Post
by littleriver » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:13 am
I've fished from canoes and smaller boats a lot over the years...
even when I owned larger boats, I ended up fishing from the smaller ones because they
allowed me to get into spots you can't get into with the big boats (i.e. anything over 250
pounds)......
Now personally I am rooting for you to get that major sponsorship bassackwards but in the meantime here are my humble opinions in regard to all the "under $1,000" small boat options you have...
canoes and kyaks move very well on the water and they give you desired lightness for portaging but they tend to be unstable and dangerous to anchor or pop an electric motor on... if I were you I would stay away from canoes... I've fished a lot from canoes and one of the problems is your back will start bothering you from constantly adjusting your body position to keep from flipping over... should also note that fishing from a position where you bottom is at roughly the same level as your feet is uncomfortable and hard on the buttocks and back.... fishing from a kneeling position is even worse.... even a slightly raised seat doesn't solve the problem... comfortable fishing must be done from a supported standing position or from a sitting position where the part of the leg that dangles below the knees can remain at least vertical at all times..... (like I said.. I've done lots and lots of fishing from small boats and I've analyzed these issued very thoroughly)
float tubes are the lowest cost and lightest option, they are stable and, personally, I think every serious recreational angler should have one in the garage even if they only use it every couple of years or so.... problem with float tubes is they don't move very well on the water and they put your arms and head down almost at water level..... I think this awkward for fishing... I like to fish from a stable platform and to have my feet at least 6" above water level... (sort of like when you are casting from a fully equipped $45,000 ranger bass boat.... OK, OK.. I don't have a major sponsorship yet either)..
pontoon boats move fairly well on the water (though not as good as a canoe or a ranger bass boat) are stable, reasonably light, and I've seen them on sale for under $500 though I think the really good ones are closer to $1,000 now... downside on pontoon boats is what I call the "building block effect".. that is to say.. it just seems like you spend all your time putting the thing together and taking it apart.. even when you leave it inflated all the time..... (by the way.. this is a disadvantage with the float tubes also)...
small specialty injection molded plastic bass boats are available from various vendors... I think they cost about $500 or so and they look like they might work for your purposes.... they are stable.. designed for easy installation of an electric trolling motor, can carry up to one guest, and they look like (I've never actually used one of these things.. my only experience is window shopping on this option) they fit nicely in the back of a pickup...... my percieved downsides on this option are that they are bit heavy for their size and they look to be dangerous in rough water (would only hit very small lakes with one of these) and they don't seem to have good backup propulsion if the battery from which the electric motor is powered goes dead..... That said though, and if I understand your situation correctly, this would be the first option I would look at really seriously if the only kind of fishing I wanted to do was to work smaller west side lakes for bass and panfish........ just stick to lakes that are on the small side....
and, of course, the other option is to work the "used boat" market for an older fishing boat package..... sometimes you will need to do a little work on the motor and there will be broken stuff on the main body and trailer and fixing it is never "free", but there are 16' class boats out their with lots of neat, but older, stuff on them that can be had for under $1,000 if you know how to bargain...
personally, after decades of experience in this area, I've finally settled on a specially rigged 12' mckenzie style drift boat...
I raised the seat 6" to the perfect height for fishing from a sitting position and rigged the padded swivel seat so it's on the "bow" side of the oars.. this way I can quickly swivel around and stand in a supported position for fly casting and stuff like that....
of course I also had to raise the oar sockets 6" for comfortable rowing and that was a major project involving expensive high density modern plastics and install custom oars that give me maximum propulsion..... but the bottom line is that I have something that pops easily into the back of my small pickup, moves gracefully on the water, can handle reasonably rough water (I actually tested it on a windy day down on the Bonneville Reservoir this spring... I had to dodge wind surfers as I rowed back to the ramp.. I don't like fishing in rough water, but when one tackles a large body of water on a calm day one has to account for the possibility of the wind coming up before the fishing day is done), can be quickly and easily anchored, will accommodate an electric trolling motor, has lots of room for gear and cooler when rigged for fishing solo, can drift rivers as well as be rowed on lakes, and is very stable to fish from...
of course the big downside on this one is I've got over $3,500 into it..... you can get pretty much the same thing at about the same price from Hyde boats (they call it the easy drifter or something like that)... but, for your situation, I think $3,500 would get you a pretty decent newer powered boat that would serve your needs much better............
Fish doesn't smell "fishy" because it's fish. Fish smells "fishy" when it's rotten.
, I think the most enjoyable fishing has been out of my coleman ram-x 10' bass hunter. I've had it now for about 20 years. It's small enough to through in the back of a pickup. It has 2 seats and is Coast Gaurd rated for 550 lbs with a 5 hrs. motor. Its great for the smaller lakes which have a lot less fishing pressure as the big lakes. Also I've used it in the bays of bigger lakes and even trolled for kokanne on CDA Lake with it. I also have a 12 jon boat (G3) with a trailer. For Bass fishing the bass hunter is a whole bunch better than the jon boat. To me each has its purpose. But I gotta agree with littleriver If you don't have a gas motor and running an electric, have a x-tra battery for a backup. Plus they not really good for big water for two reasons, one for the wind and two bigger boats aauuggggg 
