Jet outboards vs surface drive mud motors

[Pool_Eleven]

Alright everyone, Im trying to figure out what would work best for me and im looking for input from anyone who has either one of these motors. I fish and hunt the mississippi river which is a stump infested mine field full of shallows, channels and about anything else u can think of. So i figure these 2 types of motors were my best bet.

So i know a mud motor goes just about anywhere which is what i love about them but im worried about the lack of top end speed that they have. I know u can do some pretty serious work on them to get them the power u want but then were talking some pretty serious cash too.

On the other hand a jet outboard has the top end speed i want but cant quite go everywhere. I guess for the jet outboard i was wondering exactly what they could go through. The sippi is pretty much all mud bottom so i was worried about sucking up all that mud and also wondering about what kind of vegetation they could go through or even if they could.

Any input about the pros and cons of each motor or any comparisons between the two that u may have would be greatly appreciated. And hopefully help me keep my sanity!!

[Alagnak]

I have a jet and have used them for work for 15+ years in AK. They do everything you would want them to do but do NOT like mud/weeds/leaves of any sort. Sure- some will take more than others and it's easy to clear them out and many pass through (small soft stuff) without actually stopping you. But the problem is when you slow down or have to come off plane you are going down- so then you clear the intake. Do you now have the water depth needed to take off? Probably not. Jets are great for the St. Croix, MN, the rocky shallow rivers I need them for in AK, and mississippi up river from the cities but not so much on the backwaters south. Slow back waters with that mud and weeds you speak of will probably drive you nuts. And if you're in the main channel you wouldn't need it. There's no perfect boat. Gotta have at least 2 I think.