Jason R.

Ya- I'll definitely be saving for a supreme some day. Right now this shawnee is getting me out there- though it isn't the most stable boat for two guys to stand up in- and I wish it could fish three. You can find an old river boat. I see them on Craigslist all the time- especially around northern AR. If you can find a decent trailer that is long enough or you could extend it- then you could buy one of those old rental boats- which are nice boats. Mine was a rental I believe back in the day and it is fine (needed work but fiberglass isn't that hard to fix).

I paid exactly 1550 for my 79' 16 ft Shawnee with a decent trailer and an '88 yamaha 9.9. Honestly I don't know if it was worth that much but the guy started out at 2000. I have already been offered 1700 for the boat and trailer (probably should have sold it!) All I did to mine was flipped it over, filled in some scrapes with fiberglass filler and slapped on a coat of paint (which is pealing off). I painted and sold the '88 yamaha because it had been used very hard and bought a very nice '88 Suzuki 9.9- actually made 50 bucks on the deal but I had to redo the cowling. I still have less than 2k into the rig (paint, fiberglass and registration) and I think I could get my money back out of it pretty easily. All in all I have had a lot of fun with my Shawnee and I've caught a ton of fish out of it. I'd recommend getting one if you're willing to put some work into it- I put a bunch of hours into mine.

I bought an old used one off craigslist and rehabbed it a bit. They are very simple and easy to work on. I have way less than 2k into mine and it fishes great. Course it's only 16ft long 31 inches wide... and a '79- so it was cheap.

I've caught a few pickerel out of Maumelle as well- not as big as that one though. Never seen one on the Little Red- pretty cool surprise!

I love that clear wrap look. I think I will do that on my next fly rod. Your rod sounds like it will be sweet. Can't wait to see pics.

Its probably the clicker.

I've gotten my Harpoons fixed a couple times and Costa always has great CS. I would throw Smith in the ring too- they make a great pair of glasses and have CS at least as good as Costa- probably better.

Just left sams. Bought two pairs. They only had grey lenses- with or withou blue mirror. Really sweet glasses. I bought mine for gifts... though I may end up keeping a pair because they fit my face pretty well.

Love the use of the tin-snips. I just ruined another pair of pliers- tin snips are a great idea.

Nice!- I was out there this weekend too but all we ended up catching was stocker after stocker after stocker. Still fun but I didn't take any pictures of those little punk fish.

Yall should try my 31" wide Shawnee. My dog almost flipped it last time out.

Great review. I shop at the same fly shop. I have the redington version of these waders- they are solid. Is that last picture where the boat is towing your yak a Hog Island Skiff? If so- are those any good?

I bought a 12 dollar light off amazon. I have found that the thin hard formula solarez is my favorite (comes in a blue bottle). I have used CCG a little and honestly the applicator and packaging is far better but the actual goo is very similar. I think I paid 7.50 for three 2 ounce tubes of solarez and 12 bucks for a light (which works but isn't quality.)

Get you some SolarEZ and a light. It is so much easier. Worth the 20$.

Wow, looks like I started a whole thing here- not my intention. I would really only use my boat on the Little Red, the White and the Norfork except for certain occasions. I would really like to upgrade just because I can't do everything I want to do with my boat- mostly because of the hull. This boat happens to have a jet which would be really nice on the red on low water. I have just been dragging through the shallow stuff but it would be nice to motor all the way to the top shoal and fix all the way back down. Not being able to idle slowly in a jet does seem like a downside and the noise might get on my nerves. My suzuki dt9.9 is surprisingly quiet- you can have a conversation easily while motoring through pools. Of course, after motoring through the pools I have to either use the trolling motor or get out and drag the boat through about half the river. I really appreciate the input fellas- it is good to know the pros and the cons.

Again, some sage advice. I have been doing just what you do- dragging through the shoals. I haven't hit my new prop yet but I have hit rocks with the skeg. Odds are this boat will sell before I can get a chance to check it out. I also am concerned that I wouldn't like how loud a 30 hp 2 stroke jet would be. I hear them on the river pretty often and they are a bit obnoxious. I probably just need a different boat to conquer most of my issues- low sides, tippiness, lack of space etc. Although my little boat is super easy to maneuver and handle.

Did you tie those and take the pictures? Those look good- look alot like a "near-nuff" crayfish.

Thanks fellas- I really appreciate the advice. A jet of some sort is definitely my next boat. Problem is (as always) cash flow- man these jet boats go for some serious money! My current rig isn't bad for the Little Red on low water but the sides are so low it gets pretty gnarly if there is any sort of wake, chop or serious current- and of course having a prop really limits where you can go with low water.

Hey you're preaching to the choir man. I keep trying to use the "Its an asset" angle and its not going too well. Its not like shoes or clothes that are just burnt cash- you can sell a boat as long as you don't lose it/destroy it/ it gets stolen.

I knew wrench would have some good advice. Thanks yall. That will really help. I've been looking at lots of stuff online and it does not seem all that complicated. Hopefully I will be able to convince the Mrs. that I need to purchase this boat and sell the Shawnee/9.9 suzi that I just bought and fixed up 5 months ago... we will see.

Thanks Ham, I have been reading a bit about the subject. My wife is not too keen on me acquiring a new boat so I may have to overcome that hurdle first anyway. A jet sure would be handy on the Little Red.

Specifically I am going to look at a guy's used boat with a 30 hp johnson jet on it. I have a tiny bit of experience buying prop motors but I just don't know what to look for with a jet foot. I think the motor is a 2 stroke and its mounted on a jack plate- has a plate welded to the boat to feed the jet I suppose. This is all just from pictures the guy has sent to me. Is there any way to tell if the impeller or liner is chewed up? The motor itself looks really good in the pictures. Thanks.

I am 28 and I've already had a cancerous mole on my toe- that was fortunately caught in time. I go full out head to toe clothing and have been doing so for the last 5 years or so. I was a lifeguard in highschool so I figure I have already done a great deal of damage. I'm not even fair skinned- it sucks.

Wow I wish I could come up this weekend and meet all yall. That sounds like guaranteed fun.

Dude I saw that thing on- is that all it needs? Thats a great buy if so. Heck a rolling trailer is worth 200. I just redid the rails on my shawnee- I think they are ash- All I did was sand and paint them though.