River Jon?

[Jeff House]

I am interested in a jon boat for fishing on the tailwaters in Arkansas and also Taney. I have seen the long river jons used extensively on the White river but havn't been able to locate a dealer or even find any advertisements for these boats while searching the net. Could someone give me some good brand names of these boats and where I might find dealers?

[bobber]

supreme in flippin ark(www.supremeboats.com) bearskin marine @flippin870 453 8330 shawnee is an other one but no info on line about them! hope it helps! i have one an older one if your interested?

[Phil Lilley]

Supreme does make a great boat and probably is the easiest to buy since they have them in stock. Shawnee on the other hand is another good jon but they make so few and demand is so high you'd have to wait at least a year to get one... if they keep making them. Gay Brewer makes them literally one at a time outside of Yellville, Ar. No website- you can get their number thru directory assist.

There is at least one other manufacturer in that area but the name eludes me.

One thing to consider is the width and depth of the jon. Some of the river jons are narrow and shallow and aren't very stable- some people like them this way esp. those who fish the White because they will go thru the riffles easier, being narrow. We use the wider/deeper jons on Taney for stability.

[Gavin]

The Supreme's http://www.supremeboats.com/ and Shawnee's are nice boats, but they are made of fiberglass. If you want aluminum, you might check out Blazer Sport http://www.blazerjetboats.com/ or a Legend Craft http://www.legendcraft.com/customboats.htm . They do a lot of jet hulls, but they can weld up just about anything you want. Cheers.

[GotaFish]

I had to go out to the driveway and get the number for Shawnee off of my boat. I have a 20'6" - 41" wide that Gay Rory built for me two years ago. It is the best river boat I have ever owned, comfortable, very stable and if loaded properly will float through a 4" deep riffle.

Boat and matching trailer were very reasonable, but it did take about six months to have it built.

Contact info.

Gay Rory

Shawnee

Yellville, Arkansas

(870) 449-6373

[Phil Lilley]

Gay Rory- not Brewer. My fault.

[Jeff House]

Thanks to all for the info on the jon boats. I'm going to try and check out the internet site tonight at work. At this point I don't know exactly what I want, just kind of doing some research. I may be looking to go used after i see the new prices!! I've always just been a wading flyfisherman on our tailwaters but with these long hot summers we're having the SWPA severely limits my quality fishing time. Thanks again.

[Wayne SW/MO]

A marine dealer in Lebanon had a smaller river jon last year. I'm not sure who made it , but it looked factory and was similar to the Lowe Paddle jon, which I believe were a copy of the old wooden boats the Dablemonts built.

[riverrat]

I bought a paddle jon from Blazer Boats a couple of years ago. You can custom order it with different lengths and gauge of aluminum. Took me about 2 months to get it. Its the perfect boat for me, floating in waters just above where jets can comfortably run. Its a very well made boat.

[WebFreeman]

Has anyone ever built one? I have the plans from Larry Dablemont's book and there is also a neat site called gatorboats. My wood-working skills are pretty limited, though, so I've been reluctant to try one.