In my opinion, and my opinion only, Mercury has poured a ton of money into sponsoring and promoting their motors through and with pro anglers. That approach has worked for them. I live in eastern North Carolina. The most popular motor overall is Yamaha 4 strokes, (not SHOs). Most of these motors are on center console “salt water” fishing boats, and pleasure boats. The most popular motor on bass boats in this area is Mercury. I have a Yamaha F-150 on my 02 Sabre, and it is a great motor in this application. I have only seen one or two Yamaha F-150s on bass boats in this area. Why? Pros dont run F series yamahas on the tour. A lot of weekend anglers want to be like the big boys. So, does that make Mercurys the best on the market? You be the judge. It is your money. By the way, the most popular bass boat in this area is Triton. Does that make Tritons the best bass boat? Again, does popular mean best?