Info on small boat needed......................

[dcbasser]

Was looking for something to fish a small lake in the county or maybe even get in the creeks or river a little bit. I will have to pack the boat to get where I am going so I need something light and easy to get in and out with. Was looking at those hobie kayaks but seem to be more money than I want to dish out just yet. However I will say they seem to be really nice. Any one have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

[dmd]

Check the bass hunter boats. Been thinking of getting one myself.
Look on www.basshunter.com

[justfishin]

Just my own feelings here, if you want to fish using man power instead of a motor. I would go for a coleman canoe, or one of thier small plastic boats. I have fished out of just about any thing you could think of, and that includes two 1940s car hoods welded together. The canoe is not as stable as the flat bottoms but they are easier to carry and with practice you can handle one in almost any kind of weather. main threat is if your on a lafe when there is a tourney going on hang very close to the banks.

[dcbasser]

The lake I am wanting to fish is only about 25 acres and full of bass and just minutes away from the house. It is not fishable anywhere from the bank and just real relaxing to get on and enjoy a day. Sometimes it is just good to get away from tourny fishing and all the traffic and just get back to enjoying what God has given us. Nothing no better that I can think of.

[artcarney_agr]

If you do go the canoe route, be sure to get the "camper" style canoe. It has a wider bottom and is a little more stable than the sportier ones. I've fished out of an Old Town Camper canoe that was been very stable. The only time I was thrown out of it was on Elkhorn in one of the rapids...my fault of course....all part of the fun on Elkhorn though! :)

[easy_13]

This thread reminds me of a boat my family had when I was in HS/college in Fla. Someone gave us a 12'-14' foot wooden jonboat. At some point, most of the middle section rotted out, so my dad did a little surgery and we wound up with a 6' jonboat, lol. Laugh all you want, but that was the handiest little boat I've ever owned.

We kept "The Splinter Box" it in our pond, but it easily fit in the bed of a pickup so somebody took it to the Gulf of Mexico or one of the many rivers in our area at least 2-3 times a week. My brother "towed" the boat by placing it on top of his Fiat convertible, lol.

The funniest story regarding the boat came when my dad was out by himself one night in the Gulf. There was a causeway at Ozello where he would take the boat and either catch shrimp, run crab traps or just mess around. This particular night, he became very sleepy and pulled up on one of the numerous islands to take a short nap. He woke up the next morning and was marooned; the tide had taken the boat back to the causeway, ironically to the same spot where he always launched the boat. His Pepsi, hat and other belongings were there on the bench, just as he had left them. This was before cell phones. We found his van and boat the next morning, then after about an hour we decided to go looking for him. Took us about 30 minutes to rescue him, lol.

[ALB]

You might also want to look at the one-person inflatable pontoon boats. Cabelas and Bass Pro have a lot of them. YOu sit up in a seat on top of an aluminum frame supported by two inflated pontoons. You row with oars, and can even attach a trolling motor to some. They also have some that have standing platforms on them.

As you can collapse and dissassemble them, I'd be willing to bet you could take them into some pretty out of the way spots.

For a simpler, cheaper route, consider a float tube. Some of the modern ones are pretty nice looking with a lot of features.

[dcbasser]

Thanks for the help.