Here is the deal. I recently bought a new Jeep and since im not stuffing a Deer in the back (carpeted) and have no bed to Haul a boat any more, Im building a trailer for those purposes, and its almost done. I have a 12 ft John boat that i just dont feel comfortable standing up in to bow fish. I want to sell it and my 8 ft heavy duty john boat, and buy a two man bass boat. Something i can haul in the trailer, stand up in and bowfish out of. Do these work pretty good for this? I have never steped foot in one of them, but have seen people standing in them, and they look very stable. Are they?? Question # two. My 12 ft has a slight leak that i need to fix. I can never tell where its comming from. Here is what im thinking. Set it up on saw horses, fill the inside with water from the hose and see where it comes out from the bottom. any one tried this? any ideas? If its slight i think a little JB weld would seal it, if its a bigger deal, ill take it to work and tig weld it. any suggestions??
Crick, what type of Bass boat are you thinking of buying? On the second, your idea sounds pretty solid to me.....good thinking. I'd still be in the middle of a pond somewhere bilging and looking.
Crik, I've used JB weld on aluminum jon boats. I had two different riveted boats and it was usually a rivet that came loose or came out that caused a leak. I sprayed some water in the boat to find the leak. (not a ton.. it usually wasn't that hard to find the hole) What are you calling a bass boat? Those shiny fiberglass semi v boats? There are a couple of reasons most bowfishers use an aluminum flat bottomed jon boat vs. a 'bass' boat. 1) Jon boats are usually cheaper. 2) Bass boats are usually fiberglass which is not quite as sturdy when hitting stumps, rocks and other things you often run into in the very shallow water that we bowfish. Also, fiberglass is a bit harder to work on when customizing decks/lights and what not on a bowfishing rig. 3) A flat bottomed jon boat will get you into shallower water than a v bottom bass boat. A lot of bowfishing is done in 10" or less of water. The v front of a bass boat helps it go fast and ride the waves nice but it will suck if your trying to get to those carp in 6" of water. If you mean an aluminum 'bass tracker' type boat. Those are more suited to bowfishing tho' the modified v still isn't ideal for bowfishing. Then again, there is no 'perfect' bowfishing boat. Don't overlook a pontoon boat either. 'Specially if you can get one that has three rows of pontoons. We use a pontoon boat and draft 8" with two people and a small barrel of fish. 10" with three people or a big barrel of fish. When we have 500 lbs of fish on the boat we draft 12-14". How far are you from Kentucky Lake Dam? I could ruin you in just one night down there.
Ben, Christine This is the type of boat im refering to. Its just a small two man boat that i can handle easy, and haul in my trailer thats an 8' X 5-2", looks very stable and should go in a foot of water easy. Christine, im about 2 hours from KY dam.
Kendall on C's login Kinda like this one 'crick? This is our buddy Bulzeye on his... If you weigh under 200# it looks like a great option for all the reasons you mentioned. It would be awesome for getting into those little backwaters that don't have a boat launch.
Oh man, now i have some inspiration Thats exactly what im wanting to do, but want one just a little longer for two people. I never even thought they would be stable enough for a slight platform like that. Thanks for posting those pics I have met bulzeye a couple times, great guy!! The Green bobber :D love the name!! Ill have to name mine when i get it :D now that im inspired, im headed out to leak check the john, fix it, and get it up for sale EDIT....Found 17 leaky rivets. They are curing with jb weld now.
Coontail, welcome to the forums, I noticed this is your first post What one did you get? I finally sold my 12" John and bought a Pelican Bass Raider 2 man last week. I have my trailer done to haul it and just camo"ed the boat. Ill try and post pics in the next couple of Days.
i got the bass hunter stalker ll. its real stable, im taking it to the river today, and plan to take it after stingrays next year.:D
Hey thanks, I have alrerady achieved these goals now. Patched the 12' john and sold it. bought a 2 man bass boat that I love so far!! Thanks again now im ready for the spring
If you take that after 'rays. I want video of you stickin' one and the ensuing battle! :D I think it will be something akin to water skiing LOL
