GlenInBossTown

Hi All- I'm a bit of a noob here. I've been living right on a small lake in Massachusetts for a few years now and have had a bit of success, routinely catching 2-6# largemouth bass an occasional pickerel and various panfish each year. But when it comes to the bass, I've only caught them on soft, Texas-rigged plastics. No luck with frogs, spin or buzz baits, etc. The lake is 585 acres and is very shallow, with an average depth of 9' and a max depth of 13'. We get a LOT of algae do to runoff from the local cranberry bogs. In fact, the first year I was there, the lake was closed to swimming for a month because the algae grew to toxic levels. The town has been doing some things with the dam and water treatment and it should be better this year. I literally walk off my back porch to the private beach, so for all of its flaws, it's a pretty sweet spot. I've got a 12' boat with a small outboard. In any event, I can't wait for the weather to warm and get out on the lake. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can expand my tools and techniques, especially as the water comes up from near-freezing in the next few weeks. I generally stay away from live bait. I watch a lot of YouTube videos, but they are mostly from other parts of the country and in different types of water. What's a good way to start to broaden my skills? Thanks, Glen

I can imagine that it could get heavy quickly. I have an AGM Group 27 battery that is a beast and weighs just under 70#. I'll have to carry it about 100' up a shallow hill to charge it at the house. I chose a 30# thrust motor because the boat is pretty light and if you use the equations (2# thrust for every 100# of weight), there should be at least a 50% thrust reserve to account for wind, assuming you don't want to go past hull speed. The lake doesn't have any currents to speak of. Not going to win any races! My hope is that the 92 Ah battery will be enough for 1/2 day of messing about with long periods of drifting with a sock or being at anchor. In any event, both the battery box and the motor have battery level indicators, so hopefully I'll stay out of trouble. The boat doesn't have to come all the way out of the water each time. It just needs to be well beached. I can tie it off so it doesn't go anywhere. I'd prefer to have an aluminum boat if I can find one. But there is something nice about this little design with the integrated running lights and live well. We'll see. I'm waiting for my tax return before I can pull the trigger, so there's a little time before I have to decide. Maybe something will spring up in the classifieds.

Thanks guys! I actually grew up in the Bronx, and my dad bought a 14' jon boat when I was a kid. He put a rack on the top of our '69 Grand Torino and we'd drive north and leave the boat chained to a tree in the summer up on a reservoir in Duchess County. I'd love one. The problem is that a well made one is about $2,000 new. The older ones I see for sale either have been patched, or have a few leaks or have enough cosmetic problems as to need a good sanding and painting. I just don't need a project right now. My job is hectic, and I just want to go fishing. Is there a brand of aluminum jon boat that I can buy new for under $1500?

I'm sure this type of thing has been beaten to death in this forum before, but my circumstances are unusual, so I thought I'd put this out to the community for comment. I live on a 350 acre lake in Massachusetts. I have a private beach behind the house. I'm planning on getting a two-person boat that I can just drag up on the beach when not in use. I don't have a truck or any way to trailer a boat, but I'm planning on getting a new car (likely a Subaru or some such) that I can put a light duty hitch on later this year. I've been combing Craigslist and the Boat Trader and I'm not finding what I want - and I have no way to get anything I purchase to the house anyway. So I've got it narrowed down to two of the plastic boats that can be shipped to me. I'm considering either the Pelican Bass Raider 10E or the Sun Dolphin Pro 10.2 powered by an electric trolling motor. Since they'd be left outside during the summer, I'll get a cover for either. They will be stored under my back deck in the winter. Later in the year, I'll likely get a Harbor Freight trailer to move the boat when I want to. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks! Glen