Just a quick review of the Puma FTD (plus short video)

[Scott Crumpler]

Hey folks,I just finished up a short visit down to Florida to do some fishing with my Dad, and I got to check out his new Puma FTD. I know its a little like preaching to the choir when you post a glowing review of a Bass Cat on this forum, but you know why its good to preach to the choir? Because thats how you get them to sing!The Puma FTD is a truly world class fishing machine. Ride, handling, and FISHABILITY really come together on this boat. Thats nothing new for Bass Cat, of course, but the Puma FTD is an awesome example of a strong blend of performance and fishability that will totally blow you away if youve spent much time fishing out of another boat brand. Dad, my step-brother Luke, and I fished for a couple of days at Stick Marsh and Farm 13, and during our time on the water I was constantly reminded why I love these boats. With 3 full grown men in the boat, we never felt crowded. (Well, Dad might have– Im not afraid to jostle for position on the front deck with him!) But with huge, stable decks both front and back, there was truly never a shortage of space, whether we were pitching worms at the grass lines or throwing topwaters as far as we could make them fly. Not only that, but the ride over light chop was extremely comfortable, and even though I knew from many years of fishing in Bass Cats to expect a smooth ride, I was still blown a away by how smooth the Puma FTD is at WOT. Dads rig is powered by the new Yamaha 250 SHO, which is impressively fast and quiet. With about half fuel, lots of tackle, and 3 men in the boat, Dad was able to hit 72 on the gps without any real effort. On the second day, running back to the ramp with dinner on all our minds, we just skinned 74 on the GPS. You really cant ask for better than that in a bass boat that is so stable, spacious, and easy to fish out of. I just thought I d share those thoughts with all of you, and perhaps anyone looking at Bass Cat for the first time may stumble upon this as well. Below are a couple of pictures of fish we caught on our outing and a video I shot on my phone of the Puma FTD on plane (doing about 45.)Cheers,Scott PS – Luke caught bigger fish– I just didnt get any pics of them!Last edited by Scott Crumpler on August 12th, 2010, 7:42 am, edited 10 times in total.

[dbasketman]

Nice video and observations. Also good to see dad wearing his pfd while running, as im sure u all were. His boat is also the right color !!! Sounds like you had a great time, and glad you got to enjoy it with youre dad.

[1958]

Cant agree with you more. I tested all of the major boats out there for comparison. I found all the boats now-a-days are about as good as you can get. They all rode good and they all rode differently. For my experiences, I cant say which was the smoothest because one boat would ride smoother in one condition while another in different conditions – but the Puma FTD was able to handle all different types of conditions. Yet the ride wasnt what really sold me – it was the fishability of the type of fishing I like to do best. I love casting spinners and cranks along a shore in heavy cover. I love picking a boat dock or tree apart with a jig. When I fished in the Puma FTD it clicked with me. Manuvering around was about as close to a feel of walking on water as I got from any of the boats I tested. My first time trying one I really liked it. Second time with my dealer I really felt it. I was a little apprehensive about the width and trolling motor position at first before testing it out. Now that I bought the boat and fishing out of it everytime out it just gets better.

[Scott Crumpler]

dbasketman – Yep, whenever the boat is on plane, everyone wears a pfd in Dads boat. Safety first.Now there was ONE casualty during this trip– my Plano worm box. We got our life vests on to run to another spot, but Dad didnt mention that he was going to run at WOT. (On Stick Marsh, you really need to know what youre doing if you want to get above 40. Dads been fishing there for nearly 20 years, but WOT is not very common out there for any boat.) I had the box sitting on the front deck in front of the console. Dad didnt see it, and, honestly, I forgot it was there. It was fine right there until we hit about 72 on the gps and out it flew. Planos boxes are pretty indestructible… but not at 70+ mph. The lid exploded and everything was spilled into the water. When we turned around and ran back to it, worms were floating everywhere. We recovered as many as possible with a net and then went on to our next fishing spot. From then on, any time he turned the ignition, I asked him, “Are we gonna run?” Hehe, that got old after a while, but I wanted to make sure my tackle was stowed!

[Author]

Posts