What Is The Catfish Boat Of All Catfish Boats? (PART 2)

[okie catfishen]

I have learned more about boats from you guys in the past 2 weeks than I have my whole life. My next question is "What is the river boat of all river boats?" I am still planning on buying a boat next spring and was wondering what makes a good river boat. I might moving to Penn. and will be fishing the Susquehanna River north of I-80 Near Watsontown, Pa. I hear it is not very deep in some places.

Thanks for all your help,
Keith
Newcastle, Ok

[SubnetZero]

Depending on the depth of the river you want to run, but RiverPro makes a mighty fine looking River Boat.. Jet Drive so you can in a puddle of water :big_smile:

[okie catfishen]

That RiverPro Boat is one heck of a boat! A little more than i want to spend but is the kind of boat I would love to have. It might be worth waiting a little longer and getting a boat like that.

Keith,
Newcastle, Ok

http://www.riverpro-boats.com/pages/HiProXT_Specs.shtml

[Lngbo]

That one is out of my league. I like one that Bass Pro Has and I am also very fond of Sea Ark boats

[Bream baiter]

I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned a deep V boat. I'm planning to order a Starcraft C-Star in a couple of weeks. Dealers don't have the '07 info. yet. The back edge of the console is even with the back edge of the front deck. That gives lots of open floor space in the back of the boat.

[gadzooks]

Deep V's are great of up have the draft, but both on some resevoirs and many rivers, there are places a deep V won't go.

[tmuenster]

My next question is "What is the river boat of all river boats?" .... I hear it is not very deep in some places.

Thanks for all your help,
Keith
Newcastle, Ok

Keith,

I think you will find a lot of expertise about boats on this site. Everyone is very helpful and I have been amazed by the boat knowledge available from the BOC brothers. As you read through the posts, it seems like a lot of catfishermen use aluminum jon boats. They are economical and work very well in most rivers. There are also plenty of guys fishing out of fiberglass hull and pontoons. The bottom line is to find something that works for your budget and the areas you fish.

Since you asked "What is the river boat of all river boats?" I will tell you about the boats I have used on rivers. I owned two Lunds, one Boston Whaler, a bunch of inflatable assault boats including a Zodiac F470, and two RiverPro jet boats. I have used all of these boats on various rivers in the Midwest to the Midsouth states. The best river boat I have ever used or seen is the RiverPro. It does not get the best fuel economy- get a canoe if you want MPG. It does not work well on a lake with big waves- get a Boston Whaler if you want a smooth ride in heavy wind and waves. It is not the prettiest boat at the ramp- get a new fiberglass fish & ski for that. If you want to take 10 people on a cocktail cruise- get a large party barge pontoon for that. However, if you want a boat that you can take on any river with confidence, if you want a river boat that will run circles around anything with a prop, if you want a boat that is tough as nails and low maintenance- then you want a RiverPro.

I made the mistake of selling my first RiverPro when I had to move. I ordered my second one knowing it would be a tough boat that could run in as little as 3” of water. I also upped the hp to the Optimax 200 SportJet. This boat will do close to 50 mph and still get decent fuel economy. The boat is easy to wash out with a hose and offers plenty of room to fish. Best of all, they are a blast to drive. Here is a link to a page I made for my old RiverPro. I will try to get some pics of my new boat up soon:
http://www.navcraft.com/riverpro/

There are some other very good jet boats made to use on rivers including SeaArk, Snyder, and Betz. I believe the RiverPro offers the best value and it therefore earns the title of “River Boat of All River Boats.”

[savage308]

It's not the size or brand of the boat, it's the company fishing in it.... I'm sure the other brothers will clue ya in on the best type of boat for river fishing... I fish mostly on a lake...... The memories of the people and the times spent on the water will outlast the boat...... Good luck in finding the boat......

[navigator]

that river-pro is one ugly boat but I bet you could jump a beaver dam with it :-)

[huntinflatheads]

I've got a riverpro hipro with the sportjet 175. I do think it is the best catfishing boat you can buy for river fishing. I fish mostly at night. I don't need to wory about hitting wing dams, damaging props, or getting hung up on any sandbars. If I cant see it with a spotlight I'm not going to hit it. It does burn a lot of gas though.

[cat tamer]

I have a seaark 2472 cub series with a cabin that is nice if there is alot people on board and if it starts a big down pour then no one whines and you can keep on fishing and I can still get in 8" of water.

[primitive]

I guess I'm old fashion but in my sixty two years of fishing, I have never seen the time when I thought I needed to go 50 miles an hour to and from fishing holes.
My old boat is so slimed up from catfish I can hardly stand it, and if I had a $15,000.00 boat I would have to be so dainty so it wouldn't get all slimedup. I would rather catch cats than spend all my time shampooing my boat. Just my opinion. primitive

[TeamWhiskers]

The trend now is 20 foot fiberglass bay boats with 200 plus engines. We need 3 live wells that will carry about 1,000 pounds of water. Why 3? One for our live bait that is about 30 gallons. Another one that can carry your smaller cats and keep them alive. Then you need another one that can carry a 60 to 80 pound cat to win.
The picture below is my main livewell that will carry 62 gallons of water across the back of the boat. Otherwise, I will have a hog trough for the front for the trophys...

[craigr]

AMEN to what primitive said!

I went from a 16' Lowe flat bottom w/40hp Merc to a 2003 Polar Kraft V with dual consoles, pedistal seats, Carpet, etc.... - You know the style I'm talking about.

There are ALOT of times I prefer my old flat bottom. When I spilled my blood bait or Liver or ???? I never worried about it. I never had to worry about getting fish slime on the carpet, or knocking the sand off my feet before I got in the boat. I didn't have to worry about scratching it on docks or bouncing it off of the rocks, etc..... And I paid $18,000 for all of this!

Don't get me wrong, I do like my new boat, it's nice to have people admire my new boat. And it's fun to run the river at 45mph. But if I had it to do over again, I would have just gotten a new motor for the flat bottom, with electric start.

craigr

[navigator]

in highschool and college, I had a 10 ft aluminum jon boat that leaked, well, it leaked pretty bad.

When I graduated college and got married I bought an 18ft bass boat. I loved bassfishing(still do) and catfishing a great deal.

I caught enough bass in my 10 footer to sink the 18footer but I'll never catch enough bass in the 18footer to sink the 10 footer.

If I had it to do all over again I would have went with a 17-18 foot aluminum with a 60 or something. Enough HP to ski/tube but real easy to hose out.

My next boat will either be a big jon, a pontoon, or one of those bay style boats, something easy to clean and keep dry.

[Matt Smith]

For rivers like the Susky, I'd want a flatbottom aluminum with a tunnel hull and a jet drive outboard. I'd want the hull bottom to be at least .125 gauge and a 1/4" solid keel.

[riddleofsteel]

It depends on the river. are you talking about, a two mile wide inland sea with three foot whitecaps in the wind or a upland river channel with logs, rocks and sandbars. In the area I live in the upland rivers are more common. Take a tip from duck hunters and other marsh rats. Get a boat with a shallow draft or flat bottom. The hull should be .100 or .125 thickness. The support ribs should run lengthwise down the hull not across. These two factors will prevent or slow down hooking on the bottom and allow you to rub river obstructions worry free. I prefer an open floor plan with a metal floor and decks. Rubber mats work pretty good but can be expensive and wear out eventually. Aluminum diamond treadbrite painted with self etching primer and a good grade of epoxy mixed with some grit or sand gives a super surface that will give uou good footing for fishing or cast net work even if wet or covered in slime and blood. Keep your finish dull and your colors light. This reduces reflected light from the sun or a spotlight at night keeps temperature of deck surfaces a little cooler in the sun.

[RiverKing]

Hands down one of these

http://www.customweld.com/

[JAYNC]

I have a 17' Triton Semi V Duck boat with a 75hp four stroke on it. It has a gun/rod/storage box, a big front storage compartment, side console with livewell. The thing I like most about it is that it can take a beating, I have been wide open in 2-3' waves and it just keeps going. No cracks, nothing loose. It has non skid on the floor so if I spill all the worms,blood,eel slime, whatever in it I just spray it off with a hose and call it a day. The boat will draft pretty shallow for a semi v. Got stuck on a big sand bar on an outgoing tide last weekend but it wasnt so stuck that I couldnt pull it off into deeper water. ( THAT WAS FUN ) The tritons are a little more to buy but they also have a lifetime hull warranty. I have hit a lot of stumps with mine and it still rides the same as the day I got it.

[crackers]

What is a good boat for running jug lines and limb lines and such. and still have a good stable boat for catfishing with.

[mch4fishing]

It's not the size or brand of the boat, it's the company fishing in it.... I'm sure the other brothers will clue ya in on the best type of boat for river fishing... I fish mostly on a lake...... The memories of the people and the times spent on the water will outlast the boat...... Good luck in finding the boat......

Very true Sir..... Very true.
Well said words to live by

[FishMan]

Kirk may have the best all round boat, he at least has the best Idea. The best cat boat has to be comfortable year round, otherwise it is the best boat sometimes.

[suey]

a river boat can be alot of things....if you run only rivers that end up getting shallow and not very wide.... a tunnel hull would be best choice then a flatbottom

as the river gets wider and deeper the more V you can go with on the boat. the ride will be drier and safer.

to be honest...its hard to get one boat to fill every situation.... a person could have 4 boats to cover the main areas of boating..... shallow rivers, rivers, resevoirs and LARGE lakes and resevoirs.

and then there is the cost factor as well....

not everyone drives a chevrolet either...its also personal opinion as well.

me personally... i have a g3 18 foot flatbottom because i like to river fish mostly but i take it on some bigger water knowing im gonna get wet and i dont run it hard in 2 foot waves...im not in that big of a hurry to try sinking it

i like the river pro as well, but for me not enough room on the boat, for me it would have to be a 20 footer

right now, i think sea ark has the best catfishing boats available....alot of different sized and lots of different layouts. but my closest dealer is almost 700 miles away and i just cant take a day to go check them out especially when they dont have the entire lineup on hand....

so right now i am uprgrading the motor from a yamaha 40 to a yamaha 90 2 stroke to get more power....its cheaper than getting another boat....

also making a rod locker and storage area on the boat too

[Duckshot]

The best boat is one that will get you where you WANT to go.

[vince]

You are correct that is a shallow river.. I once tip over a canoe in the middle of that river and it was 2 ft deep..I grew up outside of Pittsburgh..
go jon boat no deep v...

vince

[loanwizard]

IMHO tht Sea Ark 2072sc with a 115 Yamaha jet is the best riverboat I have ever seen. I looked at the riverpro and just cant get it through my skull that a deep V can run in 3" of water. I have a 16 footer that had a 40 jet on it. Hey Jason 454, you gettin anywhere nwith that. Gotta love the BOC, a brother is lookin at it for me. We also have a new sponsor that I want to compare with called Weldpro....BTW these new cat boats are closer to $20,000-$25,000.00 Shall I live the dream... or stay with the sixteen... Time will tell.

[fishhook]

I also think that no one boat will fit any or all fishing situations so a person will have to take into consiteration all the places you want to fish and then take a look at what you can afford. I have a 24" Sea Ark modified V center consol with a 140 hp 4 stroke for the big rivers and lakes as well as a 17" Invader Reef Runner deep V center consol with a 90 hp for most of the other places I fish.