Kayak vs Jon boat

[flyfisher]

I would be curious how you are going to get a pedal or motor driven kayak for a grand.  

I have been fishing out of a kayak for a very long time and the new kayaks are great.  I have a bad back, fractured when i was 19, and I am ok out there all day long.  Of course my kayak has a raised seat, most fishing ones do now, and i can stand up pretty easily.  

I chose a kayak because in my area the number of electric only or HP limited lakes are probably 15:1 over non restricted.  Easy decision really.  

All that being said, I don't have a motor on mine and would really like one for the river so I can do a motor up and float back on my own.  

As far as winter goes, all the advice is good.  I use a breathable wader, PFD and semi dry top.  I don't use a wading belt and have never had water get in when testing.  I don't think in still water you would get much if any water in but you definitely could in moving water.  That is where it pays to practice getting out of your waders and what it will feel like wearing them.  

 

[Boomstick]

The biggest pro of the Jon boat is you can take a friend, but you can really rig out a kayak very nicely and my Bonafide SS127 is quite comfortable and easy to cast in. I would prefer a kayak if it's just me, however a decent kayak will be much more expensive than a Jon boat.

[Justin Roberts]

I believe the biggest factor is having my 3 year old son, and once she's big enough, my 7 month old daughter out on the water.  Maybe I'll bribe the wife to join, too. ?

 

I appreciate everyone's take.  The boat is too good a deal to pass up.  Maybe next year I can get a kayak, too!  Why not both ??‍♂️

[schplurg]

I say boat, but you're going to get answers based on personal preference. There are good arguments for either vessel. For me, I feel cramped in my yak. My yak is heavy enough to where launching a boat would be easier.

 

I want more freedom of movement, but I only learned this from experience.

 

Kayak has its charms though. There are too many factors to just recommend one over the other. Get both then sell the one you don't like, or keep em both! Or rent a yak and try it.

[G-Prime]

For me, the boat has more utility for where and how I fish. Plus I occasionally take a family member or a kid. 

 

A little off subject but have you considered one of those plastic pontoon style boats like the basshunter or bassraider? Just asking because I was recently in a similar situation trying to decide between a kayak and a little jon boat. After fishing out of a sit on top kayak for a month or so I tried out one of the plastic pontoon style boats  - i bought a used one the very next week and haven't used the kayak since. Easy back of truck transport similar to a bigger kayak, can launch pretty much anywhere a kayak can, more room for tackle/rods/stuff, can stand up fish or use the swivel seats, and can also carry my brother every once in a while. It is quite comfortable to fish alone but cramped with 2 people although it is doable. 

 

[Talio]

Maybe it's just me, because I'm a ridiculously large person, but I've found those pontoon boats to be super cramped with two people.  I tried it with a friend once and he was dodging elbows all day.  I'm all limbs.  I also didn't find it to be all that stable.  More stable than a canoe, but less so than my kayak.  Also, they're not super dynamic in the water, so while we could be all day out in the canoe on one battery charge, we had to be really conservative with how much we ran the battery.  I'm 215lbs and he's probably a 180 holding a fat baby, so it could be that we just weighed down the boat too much, but I never went out with him again. It was just too uncomfortable.

[Justin Roberts]

Thanks for the input and advice fellow fisherman.  I went with the flat bottom.  It's in almost new shape, has a decent trolling motor and the 4 stroke mercury.  It'll do for now 

[Tatsu Dave]

Looks like a good setup JRob! You can't loose on a rig like that with a trailer and a little fourstroke. you will be like we are, able to go in without much if any launch area and in very little water depth. Boats that are able to get in and around where others don't or can't find some really good fishing at times. We see more kayaks than boats in some of our favorite spots, always careful with wakes and distance but once out in the river or lake we can move several miles back and forth pretty fast. After first mile we never see much in other fishing rigs at all. Nice to fish bass that aren't pressured or hammered on every day. Good Fishing! 

[Bankc]

I love my kayak.  But if I had the choice between it or that Jon boat, I'd take the boat in a heartbeat.  It'll be faster, more stable, have more room, etc.  Plus, it would be hard to install a trolling motor that nice on a kayak.  Unfortunately, I don't have a place to store a boat like that, nor a vehicle to pull it, so for me, the choices were kayak, inflatable, or canoe.  

 

Another downside to owning a boat like that is in Oklahoma, you have to have the boat and the trailer registered.  It's not crazy expensive, but it is an extra cost that you wouldn't have to worry about if you had a kayak and transported it on the roof of your car or in your truck bed.  

[scaleface]

You can stand up in the jon boat .I have long legs that cramp easily so the jon boat would be a no brainer for me .

[Justin Roberts]

What do yall recommend for a battery to run the trolling motor and could lights?  It's 45 lb power drive 12 volt.

[Tatsu Dave]

27series deep cycle battery, run same troller as yours about 6-7 hours run time depending on what speeds you use most. Come in throw it on 10 amp charger and it takes about 5 hours to charge. Bought mine at Wally World.

[Tizi]

I have both a pedal kayak and 12 foot semi-v smokercraft.  The boat is nice to bring people, however many of my friends own kayaks so we can still go together.  I much prefer fishing out of my PDL yak, it is just fun.  Get both.

[Justin Roberts]

21 hours ago, Tatsu Dave said:

27series deep cycle battery, run same troller as yours about 6-7 hours run time depending on what speeds you use most. Come in throw it on 10 amp charger and it takes about 5 hours to charge. Bought mine at Wally World.

Do you have copilot or i-pilot on yours?  Is yours 45lb?  Mine has copilot it looks like,  because the one side of the base says "copilot" and it has the plug ins there.  I figured that out on my own, but the seller didn't know much about boat to begin with. Is this trolling motor compatible with i-pilot? That'd be even better!

[Tatsu Dave]

Mine is 45lbs but is a Minn Kota Edge not copilot or I pilot can't help you there but I;m sure some on here can help you.

[Russ E]

3 hours ago, Justin Roberts said:

Do you have copilot or i-pilot on yours?  Is yours 45lb?  Mine has copilot it looks like,  because the one side of the base says "copilot" and it has the plug ins there.  I figured that out on my own, but the seller didn't know much about boat to begin with. Is this trolling motor compatible with i-pilot? That'd be even better!

Nice boat. looks similar to my first boat, except mine had an old cold blooded 2 stroke outboard.

copilot is remote steer, speed and on off on a minn kota power drive. It has to be a power drive V2, built after 2007, to be I pilot compatible. 

[Alex from GA]

Good choice.  I have a kayak that I use only where I can't use my real boat, small rivers mostly in N GA.  I'm a small old fart, 80 next week, and 145 lbs and still kayak all summer catching bass.  Yes a group 27 deep cycle battery is the way to go with your 45 lb trolling motor.  It'll last all day if you don't have it wide open much.  I have a 45 lb trolling motor on my 16' tin bass boat and can usually go 2 days before having to charge. 

[Further North]

Kayaks are cool, but I need to be able to stand up and move around while I am on the water.  Jon boat for me with those two choices.  I wound up selling the Predator I had after just a couple months.

...I went that route for bit, then went to a drift boat, which gets me just about everywhere a kayak can go but gives me the room I need to move around.

I have a SportsPal canoe for the few areas I can't get the drift boat to...which isn't very many.