Bass boats just don't hold up great in saltwater unless you get a gelcoated deck model with an aluminum trailer.
There are several different types of flats boats. They have the fuel tank towards the bow to aid shallow hole shots. A technical poling skiff has a lightweight hull that rides rough and may not do well in the stumps on freshwater lakes/swamps. They make big water flats boats & hybrids (hewes/maverick, egret, lake & bay, ranger) but they don't pole easily at all. Most all of these will have less "hull slap" than a bay boat, but they will ride a little wetter. They do have great storage, deck space, walk around gunwales.
A bay boat with dependable power will give you the option to do some mid-range offshore fishing if your brave enough. If I were getting bay boat I would just bite the bullet the first time and get a quality 22 +/- footer. (that brings on a totally different discussion) The drawbacks with the bay boat may include purchase price, ease of towing, and fuel mileage. Lets face it, a lot of inshore work does not require a 22 foot boat.
You need to figure out what your going to use the boat for 80% of the time.
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