Need advice on a good Utah fishing boat.

[dubob]

I ran a 16 ft Tracker Targa for 11 years with no issues.  Freds Marine in Layton is about 30 minutes from you and has several available right now and set up in their new showroom.  You could also do as Bduck suggested and shop for some used Hewes, ThunderJet, North River, Duckworth boats well within your budget.  I friend just found an 18 ft Hewes in pristine condition for about $40,000 out of Kalifornia.