That 8hp will do well on that boat. Especiall if it's a T8 high thrust kicekr.

I've had them on a 19 and 20' boat and they did well. The tiller will give you better boat control the "tie bar" will make it a bit easier to fish but you will have to work the wheel a lot.

I have a 6hp evinrude that I used on my Alumacraft a few times that worked fine for that boat but not as smooooooth as the Yamaha 4 strokes are.

I'm surprised you had issues with the 15 hp kicker.

Camp is where you make it.