Parkerhollow

Just picked up my first order, cant say enough how top shelf this group is. Great job guys and thanks for letting me see the craw shack! Awesome meeting ya'll!

Just picked up my first order, cant say enough how top shelf this group is. Great job guys and thanks for letting me see the craw shack! Awesome meeting ya'll!

Case in point... snagged this one over the summer. Kept it for awhile thinking I would make a mold for the jig head but the temptation to try it was to great.... i think I lost it on the fourth cast I made with it so it's back on the bottom of the meremac with its litter mates! add me to the list of folks patiently waiting to buy some!

great graphic, makes total sense now. Thanks for all of the input to all! I'm looking at a humminbird Pirhanna max 197c that has both the dual beam and the down imaging. for $150 I think I can justify having it on a boat that gets used 98% on the rivers and 2% on the lakes. I have had some success with getting a normal transducer to shoot through a .125 hull so I'll see if it can penetrate the .188 so I can mount it on the inside. Already have the built in transducer in the trolling motor so I can run the unit on a switch. I had high hopes of the down imaging helping me finding a few Mitch Craws that get lost on the bottom but looks like I will just have to keep waiting for them to pop up on tackle warehouse! Thanks again all!

Thats really good feedback, thanks for replying. I honestly had no idea if the beam was wide enough to make it worth having. Do the 2D units have a broader angle of coverage?

Could use some help from you more experienced folks if you have the time? I mainly fish the ozark rivers, (G'nade, Meramec, Lower Current, etc.) for smallmouth and usually work in a few trips a year to the lakes and have never really invested much into using a quality locator. A trip to Bull Shoals a few weeks ago had me wishing for an ability to see what lies beneath and the benefits of sonar on a lake are obvious but what about on the rivers? Most of what I am fishing is less than 8' deep anyway so I never really bothered with any kind of quality locator. Would you say there's an advantage to the down imaging and dual beam tech on the rivers? Or do y'all mainly use them for temp readings and just to get an idea of basic depth in the murkier waters? Any advice or recommendations on a unit would be appreciated!

This should give you an idea of what you can expect to run into down there. Above Akers in the summer the 10 hp limit should keep most of the jets well down stream from ya. Weekends will bring crowds of all kinds though! Horespower Limits on the Rivers Horsepower Limits*Current and Jacks Fork Rivers AREA Limit Two Rivers upstream to Round Spring (Lower Access) 40 HP Above Round Spring Lower Access (Except above Akers from May 1 - September 15 10 HP Maximum) 25 HP Two Rivers upstream to Alley Spring Campground Access 40 HP Above Alley Spring Campground Access(Except above Bay Creek from March 1 to Saturday before Memorial Day - 10 HP) 25 HP Two Rivers downstream to Big Spring John boat landing 40 HP Big Spring Johnboat Landing downstream to park boundary No limit

My experience starts with early 90's engines. Never had enough personal time on anything older so I cant say. That said any Yamaha, Merc, or Johnson/Evinrude from early mid 90's on would be on my short list. Only thing I would avoid for bad reputation is a Force engine. i would probably avoid some of the lesser used brands for lack of dealer support. As long as the pump is greased every time the boat is used and the fuel is treated correctly for ethanol you should have minimal problems. Never had a single issue out of a 92 yamaha 50hp, 96 Merc 90hp, or my '01 60/40 Johnson. Mitch is correct on the thickness of the hull. I have had .80, .100, .125, and 3/16 hardened and I can dent them all. For a 60/40 rig I would go with a .100 or a .125. really does make a difference and the weight gain is well worth it. My 1752 Alweld is a .125 hull and the little Johnson 60/40 pushes it to 28mph with me in it just fine. Cost is too hard to pin down on the used boats. You can get on the water in a good hull with a semi modern 60/40 for about $5k but you might spend another $3-5k getting it the way you want. When I priced out a brand new one from Troutt and Sons (love those guys) I ended up well over $12k to get it the way I wanted it. They are not known for being high priced either, use them most of the time when I need stuff done. PM me and I'll take you for a ride in my 60/40 this weekend. I could probably be talked into selling it since it has sat in my garage since I got the Shoal Runner, poor thing needs to be let out for a ride anyway!

He has some skills!

yes, cant see it from mobile devices but it shows on the pc, go figure? drifting through some basketball sized rocks in less than a foot of water and couldnt resist throwing a buzzbait in the fast stuff. Hooked what I thought was a decent smallmouth and ended up high centered on the rocks while trying to land the fish. Ended up being the worlds largest pumpkin seed and a two foot long stick! Cant be gorgeous and smart I guess. No big deal, took a couple of heave ho's and 5 minutes of solid effort and I was back to fishing. The point being what took one guy by himself five min to correct would have been a very different story if that was a big john with a v6 motor and 30 gallons of fuel, etc. etc. Plus one for the advantages of a lighter rig.

And this is the exact reason I have not sold my 1752 alweld with a 60/40 yet! Case in point...

Since its almost my favorite subject I'll jump right on in Boats are like golf clubs, they all have their pluses and minuses for certain situations. Firstly since money is always an issue if you have a budget in mind that would give us a better starting point. Next is how and where you going to use the boat. If its just the G'nade and only for one to two people fishing any 1752 with a 60/40 john/outboard combo or bigger thats rigged with the right casting decks and storage to make you happy will work just fine. That is the minimum size I would ever consider. There is no Maximum size I would consider just to be honest. 17' with 4-5' casting decks with storage underneath keeps you and your partner from casting buzzbaits in each others ears. 52" width is the largest I would go with a 60/40 and the minimum I would go with any larger motor. For outboards its pretty simple and there are many reasonable prices and options to look at. Here are my basic guidlines. I prefer two strokes for maintenance and weight reasons. Mercury 60/40 4 stroke being the exception, love the quiet! I like steering wheels and a console to keep rain and bugs off me, stick steer is pretty awesome though. Not a fan of tiller handle steering except on very small rigs. 70lb trolling motor minimum. 101lb on a bigger boat is not a crazy idea. flat front, mounted on the side. Flatbottoms, no V on an outboard! John boats with outboards do not like weight, inboards do not notice it as much. Anything will get you out there and that is better than not being out there. For a lightweight low cost rig for fishing - 1752 with a 60/40 as described above. 17MPH planing speed, 30MPH max. For a bigger John to haul 4 adults and coolers/camping gear I like an 1860 with a 150-200hp 24 MPH planing speed 48MPH max. Inboards are a whole other world. V8's are fun and have their advantages, sportjets are better for everything but speed, pump durability and decibel ratings. There are a few companies doing sportjets these days, generally speaking bigger is better. I have run a shoal runner 2066 with a 200hp sport jet for two years now and it has been the absolute best boat I have ever owned. I draft less water at rest and on plane and can run the shallow stuff just as slow as my 1752 john with a 60/40 and get better MPG at the same time. The swim step on the back keeps the party going for the kids and makes tubing easy on the little ones. The rod storage under the front seats, big flat decks and twin consoles make it old man comfy and easy to fish out of. The Mercury sportjet is what makes the boat though. Last weekend I fished out of it early Sat AM, took the kids on a long ride to get ice cream at meramec caverns in the afternoon then hauled 4 adults, three kids, two coolers, and one tub of tubes and skis on Kinkaid lake on Sun. all without ever making my wife or little kids nervous. I have went through a lot of different boats to finally get to the point where I am 100% satisfied. Of course that is only my opinion based on the way we use our boat.

Transducers and me get along like a steak and a pit bull! I have had some success mounting them on the inside of the hull with epoxy. I never get more than a month or two out of them mounted on the back. Stainless will absolutely make a difference in longevity and reduced impeller/wear ring adjustments and has always given me a small increase in speed. Based on my 1752 alweld with a 60/40, 1648 alweld with a 90/65, and a 2066 shoal runner with a 350 and a 309 AT. Your mileage may vary... Have you checked the wear ring to impeller fit yet? Also bent, marred intake fins can cut your speed by about 15%, although it seems to only cut it by 15% no matter how bent and marred they get. Law of diminishing returns I guess.

Just curious, have you GPS'd the speed on the boat yet and had any luck getting above 32 MPH yet?

Excellent point on the gauge readings Al. A little embarrassed I forgot to mention that.

Congrats on the new rig! That is the perfect hull/motor combination for general use on the meremac in my opinion. You should expect top speed around 36-38mph and be able to run shallow down to about 18mph which may sound fast but is plenty of time to pick your lines. Smalliebigs is right about the riverpro being the shallowest running, although the new shoal runners with sport jets are right there with them ?A flat bottom John with a 60/40 is in second place but your is so close to that its indiscernible. You should be able to run all the way to the huzzah without too much issue. There are two or three spots between Moselle and river round that can get sketchy at times but that's it. You probably already know this but encase there are others that are reading this and don't I'll elaborate a wee bit... there are some easy things you can do to know your limits before it's too late. First measure from the bottom of the side at the transom to the garage floor or driveway with the boat level. Then measure from the lowest point on the motor intake to the floor/driveway. That is your theoretical minimum depth, add one inch if you drink hard liquor and two inches for beer as a safety factor. Next, mark off a measuring tape on the transom (masking tape marked every half inch works) and measure how deep she floats at rest, that's critical Intel. Lastly is the fun one and some on here are not gonna like it so you can only do it once because they are correct Find a long gentle sloping gravel bar and run it parallel until you hear gravel tickling the bottom. Multiple passes getting closer to the bank each time. This will build confidence and show you the boats true capabilities. lastly, never be afraid to get out of the boat and wade ahead to make sure you can make it. If you ever get stuck, PM me and I'll come get ya!

Brother, you have no idea!

So yesterday I attempted to get out between the storms before the river became un-fishable and the weekend crowd showed up. Checked the river levels which showed about a 2' rise and headed out to find the river up 4-5' and looking like a chocolate milk log flume! Despite the wife's terrified misgivings I'm chasing smallies! Fished my usual spots and some calmer backwaters thinking they might be looking for a break from the current. Tried everything but a ned rig and caught........ nothing. tried bouncing soft plastics on the bottom and deep cranks in a few spots with good current breaks and seams with eddys and caught ...........nothing. finally gave up and just went for a ride. Came around a bend and found a clear water source dumping in and thought I would try working the clear/muddy color line and caught......nothing. trolling motored my way into the clear water source and the wife's rod loads up on the first cast, aaaand the second, aaaaaand the third, and so on. I caught...wait for it....nothing. so then I look at the little Ned rig kit I bought awhile back and due to "self pride/man card/it's not cool if everyone else does it" reasons I've never used.....hell with it! where's the super glue!? so yeah, 15 minutes and 15 fish later (13 for the wife on her magic crank bait) I'm looking at this half a senko blob of glue thing like "great...now I'm THAT guy". The moral you ask? Go ahead and take the redhead marching band girl with freckles and bony knees to the prom. Your pride might suffer but your dance card won't. PS. how do you guys catch those beautiful fish in these muddy conditions?

Caught this guy out of a pool below river round today. There was an immature bald eagle fishing that hole when I got there, think these look like talon marks?

I think most folks on the river are armed one way or another. Some are worried about two legged predators, others are just in the habit of bringing something along whenever they go into the backcountry. Hard to remember a time when I went into the woods or on the river without at least a .22. You never know when you might have to dispatch a rabid creek chub. never had a problem on the river itself, everyone seems to be a friend, just a few suspect individuals at the access points over the years.

Schwartz taxidermy has always been good to me. Oldest studio west of the Mississippi, does work for St. Louis zoo, Busch family, etc.. Pricing is more than reasonable, turn time is as good as anywhere and the quality is top tier. Thats where I would start.

Thanks Mitch! I tried editing the pic before I posted but didn't attempt to re size. appreciate the time and looking forward to helping put your kids through college when you start selling those craws!

Oddly enough I've never had a problem with vehicles at river round. Although in 15 years of fishing it I have seen plenty of folks that looked capable of doing so. side note; just want to say thanks to all the regulars on here for all of the great reports and how to's that you have posted over the years. You all have definitely helped me become a better fisherman. I've been following without posting for awhile now and figure it's time to start contributing. any ideas on what I'm doing wrong that make the pictures post sideways?

Found this guy at river round today. As the weather gets warmer the crack heads come out of hibernation.