How did most of you start?

[Logan S]

Started small and worked my way up.  IMO its the way to go, though I've known people that go straight to a full size boat and were fine.  I think starting in smaller boats made me a better fisherman though, it forces you to make the most of what you've got - both fishing and equipment wise.  

 

Got this hand-me-down 12' V-Hull from the 1960's when I was 12.  Cleaned it up and put small deck and trolling motor on it.  I learned a ton about fishing in this old boat.  

 

When I was 15  (close to 16 ) I scratched together enough money to get a bare bones 17' Tracker with a 25hp....And pushed the limits more than I probably should have in that thing - Taking it down to FL and up to Canada and almost everywhere in between on the east coast.  Started fishing tournaments in this boat and won my first local tournament in it.  Many of my best fishing memories were in this boat.  

 

When I was 21 (after college) I upgraded to a 20' Stratos...

 

Couple years ago I upgraded to my current boat, 21' Skeeter ZX250 ?.

[gim]

Growing up as a kid in Minnetonka, my family had a 16 foot aluminum Sylvan tiller with a 25 hp outboard. I fished out of that for a number of years. Then we upgraded to a 17.5 foot deep V Crestliner fish hawk tiller. That boat had GPS, a live well, bow mount, and radio so it was quite an upgrade. Now my folks have a 2090 Warrior they use in tournaments and I have my own boat which is a Ranger RT178. I also did quite a bit of small river fishing in a small Jon boat which I continue to this day. I’m grateful for the opportunities I had in the past to use these boats. Caught a lot a fish in them and learned so much.

[WRB]

Growing up on a lake our family always had a wooden row boat as long as I can remember. Working at the boat landing with my brother at age 12 getting the rental wooden boat fleet ready for customers, checking out the 5 hp Johnson outboard engines and making sure they had gas and started easy. Boating is a way of life for me.

My suggestion is rent a boat at our local lakes*, all public lakes have them. This way you learn to handle the boat and engine without owning it or storing it.

Tom

PS, you don't see Jon boats very often on SoCal lakes because they are not safe on windy lakes.

*Casitas bite is good now!

[rdj735]

9 hours ago, skekoam said:

Every time my son and I fish, we just gawk at the guys on the water in their boats, float tubes, kayaks, etc.

 

I'm just curious how most of you guys started on the water?  Did you start small and slowly graduate towards larger vessels?  My son wants me to get a small boat that is easy to launch, safe, and requires very little maintenance but not sure we are ready for that yet.  

I like fishing some larger lakes near my hometown, so when I finally decided to buy my own, I got one big enough to handle that water. But if I was only fishing small lakes and/or calm water, and just going alone or with one other person, I would've bought something smaller. For me, it was about what water I needed to handle, and what my intended use was. Nothing wrong with a 10' 2-person boat and a trolling motor if that gets you where you want to fish safely.

[Goldstar225]

I was a bank fisherman, I had only been in a jon boat a half dozen times up until I was 35 when I bought my first Jon boat.  Then an '87 tracker TX 17 from my brother in about 2010.  Two years ago I sold it and bought my 2018 PT190 which will probably be my last boat.

[Bluebasser86]

I was about 12 or 13 I bought a used and abused 2 man for $50 that I used and abused a bunch more before it was stolen a couple years later. Bought a Pond Prowler from BPS that got me through a few more years before I bought a '92 Ranger 451V with a 150hp Merc when I was 16 for 4k. It never ran well, sold it when I was 17 for the same price and bought a 15' Ragin Cajun with a 50hp Merc that was a great little boat for a minute until I found out the lower until was leaking and the crankshaft was pitted and needed replaced. I almost bought a new 60hp motor for it but ended up buying a brand new 16' Lowe Roughneck with a 60hp 4 stroke Merc for a few thousand more. Sold the Cajun and bought a 14' Lowe johnboat with a 15hp Johnson tiller motor, really wish I'd never let go of that boat. Kept the Roughneck until 2012 when my wife found out she was pregnant and told me I needed to buy a bigger boat. Sold my Roughneck to my good fishing buddy and putted around for a couple years in my BIL's 15' johnboat with my 15hp Johnson tiller on it until I found my 2012 189 VLO Stratos in '15. Bought a Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler II in 2016, and a 16' Monarch johnboat in 2018 that is now my beater/river boat that has the same 15hp Johnson tiller on the back of it.

[GreenPig]

13 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I started with a 12’ styrofoam canoe.  Then a 16’ richline aluminum with a 9 horse Merc.

A styrofoam canoe? I didn't know they even existed. Sounds sketchy. 

[GreenPig]

Bought me a 10' flat bottom, paddle, and 10 lb anchor for $75 at 14. My daddy came home one day and said he'd seen a jon boat at a yard sale and the guy only wanted $75 for it, which just happened to be how much I'd saved up. So he drove me and I purchased my dream boat. I fished the little boat to death. I didn't know for 15 years the guy had actually wanted $125 and my daddy had already paid him $50 and ask the guy to not tell me. 

[Ratherbefishing75]

I started off with my dads old 8 foot raddission canoe that took a lot of damage over the years. Then went to a 8 foot John boat that I go for free  it had more Silicone and duct tape holding it together then aluminum with a 30 foot pound trolling motor. Now I have a 16.5  foot ascend dc156  canoe with a 55 foot pound trolling motor that I trick out a little bit more every year

[VolFan]

Try to start now - Looking for a 15-16 foot aluminum V or semi-v with something on the order of 25 to 50 hp four stroke. Would fish mainly my son and I and occasionally my wife. Not doing any tournaments, really going for economy and ease of maintenance. I guess i started with a kayak as my first boat 23 years ago, and have had a few since then. Currently have two Nucanoes.

[Boomstick]

Well I really wanted a bass boat but I decided to get kayaks instead. I did a bunch of research and got myself just about my dream kayak, the Bonafide SS127. Then I got the boys something nice they will have for many years to come.