Flats Boat Rental Question

[King Fish]

Fish finders server little purpose on the upper lake.

I'd rent it.. but it would need a trolling motor up front for sure...

PK

[patfish]

Well, I for one, would rent it.... as long as I can bring my "captain".

Whatyya think SF?

[am4mu]

I am more inetrested in running down to Roark Creek and on down to Bull Creek for a new experience. The boats you have now serve my purposes very well in the upper lake and I will continue to rent them. The casting platform would probably give you an incredible view but would probably put me in the drink!

Thanks,

Doug

[Phil Lilley]

We just got 2 new G3 Eagles... 90 hp Yamahas

I really like them!!

[am4mu]

I'm all over that! Thank you!!!

Doug

[Sherwood Flycaster]

Well, I for one, would rent it.... as long as I can bring my "captain".

Whatyya think SF?

Nothing better than trying something new. Aye matey...

[alletec]

I would rent this with a trolling motor. I like the center consol and the large deck for casting. The G3's look nice too. Most of the time I rent Bassboat 3 because it is a deep V. It feels more stable and I just feel safer in that boat. How big is this boat you are considering?

[Danoinark]

You know Phil has given me an impetus to save a few bucks. Presently I know longer have a boat.

With my work schedule and trying to run a family that's like a Fortune 500 company I don't have the time...but I am going to start saving beginning today for a flats boat. I like the Mitzi Skiff's I saw along the coast. They even make a 15 footer. I might have the money saved when I get to retire in about 4 years.....yeeeehawwww.

http://www.mitziskiffs.com/getflash.html

Dano

[denjac]

I think it would be cool! I could also see idiots renting it and thinking it would be fun to sit or stand on the platform while the big motor is running. But for the serious angler what an advantage having that spotting platform.

[Project Healing Waters]

I ran a 16' jon boat on Taney for years. It drew about 2" too much water with a 25hp to truly go anywhere...way up Bull Creek, on the shallow side of Bull Creek, all the way back some of the shallowest coves, etc. I also fished it up to Pointe Royale quite a bit. I drew 6" of water with the trolling motor running and 2 good size men and a Lab on board.

I don't think the flats boat is a good idea, Phil. Polling a flats boat...as some have said...is not a no-brainer. And where a flats boat would come in handy on Taney (see above), the bottom is too silted for efficient poling (even with a mud foot). As for upper Taney, try this scenario...

2 guys rent boat @ your place and head upstream on no generation to fish the shallow shoals. They've never poled a flats boat before, nor fished from one (most of your customers I'd imagine). The view itself can be disorienting. Add wind and it gets worse. Add current, and it gets worse. So 1 guy falls off the platform in 6" of water on a rocky shoal. That's gonna mess him up pretty badly. If the casting angler doesn't know any better, he/she is also likely to hook the platform angler or toss them overboard with a sudden move that the platform guy wasn't expecting. This is why the skippers of flats boats micro-manage so much. It's a safety issue as much as their superior view of the fish. They coach, the angler follows their instructions.

You know what I would rent from you? canoes, river johns with small motors AND a trolling motor, and those 1-2 man inflatable pontoon boats with the rowing oars. I don't have anyplace to store the latter, or I'd probably buy one because nobody there rents them. I'll bet they would be popular. Shuttle folks up to the MDC launch and take them out at an appointed time from Cooper or downtown. Or they can just pull in there at your place. If that was reasonable, I'd do that several times/year. And a fleet of those costs a lot less jack than one flats boat.