St. Louis folk

[moguy1973]

If it were up to me I'd have a 15 or 16' boat 48-52" wide with a 60/40 or 40/28 on it with either stick or tiller steer and no frills to it.  Something nice and small and easy to get around in the rivers, easy to get off bars if I get stuck, and nothing pretty to mess up if I hit a few things.  But that's not up to me since the wife would rather have something to take the family out in and be comfortable and safe.  A modified V such as a Legend or Blazer would be nice so I could still go out on the big lakes if I wanted to but I've heard they can get pretty heavy and being out by myself could be an issue if I get stuck.  I do have a kayak that I really do enjoy getting out in so I guess it really does come down to time and priorities.  Do I prefer to spend my weekends with the wife and kids or would I rather be out fishing by myself.  That's a tough call at this point.

[Flysmallie]

38 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Wanna buy one?  

Yes, but not right now. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

23 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

they can get pretty heavy and being out by myself could be an issue if I get stuck. 

Yep😁

[Seth]

52 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

If it were up to me I'd have a 15 or 16' boat 48-52" wide with a 60/40 or 40/28 on it with either stick or tiller steer and no frills to it.  Something nice and small and easy to get around in the rivers, easy to get off bars if I get stuck, and nothing pretty to mess up if I hit a few things.  But that's not up to me since the wife would rather have something to take the family out in and be comfortable and safe.  A modified V such as a Legend or Blazer would be nice so I could still go out on the big lakes if I wanted to but I've heard they can get pretty heavy and being out by myself could be an issue if I get stuck.  I do have a kayak that I really do enjoy getting out in so I guess it really does come down to time and priorities.  Do I prefer to spend my weekends with the wife and kids or would I rather be out fishing by myself.  That's a tough call at this point.

I love my 1860 Legend SS vbass. It will run shallow on the rivers when I need it to and can also handle fairly rough lake water. I'll put it through anything MO can throw at me. It is a heavy rig though. Last summer I got to find out just how heavy after I stuffed in a shoal of loose gravel. If you're mainly going to be fishing on smaller rivers, a small rig like you mentioned with a 40-60hp jet would be more suits. I'm a fan of a tiller or stick steering setup on the smaller rigs since you don't really lose any space versus if you have a console. I'm costantly wishing I still had a small rig like that for taking in the skinny upper reaches of the Meramec and for gigging in the fall and winter months.

[jdmidwest]

8 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Wanna buy one?  

I have been looking.

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, jdmidwest said:

I have been looking.

I'll text you some pics of it the next time I get close to it.  He's using it now but will be selling it before Fall.  

16' Tracker Grizzly with a 35 Johnson.  Nice boat/motor but you're gonna hate the trailer.   

[jdmidwest]

Looking for stick steer and 25hp jet so I can use it on 11 pt also.  I have a trailer option.

Is that 35 at head or jet?

[Old plug]

On 6/20/2019 at 2:57 PM, Blazerman said:

Here is my experience with fishing in and around STL.

When my kids were young I spent many days on the Meramec, either wading or in a canoe. We would haul them all ( I have 3) along with other family or friends to the caverns and hang out there on the gravel beaches alongside the parking lot. Sometimes we would camp there. But mostly it was just a day trip where the kids would swim, fish and play in the water and I would wade and fish as I could.

Then later as they were getting older I found property that I bought on the Meramec and ended up going from the canoe to a jet boat. I had 3 different jet boats while we were there and still have the last one I bought in 2015, which was a modified V Blazer.

We spent 14 years there and loved it until they got older and went off to college and we got tired of the flooding and finally sold it.

When we sold the river place we bought a condo by the Grand Glaize Bridge at LOTO and I had the Blazer on a lift there 18 months and loved it.

Recently we bought a house by Linn creek and now the Blazer is sitting on the lift there.

I have also hauled my boat to many of the smaller MCD lakes where it is trolling motor only, like Little Dixie. And also to the Quiver river state park and the lake there.

I got the Blazer I did because I knew I could use it on the river and also on area lakes.

I think many people do not realize how versatile a modified V on the front of a jet boat is. I have had no issues with my boat on rivers running shallow and also had no issues using it on big lakes. I use it on LOTO, and have been to Tablerock, Bull Shoals, and hauled it to Rainy lake in Canada for two different week long trips. I also haul it to the White river below Bull Shoals every year.

Like any other fishing boat, there are times I do not run the main channel at LOTO. But for almost 8 months of the year I can go about anywhere I want as long as I use common sense.

 

 

That looks like a big lift I bet you get tired sometimes waiting for it to go down. I got a 18ft Targe setting on a 4000 lb box lift That thing takes a long time to go down.

[Old plug]

On 6/19/2019 at 10:22 PM, fishinwrench said:

I ran the Mississippi alot as a youngster and thought I had "big river cred" but I put in at Portland on the Missouri and got pretty spooked.   I don't like that river at all.  It creeps me out.

I sure loved that Mississippi from The Lock and Damm just north of St .Louis. I know that area up north of Clarksville idc home to you Wrench.. Spent many a winter day below Clarsville dam catching a lot of sauger some walleye and crappie Back in my day and maybe still there just was no better crappie fish for numbers and size  in Missouri or Illinois 

[Bushbeater]

Interesting, don't be scared of the Missouri or Mississippi. I fished alot out of Brickhouse Slew mostly catfish but have caught some nice bass, even a smallmouth  off the riprap along highway 3. 16' Jon with a 8 9.5 Hp..