Catfish boat for the Missouri river

[CATCANDO]

Ok so I'm kinda new here and I have a questions for you guys. I mainly fish the missouri river around St Joseph MO and I am looking at buying a boat. My grandfather lives on the river I fish with him and my friends that have boats currently. I can use my grandfathers boat when I want but there is somthing about having your own boat and being able to use it when ever you want. I have been looking at boats in the 16-18ft range mostly center console. Here is the issue I bought a 28ft pontoon last year with a 84 merc 150 on it. I got this cheep and this motor is good so I would like to use it on my fishing boat problem is that it is hard to find a john boat rated for a 150. I have been looking at a 20ft seaark river cat rated for a 140 but since my 150 is older it is 150 at the power head and more like 130 at the prop. Just wondering what you guys think about these boats and a boat this big. My grandfather is against a 20ft boat says they are too big and yes he has had one.

[ASASIN]

That pontoon would work. A guy I know, Rick Gebhardt, uses a pontoon for his guide service on the Missouri River. He fishes around Glasgow, MO. Do an engine search on Rick and you can ask him about his experience and what he'd recommend for fishing the river. He's got ALOT of experience catfishing it, and is one of the best known authorities for catching giant blues on the Missouri. God bless.

[Terry Day]

I have a 20' Polar Craft center consol with a 90hp Tahotsu. The 90 goes plenty fast - especially when the carp become airborne and you have to dodge them. It works great for the river. Personally I would not want to be out on the river in a smaller boat. I think that the Seaark is a little more expensive because the gauge of the aluminum is thicker. I looked at them and liked them but opted for Polar Craft because of the $$$ difference.

[CATCANDO]

The pontoon is going to be sold as a dock.

[crazy]

Well I say you can never have to much boat. I have fished out of 16ft boats – 21 ½ foot boats. Bigger is always better. Now for the toons I never really liked the idea of having one on the river. Man I have seen some stuff come down that river and just the thought of getting it stuck between the toons makes me think twice about it. At least when I lift my motor up I know there is nothing going to be hanging still in the water. Ok so not all toons are made the same in that category. Anyways, when you step up to an aluminum boat for a 115hp+ boat your going to have thicker aluminum. Also from the way I understand it your best bet would be get a commercial rated boat. That way there is really no coast guard limitations on hp. At least that is how it was explained to me. But on the other hand I been really thinking hard about selling my boat it has a 50hp. :)

[Bigmagic]

I have a 24ft SeaArk with a cabin and a 140 Suzuki. I love it. I have had it on the Missouri and it works fine. I think boat size is less important than boat skill on the Missouri. Myself being a large(fat) catman I like a big boat but if your skinny(bait) you might like a more manuerable boat. I had to learn to turn mine quickly using the throttle and it took some getting use to. The pontoon is tough to beat for cattin as I'm sure Gebhardt found out. I had a 24ft pontoon and it was great. Tight Lines and bent rods

[CATCANDO]

Went and looked at the Seaark river cat today and it seems that I am going to go that way. I was thinking center console but the one they have is side console and man there is a ton of room. What do you guys think side or center?

[Itch2Scratch]

Ross since its for fishing and especailly on a river, I would say center console. Reason being it gives you the latitude to fight a big cat down both sides if needed. Good luck in 2006 with your new boat!:)

[crazy]

Mine is a side. If I had to do it all over again I would go with a center. A forward center console also helps you see whats coming down river when you are moving to the next location.

[Terry Day]

I would agree with crazy. I have a center console and it is great. I'm balanced when I am fishing alone. I can run a fish down either side of the boat and the visibility is graet. If you have a choice - take the center console. My two cents worth!

[NANNER]

Center Console for me. I wouldnt have anything else.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Definately go with the center console you will love it. I have the exact boat, its a 20 ft SeaArk RiverCat with a 135 hp Optimax. It does awesome my tourney buddy and I fish comfortably out of it with a guest or two. Plenty of room and with the 135 that boat will haul as im sure yours will with the 150. We have a top speed of 62mph with the 135 in smooth water and ideal conditions and about 54 in any condition. The layout of the boat is nice I just wish the center console was moved forward a little farther to allow more room in the back but Ill prolly trade in a year or two and have one made although this one is only a year old:p. Good luck with the rivercat if you get it. No complaints here. SeaArk builds a fine boat!

[NANNER]

Hey Team Cat, thats nice to hear about the Sea Ark. I am seriously considering uprading my 20 foot G3 to the 24 Grand Daddy Sea Ark with the Center Console and a 225 horse Yamaha fourstroke. I understand it has a 15 degree V with is what most interest me. My G3 which has a MOD V beats me to death on a strong south wind out on the Mississippi river. How does your Sea Ark ride in a real nasty chop, say three foot swells? I'm out for a better ride primarily, but I really like the size of the boat and the sales guys are telling me I can eke out 65 miles an hour with that 225 on it. That would be nice. Any information is greatly appreciated.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Jet, yea I have seen pics of that new Big Daddy or whatever they call it but havent seen it in person. As far as the SeaArk I would highly recommend them, and I myself was looking to upgrade to that model prolly next year as well. Mine does ride pretty rough in rough water and its been in its share around Alton in a few storms ive been in and barge wakes, etc. It has the modified V as well. SeaArk makes a VP model as well in a 22 foot and 20 ft. with the 15 degree hull which I was looking at until they came out with the BigDaddy this year. THey have upgraded the BigDaddys fuel tank size over mine as well as the rear livewell size which is always a plus as well. I think that a 20' boat is very comfortable to fish out of but in catfishin as we all know bigger is better. So Ive been looking to upgrade to that and might put my boat on the market at the end of the year hopefully. Id be really interested in looking in one in person, might have to stop by a dealer on my way back to Illinois from school some time. Another thing I love about SeaArk is how sturdy their boats are they use .125 aluminum which most others use .1 or something smaller as I believe G3 does as well but im not sure. G3 is another nice boat but I do prefer SeaArk and am sure you would have no complaints from the Big Daddy. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[Terry Day]

TeamCatHazard,

I think that I just sent you a message reference to fishing the Missouri around Columbia. Anyway, I really like my 20 foot Polar Craft center console.
That being said, when I upgrade in a year or two, I will probably go to the SeaArk because of the thicker skin. I may have to take a look at the 22 footer. I'll have to find a local SeaArk dealer in the KC area.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Terry yea I got your post about the missouri at columbia, I would highly recommend SeaArk again and take a look at em. Let me know if you have any other questions or if i can help you!

[fishingbuddy4]

Yea i would look at sea ark, when i win powerball tonight i am going for the 2472 mv with 30 gal gas tank 30 gal livewell and cabin with the best lowrance you can find ,well it is nice to dream LOL

[NANNER]

Thanks for the great information TeamCat. I saw the Big Daddy in person at the STL boat show. Its quite a machine. Tandem axle trailer, 16 gallon baitwell, 60 gallon livewell, 50 gallon belly fuel tank, lots of storage, rated for a 225 horse, and all of the room you could possible want. Sticker price about 30 grand with a couple popular options. Lets stay in touch, if we could go in to a dealer together next year, and drag another guy or two, we could probably knock a grand or more off the rig for buying three or 4 boats from the same dealer. I'm pretty much committed to the Sea Ark. I've spent countless hours researching aluminum center consoles, and I had narrowed it down to 2 rigs. Express Boats makes a 24 footer called the X24B. It will hold a 300 horse and its an impressive rig. It has a 40 grand price tag though, and doesnt have the livewell, only a big baitwell. I'd say dollar for dollar, SeaArk is probably the best thing going for the big Center Consoles. I really like my boat now, however it just rides rough in a really nasty chop.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Jet, yea I would be interested gettin some people together possibly for a discount. And that 30 grand what size motor was included in that price? Just curious to see what I could get that boat for price wise. As far as the Xpress bay boat trust me I looked at that one too:). But the one thing that I found about that one is that it has a 1400lb weight capacity, when I fish tournaments I have a 100 gal livewell on top of the built in 40 gal in the river cat, one tourney we have both full with 140 gal of water and 198 lbs of fish and thats 1318lbs right there not including persons, motor, and gear like that 1400lbs includes. Now the RiverCat I currently have has a 2300lb capacity, grant you that I was prolly over on that capicty to its nice to have a larger capacity, and trust me she was ridin lower in the water and you could tell you had weight in her. Other than that man that bayboat is nice, but I still think the bigdaddy is the way to go. Man I gotta get out and see it, although it may not be a good thing if I do......for the bank account I mean. Keep in touch if you want to try and get a few people together. I may be interested in the fall

[NANNER]

I'll definitely stay in touch. I could have walked out of the boat show with that rig for 29 thousand. That was with the tandem trailer, a 225 Yamaha Four Stroke, trolling motor, and pretty much none of the big options. I want to customize mine quite a bit more, so im probably looking at 34-35 or so. If you figure that the motor is costing us 14 thousand, its not a bad deal. Thats still alot of money though. Are you fishing the ACATS tournament series at all? I'm fishing the opener in Owensboro, Kentucky on March 4th. I'm in the process of trying to get a 100 gallon livewell rigged in my boat. I cant find any livewells that big, so I'm researching water tanks that fit the diminsions i need and I'll rig the plumbing and everything. Do you have a photo of your livewell set up? I'm looking for some pointers or perhaps something I have overlooked. Thanks for the advice.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Jet, no I dont fish the ACATS trail at all. I do fish any tourney in Alton and a few KingKat and USCATS tourneys this year. Yea for the livewell I dont have any pictures but I used a large watertank like you would use for cattle. Mine is 100 gallons I cant remember the dimensions but go to RuralKing or a feed store like that and they will have them, at certain times of the year they will go on sale and you can get them a little more reasonably. Mine I plummed into the boats current livewell system. In the RiverCat there is a aerator line that runs under the center console for the baitwell and I put a T in there that has a valve for switching on my aux livewell when I have it in there for tourneys. So basically when I have the 100 gal livewell in there the water if going to it instead of my baitwell, then what I go it run the overflow out of the livewell into my baitwell via gravity drains. I have two levels for the water to drain out of my livewell into my baitwell with tubes that I just put into the baitwell for whatever depth I want to keep the water at. I also have a bilge pump mounted in my livewell with a piece of PVC running the length of it with holes drilled to keep the water circulating in it. I have plexiglass lids on it that open down the middle to put em in and take em out, most guys around here use wood and it works good to I just thought Id go fancy since I have a connection with someone for the free plexiglass. This might be kind of hard to follow but if you have any questions PM me or write me back or something. If you are ever up around Alton some time you can take a look because ours is basically the same as everyone is using now and works great we kept 8 fish totalling 198 lbs alive in a tourney last year and it was fairly warm too. The key is (which some guys didnt understand because their fish died) that you MUST keep the water moving in there at all ties (Hence the "sprayer bar") and you must keep the water circulating to keep fresh water coming in at all times. Just let me know if you have anymore questions!

[crazy]

I'm still trying to deside my self if I want to sell my boat and get a bigger one. Although I was just going to have one custom built. It's about the same price. The best part is you get to pick how you want it to lay out.

[TeamCatHazzard]

Crazy, yea a custom built one would be the way to go to, it would really be nice. There is a company here in Illinois I think Osqawaka is the name of the company that makes custom plate boats and trailers and I have seem some NICE custom made rigs they have had made. One boat I saw and talked to a guy at a gas station had a 20 or 22 footer I dont remember and it cost him 60 grand to have it built with a motor....like a 225 or 250 or something. It was decked out to the hilt though and had diamond plate on the trailer and the trailer was all aluminum as well. They make some really nice products up there.

[crazy]

I was talking to a guy here at the kansas city sports show that makes boats. Phatboy I think was the name of the company. Told him what I wanted Nothing all that fancy but it came out to be around 21k for a 22foot boat with a 115hp. The thing I liked is you can have a 100gal live well built into the boat instead of just using a tub. But like you say it just is a matter of what all you want on the boat and trailer that adds to the cost.

[TeamCatHazzard]

What company was that and how do they fit a permanent 100 gal livewell in the boat? Im guessing it just takes up a lot of room?

[crazy]

It's easy to have a 100 gallon livewell. You do it the same way you would a 20 gallon one. You put it under either the front or back deck. The thing is if you have say a 21 foot boat or more you are going to have a nice size front and back deck or just one or the other. Lot of room under one of them. Length in inches x Width in inches x Height in inches divided by 231 = gallons capacity. So your looking at 60x18x18 will give you around 84 gallons. Long enough for a couple nice cats. I have a buddy that has a "duracraft cat master" at least it's cat something pretty sure it's cat master. It's set up with a long and deep livewell. Nice boat but from what I can tell they don't make them anymore or I would have to think about getting me one too.

[STC T&F]

Jet or prop?

MJO

[Willy]

Look into Clark Boats out of Iowa,I have around them a bunch and Tommy Clark will build ya one any way ya want one. Well made boat and tough as all get out.they make what it called a DuraSport model and he will customize any way you want in reason. I fish sometimes out of a 20ft custom one with a livewell big enough to get in and shut the door comfortably.It will hold 3 or4 50# blues easy,it is plumbed to change the water every 7 min with a timer,it is not a heap boat by any means with a 225 OPTIMAX on the back,cost ya close to $40,000. to get in on with custom trailer included. Hull is .200 or.250 if i remember right, do a google search and look at them.

[crazy]

Willy, I agree there a nice boat. There is a guy in St.Joe with one. It's a pretty slick looking boat and yep he said it cost him a cool 40k.

[Willy]

Thats the one I have been in a bunch. Helped him set it up from the ground up but there is several around up north a ways,a group of guys out of Whitecloud,Ks has several that I have been around.On the one in St Joe I would of done it different but thats just me .

[mandingo]

does anyone know how deep v`s handle on a river like the missouri?