Fish’N’Tip - Sea-Doos new GTR 230 - a Fun and Fishable PWC!

Sea-Doos new GTR 230 - a Fun and Fishable PWC!

My local Sea-Doo dealer staff were keen to have me try the new Sea Doo GTR 230 emphasizing that “it’s a lot of fun”

Well I’ve already been thrilled to bits with the Sea-Doo Fish Pro range…how much more fun could it be?  In short – the GTR 230 an absolute adrenaline pumping blast, and it is very fishable. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Off the back of the amazing success of the purpose built Fish Pro, Sea-Doo have again made an effort to bring quality PWC Fishing within reach of more peoples budgets by offering the LinQ attachment system on the back of an more entry level fishing sized craft.  The linQ system allows anglers to click on various Sea-Doo accessories including the storage box, fuel caddy, sports bag or most importantly the LinQ Fishing cooler (which carries ice, drinks and rods and makes fishing bliss)

But to be fishable a PWC also needs other attributes including being stable at rest, and fuel efficient – it ticks both these boxes.

The new Gen 2 Poly tech hull is the pretty much the younger brother of the already famed ST-3 hull (the stability of which has captured the fishermans market by storm). The new Gen 2 Poly Tech hull has a slightly less aggressive V which makes it more playful – sliding in turns and the like is the most fun you will have without catching fish! 

The new hull is extremely durable and is designed to be practically bullet proof which is great for anglers fishing shallower water ways where bumping snags or rocks while fishing is clearly possible.  It’s insanely tough and designed to be as unbreakable as PWC hull gets, but the outside chance you did do something particularly silly and broke the hull it is actually fully replaceable. 

The hull has a slightly rough finish to aid in turbulent flow which makes it have less drag - it accelerates breathtakingly quick and is non ‘sticky’ when cruising.  Ribbed cross members inside the hull make it quite ridged which is nice when gunning it out of the hole or having a serious play.  

It towed the tube effortlessly  – we did an hour or so with an observer on board and two kids on the tube – the fuel gauge hardly budged which was nice.  Of course being supercharged it won’t have the fuel economy and range of the Fish Pro, but it should have enough range for standard distance fishing trips eg hitting the inshore reefs or bays.  A dealer can advise more on range but one thing about PWCs is that you often beach launch closer to the fishing grounds to start with which helps. 

Looks wise she was a head turner – lots of people came over to have a sticky beak and loved the colour and sporty but stylish lines. 

Now the big question – how fishable is it?  Well the stability at rest was great, easily ahead of the biggest of the Yamahas, but still a little way behind it’s big brother Sea Doos with ST-3 hulls.  It was no effort fishing off the GTR 230, you don’t worry about tipping in and can concentrate on the fishing.

It doesn’t have a massive front access storage like the ST-3 hull but it does have a reasonable front access storage area.  Bow storage has further room for bigger items and you can get a handy meshed gear storage pouch to keep everything up out of the V and easy to grab.

It doesn’t come with a sounder but Sea-Doo dealers can now professionally fit up the Garmin sounders in the same manner seen on the Fish Pro.

I note that the same Gen 2 Poly Tech Hull is available on the GTi 90 and GTi 130 should you wish to bring the price or horsepower down further. 

It’s great to see that by offering the LinQ  attachment System on all the Gen 2 Poly Tech Hull and the ST-3 hulls Sea-Doo have now given keen anglers a lot of choice on budgets, styles, colours and horsepower to suit their needs.  Simply pop on the LinQ box and you’re ready to fish!

I won’t go into exact stats on sizes, weights, capacitys, etc – you can find all that on the official Sea Doo web site https://au.sea-doo.com/ or better still talk to your local Sea-Doo dealer.

Result?  If you’re in the market for a Fishing Machine and don’t have the budget for a Fish Pro or ST-3  hull, or you want something a little faster and more playful the GTR 230 is a great new option – very fishable and rods down the most brilliant fun you will have. 

Can’t wait to use it some more, see you on the water 

Rob Paxevanos