Smoker Craft Pro Mag 162 Review

One of the most popular nameplates in the aluminum fishing boat market today is Smoker Craft, and it doesn’t take long aboard any of the company’s recent models to understand why. Still owned and operated by the same family that started it all back in 1963, Smoker Craft remains committed to its core vision of building high quality boats that fish really, really well by blending the latest technologies with time-tested manufacturing techniques. Nowhere is this more evident than in the company’s newly redesigned Pro Mag 162.

Opening the port-side rod storage locker reveals one of the fans for Smoker Craft’s new Yarblow ventilation system that helps dry wet gear, reducing mildew and protecting expensive tackle from rust damage.

Let’s get one thing straight right from the start – for a 16-foot boat, the Pro Mag 162 is built like a battleship. In fact, it’s built tougher than a lot of other boats that are much larger than it is. Its high performance, Hydra-Lift hull is formed from hefty 0.100 gauge aluminum plate, with 0.070 gauge aluminum used on the side walls. Under the skin, the Pro Mag’s backbone is an internal rib structure built from substantial 0.125 gauge aluminum, giving the hull tremendous strength and rigidity for remarkable handling. The 10-degree deadrise hull design is deep enough to easily tame rough water, yet it still provides a shallow enough draft that the boat can easily navigate shallow, weedy bays where trophy bass live.

Overkill? Not really, and not at all if you’re the kind of serious, versatile angler that this boat was made for.

A large, lockable in-floor rod storage compartment accessed between the consoles keeps up to six rods rigged and ready to go.

Although built like a tank, the Smoker Craft Pro Mag 162 is thankfully more luxuriously outfitted. Step aboard and you’ll be surprised by how much space there is for a 16-foot boat. There’s comfortable seating for up to five people, and plenty of space to store all of their gear. The raised casting deck in the bow is huge, with vast amounts of in-floor storage, a 15-gallon aerated live well and a large, lockable rod storage compartment in the center that keeps up to six rods rigged and ready to go, yet safely protected from harm. Thanks to some thoughtful engineering, the front deck is high enough that the tall windshield that protects occupants so well and makes early-or late-season fishing more comfortable never gets in the way of your casting. Yet, the deck is still low enough that it’s not uncomfortable to reach over the side to land fish. In other words, it’s just perfect.

The rear casting deck is small but functional, with storage and a massive 28 gallon aerated live well beneath.

The main cockpit is left open with multiple bases in the floor allowing the seats to be positioned wherever they’re needed for tremendous fishing versatility. The rear casting deck is small but functional, with storage and a massive 28-gallon aerated live well beneath it. There’s additional storage for more rods in the port-side gunnel. Flipping this lid open, I was able to get a good look at the all-new compartment ventilation fan system (called the ‘Yarblow System’) that helps dry any gear that gets put away wet, reducing mildew and protecting expensive tackle from rust damage. This is a first for a boat in this size class.

The main cockpit is left open with multiple bases in the floor allowing the seats to be positioned wherever they’re needed for tremendous fishing versatility.

Underfoot, the Pro Mag 162 comes with Smoker Craft’s Sea Weave flooring as standard equipment – offering the durability of vinyl, but in an attractive non-slip finish that looks great even after plenty of hard use. The gunnels are also new for 2017, with an integrated rack system that allows rod holders, downriggers and other equipment to be easily mounted wherever they’re needed.

The new Pro Mag spoils the driver with an all-new console design, which offers full instrumentation – speedometer, tach, fuel gauge and volt meter – in a stylish dash that offers plenty of room for large multi-function displays. There’s also a standard AM/FM stereo with an auxiliary port for an MP3 player.

The new Pro Mag spoils the driver with an all-new console design with plenty of room for large multi-function displays.

With its versatile layout, wave-eating hull design, the ability to accept outboards of up to 90 horsepower and an extensive option list, Smoker Craft’s Pro Mag 162 will appeal to serious anglers who enjoy targeting a variety of different species, and who need an adaptable boat with plenty of capability.

Smoker Craft Pro Mag 162

• Length: 16’ 5”
• Beam: 91”
• Dry Weight: 1,010 lbs.
• Passenger Capacity: 5
• Fuel Capacity: 24 gal.
• Maximum Horsepower: 90