Question:
I've just started fishing with my 7-year-old son on a couple of large
lakes in the Raleigh, NC area. So far, we've had fun fishing from shore
... but haven't caught many butt seat for a bass boat.
It seems that we could be considerably
more productive if we got an inexpensive boat. I can pull a small boat
and trailer with my mini-van but I'm unsure if I should buy buy a jon
boat or a (more expensive and heavier) bass boat. It appears that the
jon boat would do everything that I need, but I hate to buy a used one
if I'll soon be wishing that I had paid a little extra up front to get a
bass boat. Please post or send me your thoughts....
Most of my fishing will be in Falls Lake or Kerr Lake in NC with my
7-year-old thus I'd like to be able to launch and retrieve the boat with
minimal (none) help. At times, my wife and 4-year-old might want to go
along, but most fishing would be with just the two of us. I don't see a
need to go fast or pull anything behind the boat, I'd just want to be
able to fish off the shore. What else should I be considering?
Is a bass boat more stable than a jon boat? They have the raised
decking...
Is a jon boat easier to handle than a (fiberglass or aluminum) bass
boat?
Why are most people using bass boats instead of less-expensive jon
boats? I'm clearly missing something here.
I'd like to lauch from a public ramp, but then dock the boat on the
shore of my camping site at NC state parks. Is there an advantage to
aluminum or fiberglass as far as pulling it up on shore to dock next to
a campsite?
Is there a big difference in maintenance expenses?
Answer:
-A 12 foot Sears Gamefisher (fiberglass with a 6 hp 1964 Mercury
motor). It was good for fishing in areas where there weren't a lot of
larger boats zipping around - we ran it for about 1 year.
Cost per fishing trip for gas and oil about $2.00
I then graduated to a 17 1/2 foot aluminum bass boat with a 55 hp
Evinrude - this so that my family would be more comfortable and we
could go out on the big lakes on windy days. We used it for 3 years(
I took the 55 hp off it and now use it in the local trolling motor
only lakes).
Cost per fishing trip for gas and oil about $7.00
I now have a 20 foot bass boat with a 200 hp Yamaha. I really love
this boat. It handles the rough weather, is super comfortable, and
fast as could be. I have had it for 4 years now.
Cost per fishing trip for gas and oil $28.00
You have gotten some excellent suggestions in the preceding messages,
but I will add a couple more. Buy a used 16 or 17 foot aluminum boat
with a 9.9 hp motor (this puts you just under the 10 hp restriction
that some lakes have). Make sure that it has some good comfortable
seats (the butt seat is my favorite since I fish standing up - it is
good to have something to lean against). Get a 30 lb thrust trolling
motor mounted on the front of the boat and as good a depth finder
(also known by some as fish finders) as you can manage (I prefer a
flasher because it doesn't lie and I get an instantaneous readout of
what is under the boat - mount it on the front so you can look down
and read it while you operate the trolling motor ).
-Start with a Jon boat, for what you want it would be perfect--aluminum
or fiberglass. Aluminum is more abrasion resistant but very noisy,
bendable and harder to repair. Fiberglass is quieter, resiliant and easy
to repair--either will last long enough to pass on to your grandson with a
little care. Bass boats are "high purpose" craft designed to aid in
winning fishing contests and to satisfy big egos. Some bass fishing
contests used to allow the fishers to virtually race to the hot
spots--fastest boat best initial spot--and are based on max caught poundage
so it pays not to spend too much time in transit from spot to spot. So the
hull design evolved to handle high horsepower/speed along with low
freeboard; stable casting platforms and other "fishability" features.
Nice, but expensive and extremely NOT necessary for a good day on the
water.
