Professional fishing guides see things from a little different perspective. Their boat is essentially a floating office designed to keep clients comfortable, safe and catch more fish. The Sea Chaser Flats Series by Carolina Skiff meets these requirements and is a perfect boat for the shallow water guide as well as any passionate angler who loves to fish in the shallows.

For most boaters, their pride and joy is a boat that helps transport them and their families to safe adventures on the water, whether water skiing and tubing, fishing or just enjoying a leisurely day at the local sand bar.

However, serious fishing requires the right tool for the right job. For flats anglers chasing bonefish, permit and shallow or redfish in salt coast marshes or stripers on the rips of the Northeast, their single most important tool is their boat.  As a Florida-based fly and flat fishing guide with more than 30 International Game Fish records at one time on my “stringer,” I take buying a new boat seriously.

The Sea Chaser Flats Series by Carolina Skiff is a family of shallow-water machines that deserve a more in-depth look for those anglers committing to getting into the shallow-water game. The Flats Series is offered in three sizes to cover nearly any inshore situation.

The smallest member of the family, the 160F, is perfect for those chasing permit, tarpon and bonefish as well as sharks and other popular species for example on the South Florida’s flats.

Stepping up to the middle-brother in the Flats Series, the 180F, anglers find a perfect boat for occasional sight-fishing or tailing fish, but an excellent live-bait boat for tarpon or drifting the flats for spotted seatrout and redfish.

The Big brother in the Sea Chaser Flats Series is 200F. With a wider beam and slightly higher gunnels, it is equally at home fishing passes for tarpon and snook, rips for striped bass or running just offshore to chase cobia and bull redfish.

In addition, here are a few of the key things I really examine when looking at a Flats boat and would recommend any serious shallow water angler to consider:

High-quality Construction

There is absolutely no reason for technical skiff and boat manufacturers to be using wood in the construction of their boats. That’s why Sea Chaser (and in fact the entire selection of more than 60 boats in the Carolina Skiff family) opts for no-rot composite materials and the finest rigging meeting the most stringent AYBC regulations.

Draft/Polling/Running

This is probably the number-one consideration for serious flats anglers, as your investment is going to the be vessel that transports you to the hidden gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s a good idea to wet test your prospective purchase several times in differing conditions. Poll upwind. Poll downwind. Spin and see how quickly the boat can help you and your angler coming in from an unseen direction.

When possible, anglers should also run the boat under varying conditions. See how the boat trims under load with several people and a tank of fuel. Make some aggressive s-turns and also see how she performs in bow, quartering and down seas.

Storage

This is a big one for me, whether looking for a small skiff or larger bay boat. A professional not only needs room for cast-nets, anchors and other necessary equipment used daily to be easily accessible, yet have a stable platform to get to all of the needed items,  But in addition, the guide needs to think about their client’s requirements. Every angler should do the same as well. In my experience, most anglers will bring enough gear to mount a three-month expedition through the Kalahari. Make sure there is plenty of dry, lockable, gasket sealed storage to keep gear dry and in working order.

Large Deck Area

Lastly, the casting area is where the rubber meets the road. Any serious flats fisherman will want several things: A large casting platform with non-skid, wide, walkable gunwales as well a comfortable stern casting platform. This allows anglers fighting fish to make all the moves (safely) they need to bring their catch to fruition.

Few boat manufacturers meet all those requirements, but one that does (and deserves a close look) is the Sea Chaser Flats Series from Carolina Skiff. All of the Flats Skiff family’s pertinent dimensions like draft, beam and power ratings can be found at www.carolinaskiff.com. You can also customize and select key options to build your new dream shallow-water terror.

To learn more about the Sea Chaser Flats Series, find a dealer near you, or local boat show, visit www.carolinaskiff.com. You’ll also find a number of helpful boating and fishing tips to enjoy as well!

 

Original Source: Sportsmans Lifestyle.com