If all you care about is catching fish as shallow as possible but you may want to run 40 miles which will be choppy sometimes. What do you buy both budget and no limit?
There are loads of good boats out there. You really need to define what you mean run 40 miles and it might be choppy. Are you talking 40 miles through the marsh with some open water or are you talking 40 miles offshore. If its the later then the answer to your question is nothing. If its the former then I'd look hard at an East Cape Evo. X will be a little skinnier or the V will be a little better in a chop.
I would not even consider a non tunnel for down there unless you plan on missing out on miles and miles of seemingly endless flats. I’m not being a tunnel snob, it’s reality. The HPX-T is a great hull for down there. You mentioned cost is not an issue...Chittum Laguna Madre Tunnel.
If you have not done so, fish with Eric Glass then Ben Paschal, both on normal wind gusting days. Then, at some point in the afternoon, ask to get on the poling platform and try your poling technique. Then decide between the Chittum LM or HB Pro.
Go ride in the chittum tunnel and the HB pro tunnel
( those were the 2 I considered). Then make up your mind. If you are ever in galveston I will give you a ride in my tunnel pro
If you’re talking about the run from Bird Island to the Graveyard I’m going with a Hell’s Bay Guide with a tunnel and 70hp. It can get pretty sporty crossing the Badlands out in front of Baffin and the Guide handles it well. It will also float as skinny as you want in the Graveyard.
I mean, I've got a Sabine Versatile tunnel under construction right now. Center console with the Tohatsu short-shaft 60hp. My usual fishing grounds are between Sargent & Sabine but I'm looking forward to bringing it down to the LLM and hitting the Graveyard.
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