What boat to get

[jeff25]

I need help selecting a boat. First let me start with the lakes I will be fishing mainly. Lake #1 is the biggest and is only 300 acres and electric only and has a good boat ramp. Lake #2 is only about 30 acres and has a terrible boat ramp, I would probably have to drag the boat 10 yards to the water. Lake 3 is 200 acres and I believe a 5 horse limit with a good boat ramp.

 

now for my boat option.

#1: my grandfather has a 70's bass boat that I could probably get for 1,000$ but needs the deck replaced and fish finders. The big motor needs a new lower unit but that doesn't matter as much as my home lakes don't allow for it. I also cannot fish lake #2 with it.

 

#2: buy a flat bottom jon, deck it, get bow mounted trolling motor, and fish finder. I could fish fish any lake with this boat without fear of tearing it up to much

 

#3: get a fishing kayak and mount fish finder, again I could fish any of the lakes

 

 

[tander]

If you have to drag a boat to the water you would probably be better off with a kayak. If all the lakes had good ramps then I would go with the  flat bottom jon and do a little fixing up on it.

[jeff25]

My brother in law has a 12 foot jon that we carried and put in the lake without the ramp. If the water levels are up you can back all the way down to the lake, but the last 2 years it has been down so there is about 10 yards of dirt, depending on how wet it is I may be able to back down it without getting stuck.

I want to get into some offshore structure fishing. Would this be difficult in a kayak

[WIGuide]

Given your situation, I'd go with the kayak or small john boat.

[S Hovanec]

#1 will end up being a money pit

The other 2 are your best options.  I'd lean more towards #2, because I'm larger than the average bear and a kayak isn't all that appealing to me!!

[Dwight Hottle]

15 minutes ago, S Hovanec said:

#1 will end up being a money pit

The other 2 are your best options.  I'd lean more towards #2, because I'm larger than the average bear and a kayak isn't all that appealing to me!!

That brought a smile to my face.  

[Brent Christian]

With what all you said i would probably say get a Kayak. from what i understand majority of the people that get them love them.

[jeff25]

Is it hard to fish from the sitting position of a kayak? That is my only concern with it.

[Allen Der]

2 hours ago, jeff25 said:

Is it hard to fish from the sitting position of a kayak? That is my only concern with it.

no but many you can stand up in easily.  if you have the money, get a hobie with mirage drive.  if you want to spend less look at wilderness systems commander or native Ultimate.  i believe both have motor mount options 

[gardnerjigman]

Find a cheap Jon boat and deck it out for electric only. Option 1 shouldn't be an option. 

[flyfisher]

I fish similar water types and went with a kayak.  Pretty much any kayak can be mounted with a motor.  Stability on many boats is pretty good. I know on my boat i have zero issues standing to fish but the raised seat positions don't make it as much of a necessity as back in the day when you were pretty much on the water.  

 

[neocrunch]

11 hours ago, Allen Der said:

no but many you can stand up in easily.  if you have the money, get a hobie with mirage drive.  if you want to spend less look at wilderness systems commander or native Ultimate.  i believe both have motor mount options 

+1 for Native Watercraft. Great company. Check out the Slayer Propel and the Ultimate fx Propel. They are expensive ($2500-3000ish) but think of all the money you will save on gas & engine maintenance. At least that's what I keep telling my wife. I'm in the process of trying to decide which one I'm going to purchase this spring. 

Ohio has a couple of kayak fishing organizations/tournaments that might interest you, too. 

[Allen Der]

2 hours ago, neocrunch said:

+1 for Native Watercraft. Great company. Check out the Slayer Propel and the Ultimate fx Propel. They are expensive ($2500-3000ish) but think of all the money you will save on gas & engine maintenance. At least that's what I keep telling my wife. I'm in the process of trying to decide which one I'm going to purchase this spring. 

Ohio has a couple of kayak fishing organizations/tournaments that might interest you, too. 

test out those propel systems before you buy one.  IMO they are better suited to open water ocean or great lakes trolling than bass fishing in lakes with a lot of weeds and shallow water.   the hobie mirage drive combats weeds and shallow water without having to take it out.  for paddling yaks, native is a top brand along with wilderness and jackson

[Fishing Rhino]

Number one is a not go.  You don't need that much boat, and you don't need the expenses that go with it, current and future.

No need to manhandle a bass boat at the sometimes okay for launching from a trailer, and other times impossible.

A kayak or jon is perfectly adequate for the sizes of the ponds you will be fishing.  Get a trolling motor and those boats will not become money pits.  Neither two, nor three will have as many moving parts as number one that may require repair.