Best Small Center Console Fishing Boats for Easy Trailering

There are so many center consoles for sale at any given time that trying to sift through the options can be overwhelming. For some boaters, big luxury center consoles over 40 feet will be of interest, others will be searching for the best center console boats under 25 feet, and some will be searching for something in-between. If you have a competent tow vehicle and the desire to explore, however, there’s a good chance that you’ll be seeking a center console fishing boat you can trailer. These are usually relatively small center consoles and have a beam of no more than 9’0” (and more commonly 8’6” or less), as most states put a cap on how wide a boat you can tow on the road without a permit. So, which are the best brands? Here are our top picks, divvied up by boat type.

Aluminum Center Console Fishing Boats—Best Brands to Trailer

Small aluminum center console fishing boats are an excellent choice for trailer boaters because they’re significantly lighter than their fiberglass brethren. That means they can be hauled with modest tow vehicles, and they tend to be easier to launch, load, and handle around the boat ramp.

Crestliner

Crestliner builds a huge lineup of aluminum boats, including a range of hunting boats that landed them on our list of the best aluminum center console brands. While the center console hunting boats work well for angling, too, more of interest to dedicated fishermen will be their 1800 Bay and 2000 Bay. Both of these models come fully rigged and ready to fish with perks like livewells, rodholders, integrated coolers, leaning posts, and more. Crestliner boats for sale

Crestliner 2000 Bay. Crestliner photo

Lowe

Lowe has a series of three center console bay boats, the 18 Bay, 20 Bay, and 22 Bay, that are ideal for light-tackle fishing in the shallows and probing bays and sounds for all sorts of species. Even the largest of them barely breaks 2,000 pounds so any of these models can be towed with a midsize SUV or pickup truck. They feature aerated livewells, console rodracks and/or rod lockers, and come rigged with saltwater-compliant electric trolling motors on the bow.

Lowe 22 Bay. Lowe photo

Ranger

Anglers looking for a high-end yet easily trailerable center console fishing machine will want to check out the Ranger Boats lineup. Their RB190, RB200, and RB210 all fit the bill, but like other Ranger Boats, come along with some unique perks. They’re packaged with custom-matched Ranger Trail aluminum trailers, come coated with easy-to-clean Rawhide nonskid liner on the interior, and boast an incredibly comprehensive list of standard features including electric trolling motors, fishfinders, lithium-capable onboard battery chargers, and more. Ranger boats for sale

Ranger RB210. Ranger photo

Freshwater Center Console Fishing Boats—Best Brands to Trailer

You can use any center console designed for saltwater in the freshwater environment, but it doesn’t always work out very well the other way around. Fortunately, most center console boats are made to be dunked in the brine. A select few, however, are designed to excel at freshwater fishing specifically.

Avalon

Pontoon boat builder Avalon creates some of the most unique center console fishing boats around, the Geofish line. They’re available in two floorplans in 23’, 25’, and 27’ models, and they come complete with fishing chairs, a Garmin GPS/fishfinder, tackle trays, and a fishing center with a livewell and rodholders. Whether you enjoy trolling for walleye or jigging for lake trout, these center console pontoons will be very, very tough to beat. Avalon boats for sale

Avalon Geofish. Avalon photo

Tahoe

Tahoe builds just one center console model, the easily trailerable 2150 CC, but it’s so unique and will be of such interest to dedicated freshwater anglers it lands this brand on our list. The 2150 CC is a deckboat, with all the trappings of a great family boat for the lake: a bow platform with swim ladder, a ski-tow pylon for pulling the kids on watertoys, and a Bimini top with boot. Unlike most deckboats, however, it has a center console, a 17-gallon livewell, tackle stowage, and rodholders. Tahoe boats for sale

Tahoe 2150 CC. Tahoe photo

Vexus

The Vexus lineup of center console boats, the ACX models, includes three boats from 20’ to 22’1”. What makes them unique is the mix of aluminum and fiberglass construction; while the hull is aluminum, many major parts like the consoles and stowage compartment liners are molded from fiberglass. While compatible for both fresh and saltwater, these center console boats will hold extra appeal for bass aficionados as they boast huge fore and aft casting decks, long 8’0” to 8’6” rodboxes, and topnotch performance.

Inshore Center Console Fishing Boats—Best Brands to Trailer

Many inshore saltwater anglers trailer their boats, launching at different locations as they seek out the areas with the hottest bites. While inshore anglers who ply open bays will be looking for slightly different models than those who fish flats and backcountry waters, all of these brands seek to oblige.

Pathfinder

Anyone who’s shopped bay boats has seen the Pathfinder brand, and they have an extensive lineup including seven models from 22’5” to 26’2”; all are trailerable, though the largest may require permitting in some states as their beams stretch to 8’10”. These boats have a well-deserved reputation for being exceptionally well built, running smoother than others in a chop, and offering performance few competitors will beat. Pathfinder boats for sale

Pathfinder 2400 Open. Pathfinder photo

Scout

Although Scout is better known for building large boats these days, the brand’s roots lie in trailerable boats, and they still offer eight models that can roll down the highway with ease. While they are fishing machines beyond any doubt, they’re separated from the pack by an extra dose of comfort and convenience features. Sure, these boats are very well-built, and they perform great. But you’ll also enjoy goodies like thickly padded contoured seating, USB ports at the helm, and ,on models large enough, loungers and freshwater systems. Scout boats for sale

Scout 251 XSF. Scout photo

Sportsman

The Sportsman brand has a huge lineup of center console boats including many that go beyond the scope of being trailerable, but three bay boat and three deep-V models fit the bill. The standout attribute of this brand is delivering a solidly built, very well-equipped boat with a surprisingly low sticker price. When compared to most competitors the pricing you’ll see may look more or less competitive at first, but when you consider the big-ticket items Sportsman includes as standards (like the Seakeeper Ride system, electronics packages with oversized MFDs, and digital switching systems), you’ll quickly realize the bang for the buck is industry-leading. Sportsman boats for sale

Sportsman Masters 227. Sportsman photo

Offshore Center Console Fishing Boats—Best Brands to Trailer

Many of the center console boats small enough to trailer can do just fine running offshore as long as the captain makes wise decisions regarding the weather. Wait for calm winds and smooth seas, and these brands will take you dozens and dozens of miles from the inlet.

Boston Whaler

If you’re going to run a small boat offshore you want to know it’s a safe boat, and that means Boston Whaler’s unsinkable construction puts them at the top of the list for small offshore center console fishing boat brands you can trailer. The two smallest Outrage models, the largest Montauk, and the three boats in the Dauntless line will all fit on a trailer, and they’ll all get you to blue water. More importantly, they’ll get you back, too. Boston Whaler boats for sale

Boston Whaler 250 Outrage. Boston Whaler photo

Contender

Contender has three models small enough to trailer yet designed to handle offshore waters. All have very aggressive deep-V bottoms and can run at high speeds through waves for hours on end. These boats also boast the angling armaments needed to handle offshore duty, like huge tuna-sized fishboxes and high-capacity livewells. Contenders are highly customizable as well, with boats built to order to the buyer’s specifications. Contender boats for sale

Contender 25T. Contender photo

World Cat

Few monohulls can match the smooth ride of a powercat in choppy seas, and World Cat is one of the few production builders around crafting cats that are both trailerable and offshore-capable. The 235TE, 235CC, and 260CC-X have plenty of range, large fishboxes and livewells, and gobs of additional angling accouterments. What’s more, since powercats carry their full beam from stern to bow, they also have significantly more deck space than their monohull competitors. World Cat boats for sale

World Cat 235TE. World Cat photo

Family Center Console Fishing Boat—Best Brands to Trailer

We anglers may love to fish, but we love our families even more, and we want them to be happy with our trailerable center consoles, too. Most boats add some level of creature comfort in this day and age, but these standout brands go the extra mile.

Chris Craft

Chris Craft’s model offerings of this type are fairly limited but there are two trailerable center consoles in the range, the Catalina 24 and the Catalina 28. Both are about as luxurious as you’ll find in the world of trailerable center consoles, boasting diamond-stitched upholstery, synthetic or real teak trim, and options for onboard air compressors and Mediterranean sunshades. Note that the 24 also comes with Seakeeper Ride and on the 28, gyroscopic stabilization is an option. Chris Craft boats for sale

Chris Craft Catalina 24. Chris Craft photo

Cobia

Only two of Cobia’s models, the 220 CC and the 240 CC, have the specifications to fit into our trailerable mold, but these are standout boats with a full complement of both fishing and family features. Console head compartments have ports in the sides, bows incorporate forward seating with backrests, and the swim platforms have reboarding ladders. Cobia also offers a number of customization features, like additional color accents on the hull, stereo systems, and underwater lighting that the entire family is sure to love. Cobia boats for sale

Cobia 240 CC. Cobia photo

Grady-White

Grady-White has four trailerable deep-V center consoles and two bay boats that make the grade, and all of them are built with a healthy dose of family comfort in mind. Features like freshwater systems, heads in the console, stereo systems, and swim platforms are common, and the seating is plush and thick. Grady-Whites are also known for delivering an unusually smooth, comfortable ride, thanks to their SeaV2 variable-degree deadrise hull designs. Grady-White boats for sale

Grady White Fisherman 216. Grady White photo

Trailerable boats open up a new world of opportunity for boaters as they can haul to the bay one day, the ocean the next, and the lake the day after that. And if you’re an angler, there’s just no substitute for a small center console fishing boat you can trailer. Different boats will prove ideal for different folks, but for the vast majority of us, one or more of these top brands will deliver what we’re after.