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21 - 40 of 84 Posts
#24 ·
Archieup said:
I'm in the early stages of shopping for a new boat. In the past I have always had fishing boats that ranged in length from 21 to 25 ft. and have used them exclusively in Lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie. The past couple of years I have really been enjoying the jigging bites in the Saginaw and Detroit rivers as well as on the reefs in Erie.

My question is what does everyone consider the perfect size boat that can be used in the rivers effectively and also out on the open water for the trolling bite?

I've really been looking into the Lund Pro V se and am torn between the 1750 and 1850.

Thanks,
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as you know a foot is huge in terms of a boat! if you were staying in the river the 17 would be ok, but if you want to hit the big water bump that size up! you dont want to miss a trip to the reefs because of 2 footers! good luck...
 
#25 ·
I wouldn't bet against yellowbelly. Those guys in those small aluminum boats always seem to crush the eyes in the river.

However the original thread was about a boat for Erie too which a 14ft aluminum won't cut it


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#26 ·
All I can say is lol , I'm sure yellowbelly can catch fish however the point was how effective In a 14' vs a guy with same skill in a 21' rigged for jigging on both boats in hard wind and waves , my comments are not suggesting I'm better just that running circles around me is impossible


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#27 ·
Well I'm willing to take that bet , I fish out there just as much as anyone I grew up in river rouge been fishin the river since I was 8 so I'm game for any bet with in my budget but the days will not be chosen for or by weather condition or weather forecast set the date now and no one can say they knew what the weather was Gona be fair for all


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#29 ·
mfs686 said:
I won't. I have a 14 footer as well and I know it's limitations. Even on the river there are days I will not go out because I know boat control will be more trouble than it is worth.

No walleye is worth a wet ass and a bunch of lines tangled in my prop.
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I can see you have experienced exactly what I been talkin about , I had 16' can't tell you how many times I was bummed because the fish was in and I couldn't hang that's why I got a bigger boat
 
#30 ·
I think we all like to say we are the best but when all comes down to it we are only as good as our gear , I highly dought this bet will go any further than this thread , speaking of this thread I apologize for this I'm Gona star a new one just for this convo
 
#31 ·
Casey2552 said:
All I can say is lol , I'm sure yellowbelly can catch fish however the point was how effective In a 14' vs a guy with same skill in a 21' rigged for jigging on both boats in hard wind and waves , my comments are not suggesting I'm better just that running circles around me is impossible


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if you have to throw in the towel cause of the wind in a 14 footer and stop jiggin, i am sure anyone in a 21 footer would be right behind them. the bigger the boat, the more the wind will spin you. i recently upgraded to a 20' alaskan from fishing years in a tin can, and i will not jig in any wind over 20mph, thats when i get rid of the rod and switch to wire, thats a different animal, i can pull wire in almost any condition.
 
#36 ·
Honestly it's a lot of personal preference and what's in your budget. I currently own a Ranger 621 and a 14 ft Mirrocraft. Prior to the ranger I had an 18ft Mirrocraft with a layout very similar to a Lund Pro V. If you want a boat for Lake Erie and the River I would suggest nothing less than 18 ft if you want to not have to pick your days so much. I would say more times than none in the river if it's too rough for an 18 footer it's gonna be horrible conditions in the 21 footer in the Detroit river also. In Lake Erie that's not so much the case. I would take the 21 foot Ranger over anything else I've been in yet with the exception of the Glass Lund. But I had quite a few days in plenty of conditions on Erie with the 18 footer before the hull cracked. In regards to getting blown around in a bigger boat and boat control in the river it really depends on what kind of "profile" and material is made of. If you have a high bow or a lighter boat you're going to get blown and bounced around more. If you are already looking at a particular boat though the real question should be.....what is your budget?
 
#37 ·
allskater08 said:
Honestly it's a lot of personal preference and what's in your budget. I currently own a Ranger 621 and a 14 ft Mirrocraft. Prior to the ranger I had an 18ft Mirrocraft with a layout very similar to a Lund Pro V. If you want a boat for Lake Erie and the River I would suggest nothing less than 18 ft if you want to not have to pick your days so much. I would say more times than none in the river if it's too rough for an 18 footer it's gonna be horrible conditions in the 21 footer in the Detroit river also. In Lake Erie that's not so much the case. I would take the 21 foot Ranger over anything else I've been in yet with the exception of the Glass Lund. But I had quite a few days in plenty of conditions on Erie with the 18 footer before the hull cracked. In regards to getting blown around in a bigger boat and boat control in the river it really depends on what kind of "profile" and material is made of. If you have a high bow or a lighter boat you're going to get blown and bounced around more. If you are already looking at a particular boat though the real question should be.....what is your budget?
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I don't have a lot of time in my 21' yet but how is it Gona be worse than a 18' longer boats ride over wave to wave less getting in the low section of the wave


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#39 ·
I currently own and fish out of 2 boats. A 19' Starcraft fishmaster and a 31' Tiara Open. I'm a big fan of both brands and I've fish out of the Starcraft in every type of weather and waves and never felt unsafe. What type of boat really depends on budget but I will say if you plan on fishing Erie I would get a boat with a full windshield. On spring and fall days it makes for a dryer ride.


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#40 ·
What i meant was, a 18 ft boat can handle some rough water. If you are in waves so big that you cant control your boat while jigging and you are using your bow mount and have your kicker down and in gear...... the conditions just plain suck. Yeah it might be more tolerable in a 21 footer and obviously a smoother ride from spot to spot but why would you even want to fish in conditions like that if you didnt have to such as a tournament? I wouldn't trade the 21 to fish in an 18 but an 18 is more than capable of handling the river under 80% of the circumstances.
 
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