Fishing Boats
- This topic has 46 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated Feb 10, 2009 at 2:39 pm by
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Hey folks –
In my relationship over the last few years writing for American Angler, I’ve been lucky enough to have some insight into how magazines function, and what they do and do not want to cover. One of the areas that gets practically no consideration in the fly fishing print media is boating. The rationale makes sense: reader surveys show very few anglers have anything more elaborate than a belly boat, and moreover technical writing on, say, how to repair a fiberglass drift boat bottom, isn’t something that’s going to sell issues.
Here on this site we have a different situation. Self-selection ensures that most of you people would wind up in the top 50% (if not the top 10%) of anglers, in terms of both skill and interest. Thus, I figure we have a lot more pent up interest in fishing craft here than the magazines do.
I know very little about fishing boats, and I want to know more. I currently own a one-man pontoon and a canoe; at some point I plan to own both a full sized raft and a jonboat.
The point of this post was to encourage those of you with boating knowledge out there to share your experiences with the rest of us. I think you’ll find it well-received. I don’t necessarily want just this one thread to be about boats; rather I am hoping some of you will start new threads in this area.
With that in mind, I have the following questions. If someone wants to start a thread answering one or more of these, I’d sure appreciate it. If I were an assignment editor at a fly fishing magazine that took an interest in boats, these questions would be on my list of things to float among my writers for feature topics.
(1) What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of inflatable rafts versus drift boats, and what types of water are appropriate for each?
(2) What are the options out there in terms of boat engines and how does one take care of them? Four stroke? Two stroke? What do these terms mean? What should be done on a yearly basis to winterize/prepare a boat engine?
(3) Care and feeding of fiberglass craft: how does one repair broken fiberglass?
(4) Kayaks: what models are most appropriate for fishing and why? Standing up is a major factor, what about poling? Outriggers?
(5) Trailers. Where do you get them, what do you look for, how much should they cost?
(6) Finally, dirt-bagging. How would you go about putting together the cheapest possible fishing craft that is still safe and useful? Surely some of you have tips in this area.
Thanks,
ZachZach,
Need to ask the really tough questions too:
- Do I have a place to store it?
How much is the registration, insurance, etc annually?
Do I really know anything about operating a boat, what do I need to know, and where do I learn?
What “other stuff” is needed – – – required safety equipment (life jackets, flares, noise maker), electronics, anchor, trolling motor, oars/paddles, etc?
And the biggie – – – will my current vehicle tow it?
What’s the old saying?
What kind of boat you thinking of selling Buzz?
Just a little bit of information to contribute here. Nothing, and I mean nothing is more comfortable or secure to fish out of than a drifter. They are very stable and provide a great casting platform for the boating angler.
I pull oars on many different rivers, some of them have some tough shoals and rapids….yet I feel very confident that my anglers are very safe in my drifter. in fact, in my opinion, under a skilled guide….the most danger clients will face will be while entering or exiting the boat.
I am curious to see the comments on this subject also. I am going to be buying my first in the next couple of months and am torn between a CS J16 or going with an jon boat (Rivets vs weld would be the next decision).
Then again, those rigged up gheenoe’s are sweet looking rides.
My thoughts on drifters vs rafts, for what its worth…
We’ve been tossing this around for awhile now trying to figure out the next great river musky rig. Drifters are the ultimate in comfort as far as the fishing is concerned, and you can get them through some pretty shallow stuff if you need to. A couple of our floats have a few drag-through spots when the water’s down, but not too bad.
There’s a lot of good water that would be sketchy in a drifter though, whiplash can get to be an annoyance if you’re bouncing through some of the big time rock gardens. Rafts will get through that crap with a lot less issues- they bounce and slide through rocks instead of ramming them. They’ll take big rips and waves a lot better too with a self-bailing floor. Not quite as comfy to fish out of though, a solid bottom is nice for walking around in.
Basically it boils down to what you plan to use it for. Kinda like a fly rod. If your main floats can be done in a drifter, there’s no reason to get a raft. But if you’re looking to do some skinny water, pack in somewhere, or run whitewater, a raft is probably the best option.
Lately we’ve been really thinking about the johnboat option. It would be really nice to be able to row, run a little outboard, or use a push pole, depending on what you’re doing. A 14-16 ft flat bottom is an ideal platform for that, and could be outfitted with casting platforms, and should be fairly stable. The cost would be a lot less too. We’ll see if it comes together.
Great information, Mike, thanks. I’m surprised to learn you aren’t doing your own fiberglass repair (yet). I was under the impression that lots of Western driftboat guys basically overhauled their glass bottoms once every year or two.
Zach
I think most (at least in the case of guides) trade their fiberglass boats in every two years and get a new one. At that point whether it be Hyde, Clacka, or RO they all put a new bottom on those boats and sell them in their used fleet. It is a great way to pick up a good boat at a good price. Guides can usually justify doing this as they get a pretty sweet pro deal on the new boats and most of the above mentioned companies let you trade up every couple of years for mere $1000 difference. Not a bad way to keep rowing the latest greatest.
That said you never have to worry about that if you buy a Boulder Boat Works boat. The stuff they make those boats out of is darn near bullet proof! I pulled my boat over all kinds of rocks at the end of the season last year and you can barely tell the bottom is scratched.
Joel
I’d like to see something like a complete newbie introduction to fishing from a canoe.
What to look for, what are the options etc.
I’m thinking of buying a canoe this summer.
I’m partial to my driftboat because:
1. Comfort….I can fish dark to dark and not be exhausted.
2. I can float whitewater.
3. I can float slow water.
4. I can attach my 6hp longshaft and motor up and float back down …for those times when I don’t want to fool with a shuttle.
5. I can fish small farm ponds.
6. I can fish the biggest reservoirs (with motor attached). Think Hebgen gulpers.
7. I can launch anywhere as long as I can either drag the boat by hand or get the trailer close to the water.
…oh….and I’m also a little partial to wood 🙂 I bit the bullet and ordered my trailer from Hyde. It wasn’t cheap but it’s a Cadillac as far as boat trailers go. Money well spent if you are laying down some serious interstate miles.
Great thread! I am in the market for a new boat. I have a 17′ Walleye boat with a 75hp tiller on it for the big water. I am looking for something that will get skinny, run a river and hold old dad and the two boys. Yet be able to chase stripers and pole for Alabama bone fish out on the flats of the local lakes.
A word for KAYAKs. Above all, boats of any sort are merely a conveyance (unless you live on a house boat). The boat is a means of getting you from point A to point B with the gear you need to fish with on the water you want to fish on. On some water you have to fish from the boat, on others you don’t.
The Fishing Kayak – as a single person conveyance on the water has these advantages
- Relatively inexpensive to obtain and maintain
- Relatively light wieght and easily transported on a vehicle
- Sufficient storage for most gear to include overnight camping
- Can be launched from just about anywhere along a shoreline if accessible-even over bridge crossings and very steep banks
- Highly manuverable on the water with excellent speed for human powered watercraft (3-5mph)
- Extremely shallow draft (inches) and can be paddled upstream or uptide with ease.
- A very stable fishing platform – some models allow standing and casting with ease
- Most can handle Class III whitewater with ease and rough water up to 2-3′ swells.
Given those characteristics, its all about the variety of water you want to fish. Take a look at these pictures:
This section of the Ruby River is essentially unaccessible to anything but a boat that can be launch over the side of a highway bridge.
My kayak about 5 miles from the nearest launch at low tide in Tampa Bay-unaccessible to any flats boat at this time. Inside of the sandbar was some great Seatrout and Redfish potholes.
Here the Kayak provided rapid access up a very shallow side creek.
These forks on Hachett Creek (great Redeye Bass), deep in the Central Alabama woods is essentially unaccessible by anything other than a kayak or canoe. (unless you have access to private land) Its at least 1.5 miles upstream from a put-in on a county road. You could not wade up stream because of deep holes–you’d have to swim to get through. The Kayak can be paddled and towed while wading up these kinds of Creeks and Rivers with ease.
With a Kayak that is lightweight, also any water that can be floated and waded can be traversed both upstream and down from a single access point, because the kayak is easily towed up through white water as long as its wadable.
With the kayak tethered to your waist and with the use of an anchor trolley (drag chain anchor), you can no only wade up or downstream with a kayak, you can control your position relative to the bank or fishing target very precisely with the anchor trolley.Kayaks don’t replace drift boats, pontoons, flats boats or bass boats, but they surely have advantages over all of them–Access, Maneuverability, cost and weight.
Unfortunately, the boat is not mine; it belongs to a friend.
http://www.newwaterboatworks.com/
He has the Curlew.
I actually just finished building a wooden driftboat last week after couple years of work.
I plan on living forever, so far so good.
- Do I have a place to store it?
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