Floater For The Rivers Near Stl.

[mixermarkb]

Ok guys. I'm a lake guy, 20' champion at Bull Shoals, fish LOz and Twain as well. The deal is, I got married back in November, and now have a 5 year old stepson. I'm working a lot, and don't have as much time or money to hit the lakes as hard as I used to, so I'm looking to spend some time on the rivers around where I live in pacific.

What kind of floater could I handle in a short bed pickup for small trips with the wife and son?

Kayaks?

Canoe?

14'-16' Jon boat with a trailer? I have an old 15 horse rude in the basement I could probably make run-

Save up and buy a jet rig?

How big of a jet rig to fish 2, maybe 2 and a boy in comfort and safety?

1752 with a 60/40?

16' with a 30/20?

What are you guys using?

Where are the best stretches of river?

I work most weekends, so this is pretty much an early morning/evening operation on my days off that I'm thinking about here. (Monday and tuesday)

What about Simpson lake, creve cour lake? Worth dropping a glass boat in and using the troller to kill a few hours and catch a couple bass?

Looking for ideas here-

Thanks,

Mark Burris

[Greasy B]

Man, that’s a lot questions to address, more than any one person could possibly answer. Let me start the conversation with three questions of my own. Are you a catch and release Smallmouth fisher? Do you realize how slow growing river Smallmouth are and how rare and precious large Smallmouth are? Are you willing to keep any K bass you might catch from the Meramec basin?

[mixermarkb]

Yep. Catch and release only, even on the lakes. My wife would probably like some kentucky fillets, but I'd have to practice, cause I haven't cleaned a fish in 20 years.

[Stoneroller]

kayaks, sit on tops preferrably. it's not the fastest and largest sector of the outdoor market for no reason. Once you buy them and outfit them you are finished, no licensing, no fuel, no rebuilds/breakdowns, etc. you can float where boats and even canoes can't, although a canoe can carry far more cargo, but it doens't give you the individual freedom a kayak does.

you don't have the range of a boat, but you also don't pay launch fees at LOZ. no motor = no fee (at least at the ramps I launch from) which btw, you don't even need a ramp now, you can launch from any point you can access water at. you are only limited by your sense of adventure.

[Greasy B]

I think you’re headed in the right direction if you want to have a quality fishing experience with less expense.

Canoe? Yes

Kayaks? Yes

14'-16' Jon boat with a trailer? 16’ would be better than 14’. Running a Prop motor would limit your ability to cover much water. A jet would open up much more water and opertunities.

How big of a jet rig to fish 2, maybe 2 and a boy in comfort and safety? A matter of experience and opinion. See “guys using” response below.

1752 with a 60/40? See “guys using” response below.

16' with a 30/20? See “guys using” response below.

What are you guys using? Royalex Canoes for headwater floats and when traffic permits a white river john for main stem rivers.

Where are the best stretches of river? All the best bass fishing opertunities in the Meramec basin are within a one day trip distance from you, I’d fish all of it. Sorry for being so general but it’s kind of true. Some years some stretches of river will fish better than others. Sometimes you can have mediocre fishing on the best stretches and other times the best fishing on the mediocre stretches, you'll never know until you spend a bunch of time finding out, thats the best part.

I work most weekends, so this is pretty much an early morning/evening operation on my days off that I'm thinking about here. (Monday and tuesday) Perfect.

What about Simpson lake, creve cour lake? Worth dropping a glass boat in and using the troller to kill a few hours and catch a couple bass? Mud holes, you would need to be pretty desperate to invest much time on either.

Going through past forum post will provide more information about local fishing than a person could possibly digest.

Good Luck,

Give us a report when you get into some fish.

[Al Agnew]

Good advice given above, although I disagree with Stoneroller on one thing...I can most certainly float anywhere a kayak can in either my solo or my tandem canoe, and most certainly do everything a kayak can and many things better in the solo canoe. Kayaks are the fastest growing segment of the market mainly because they have been popularized by the people who want the freedom of paddling solo, and whose only experiences in canoes were in tandem canoes. So my point is, if it comes down to a paddle craft instead of a boat with motor, do NOT discount solo canoes.

If you are wanting a motorized fishing craft, the most versatile would be a jetboat, and as long as you are interested in fishing and not speedboating up and down the rivers (which will definitely make me your enemy), the biggest you need would be a 16 or 17 footer with a 60/40 motor. I use a 1652 with 40/30 motor and it does just fine for up to three people. Just understand that there is a learning curve with running a jetboat on the Meramec and similar rivers, and when they are low like they are now, mistakes can be VERY costly. They ain't magic.

[mixermarkb]

I'm not the least interested in running fast on the rivers. Don't get me wrong, I like cracking open the throttle on a big V6 on the bassboats, and running down a glassy lake at 75 mph. This river fishing thing is different though. I like the idea of small and quiet. Spent quite a bit of time back in the mid 80's on the gasconade at Jerome with my uncle and dad in a 16' Jon with a 15 horse prop, listening to my Uncle Chub curse the brand new invention of the shoal runner. If I had the $$, I'd say a 1752 with a 4stroke jet in the 50 horse range would do me, but I may go even smaller. I'm not sure about a tiller motor, as I have zero time running one. I'm sure I do have a huge learning curve, just because learning to read the water from a console or back at the tiller position has to be a bit tricky, not to mention no prop or lower unit in the water to help in turns.

I can get my big horsepower speed fix in the bass boats. I'm just wanting cheap and easy with the river idea.

[kevthebassman]

I had a big long reply typed out to this and lost it, but I was basically just adding to what stoneroller said. He's got good advise, and one is always wise to take heed to what Al says.

I am thinking about a flatback canoe with a small gasoline motor of some kind, possibly one of the longtail mudmotor/sampan types. They've got kits that you add your own motor to, looks like you could bring it in for around $700 for the motor and whatever you pay for the boat. I've also seen a fairly detailed write-up on turning a heavy duty weed eater (the kind with a straight shaft) into a longtail rig, with gear reduction for the motor and a prop from an RC boat supplier.

Something along those lines is in my future.

[Greasy B]

I don't know about a flat back canoe. One of the beautiful and fictional aspects of a canoe is it's symmetry, it travels equally well backward as it does forward. With the back end lopped off you are loosing displacement right where you need it with the added weight of a motor. Have you ever operated a tiller motor that aligns withe the center of your back? I couldn't imagine a more ergonomically awkward position. A regular canoe, a 2x3 and a couple of C clamps will put a small outboard or trolling motor right beside you where you can steer it without your arm being contorted behind you.

[Al Agnew]

I've seen those mud motor deals, and I believe I saw one that had a long, offset tiller that kinda curved around your back and off to the side so you could operate the thing while sitting in the back seat of the canoe. But I agree with Greasy, a square stern canoe almost loses you more than you gain. It is a far less efficient paddling design.

A few more thoughts on the original post...if you're looking to not spend a ton of money, there are very reasonably priced kayaks out there, and in solo canoes you can get into the Dick's version of the Old Town Disco 119 very cheaply if you can find one available. That isn't the best canoe design (Siusaluki has one and you might ask him how it compared to my Vagabond, which he paddled for three days on our road trip. On the other hand, Mitch liked the 119 pretty well because it feels stable and maneuvers well.

And when you get down to it, canoes or kayaks are more versatile craft than jetboats. With the jetboat you're limited to larger waters, while the canoe or kayak can handle the larger streams but also do very well on smaller creeks, those too small for jetboats. For the waters they can handle, though, jetboats are terrific, which is why I own both canoes and a jetboat (along with a couple other watercraft as well).