New Stessco Advertorial
Bass Hunter
Stessco aluminium boats continue to make their mark in the Australian boat manufacturing industry, this time expanding their Bass Hunter series of boats to include a new 4.8m model. Introducing the new Stessco Bass Hunter 480, a premium v-nose punt, which projects strength, offers a smooth riding hull and which is packed full of impressive features at a very competitive price point. I was lucky enough to experience this wonderful new offering from Stessco during a cool winter day at Lake Borumba in Queensland’s South East, and while the fish did not want to play the game, the conditions were perfect to put the Bass Hunter 480 through its paces, whether it be in the deep water, in the shallows, amongst the timber, at speed and at rest. What I found was a boat that offers rock solid stability, and which has plenty of room to store all your gear. Some of the standard features of the Bass Hunter 480 include front and rear casting decks, a huge 90L plumbed keeper tank in the front deck, a plumbed live bait well in the rear casting deck, electric motor bracket, enclosed transom and rod locker. However, what instantly struck me, and is sure to demand the attention of many anglers throughout Australia is the new Stessco factory-fitted freshwater wrap. Featuring some of Australia’s most iconic freshwater species, the colour scheme alone is sure to appeal to a huge audience. Our test boat for the day came with several Stessco factory-fitted options, including a shiny new 55lb Minnkota electric motor, a Humminbird Helix 7 sounder and a huge premium lockable rod locker. Meaning, if you are simply chasing a fishing ready platform, with all the nice-to-have extras already fitted, then Stessco have the perfect package for you. What makes this boating package even more appealing is the fact that if you purchase your Stessco Bass Hunter 480 on a Stessco trailer from Dunbier, your Huge casting deck
investment is secured with a 5-year structural warranty. The Stessco Bass Hunter 480 has 3mm pressed aluminium sides and bottom and is rated to a maximum of 90hp or 180kg transom weight. Fitted to our test boat was a Yamaha F75 16 Valve In-line 4-cylinder outboard, which had more than enough power to lift the Bass Hunter 480 out of the hole, onto the plane and well past 50km/h in no time. In fact, I would be hesitant to fit the maximum rated horsepower to this boat, not for any real performance-based reasoning, but purely from the point of view that I didn’t feel that the boat needed the extra power. However, for the
I think you will be hard pressed to find a more reasonably-priced, complete boating package designed for navigating our Australian freshwater and impoundment waterways. tournament fishers out there, I am sure that with a 90hp motor pushing this boat, it would go like a rocket ship. Launching the Bass Hunter 480 is very simple and manageable on your own. Once on the water the two key ingredients for a suitable fishing platform become obvious. Stability and room to move are key features of the Bass Hunter 480, with the boat offering enough room for all your gear under the deck, which can be accessed through hatches in both the front and rear casting decks. The configuration of the hatches in the front cast deck could be reconfigured into a slightly different layout to really maximise underfloor accessibility, but I don’t see this being a huge problem.
Side console with plenty of room
Lockable rod locker
480
The V-nose punt designed hull is very stable at rest with two anglers on board and moving from side to side; we only noticed a slight amount of movement in the boat. On the move at speed the V-nose punthull can not help drifting slightly when conducting tight cornering, but I was very surprised at how smooth the overall ride was. While conditions on the testing day did not provide any chop, we did manage to zig-zag across the boats own wash multiple times, even managing the get the entire hull airborne briefly. In saying all of this however, I don’t believe people will be considering purchasing the Stessco Bass Hunter 480 based on its performance in a rolling swell. More to the point, it is a boat that is easy to handle on your own while launching and retrieving, and powered by the Yamaha F75 it will get you from point A to B in next to no time. At rest or while trolling at low speed, it offers great stability and with 3mm sides and bottom it is more than tough enough to get into those tight spaces amongst the timber and up into the shallows. If trolling Australia’s freshwater waterways or stocked impoundments is more your style of fishing, and the Australian sun has a habit of frying your skin, then you can relax, as Stessco also offer an optional gunwale mounted bimini top for the Bass Hunter 480. FINAL THOUGHTS I think you will be hard pressed to find a more reasonablypriced, complete boating package designed for navigating our Australian freshwater and impoundment waterways. Offering great stability and room to move and with factory-fitted options, which now include a Minnkota electric motor and a Humminbird sounder, plus the 5-year structural warranty offered with the Stessco trailer as part of the package, it really looks to me that Stessco Aluminium Boats are pushing hard to make choosing and purchasing your boat a very simple and stress-free experience. – Luke Fitzpatrick Huge livewell