Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Tell us about your boat,---s.

It might seem a fellow needs one for every purpose.

12 " flatbottom.
6 hp 4 stroke
30 lb electric trolling motor.

Just enough room for two adults, or me and two boys.
For the high mountain lake, ponds and slow rivers around here it's just right.
No trailer, it fits in the back of my Toyota P.U.
It may not look like muck, but I can launch it anywhere I can get near water, no ramp necessary.
Since I got it last July, I have boated about 150 Trout, half a Dz smallmouths and 1 squawfish..

12.5' 1968 Montgomery Wards SeaKing semi vee. Either my 1964 Chrysler 4.4 horse for small lakes that we troll or a 1994 15 horse Evinrude for rivers or big lakes we may need to outrun the weather on.

Little boat catches the heck out of trout
And salmon too!

A friend in our little 14 foot Appleby.
Light weight, and welded some, but she does not leak.

The Appleby boats were made in Lebanon, Missouri.
Appleby's son-in-law was named Lowe.

I fish New River in WV & VA so I need a boat for swift & shallow water. I also fish Smith Mountain Lake, VA so I need a boat with a little room. My choice was a Lowe's 1648 with a 25 HP Johnson. I use a remote controlled trolling motor I can operate from the rear seat.

1978 Ski Nautique (skiing and tubing)
12 aluminum starcraft/6hp tohatsu for fishing
14" Ray Green rascal daysailor
Two 12" Kayacks for paddling about.

When my 6 year old leaves for college, the Nautique will go into storage and me and the Mrs hope to get a 30-35' to sail about for a year or three.

For public lakes, 2002 Tracker Pro Deep V17.




For putzing around on the lease, this little pontoon is fun though not very fast.




I would like to find a little 2 man bass buggy or jon boat or similar for fishing with the kids. Gonna have to watch craigslist this winter.

Hobie 14' Pro Angler. The "motor" is that pedal drive you see. Truly walking on water.

My little 12x36 alumacraft with 36# minn Kota sees a lot of use for the muskie rivers

KY

How do you fit a muskie and 2 people in that boat? ;-) I've had pike jump out of canoes and boats; I rather doubt that a muskie would sit around waiting to see what develops?

As for my boats, 2 canoes, a 14' Lund S-20 with a 35hp on it; an Alumacraft Trophy 19.5 with a dead 115 hp and bow mount trolling motor - like Creeker with a remote control; a 14ft duck boat, and a 16 ft Johnson X sailboat.

The magic number of boats needed is N +1 where N is the number you have now!

The wife says the magic number is N - 1. .

I will be building several cedar strip canoes, at least one duck boat, and maybe a runabout type boat in the next couple of years when I finish building a house.

Not sure what you mean forpest? Why would we put a muskie in the boat?

Catch, photo release man. Same way you do it on the lakes. Net the fish. Leave the net over the side of the boat with the lunge in the water. Unhook him. Lift him up for a quick pic and turn him loose. The muskie never comes into the boat.

Here's the only pic I have that semi describes it. We do the same thing in the jon boat when we fish the rivers

Buddy netted the fish. Unhooked her while she was in the water. Quick photo and back in she goes

This canoe is not real, but, like I said, a fellow can't seem to have to many, and I do have fun with it.

Just couldn't give up those pedals could ya!.. Style points for the nose art!

I may start calling it the Floating Tiger...

I have a discovery 158 old town for canoe camping and fishing, 12' hydra canoe I duck hunt out of and a hand built frame and canvas canoe my high school math teacher gave me a couple of years ago that he built Iin the 60s.

My favorite is my 1546 alumacraft drop deck (prop) tunnel hull. When my 1974 model evinrude 15 hp ( born the same year as my wife but gives 1/64th the trouble) is mounted its my river boat but when I run the lakes I mount a 1986 evinrude 30 hp on it. I have a minnkota 55# terrova I pilot up front. Its really light but is a all welded boat. I love it.

My next purchase will probably be a native pedal drive kayak. They have reverse! Yes,,, you do need one for every purpose.

O yeah, a final attack boat blind. Almost forgot.

KY:

Been away for a while. I have to get used to the new way of doing things. . My experience has been with big pike up to the mid-80's. No catch and release - hook em , land em and cooke em. A landing net was needed to avoid getting a hook in the hand. I got to perform surgery on a friend with a jack knife to get a lure out of his hand. Didn't know the mono line trick then. I would not want to use a cradle from a canoe, but would like to try a flat bottom net. Round bottom nets surely didn't mellow them out. I have had pike jump out of a canoe. .

Keep after those muskies. . Teach them that it is safe to eat and run!

It sucks to be old!

I do a lot of hunting and fishing lakes and rivers. I need a boat that can do it all. The boat has to have a payload large enough for 4 men, gear, and enough room to bring the deer back. It also needs to be able to have a shallow draft of 6 to 8 inches to run the rivers for trout and also be stable in deep lakes. I have had canoes and small jon boats and they did ok for what I needed them to do, they just didn't do what I want to do safely. The canoe and small jons were terrible on the lake and didn't have the payload for hunting. I found the G3 1860 CCT Deluxe and it does everything I want it to. I hunt and fish lakes and rivers with this boat and the experience is so much better with this boat. I love my G3.

Rocky-really like the Shark's mouth on the bow, and understand the meaning, sir.

I don't have a decent picture, but mine's a Lund 14W Deep V measurig 14 ft. I've had it for over 20 years, abused it in every way imaginable, and it every rivet is still watertight. The boat has outlasted two engines. The 25 horse Johnson it came with cooked a cyllinder and piston about 5 years after I got it. I put on a 10 horse Evinrude and used that for a few years before it met the same fate. Now I have an old 18 horse Evinrude on it that has run like a champ since I bought it. We've been from one end of Minnesota to the other with it, even beached the boat in Canada once on a trip up the Kabetogoma-Rainey Lake chain. We've caught just about every fresh water fish that calls Minnesota home out of this boat. I've got an old Motorguide 45 lbs. trolling motor, and a couple depth finders in it. I'm getting tired of clambering over the bench seats, so it may be time to get something just a bit bigger, but it will be tough to see this classic old red Lund Minnesota walleye boat go down the road.

Driving through the length of Minnesota, if a fellow had a dime for every Lund boat behind a Chevy pickup, it would be a leg up on paying for the trip.

When I first moved up here from Ohio, I kind of got the impression that if I bought anything but a red Lund there'd be h3ll to pay. They are very good boats-built like a tank and made to last. Mine's 35 years old now and still looks darned good. Aluminum is so easy to take care of too.

One for sailing (Freya 39), one for fishing (North American Offshore S-22).

1995 Alumacraft V-14
1989 Suzuki DT15c two stroke
40 lb. Minn Kota transom mount

I paid $1,200 for the used boat, gas motor, two deep-cycle batteries and trailer. Despite all of the jokes about boats being nothing but a money pit, I think it might be some of the best money I ever spent when I consider the good times we have had with it:

Being prepared is a good idea. This boat comes with a spare boat on top and a 4 wheeler on deck. We used this a lot in Alaska. The second picture is the spare, it really moves...

Wow love the inflatable. How long is that thing, like 8 or 10 foot?

How in the hell did you get that 4 wheeeler in there?

I have a 1980 Lowe 14/42 with a 1968 Johnson 9.9hp. That Johnson is the best starting gas engine I've ever seen, one of my better purchases for $250.

I have a small minnkota trolling motor, stern mounted, and a small fish finder and harrass the crappie and panfish in local lakes, and on Truman lake if my father inlaw and his boat aren't around.

I had a 1995 Aries with a 90hp evenrude for a few years and fished a lot out of it, but it seemed like I caught more fish with the smaller boat. I mostly jig around standing timber with 12-13' dippin' poles or ultra light set ups, or trottline for flathead. Anyway the Aries was entirely the wrong boat for how I generally fish.

I have a 1996 Champion bass boat with a 115 hp Merc. I bought the boat three years ago from a guy in north Arkansas which is where the Champion factory used to be located. The boat was in great condition. I use the boat for crappie and bass fishing in Missouri.

I used to have a Stratos bass boat with 115 hp Envinrude that I bought new in 1985. I sold it in the mid-1990's because I quit fishing and the boat took up too much room in the garage. I got the itch to crappie and bass fish a few years ago and started looking for a clean used bass boat. Glad that I found the Champion.

I know this is a freshwater forum, but my primary boat that I built is mostly used in the salt.



It's a 23' tolman widebody powered by a 140 horse suzuki.

The inflatable we carry on top is dual purpose and we use it a fair bit in local lakes



Got my wife a little kayak that we use in both salt and fresh water.



Don't have a photo but we picked up an Old Town canoe a few years back when Sportsman's warehouse had a great sale due to some scratches.

And under the category of other boats I'm building a Merten's D4 (almost done)



(someone that finished theirs)

And a geodesic airolite snowshoe 18 canoe (still haven't started on it, well other than ripping the stock for the stringers and ordering the kevlar and dacron)

...and of course, the boat I use the most for drifting the rivers in Montana...

[img:center]
Hewescraft2 by Brant Lindquist,

My 16 ft Hewescraft. We use it on the lakes and in the salt

[img:center]
Drift Boat by Brant Lindquist, on Flickr[/img]

Here is my driftboat we use on the rivers out here on the Olympic Peninsula

This is my Xpress XP180 multipurpose boat:

What a monster!

I picked up a 1752 Alweld a couple of years ago. Have a 50/35 TLDI jet on it so I can use it in the Kenai when I want to. Added the Beavertail floatation pods and a removable grab bar. With the pods and tunnel I can run it in 3" of water or so when on step. Been a fun little boat.

Nothing like I used to have. Now days its a 16.5' Alumacraft with a 75hp Suzuki. Lowrance electronics, MinnKota TM...pretty normal MN fishing rig.

You're supposed to take care of them? Please explain!

My main boat since 2004 has been an Xpress it is an 18 foot 10 inch all welded with a 125 Mercury. Runs about 50 mph. It has handled a lot of lakes in Ohio including Lake Erie and does very well on the Ohio River. Plenty of room and rides as well as a lot of glass boats. I tend to fish real shallow at times and aluminum is the best hull for me. I have had other tin boats that rode like a log truck and were a very wet ride. The Xpress is everything I hoped for when the 180 Lowe split the last time. I was tired of replacing rivets and welding the hull. I fished the last tournament with the Lowe with duct tape over an eight inch split in the hull and said it was time for a replacement. I do believe the xpress is the last boat I will buy.
Bill

I like those PFD's folks, live to fish another day.

You never know when you may go for an unexpected swim.

Enjoyed seeing the boats you guys own. Boats are a wonderful source of entertainment for people of all ages. I have been around them since a child in the 50s. Can't imagine life without a boat.

Have had my 1910 Trophy Bayliner center console for 31 yrs. Bought it to handle any freshwater lake in the West. It was setup for saltwater bay type fishing. I removed the large handrail system, lowered the windshield redesigned the dash and added a trolling motor. Best accessory was a set of Bennett Trim Tabs.

Not only has it seen the big Western impoundments it has also ventured into the Finger Lakes Region of N.Y.

Went across Lake Ontario from Point Breeze to Cobourg Ontario while downrigger trolling for rainbows.

Went all over San Carlos Mexico including San Pedro Island and Tortuga Island.

Western lakes: Roosevelt Lake Az. Elephant Butte NM. Lake Powell UT, Flaming Gorge UT/Wy, Pend Oreille Id ,Jackson Lake Wy, Yellowstone Lake Wy, Priest Lake Id, Coeur d'Alene Id, Bear Lake Ut and a host of other smaller lakes. Only large one I haven't seen is Fort Peck.

Now days I don't downrigger troll anymore. I only visit one Lake which is Roosevelt Lake Az. My bird dogs are always with me which makes for plenty of fun and good companionship.

Azshooter..you have that cleaned up nice. I see alot of trophy's up in our neck of the woods,but the improvements you've made to that one are nice. I like the looks of it without the handrail system.

Brant

Thanks Lazydrifter.

Had it out last week. Dogs and I had a great time.

Here is one of mine, with part of another in the background

https://plus.google.com/photos/1171...26984112131259969?authkey=CL_G6vWXkdvIPQ

While pulling the fishhouse off the lake it fell off the boat ramp and grabbed the canoe. When you are pulling things with 65 hp, an extra 70# isn't noticeable. .

I think it can be "modified" to float again. If not, it will make a nice planter!

And this is why we have multiple boats - so the bonehead play of the day doesn't take us off the water!

Neat post - here is my contribution. I bought this boat with my dad in April 1994, been perfect for the fishing we do out here in the Pacific NW. Its a 17' Duckworth Pro III, all welded aluminum sled built in Clarkston Washington. I just repowered it last March with a new Suzuki DF90 4 stroke motor. Great combo IMHO and works great for our salmon fishing and pretty much anything else I fish for around home.



Its got pretty good fishing Mojo:)