One man small stable boats for small lakes.

[geo g]

I am retired and 70 years old.  I have fished Florida my whole life from my bass boats, and still active fishing 5 days a week.  Both of my kids have recently bought homes on different small Georgia lakes.  Both lakes have a good population of bass.  I'm looking for a small stable boat I can handle myself with only a small T/M.  Neither lake allow gas motors.  Any suggestions on what to buy, light weight but very stable, I appreciate any advice.

 

[mcipinkie]

Hello geo,

 

I'm 75, similarly retired, and and would offer my expertise for what it's worth.

 

Give us a little more info.  Do you plan to trailer the boat, or will you leave in the lake?  Are you thinking a "pond" boat that you can throw in back of your truck and drag from the truck to the water? Do you want to stand up, or do you fish sitting down?  What do you call a "small" lake?  10 acres - 500 acres?

 

I'm fortunate enough to have four boats.  All the way from a 20' Skeeter to an 8' pond boat.  I've had a lot of fun with the pond boat, but as I've gotten older, it gets more difficult to put it the back of my truck, put a battery in, then drag it out of the truck, down to water and fish.  I've had no problem with stability.  I even stand up every now and then. (Not recommended). 

 

If you're going to trailer, it would be hard beat something like a 1448 jon boat.  You can put a 24v trolling motor on it, some decent electronics and fish away.  I have a 1648 with an 80 lb Ultrex on it.  I take a Helix 10 off the Skeeter and put in on the 1648 so I'm tooled up at the cost of a transducer.  What a fishing machine.

 

Even if you keep in in one of the kid's docks, would be a nice tool, but then again so would the pond boat and you could get by with a 12v troller.

 

Sounds like a nice problem to have.

 

 

[Alex from GA]

Like mcipinkie said a12 or 14' jon boat depending on the size of the lakes and your stability.   

[geo g]

Thanks for responding, the lakes are in Marietta and Milton Ga. between 200 and 500 acres.  Both have dams with some deep water.  Neither allow gas’s motors, and both are private.  I would be sitting almost all the time.  I’m 6’2” and 240 lbs.   they both have docks but I would have to drag them up the bank when not in use.  I just don’t want to go swimming while getting in or out.  What about these PVC one man boats.  Are they stable.  I have seen them in two sections that bolt together. 

[mcipinkie]

Those PVC boats are what I call a "pond boat".

 

200 and 500 acres are pretty good sized lakes. 

 

The pond boat would work, but you would have to be patient if you wanted to move around any.  If the budget would allow, a jon boat with a 24v trolling motor would allow you to cover more water.

[E-rude dude]

On 4/26/2021 at 1:56 PM, Alex from GA said:

Like mcipinkie said a12 or 14' jon boat depending on the size of the lakes and your stability.   

This^^
 

with a 115lb trolling motor 

[ooga0341]

NuCanoe, with a kayak cart would be my answer. You can put multiple types of propulsion on it as well.

[Scott F]

On 4/26/2021 at 2:46 PM, geo g said:

Thanks for responding, the lakes are in Marietta and Milton Ga. between 200 and 500 acres.  Both have dams with some deep water.  Neither allow gas’s motors, and both are private.  I would be sitting almost all the time.  I’m 6’2” and 240 lbs.   they both have docks but I would have to drag them up the bank when not in use.  I just don’t want to go swimming while getting in or out.  What about these PVC one man boats.  Are they stable.  I have seen them in two sections that bolt together. 

If you are talking about personal pontoons, they are extremely stable. Two inflatable tubes with a metal frame and a seat between them. You almost cannot flip one over. But for a 500 acre lake, they would not be my first choice. I’ve had a couple of them for 20 years and absolutely love them...for floating on small rivers. The current is the main propulsion. They come with oars but rowing for distance isn’t a lot of fun. I’ve got a small trolling motor for mine but seldom use it. The mount for the motor is directly behind the seat and awkward to use. They get pushed around easily in the wind. On smaller lakes or ponds 10-20 acres, and smaller rivers they are great. Guys do rig them up in all kinds of ways. Look them up on YouTube.

[Fishnski48]

Look at a TwinTroller.  A little pricey but very stable and twin trolling motors built into the hull and you use foot pedals to maneuver the boat.  I have mine for a year and fish big lakes, but in little pieces.  You can buy a trailer for it, which I have and I launch from a ramp or the bank.  Fun for a day of fishing.

for some info:

 

[desmobob]

I use an inflatable kick boat.  There are lots of excellent inflatables that are highly portable, very stable (many can handle whitewater rivers) extremely lightweight, and designed for fishing.

 

I have a Dave Scadden Raptor Lite Speed X.  It's about 9' long and I can partially deflate it and easily stuff it in the back of my Subaru Forester.

https://www.davescaddenpaddlesports.com/product-page/dave-scadden-s-2022-raptor-lite-speed-x

 

It has a very practical hard motor mount.

 

This type requires wearing waders in cold water, but there are plenty of other more traditional models that have floors made of the new inflatable drop-stitch material that is rigid and you can stand on like wood.

[Bass Junke]

On 5/2/2021 at 7:22 PM, Fishnski48 said:

Look at a TwinTroller.  A little pricey but very stable and twin trolling motors built into the hull and you use foot pedals to maneuver the boat.  I have mine for a year and fish big lakes, but in little pieces.  You can buy a trailer for it, which I have and I launch from a ramp or the bank.  Fun for a day of fishing.

for some info:

 

Saw an add for this a couple of years ago. Was really intrigued. The twin motors controlled by a foot pedal looked pretty sweet on the video. Great recommendation. Is it as good as advertised?

[Fishnski48]

7 hours ago, Bass Junke said:

Saw an add for this a couple of years ago. Was really intrigued. The twin motors controlled by a foot pedal looked pretty sweet on the video. Great recommendation. Is it as good as advertised?

I believe it is.  I fish Roosevelt Lake in AZ which is 21490 acres.  I plan on fishing just a piece of it at a time, using the trolling motors anc my 2.3 Honda I do OK.  To fish the entire lake I would probably need a few years.. LOL.. but I pick and choose where.  it is terrific for getting around the coves.  I can get into some skinny water. I have been in less than a foot and it's maneuverability is great for freeing up snags.

I added a set up that lets me carry 4 - 3600 boxes plus my tackle bag, a lunch bag and a box of assorted fisherman tools and junk. Installed a 7" Garmin Echo map on it too. I use a series 31 battery, but once that is gone I'm going Lithium (1/2 the weight and longer life and power distribution), but mucho money.

The now offer twin 45lb thrust motors, I have 36lbs and they are fine for me.

I love the pedals for maneuvering and fighting the wind leaving both my hands free for fishing.

 

Sorry, don't want to sound like and ad but for me at 73 years old,  pushing around a  205lbs boat (with 2.3 outboard) beats pushing around a 2100lb glass boat by my self.

[srsykes70]

If anybody's interested, I have a 2022 Twin Troller X10 for sale. Comes with a 2022 3.5 Mercury outboard (less than 50hrs). Garmin Fishfinder, Heavy duty utility trailer modified for the boat. Everything works great. Great small water boat. I loved it! It's just that I retired to Florida, have a home on the Harris Chain in North Central Florida. I bought a bigger boat to handle the large lake. I no longer need the Twin Troller. If interested email me srsykes@gmail.com