Jon Boat Questions

[Frank19]

I've decided that I've finally had enough of shore fishing and it's time to buy a jon boat.  I just want something that I can fit in the back of my pickup truck (8' bed) and slide out myself into the local reservoirs.  My ideal setup would be a flat bottom aluminum boat that I can hook up an electric trolling motor and some sort of fish finder.  Does anyone have any suggestions for me?  What size would be best?  10'?  What do you think it would run me when it's all said and done for the boat, fish finder, trolling motor and marine battery?  Thanks in advance for the advice.  

[snapperd1]

Frank,

 Alot depends on where you live.  Around here in Maryland the min legth for a boat on the Res is 12'  you may want to check in your area to find if there are any rules as to size.

TD

[Frank19]

Good idea, I will defiantly check the local rules.  I'm pretty sure 10' is ok though because I know other guys who have fished the reservoir with boats that size.  

[victory23]

go with a 12 footer. I have a 12 and it fits in the back of my s10 6 foot bed with the tailgate down and it is very lite. Heck anything beats fishing from shore. Good luck

[HPBB]

A 10 or 12 footer is fine, just don't over look one with a trailer. I know around here there are many 12 jon/ semi V's with trailers going for $500-$700 some with TM & outboards motors. You have a truck, so pulling it will not be problem, and if the pond or lake you fish doesn't have a launch ramp you can easily pull a boat that size off the trailer and slide it in the water. I had a 12 semi V and a few places I fish I would drag the boat off the trailer to the water. The trailer make life so much better than putting it in the bed of your truck, + a boat sliding in and out of a truck bed can put a lot of damage to the bed. Beleive me, when you come home from work and you can go fishing for a few hours. Its alot easier to just hook up to the trailer and go, instead of loading every thing in the bed of the truck. Just an idea you might have not thought of

[gg4709]

I just got a 14 footer with a trailer and a running 40HP evinrude all for $150.  It did not have a title or registration and I ended up paying around 300 extra for that and other stuff to get it ready (it had been sitting since 1999).  Not bad.  The way I stumbled upon that is I was driving around some neighborhoods looking for a boat in folks back yard that I could offer to buy.  I found this 14 footer and a larger boat that looked like it needed atleast 800 in repair costs.  The guy wanted 500 for both but agreed to let the smaller 14 footer to go for 150.   You would be surprised to find how little people would want for a boat that they don't use anymore.  If you think about it they could use all that space for something else, and it could be that they just don't have time to use the boat anymore.  Go out and look, its worth a shot. 8-)

[Frank19]

Thanks for all the help guys.  I will defiantly consider the idea of one with a trailer.  12' though is probably the biggest I would go.  Reason being that on the reservoirs by me you are only allowed to have electric motors.  I don't know how well an elec motor would move anything bigger than 12'.  I guess I'll just keep my eye on the for sale sections of bass sites to see what I can find.  

[Frank19]

I'm picking up a jon boat on Monday.  Bought it used from a guy in my fishing club.  Now I just have to decide on a trolling motor, battery and fish finder.  Any suggestions when it comes to fish finders?  I want something that I can run off the same battery as the trolling motor.  I guess I would be able to stick the transponder to the bottom somehow and then fabricate some sort of bracket to hold the display unit to the side of the boat.  

[Travlin_Man]

Check out the local Wal-Marts for fish finders. The portable units use a suction cup transducer. I bought a new Eagle unit a few years ago for $ 75. The store manager wanted to clear it to make room for other merchandise.

[Catt]

My suggestion would be a Hummingbird 535 $138.63 at Academy, large screen (5" Diagonal) high definition 320V x 320H pixel resolution. Mount it in your bow, mount the transducer on the transom, this way you can use the depth finder while running and fishing.

[Frank19]

My suggestion would be a Hummingbird 535 $138.63 at Academy, large screen (5" Diagonal) high definition 320V x 320H pixel resolution. Mount it in your bow, mount the transducer on the transom, this way you can use the depth finder while running and fishing.

That unit looks real nice and I see what you mean about mounting the transducer on the back.