Why Small Boat Fishing?

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Small boat fishing with gas motors opens up a world of fishing that rivals any other kind of fishing on any lake. You will have to consider launch locations, distance to run, weather, etc. But with careful planning, except for the main body of large reservoirs and rivers, you can manage to fish in most any place you could fish in a much larger boat. I have owned bass boats from 17 - 22 feet with motors up to 200 hp. I can't say I don't enjoy them. I do. But I don't “need” them to catch fish....lots of fish. For any recreational fisherman/woman, fishing from small boats will put you on the fish you want to catch.

Fishing from small boats adds economy to effective fishing. An aluminum boat with a motor up to 25 horsepower will operate on a minimum of gas, and is easy to manage, move, maintain and  repair.  If you have funds available for a new small boat with a gas engine, a good one 4-6 years old with a small motor can be purchased for a much less than new and can provide many years of enjoyable and effective fishing.

For cove, pond, or small lake fishing, a “water scamp” type one or two man pontoon type boat with trolling motor can get you around surprisingly well, and put you on fishing spots in any body of water with a little advance planning.

Electronics can be added to any small boat, from high end fish finders to portable models for kayaks and canoes. I have a small one that works great on an old beat up flat bottom I have. The unit sold new for less than $80 and provides depth, bottom contour, fish locator, and water temp. Buy one used for next to nothing for a small boat.

How much running in open water you can do on larger reservoirs depends on how large your boat is, what it's powered by, and how much experience you have running a small boat on big water. I run my 15 foot Alumacraft flat bottom with 15 horse Mercury 4 stroke engine on some pretty wide expanses of water, even with a stiff wind, but I've spent my lifetime running boats of all sizes on lakes and rivers.