Gonna stick my neck out here...yes, the boat you use matters

[Timbaux65]

I know i might get slammed for this but gonna post it anyway.

Many of you are kayakers and I have already commented on that, and to each his own, if you like kayaks, use them. They aint for me, but whatever works for you WORKS. Keep on.

That said, I have to admit that being in a 12 foot flat with a 1.75 gamefisher (EXCELLENT motor), I find myself quite limited.

The first time I saw that pro bass dude with the LOWE bass boat, big boat, fancy, etc. big motor, fancy trolling motor. He was a pro, and he handled the boat like a pro, moving in and out of coves, had his depth finder working for him... he caught 10 bass on a day most people didnt catch one.

I was in the 12 footer, I caught one bass.

Other guy in a pirogue (pee-row) went up and down and came back and caught nothing at all. Another guy in a small flat caught notbhing. Some dude came out there in this plastic row-boat looking thing..not much bigger than a bath tubb None of them caught anything.

We all gathered at the boat launch, mad that the pro guy was flying up and down the bayou without regard for us. Actually one of the guys was going to pound him if he came back.

We were talking and the guy with the flat said, "They got an advantage because they can move in and out, they can go miles and miles away and come back. we cant do that."

The trolling motor he had was really an expensive looking unit. The cop said the guy was sponsored and owned none of what we saw.

Maybe so.

Yesterday after work, I was able to go out for a short time in Manchac. Some Creole guy was out there with a nice bass boat. I seen him before and he is always really good about respecting other boats. He is a good guy and friendly, too.

He was standing up on the front of his boat, had a purple worm, weighted, and he was catching fish. Most others that we saw didnt do too well.

I personally caught a striped bass, and thought, WHAT's THIS???? I never catch them over there.

anyway, I was watching him and I think, i really THINK that the fact that he is working that worm, some 6 feet higher off the water than I am is having an effect on his ability to catch fish The worm rises up higher in the water, while mine, even with a 6'6" rod, barely comes off the bottom when I lift

Any yall ever think about this? Standing up, having more actual bait travel than sitting down in a flatboat.

Make sense?

[Johnny wilkins]

And- if you are trying to float fish - double anchor once the point is into the wind.

Great point about anchoring into the wind.

Another thing that many bobber anglers miss out on when the wind kicks up - horizontal movement can KILL your bite. Getting your boat stopped and keeping it from swinging back and forth can also prevent your fish from spooking... along with allowing you to present with or against the wind current with your bobber - best to use a float.

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

Different water conditions require different boats , thats why I have three . Do you know how hard it is to keep three boats , clean,licenced ,maintained and stored, let alone the trailers with tires and bearing and lights. I have an aluminum 1548 , with 35hp motor ,console steering, next I have a 1436  with a 15 hp tiller handle , and finally a 16ft scanoe, a 16 ft plastic canoe with a square back that will handle a 5 hp motor but I use a 3 hp gas motor or a troll motor to go places too shallow for my other boats, I mainly use it for the small rivers in the Ozarks to chase smallmouths in the summer ,and if this isn't enought I also have two inflatable kayaks that get lots of use in the summertime. Each boat has it's own plus 's and minuses but the main thing is they get you out to where the fish are.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

LOFR ... This a great point. Where you fish matters. I'm hoping to move close to Lake Murray in SC, this year. This is a huge body of water, which covers a myriad of environments. Ever,ything from deepest deep to turbid shallows is there. Wide windswept expanseses of water, awash with swells exist here. Calm sheltered coves ring the hundred plus miles of shoreline. What single boat could possibly cover all these different scenarios?
There are a few types that come close, but not one alone. I like the concept of multiple boats to cover a range of uses. I can see me headed there, myself.

[JBplusThuy]

One of my favorite lakes is also Lake Murray, but this one's in San Diego and is only about 150 acres. Back in the early seventies, it produced the California state record bass.  That fish was "only" 17 pounds lol.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

There is also a Lake Murray in OK, I believe. But the one here in SC is the biggest.

It was started in the late 1920's to provide hydroelectric power. It is approximately 50,000 acres (200 km²) in size, and has roughly 500 miles of shoreline. When it was completed in the 1930's, it was the largest man-made reservoir in the world, and had the largest earthen dam to boot. The sheer scope of the lake is breathtaking.

This is why I say the place you fish matters greatly in the choice you make when it comes to boats. Like I said earlier, I can see me owning more than one boat.....

[JBplusThuy]

50,000 acres is mind-boggling to a guy from southern California. If you took every lake in San Diego County and its three surrounding counties, I don't think you'd get 50,000 acres altogether! The total of every lake in San Diego County is probably well under 10,000 acres, with none of them over 1,500. San Vicente might exceed that after the dam raise project is done. It will take from 2014 to 2017 before it opens again, depending on how long it takes to refill it.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

And our Lake Murray in SC it isn't the biggest, any more!

I bring it up to illustrate that where you fish matters. The same can be said for your descriptions of the waters where you live. Certainly very different boats could suffice for either one of us.

This discussion was started with that in mind, if we remember. The boat itself does make a difference to your fishing experience, and definitely to your safety on the water.  Somewhere there is a compromise for each of us.

[Leo Nguyen]

Jonathan is dead on. 50,000 is like an underwater world that we have yet to even fathom around this neck of the nation. We're all huddled up in the small little water holes of ours. We're like a kiddy inflatable pool compared to lake that you guys fish at.

[Timbaux65]

You need a boat for that...a big big boat..i cant tell you how big Little Black Creek Water park lake is in mississippi, but i was totally overwhelmed by its side and headed to the banks.

 

my cousins husband had a fancy bass boat.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I see several size ranges for boats at Lake Murray.

1. Many anglers are after stripers as their main quarry, and they have a deep hulled, powerful boat.

2. Others like to party first and fish second, and they seem to prefer pontoon "barges" or deck boats.

3. There is no shortage of rocket powered, big-money bass boats, as well.

4. Mixed in, I also see a few class A boats (under 16 ft.)

A lake this size also attracts sail boats, ski-tugs, canoes/kayaks and throngs of PWC's.

[arthur cole]

I had many boats and this one ig great .I just plug it in after fishing to charge the Battery.May be one day I will pickup a 9.9 but most lake you can't use it .

[dick tabbert]

That's a nice gillen boat Arther nice, wide, and stable. Maybe next time you'll have a power house on the rear. Zoom,Zoom,Zoom