Question:
I've just started fishing with my 7-year-old son on a couple of large
lakes in the Raleigh, NC area. So far, we've had fun fishing from shore
... but haven't caught many bass. It seems that we could be considerably
more productive if we got an inexpensive boat. I can pull a small boat
and trailer with my mini-van but I'm unsure if I should buy buy a jon
boat or a (more expensive and heavier) bass boat. It appears that the
jon boat would do everything that I need, but I hate to buy a used one
if I'll soon be wishing that I had paid a little extra up front to get a
bass boat. Please post or send me your thoughts....
Most of my fishing will be in Falls Lake or Kerr Lake in NC with my
7-year-old thus I'd like to be able to launch and retrieve the boat with
minimal (none) help. At times, my wife and 4-year-old might want to go
along, but most fishing would be with just the two of us. I don't see a
need to go fast or pull anything behind the boat, I'd just want to be
able to fish off the shore. What else should I be considering?
Is a bass boat more stable than a jon boat? They have the raised
decking...
Is a jon boat easier to handle than a (fiberglass or aluminum) bass
boat?
Why are most people using bass boats instead of less-expensive jon
boats? I'm clearly missing something here.
I'd like to lauch from a public ramp, but then dock the boat on the
shore of my camping site at NC state parks. Is there an advantage to
aluminum or fiberglass as far as pulling it up on shore to dock next to
a campsite?
Is there a big difference in maintenance expenses?
Answer:
-Start with a Jon boat, for what you want it would be perfect--aluminum
or fiberglass. Aluminum is more abrasion resistant but very noisy,
bendable and harder to repair. Fiberglass is quieter, resiliant and easy
to repair--either will last long enough to pass on to your grandson with a
little care. Bass boats are "high purpose" craft designed to aid in
winning fishing contests and to satisfy big egos. Some bass fishing
contests used to allow the fishers to virtually race to the hot
spots--fastest boat best initial spot--and are based on max caught poundage
so it pays not to spend too much time in transit from spot to spot. So the
hull design evolved to handle high horsepower/speed along with low
freeboard; stable casting platforms and other "fishability" features.
Nice, but expensive and extremely NOT necessary for a good day on the
water. Plus, you don't want to teach your son he has to have the expensive
toys to enjoy life do you?.
-For what you seem to want a jon boat rigged as a bass boat would
probably be the ticket. I have a 16' jon boat rigged with seats,
carpet, electric, livewell, etc. that suits me well. I do a lot of
fishing alone so the launch/recovery tasks are simple, the boat is light
so towing is not a problem and it will handle three people with ease and
four if one or two are children. The key to any of these boats is ease
of handling and stability (bass fishermen like to stand up when they do
it), so getting one that is rigged with a broad beam and flooring is
what you want. I bought my latest one two years ago second hand for
$3500 for boat, motor and trailer in excellent condition. New it would
be about $7000. You might have to look for a while (it took me 18
months to find the ONE) because the good ones tend to go fast when
reasonably priced.
-IMHO go for the bigger boat. I have both a 14' Valco (pointy jon boat)
and a 21 ft jetboat. The difference is in the comfort levels, and room
to store stuff and move around. My 14' cost about $4k total with
fishfinder, trailer and 15hp Mariner in '87. I use to car top it so
went with light weight Alum boat. (got trailer when poly rope that tied
boat to ceiling in garage cold flowed and dropped it on wifes new car :(
wife said get a trailer.) It is a great boat but that 7 yr old will be
wanting to ski and the 4 yr old will be wanting to go also. You can get
a used 16 ft glass fish / ski for the same or less than a good alum john
boat. The bigger boat, even if not a bass boat is much easier to
standup in and cast from than jon boats. The bigger boat will use more
gas but is not a big item in a year of fishing. Maybe 5 bucks a weekend
unless sking. maintenance is not much different. For going to shore, I
bought an Anchor Buddy anchor line: it's like a 50' Bungee and you drop
it out from the shore and strech it as you go to the beach, unload, then
with a long bow rope let the boat back out in to lake. (about $20 plus a
small mushroom anchor.
