill Lowen..xpress

I just fish for fun. I've had aluminum boats and one fibreglass boat. I'm in Canada and many lakes are very rocky. If you hit a rock with your fibreglass boat, it will take time and money to fix it. Hit a rock with your aluminum boat, big deal, it's just another dent. Many years ago I had an aluminum car topper that always leaked water. My brother had it in the back of his pickup and it flew out a 60 miles/h. One side was dented, but he still went fishing that day. Funny thing. I never leaked again. HAHA

Thought Keith has a 115 hp

Man!!! That was the best video yet. This could not be more true. This does not just apply to kids....tons of guys going BROKE fishing beyond their means on weekend trails. Brand new 520R/brand new Cummins last weekend....weighed 10lbs....like u said, fine if you got the $ and none of my business, but if guys feel like they NEED IT and lose everything for it.....that sucks!

Beyond that... look how many pros have tin rigs for when they're not "at work" fishing- when they just go out for their own enjoyment and pure love of the sport.

This is a complete 180 from your other videos bashing aluminum boats. What was the reason for this reversal?

I got a 21' Avid and love it

Love your videos, keep it up you talk the facts!

Keiths boat is sweet. I priced one (same size) with far less options and it was $55K. So far from a cheap boat.

Don’t forget us in Australia! When we can buy merch I will buy some cheers

Real talk Bud! This guy is on it !

Fished some local Tuesday night tournaments for years. The biggest threat was an old man in a 16ft bass tracker with a 9.9hp. It was a nice boat but he was last to fish the good spots and gave up a ton of fishing time cuz he had long commutes cuz his boat only went 8 mph. More often than not he won alot of the time

Couldn't have said it any better Mr Andy

Definitely want to hear the over under on the ikon boat. I like them but the 100k tag is not for us weekend warriors. I will stick with my tin boat.

I just bought a Tracker Pro Team 190 tournament Edition where the 115 2 hours ago I get it Thursday Rin Tin Tin

Andy i watched the first 2 to 3 rounds of the Cherokee/Douglas Lakes Tournment that Keith Poche won. I heard the commentors during the broadcast say that alot of the livescope anglers were having trouble catching fish early on those days because of the sudden change in cold temperature. As a result of this it some of the shad died which probably caused many anglers to have trouble catching a fish.

💯 agree. You don’t need a 100k boat to fish tournaments. Coming from a 20ft triton thinking I had to have it to fish out of and finding out how much gas, oil, maintenance, insurance and the monthly payment I was spending every month. All that adds up, with me not making checks to help off set that cost in tournaments I ended up selling it. I went kayak tournament fishing and started winning right off. Then I bought another boat except it was a 18ft Aluminum with a 115 hp. Won a bunch of tournaments out of it and wasn’t breaking the bank fishing out of the tin rig. Find something affordable and go fishing!

You make some good points. Great video.

I think poche runs the GT model from what he said on his RU-vid..if so thats 12k for the 18ft with a hybrid rake, 44" hull width, and 3/16 hull

Andy, a great video. A parent of four makes my boat budget at 40K. Greg Hackney told me never to buy a boat with a hull under .125". Local clubs do not need 60K boats. Have you done an Xpress 19?

Maybe your best video yet in terms of the message. Personally, I feel boat manufacturers should lower their prices significantly so that more folks can afford to buy their product. Boats, which are comprised of very little material should simply not cost anywhere near what a house does, UNLESS it's the equivalent of a house, only it floats. A bass boat selling for $35k means the manufacturer is making a SERIOUS profit. I realize overhead costs factor in, but they can pop out a 10 boats per week and more, so constant cashflow will be there, and remember that motors are also way over priced and that's another $13k-$26K depending on what boat you go with. A couple of Graphs and Trolling Motor are another $3k. With Spot Lock there's absolutely zero need for Power Poles, AAAAAND you can buy a manual shallow water anchor that's inexpensive and deploys instantly rather than several seconds like the electric ones. The real issue is that people have lost all respect for money across the board, from manufacturers to consumers, its seems that somehow money became a no object deal. I remember haggling down the price of cars at dealerships so I can save thousands and have a lower payment that's manageable. Today kids walk into dealerships and ask for the car they want and ask how much the down payment will be, write a check and leave without ever trying to negotiate the price down!!! Hence why dealerships are selling a $57K F-150 Lightning for $95K and people are still buying them. It's lunacy. I hope young anglers see this and really appreciate the expert "IN-INDUSTRY" advice you're offering here for free because it's invaluable!

So well said. . . . . this dude gets it !!!!!

New SHIRT idea.... "Dont worry its just the tip" or "Gettin in done in a Tin" or "Tin for the Win"

I no longer fish tournaments since I’ve aged and went aluminum on my latest boat. Easier to haul, better on fuel, insurance etc and others don’t see a fancy boat and want to hole jump. I do miss the ride and safety on big water.

Great video, I like seeing the tin boats

I started with a 7.5, jhotson now I'm doing twin 250 zukies we all evolved lol

Love my Ranger tin bass boat! All the same tools for way le$$. Allows me to keep my deep V Skeeter if I need a wave crusher. #2boats

Gussy was using live and fishing off shore, doing exactly what he did on the body of water last year. And took a big lead early and went wire to wire. Probably why him being in a tin rig wasnt mentioned much. Christie won classic last year in a tin rig and then of course went to skeeter. One of the young guys that made the top 25 qualified in a 20+ yr old rig with no graphs. Only way you know about him is if you watched the weigh ins.

Go Tinny, that be said could you do a talk about the skeeter iclass and the vmax hpdi 250. Thanks love the show

What about a tourn circuit for aluminum and one for glass? Nascar used to do something like that with the truck series the Busch series and the Winston series.

I just put a brand new 140 Tohatsu on a 19 foot ALUMINUM Skeeter ZX19. Pad hull, padded front deck, sea deck in the floor and a recessed trolling motor tray. Two rod boxes and plenty of storage. It's only a 53 mph boat, but I've only got 13k in it. Just will never justify spending a lot of money on a boat. Best thing about it, everything is paid for. Btw, I tow it with an 02 Tundra and I'm 40 years old. More money for good electronics and top of the line Daiwa rods and reels

I personally feel more confident in a tin boat but glass is just so much better in wind, waves etc.

I think anglers like Poche, Van Dam & Ott Defoe finished well at Cherokee/Douglas Lakes in the later rounds because of their experience. They used their livescopes too but not all day long like some of them did thou from what i saw. Lol.

I’m a college angler and I run a tin boat with a 75 and I finish top 1/3 of the field every time

Great video and view point!

Also as much as I like gatortrax and it's a tin boat but there quality built , high end materials, and quality built , but it comes at high end price , but can take abuse and don't come apart or leak like your average aluminum boat

Could you do a review of the Gator Trax GT center console models?

Over/under iKon!!

Jason Christie won the classic last year in a tin rig

ib started with a 17' tracker with a merc 40hp lol

We need some shirt colors other than black and white. White gets grease covered black is hot AF. Let’s get some grey or tan

Pro fishing is all about selling . It’s crazy… camping at the lake. Across from the ramp most of the boats cost more than my RV .

Andy, you did an over/under on the gatortrax strike series, and ever since then, I've wanted one. If money wasn't a question and contingencies aren't either (which it's not bc I don't ever win sh*t), I'd buy a gatortrax strike series 21 with a Suzuki SS 250.

My wife always tells the kids "The fish don't care what boat you're in or what rod/reel you're using."

Keith has to run that exact boat for the whole season, he can’t change

Keith is my Hero

Good talk. These young guys sinking in debt in a boat is ridiculous. 99% of them will never make it pro. It’s a very hard road. I recently bought a tin boat after 23 years in an 18’ Javelin. It was a surprisingly fast boat. Fished a lot of tournaments in it and won a fair amount of cash in it. Mobility issues made we wanting a new boat and at 60 years old but didn’t want the monthly payments. End up in a Crestliner that’s 18’10” with a 150. It’s slow and doesn’t ride smooth in rough water but I paid $37000 for it. New. My disabilities made my old boat a burden and a tin boat got me back on the water and fits in my 8’ wide garage. I catch as many fish in my tin boat as my glass. The fish don’t know or care.

Andy that boat of Poches is a scary thought on any great lake.

I love my Xpress pro 21 your video help me be sold on it

Yo former EverStart FL Pro.. disenfranchised with the 250/21' $90k rigs. And now cant justify paying TRACKER RANGER $$$ FOR TIN.. nor can I justify G3 18' loaded to their specs for 2023 $55k. ..

You kept talking about these $100,000 glass boats. Have you looked at the price of a 2075 Lund pro v bass?

Shirts with the outboard on it please

Somebody get the video to Randy Blauket

I think it’s a 115 merc on the back of Keith’s boat

Stuff is just expensive nowadays no matter what you enjoy doing or fishing out of. Hell there was even a video on a kayak fisherman that had 15 grand in his kayak setup 😮😮 it’s just nuts !!

I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure Keith’s boat that he is running this year has a 115 he pumped it up from the 90

No snow in nj

Jon cox has been killing it for a long time in a crestliner

Gator Trax baby! Poche was in a 16 footer wasn't he?

Go have a look at “The Tin Horse Monty” on RU-vid. He fishes from low end tin with small horsepower outboard. He CATCHES fish. Love this content, Andy.

This is two classics in a row won out of a tin rig!