Choosing boat for Ohio River

Hopefully some of you ohio river veterans can weigh in.

I have a 14' jon boat that I have used for a lot of shallow water fishing in rivers like the Dix and Cumberland that can go from 15 feet to 1.5 feet just like that. But, I want a bigger boat so that I can start exploring the Ohio River (I live in Louisville).

I'm going to stick with an aluminum jon for all the shallow water, shoal running I do. But I want a bigger size and a center console.

I'm looking at various makers from Tracker to G3's in the 17' to 18.5' range.

B&J Marine has a neat tunnel hull 17' G3 jon boat with a 70HP outboard that would serve my needs well on the smaller rivers and lakes I fish.

Is this big enough for the Ohio R or do I need to keep looking at the 18 foot range?

Thanks for any comments.

Call Richie, at Plapps Outdoors...he knows boats...and the river very well.
You need to call him before you make your decision, at least talk to him about it.

I agree on calling plapps, they will find you a G3. 17' 70 horse will be plenty for creek running and such. However, if you plan on making long runs up and down the river those can be time consuming at 40mph. I would stick to a V-hull boat, whipping in and around the bends in creeks could be a little interesting in a tunnel hull. JMO

I am fishing out of a 17'10" ranger and it is ok you just have to be careful like everything the river can be dangerous.

Here here.

G3 is a good boat. If you live in Louisville you would probably want to have a closer dealer than Florence Ky. B&J will give you a good deal, and if something goes wrong they will stand behind it, just my 2 cents.

Thanks for all the comments fellas.

I will definitely try to get a hold of Richie at Plapps for some guidance on boats and the Ohio River.

Also, I went by B&J Marine at lunch today and they were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Not to mention that I really liked the 17' G3 tunnel hull they had. It was pretty sharp.

Fun things to think about when it's 20 degrees outside!