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I have an old Lowe 15' riveted aluminum semi-pointed (somewhat of a "V" at the front couple of feet) jonboat with a 2008 Yami 2-stroke that I've used in the gulf out of St. Marks for the past 2 years. Often it's just me, sometimes me & 1 other adult, and a few times with the wife & 2 kids. The trick is, you go when it's not windy/rough. With even 10 knots from anywhere other than a north wind, yeah, it beats you up at speed. But on calm days, it's perfect. Super shallow draft and I've often gotten out and walked the shallows just pulling it along by holding on to the side of the bow or with the bow rope. I can get up in creeks and almost anywhere there's water. On flat calm summer days I've run all around the rock garden area and out past the stake line. When scalloping I just pull it along with the anchor rope & drop anchor when needed. Careful storing of stuff (which includes thoughtfully NOT bringing along stuff not absolutely needed for the planned trip) keeps fishing space open and allows usability even with a couple of people. It's so light, even if you get beached on a falling tide I can manhandle it & get unbeached. I also have an 18 hp Mudbuddy surface drive weed motor I got off Craigslist that I swap out to use the boat on Lake Jackson & Talquin to bass fish & duck hunt. I got the engine swap technique down so it's easy & fast to do. It's all paid for and easy & fast to rig up & go on short notice. Those are the things I love about the boat.

I long for a larger center console rougher water boat though--the Mako 17 LTS seems perfect, and I dream of getting one every time I see it at Bass Pro. Seems perfect for those rougher days & when I want to take more people than two comfortably. But man it's expensive. Until & if I ever get one or something just like it, I think I can make do with what I have & be just fine, really. I don't really like to go out when it's rough & windy in ANY boat, so it's hard for me to justify getting a second boat. And I know that I would not be able to get as shallow in it as I can in my Liwe I have now, which would bug me. And I wouldn't be able to go in weed filled lakes either. And I'm not sure whether I'd need a bigger vehicle to tow a 17' Mako, nor would I be able to launch it from some of the shallow ramps I currently use.

In my youth my family had a 13' Whaler, a 16' Whaler, a 19' Mako, and a 25' Mako. The smaller boats were always used more & were the most fun. Bigger boats always seem like a better idea, but there are cons to them too.

That's my $.02 on the subject.

Oh yeah--the Yami is a 25hp.

Sounds like I'm in the same situation. U might have seen me on the water too. Blue Jon boat with a 25 yami and that sucker goes!!! Would love to have a fishing partner that has the same passion as me.

I fish a 2013 G3 1966 side console with a Yam115 4S (The tan colored version with no carpet) around St. Marks/Shell Point/Spring Creek. I love it for the most part, wide beam, deep sides, large decks, will float in 7-8 inches of water. With that being said, it will beat the teeth out of your head, and will soak you at any speed other than a fast idle if the chop gets above 2 feet or so.

I PADDLE a boat that rides in the back of my TRUCK and catch more fish that anybody else. There are a billion places to fish here, but not very many with an outboard (see Aucilla River thread in the fishing section). It's not just a matter of the tide or whatever either. It's flat out dangerous and stupid to even crank an outboard motor in most fresh water here besides lakes. I know a guy who hit a rock which flung the motor into the boat and hacked a guy to pieces.

Wow. I wish I could catch more fish than anybody else.

BloodyChamp wrote:I PADDLE a boat that rides in the back of my TRUCK and catch more fish that anybody else. There are a billion places to fish here, but not very many with an outboard (see Aucilla River thread in the fishing section). It's not just a matter of the tide or whatever either. It's flat out dangerous and stupid to even crank an outboard motor in most fresh water here besides lakes. I know a guy who hit a rock which flung the motor into the boat and hacked a guy to pieces.

Are you Donald Trump's Florida cousin?

BloodyChamp wrote:I PADDLE a boat that rides in the back of my TRUCK and catch more fish that anybody else. There are a billion places to fish here, but not very many with an outboard (see Aucilla River thread in the fishing section). It's not just a matter of the tide or whatever either. It's flat out dangerous and stupid to even crank an outboard motor in most fresh water here besides lakes. I know a guy who hit a rock which flung the motor into the boat and hacked a guy to pieces.

You should enter tournaments. They pay money to those that catch more fish than anyone else

I wasn't aware that this was the thread for people wound tighter than a 1980s Evinrude sorry.

Not wound tight. Even though this is a fishing forum there is a need to keep the lies in check....

Easy Champ

BloodyChamp wrote:I PADDLE a boat that rides in the back of my TRUCK and catch more fish that anybody else. There are a billion places to fish here, but not very many with an outboard (see Aucilla River thread in the fishing section). It's not just a matter of the tide or whatever either. It's flat out dangerous and stupid to even crank an outboard motor in most fresh water here besides lakes. I know a guy who hit a rock which flung the motor into the boat and hacked a guy to pieces.

I float on my back and wade and catch bigger and more fish then you do! Sometimes I sit on a bull gators back to take a break.

No lie...., just a fisherman's facts

SHOWBOAT wrote:Not wound tight. Even though this is a fishing forum there is a need to keep the lies in check....

Easy Champ

Wound tight...a fishing forum is the 1 place that sarcasm and humor is obvious to anybody for which that isn't the case.

"...a fishing forum is the 1 place that sarcasm and humor is obvious to anybody for which that isn't the case."

Huh? Technically, that was a sentence, but in terms of coherence, it matches my favorite Yiddish proverb:

"Sleep faster; we need the pillows."

Or, perhaps:

"I feel more like I do now than I ever have before."

BloodyChamp wrote:I wasn't aware that this was the thread for people wound tighter than a 1980s Evinrude sorry.

Just keep in mind you said you catch more fish that anyone and called probably 80-90% of us stupid for cranking an outboard in fresh water that's not a lake. And I hope your acquaintance that was hacked up by the outboard got a great settlement