Bass Cat Boats Bass Cat Caracal STS
A meticulously hand-built, fast and fishable big-water bass boat that earns its premium price on engineering and quality, held back mainly by quirky storage layout and a few finish nitpicks.
Best for: Serious tournament and big-water anglers who want a hand-built, high-performance fiberglass rig and are willing to pay for build quality over flashy gimmicks.
The good
- Genuinely fast and capable in rough water - Boating magazine tested 74.6 mph in rough conditions with the boat capable of 80+ mph in clean water, 0-30 in 7.5 sec
- Thoughtful, owner-praised engineering: triangular anti-slosh livewells, side-mounted stainless lids to cut heat transfer, soft-close Lift-Latch hatches, Reflex PE floor padding
- Hand-built fiberglass quality and reputation for durability - reviewers and owners repeatedly call out 'whole-boat engineering and design'
- Big, stable, fishable platform - owners describe it as huge, performs great, and 'fishes better,' calling it a 'grand slam'
The bad
- Storage layout is divisive: with a second console owners report they basically cannot access the storage compartment next to the cooler, and the space between consoles is narrow (Bass Cat owner forum)
- Lockers shallower than prior models - owners had to buy new soft-plastic bins because old ones don't fit the slanted boxes, and reconfigure bumper storage (Bass Cat owner forum)
- Net holder gripe: the net catches on protruding rivets, easy to slot in but hard to pull out (Bass Cat owner forum)
- Boating mag reviewer disliked the hand throttle on a high-speed boat and found aft wiring needed neatening with clamps/tie-straps; also significant bow rise on hole shot
The Caracal is a real deal among hand-built fiberglass bass boats, not a marketing exercise - both pro reviewers and owners consistently praise its engineering, ride and durability, and the performance numbers back it up. The legitimate complaints are about ergonomics and finish rather than fundamentals: the asymmetric front-deck storage, shallower lockers, and a fussy net holder are recurring owner gripes, and the dual-console version sacrifices real storage access. At six figures fully rigged it's a premium buy, so go fish a rigged demo and verify the storage layout works for your gear before committing.