jonboats

[peder]

Hey Guys,

I was thinking of buying a jonboat to fish the MN river and small lakes. I've been looking at Alummacraft, Lowe, Cresliner, and some others. I would like your input on brands, size, console vs tiller, motor size, etc... Thanks in advance. Looking forward to KOTC and BPCL this year.

Dave

[Papa Grump]

Dave- I guess the question to be asked is what is your price range? For brand new your looking at 6-13 grand depending on what you want to do. IMO, Alumacraft and Lowe are the 2 brands to really take a hard look at. Before I got the River Pro, I really liked the 1650SC ( 16 ft) from Alumacraft that came with the 25 horse tiller on it. It was resonably priced and having used one a couple of times, it really got around the river really good and was great on the lakes.

[hanson]

This probably goes without saying but definitely look at the Mod-V style jonboats rather than the typical flat bottoms. They will ride a bit better in the waves and work just fine on the river.

I guess I wouldn't rule out a small V-hull either. Alot of us cat guys run aluminum V-hulls and I've never had a problem either.

When it comes to the jons... Alumacraft, Lowe Roughnecks, and definitely check out SeaArks (Monark) as well. Xpress jons are a good boat as well but you won't find too many around here, they are primarily in the south.

When it comes to tiller vs console, I will take a forward center console any day of the week over anything else on the river. Find a boat with the console as far forward as possible. It will definitely help with night visibility while running and open up the back of the boat to fish out of.

[ec30_06]

Peder give me a call sometime. I put a lot of hours into looking at jon boats before I got mine. Also may know of a guy who has one.

[Windy]

Peder,

I own a Mirrocraft Modified V, 1451. It has a 74" beam with a 51" bottom. It has a raised platform in front and it has been wired for a bilge/livewell etc. I have it maxed out with a 25hp. Mercury and it really flies. It is an Awesome boat for rivers and I have actually used it on Lake of the Woods when it's been nice out. Send me an email sometime if you want more info about it.

Jason

http://www.hardwateradventures.com

[email protected]