The advantage of this design is the lack of shadows cast by the boat, as well as providing a safe distance from the waterline to the cockpit edge. Most of these have a ?pumpkinseed? or similar shape to them. There are many different manufacturers that make purpose built layouts designed for open water. Layout boats come in several flavors ? commercially made purpose-built boats, commercially made multi-purpose boats, and home-made boats. The Big Water Boat If you’re hunting on big freshwater rivers, try a boat like the Excel Bay Pro.Guys - the next ease let me know what needs to be adjusted. For duck hunters who also like to fish and don’t have the money or room for multiple boats, a rig like this is a good choice. But the boat is an all-around compromise that I use 12 months of the year, and it’s never let me down. And there have been moments, usually when pushing it across a mudflat in the dark, that I’ve wished it were lighter and paired with a mud motor. There are times when I’d like to fish from something bigger and faster. It’s not the perfect boat for everything. I have a bow-mounted, foot-controlled trolling motor on the front that I use while setting long-line decoy spreads for January goldeneyes, as well as when I’m flipping bushes for bass in May. The lack of a console means more space for decoys and blinds. I’ve caught fish and shot ducks on all the above from a camo 1648 mod-V War Eagle aluminum boat with a 40-horse, tiller-steered 4-stroke Yamaha. I live in western Kentucky, where I can hunt and fish on the Kentucky and Barkley lakes, and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The Fish-N-Shoot This aluminum War Eagle duck boat is a versatile option for those who spend a lot of time on the water. Many mud boats have handlebars so you can stand up, hang on, and steer all at once. The motors are loud and sluggish on open water (at least compared to an outboard of similar horsepower), but the only other way to access shallow water is in an airboat.Ī good many mud motors are mounted on regular jon boats, but companies like Go-Devil build specialized mud boats with smooth bottoms and rounded chines (that’s boat talk for sides), which helps for easier turns and even better shallow water utility. That, combined with a rugged design and pivoted mounting system on the transom, allows them to push a boat through inches of water. Mud motors, as most hunters know them, use a lawnmower-esque engine to turn a prop, and they don’t rely on water to cool the system, as a traditional outboard motor does. Legend has it the long-tailed, air-cooled boat motor originated in southeast Asia, but Louisiana duck hunters and crawfish trappers popularized it in the states. The Mud Boat This mud boat with a 23 horsepower Vanguard long-tailed engine from Go-Devil is used for accessing muddy, shallow water that’s full of weeds. They’re cleaner, easier to maintain, and more reliable-all good things if you’re a duck hunter. As for power, there are plenty of old two-stroke outboards still smoking their way down America’s rivers, but after running them for the past 12 years, I’ve absolutely come to prefer 4-stroke outboards. A 25-horse outboard has enough ass to get you home in a surprise storm, but is light enough that a couple guys can usually wrestle it on and off the trailer in a floodwater ditch, too.Ī flat-bottom hull is the traditional favorite style, but a modified-V-flat on bottom with a keeled bow-gives a smoother ride and is a little easier to snake through flooded timber. Many are paired with a boat blind for a mobile hide. They draft minimal water, and bounce nicely off stumps and cypress knees. These boats are sea-worthy enough to haul a couple hunters with gear (and the requisite Lab riding the bow) several miles. A 14- to 16-foot jon boat with a 25-horse tiller-steer motor is standard-issue transportation on many of the country’s top public duck waters.
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