I am seriously considering purchassing a Nitro Bay 2200 VL from Bass Pro Shops to be used in the mid and lower Chesapeake Bay. Any thoughts pro or con.

Dean, I saw your response to a question on another thread about Bayliner Trophy Boats. Am I correct in suspecting that you don't care too much for bay boat designs in general?

Hardly. I own one and think they are extremely utilitarian. I'd take one over a flats skiff for ALMOST all applications. I have a Pro-Line 24 bay Skiff and absolutely love it. As far as Nitro goes, I know little about it toher than Nitro makes hot bass boats. I have no idea whether they work well in saltwater or not. Are the metal-flake finish and carpeted throughout?

Boats are not offered with carpeting or a metal flake finish. The other model I'm looking at, a Ranger Saltwater Series 2300 Bay Ranger does offer hull and pin stripe color choices. The Nitro literature says their bay boats are improvements of the Kenner line that they bought a few years ago. My main areas targeted would be the mid and lower Chesapeake Bay with occasional towing on vacations to the Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach area. How far out in the ocean have you taken your boat? Thanks for you reply and I have found this site to be a treasure trove of information.

I fish the lower bay, and you are going to need a lot more boat than a bay boat, unless you only want to fish a handfull of days per year. I wouldn't reccomend anything smaller than a 21' deep vee cantrer console or walk around. Otherwise, I have never heard anything bad about nitro boats.

[Tim]

I own the 2200VL modle. I can fish it like a bass boat, flats boat (10" of water) or at times I take it up to about 10 miles out in the gulf. I have gone through some rough water down on Dixie bar outside the Mobile Pass in AL. I would add a few things to a floor model, like: Leaning post Hydralic steering, the Optimax engine (150 or more). I have also added a T-top and some gunnel rod holders. The runs great and for the money you do save some on this boat. The tank is 60 gals and I can run about 2.5 days of hard fishing and running before I need fuel. I can help anyone that wants a t-top for their Nitro. Just e-mail me and I will tell you what to do.