Small outboard with best power to weight ratio?

[Red_Dog]

Hey all, I'm looking to get a 15 to 16 ft Jon for fishing the Mississippi up in the shallow stretches between Monti-St.cloud. I want the most power I can get for pushing against the current but also need light weight for pulling it up in rocky areas (lots) and beaching at shore. I also realize I will get it beat up regardless of how careful I am so not going to buy new or 4-stroke. I see lots of the guides and resorts up in portage areas run Yamaha 8's Im guessing they have the best bang for weight in the class but think I'd like to have a little more power than that but without getting too much heavier. Any suggestions?

[Esox_Magnum]

My buddy ran a 15 on his for river fishing, 16' extra wide and it did fine.

[Red_Dog]

Yea but I guess my question would be how well did it push him? Did he wish he had more or was it more than enough, and how heavy is it for lugging around up and down etc.?.. is there maybe an 18 horse with the same head/weight that gives a guy more? I know its pretty specific but I want to make sure I get it right and figured there would be guys out there that have "been there" type of knowledge.

[Loon]

I started out with an old 14' with a bunch of 3/4" plywood for casting platforms and a 9.8 Merc and that thing was a dog. 8 mph.

I bought a 15 hp Yammy for it and made an unbelievable difference. 19 mph.

I added a Mac's River Runner to each motor and that robbed each setup of 2 mph, but added much-needed piece of mind.

The reason I'd suggest a 15 hp is because you'll probably have a lot less weight so a 15 hp would probably move your rig around 22 mph up river. That is plenty fast through that nasty stretch.

Stepping up to a 18, 20, or 25 wouldn't help you much because you rarely get to crack it open on that stretch.

And when you do hit a rock a 15 will hop up because it's so light.

Definitely spend the money on a prop protector or rock hopper...even though it robs performance.

[Esox_Magnum]

He did upgrade to a 25 Yammi 4 stroke but couldnt yank it out of the water easily then. Boat got up and ran great with the 15 on it.

[Red_Dog]

Thanks for the great reply's guys. Loon we are from the same area, do you ever run the stretch from snuffy's to clearwater? I will get a river runner, you ever give it the stress test If you do run that area I bet you did ,,,,How well did it work??

[Loon]

Do I run from Snuffy's to Clearwater?

Hmmm...is 4 nights a week for 8 years a lot? A couple summers back I fished between Monticello and St.Cloud 26 days in a row. Clearwater down and Clearwater up is my specialty because when I was running a prop it was MUCH more forgiving. Mostly gravel with the occasional obvious boulder. Also a much better landing.

The river runner works well...never hit anything full tilt but I would always throttle down when the sonar read anything under 3 feet. I put a brand new prop on that Yammy the day I got it and it was flawless the day I sold it.

Esox is right- I forgot to add another benefit of staying at 15 hp: When you're drifting down and run into trouble it's a lot easier to tilt. Sounds minor, but things happen really fast out there.

[Red_Dog]

Loon, WOW Thats a lot of time on the water! Do you chase only smallies or cats too? Any idea where the St.Augusta creek dumps in to the Miss? I know its north of the Clearwater bridge just not sure where. You said you sold the Yammy what did you move up to running now? A riverpro or outboard Jet? I am curious of how a jet o.b would be and if its worth the money over prop. Not curious at all on the riverpro as I see how great that would be, just dont have the greenbacks.