I own both and can give you some tips. the drift boat is a better steelhead fishing platform for a few reasons. 1) YOU CAN TAKE YOUR BUDDYS !!!! 2) They perform better when back trolling I.E pulling plugs. 3) You can just put it on the trailer and go home. A larger cat boat needs to be taken down.. unless you get a trailer for it which I highley recommend if you do buy one. 4) Drift boats are very low maint and can last forever. I have found that the trailers wear out way before the boat does. I am on my second one.

As for cat boats. Steelheader boy is right on target. The small outcasts and the like are really just float tubes. I have a Aire Cougar which is a larger boat and designed for heavy white water . I say 12 ft is the minimum if your planning on running anything that can get big. The people that I know who use cats for fishing also run rivers with them so its a trade off of sorts. If I could only have one boat it would be a drift boat, and I would stick to fishing. I love cats but its a case of the right tool for the job.