Sea-Doo first jumped into the fishing scene in 2019 with what was then just the Sea-Doo Fish Pro. Since expanding the Fish Pro family into three models – the GTI-based Scout, the mid-range Fish Pro Sport and the top tier Fish Pro Trophy, brand has experienced incredible growth in this global market.
Interestingly, Sea-Doo noted that since its introduction, the top-of-the-line Trophy has constituted an incredible 70 percent of all Fish Pro sales, dwarfing the entry and mid-range offerings 2-to-1. This alone gave Sea-Doo the green light to push the Fish Pro even further, by marrying two of the brand’s most over-the-top machines into one, namely the Explorer Pro and the Fish Pro Trophy – making the all-new Sea-Doo Fish Pro Apex 300.
Yes, they’re bringing the Apex moniker back but this time not on an RXP-X like before, but on the new Fish Pro 300 Apex. The new Apex of course, starts off with the now 7-year-old full-sized ST3 platform. Interestingly, when we asked Sea-Doo about the idea behind the Apex, they replied they simply were responding to all the various demands that they were getting from the lakeside and river fishermen.
The demand it seems was for a “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to a premier level fishing watercraft. From the Explorer Pro the Apex receives the element-deflecting windscreen. This rides on a unique perch that sits on a shock absorber. This allows the windscreen some “give” if the rider accidentally falls forward of the handlebars. It can also be folded forward on a hinge, snapping in and out of place with just a little force. The windscreen also includes a small flap vent to allow the slightest bit of breeze through.
Like our critique of the Explorer Pro, from which the Apex gets this item, the windscreen tends to distort one’s visibility particularly when wearing polarized sunglasses, making reading the water’s surface doubly difficult. Equally, the Apex receives the powder-coated bow rail ideal for tying up to the dock or tethering to a nearby fixture to stay in place.
Next, the Apex receives everything that made the Trophy unique: This means you’re getting the high-bolstered seat; you’re getting the angled footrests sitting at the top of the gunwales, you’re getting the extended deck – what Sea-Doo calls its Fish platform – and you’re getting the 13-and-a-half-gallon cooler. And of course, you’re getting a Garmin GPS. Yet, unlike the Trophy before it, the Apex is the only Sea-Doo to get the massive 9-inch Garmin Fish Finder with a full-color, touch screen monitor.
With the introduction of the Trophy model back in 2021, customers were entreated with a new swivel seat that mounted into the back platform. This same swivel seat is also found on the new Apex, including a dedicated backrest. There’s a little feature that a lot of people don’t know about it, and that is that you can’t go fast with this seat installed. In fact, there’s a little electronic trigger that deactivates the ECU and lets it know, “Hey listen, we got someone up on the swivel seat!” And so, you can only go in trolling mode. It’s a really smart safety feature that shows a little bit of ingenuity on behalf of Sea-Doo.
The swivel seat, of course, is unique to the Trophy and Apex models, as it does have these attachment points for the backrest that sits in the center storage bin and has a nice rigid base and of course, has the modified base that will accept the swivel. Equally, the 2021 Trophy introduced us to a live well tank pump system that also acted as a deck washer. This quick-release hose feature is also found on the Apex and has its own dedicated toggle switch found below the throttle trigger. The toggle can be set for “ON” to continuously run, “Timer” which activates the pump to circulate on a delay, and “OFF”.
Additionally, they stepped it up with the new angle mounted rod holders for the front and also included on the trophy a new gunwale-mounted anchor. The anchor of course, is tethered off of its own dedicated cleat and has a mesh bag so that the rope can air-dry while stowed. And it is a nice high quality, fully collapsible anchor too.
And since you can’t have enough rod holders, the Apex gives you seven of these. Obviously, we’ve got a whole bunch mounted all the way around the tank, but you can also attach these pretty easily right up here in front. Additionally, the Apex includes this cup holder. I will caution that the cup holder does not float. We learned this the hard way this morning. This is our second one today.
And just when we think we’re done listing all of the features, we remember a few more: The Apex does include Sea-Doo’s first drop-in cleats here in the back. You can see how easy they are to reach and use. They’re spring-loaded so that they’ll retract on their own.
Sea-Doo threw everything they got at the new steering system. Not only do you get the fully- adjustable steering neck that allows for three-and-a-half inches of adjustment – it’s really nice especially if you’re sitting back on the seat; you can actually reach the handlebars without leaning forward – but Sea-Doo also included the new aluminum neck and hydraulically-damped steering knuckle.
The hydraulic damped steering soaks up a lot of the wanderings that the ST3 hull likes to do, particularly in rough water. This gives a very insulated, very padded feeling to your steering and steering input. It does get a bit more responsive the tighter you adjust it. Again, there’s three levels or settings to the damper, allowing you to set it loose or very, very tight.
Now, even at its lowest setting it’s not necessarily stock or what you’d call “undamped”, but the looser setting does have a little bit more of a playfulness to it, and you can adjust it all the way to really tight, almost like you’re fighting it. Some people do like it that tight; I’m somewhere in the middle personally, but again, you’re going to find what adjustment you like best for you.
But of course, I’m leaving out the best part, and this is that the Apex is Sea-Doo’s first supercharged Fish Pro. Now, while 300 horsepower and 68 miles per hour is a lot of fun, it does tend to be a little thirsty. We found that our average speed was drinking about 4 to 4-and-a-quarter gallons per hour. That may obviously vary depending upon your altitude, how heavy you are and of course, how fast you choose to go at your cruising speed that will affect how long your 18-and-a-half-gallon fuel tank will last throughout the day. So again, your trigger finger is going to be the most important factor when it comes to your fuel usage.
But let’s be honest; if you’re gonna fork over the dough for a 300-horsepower, supercharged powerplant, fuel consumption is not exactly your highest priority – right? (And if it is, you bought the wrong machine, bucko.) Now the Fish Pro Apex does mark a lot of “firsts” for Sea-Doo, and that’s a good thing…well, except for one:
And that is the price tag. The Sea-Doo Fish Pro Apex 300 comes in at $24,500, making it the most expensive Sea-Doo to date. Of course, you’re getting a lot for your money, especially if you were to try to equip a Fish Pro Trophy, a Fish pro Sport or even a GTX 300 with all of the gear that Sea-Doo gives you standard on the Apex.
Another “first” comes in the way of total weight. Sea-Doo lists all of its vehicles’ weight as “dry weight” – meaning without a battery, oil, coolant and especially gasoline. Officially, the Apex comes in at 978 pounds, but when factoring for the aforementioned battery and chemicals, the Apex is pushing well over 1,100 pounds – certainly a first for Sea-Doo. The Apex is rated up to 600-pounds of cargo capacity. That could be you and a passenger and all of the equipment that you brought with you… or it could just be YOU and all the equipment you choose to bring.
Again, LinQ allows you to bring a whole lot of equipment. And as far as LinQ attachments go, it has the extended Fish Pro deck and we also have a second set of LinQ attachments here in back so you can bring extra gas or a smaller cooler if you want to bring your food or if you want to bring a big cargo bag for a change of clothes, some warmer clothes, a towel… whatever you might need.
And because it is an Apex that means that it’s a one year only model. It’s very likely that we’ll see equipment shown here available on the Trophy in 2026. Maybe not a 300-horsepower model though. Again, they were hinting that this unit will be very unique for this model year only. So, if it does hit all the marks for you, this might be the year to jump on. Because if you snooze you very well may lose in 2026.
Gratefully, Sea-Doo allowed us to have the Apex for the day up here in Minnesota and we’ve been playing around in a lot of the shallows and even in deeper water with what all the things that the Apex offers. That being said, the Garmin Fish Finder and that big 9-inch screen has got to be the takeaway winner for this model.
The big 9-inch screen allows you to see the sea floor, see some of the fish activity below you, and is giving you live data and GPS tracking so that you can set your waymarks. Get out to your favorite spot, and then make your way home. It’s a little bit of a labyrinth out here in the land of 10,000 lakes, and we’re very grateful that we have the navigation to find our way home.
Another thing that we really appreciate personally is the addition of the new steering neck. We’re able to stand up and ride very comfortably. You do have five points of articulation, and with the added height that comes from the adjustable steering, we’re able to stand up very comfortably and ride home and stretch our legs and straight out our back.
It does feel rather nice, so we do like the addition of the new steering neck. The damper, of course, is really appreciated on the ST3 platform, more so than even on the RXPX because again, the behavior of the big watercraft in a variety of rougher water when the wind kicks up, we really do like the dampen steering.
Navigating the tech package screen is done very easily, using the diamond-shaped toggle pads on the handlebar pods. They do have a nice tactile response. You do get a nice audible click when you do engage them. And even though you’re on the water, you do get to feel that response every time you do touch the pad. In our assessment there just really isn’t anything more than we would add to this watercraft.
Looking at the Apex with a 30,000-foot view, it’s pretty clear to see Sea-Doo’s strategy here: they’re less interested in luring existing enthusiasts into the sport of jet ski fishing, but rather, get fishermen to start going jet skiing. Most people coming to The Watercraft Journal are already diehard enthusiasts looking for the latest greatest new model. It’s only by happenstance that total newcomers are finding this publication as a means of research.
That being said, what’s our take on the new Fish Pro Apex 300? Frankly put, we cannot think of another necessary thing that is lacking besides maybe a trolling motor and a wild metal flake paint job. (But maybe Sea-Doo is holding back for the ultimate bass-fishing edition of the Fish Pro? That would be pretty cool!) Instead, the Apex comes in some pretty muted greens. The deep forest green and that really nice purple silver does really pop in the sun. As you can see.
All in all, we’re very happy with the final result of Apex. I think it’s a really good package. It just appeals to a group of people who might not be the core jet ski audience. Don’t let the $24,500 asking price shock you all that much – trying to replicate such an equipped personal watercraft will set you back closer to $30,000 dollars. Instead, Sea-Doo has done all of the hard work for you. All that’s left now is picking the perfect spot to cast a line and choosing which bait to use.
