Saltwater/Inshore guys

[ncbass]

Building at the coast and bout halfway done. Started looking at SW boats (small center console or skiff) and got a couple of questions for the more experienced:

Looking at MK trollers, I would assume spot lock feature is a must? I've had an Ultrex for over four years, only ask about spot lock because of the saltwater Fortrex (no spot lock). Hand control, remote or the smaller foot pedal? Never used the remote with my Ultrex, so I'll have to change on way or the other. Motorguide worth considering?
Majority of boats I have seen have no graph at the bow, just not needed? Will still fish some freshwater,but will be limited to river and shallow lakes where shoreline cover is dominate so might not need a bow graph....

Any suggestions or thoughts welcome...

[Mechanic Bob]

I have an Terrova, bow mounted FF, although my boat is not designed for the Big Pond. That being said I will go beyond the breakers, but not too often, only because I am more interested in the in-shore fish.
I would get, and do have, a 36V trolling motor as it still blows be away on the Force of the Tide.
I have twin Talons as you will find you inshore fishing for Reds and Trout are a great asset.
No one boat does it all. If you want a boat to handle the big pond, you will be limited of some areas where you need to get skinny.

I promise you, if you use your boat at all inside the breakers, you WILL run aground. So always carry some bug spray and a few waters as you could be stuck there for a few hours.

[BroWhoop]

The older Terrova/Ulterra had spot lock on the remote. The newer ones its on the foot pedal as well. The steering motors are a lot quieter as well.

[ncbass]

I have an Terrova, bow mounted FF, although my boat is not designed for the Big Pond. That being said I will go beyond the breakers, but not too often, only because I am more interested in the in-shore fish.
I would get, and do have, a 36V trolling motor as it still blows be away on the Force of the Tide.
I have twin Talons as you will find you inshore fishing for Reds and Trout are a great asset.
No one boat does it all. If you want a boat to handle the big pond, you will be limited of some areas where you need to get skinny.

I promise you, if you use your boat at all inside the breakers, you WILL run aground. So always carry some bug spray and a few waters as you could be stuck there for a few hours.

I have zero interest leaving the inshore area, like you, I am more interested in the trout, reds and flounder....

[MikeKz]

You may want to cruise the THT website (thehulltruth.com), lots of SW experienced fishermen there with opinions.

[Mechanic Bob]

Where abouts are you relocation to?
Morehead area = there is some open water where a Vee hull is needed, but then there are a lot of areas where you need to get real skinny.
New Bern area = A bay boat would work well
Wilmington area = I find a skinny water boat works very well for most conditions.

Lots of "Covid" boats starting to be listed. I will say in my opinion, most of those are under powered. Have a 115 where they should of had a 150.

[ncbass]

Where abouts are you relocation to?
Morehead area = there is some open water where a Vee hull is needed, but then there are a lot of areas where you need to get real skinny.
New Bern area = A bay boat would work well
Wilmington area = I find a skinny water boat works very well for most conditions.

Lots of "Covid" boats starting to be listed. I will say in my opinion, most of those are under powered. Have a 115 where they should of had a 150.

I'll be near you in Holly Ridge...need some pointers when I get there

[Mechanic Bob]

That being said, I would go with a boat that will get you in some skinny places. Lots of bays off the ICW. Also there are some great waters for using a Kayak around there!

[Mechanic Bob]

One more thing I'll add, it is a good thing to have a push pole on board too.

[Cbump]

Look at beavertail skiffs or those like It.

[trifish]

I have a Beavertail Mosquito that I absolutely love. It's an 18' boat that will float in 6" with 2 guys in it and you can use a trolling motor or pole it. I pole it on flats all day for tailing reds and can run the beaches or fish the bridges for Tarpon no problem. I also bass fish out of it. The boat can run in about 4" of water when on plane. It has a 60 Suzuki and runs about 32 loaded down which I know to most bass fishermen is just painfully slow but honestly I don't ever find myself needing to even do that. It holds 12 gallons of gas and I can go at least 6 trips without having to even think about filling it up. They're really awesome boats. These pictures show what It's capable of.

418EA900-4F69-4431-A7A2-8F21D6B605C5.JPGIMG_0299.jpgIMG_1336.jpgIMG_7926.jpgIMG_6497.jpgIMG_6500.jpgIMG_7500.jpgIMG_7515.jpgIMG_6161.jpgIMG_7925.jpgIMG_6994.jpg

[dean c]

I have a center console. It goes off shore or wade fishing. Doesn’t have or need a front graph. I have the Minn Kota with spot lock. I bought a wired foot pedal for going down a shore line. The spot lock is awesome offshore when everyone else is messing with an anchor. We spot lock and start fishing. I’ve got pretty good console electronics…side scan and early generation panoptix. That thing is the bomb for down fishing. If you see em under the boat just drop down and catch.

[ccollins]

I have a 22ft pathfinder bay boat, I target trout and redfish. 95% of my fishing is in less than 4ft of water, so I don't really want spot lock running the motor to hold position and spooking the fish. I have 2 10ft blades that are the best thing i have ever put on the boat. I don't need a graph on the front as most times I can see the bottom or have fished the areas enough to know general depth. When I first bought it, i put the graph on a RAM mount and just turned it around to face the front. I quickly realized that I didn't use it much. My boat will float in 12-18 inches of water depending on fuel and whether I'm fishing with live bait with water in the baitwell. I've also had it 20 miles offshore (Gulf) as well but you have to be very mindful of weather, tides and wind. The bigger the boat the more water it pushes as it moves. To me a skiff type boat is more stealthy than a bay boat but is not going to ride as comfortable in the bigger bays. The wind always seems to blow in Florida and its a lot more of a comfortable ride in the bay boat.

[friogatto]

8-10 inch draft
Minnkota
for me, most reds fishing is sub 2ft of water. much of it in sub 12".
graph is useful while learning an area so you can see waypoints but not critical.
dual power poles and/or push pole with holder that you can anchor with the push pole. Just depends of what boat you get.
36v trolling motor is the only option. life saver when you drift aground, many times I can drag the boat out with the trolling motor. If weight is a concern, get lithium batteries. (you should do that anyways)

Make sure rear graph has good enough maps to show the river channels.

[rds_nc]

Here's a channel of a local guide. He fishes a lot up towards where you'll be. He's got a few videos about boat selection and certain videos/podcasts they go on long tangents about why they like certain boats. Also, what they like best in terms of PP vs spot lock.

[ncbass]

Thanks guys...

[Hbach]

I find a lot of trout and reds on my livescope. Definitely want a unit up front. 36 v terrova on a 20 xpress h20b. Will need more boat than that if u live there

[Sunkist]

I have a Beavertail Mosquito that I absolutely love. It's an 18' boat that will float in 6" with 2 guys in it and you can use a trolling motor or pole it. I pole it on flats all day for tailing reds and can run the beaches or fish the bridges for Tarpon no problem. I also bass fish out of it. The boat can run in about 4" of water when on plane. It has a 60 Suzuki and runs about 32 loaded down which I know to most bass fishermen is just painfully slow but honestly I don't ever find myself needing to even do that. It holds 12 gallons of gas and I can go at least 6 trips without having to even think about filling it up. They're really awesome boats. These pictures show what It's capable of.

418EA900-4F69-4431-A7A2-8F21D6B605C5.JPGIMG_0299.jpgIMG_1336.jpgIMG_7926.jpgIMG_6497.jpgIMG_6500.jpgIMG_7500.jpgIMG_7515.jpgIMG_6161.jpgIMG_7925.jpgIMG_6994.jpg

Want one bad, but I just can't understand why these skiffs cost so much. Maybe you can explain. Would love to have one to fish the flats on the southern outer banks. $60k + just seems crazy.

[trifish]

Want one bad, but I just can't understand why these skiffs cost so much. Maybe you can explain. Would love to have one to fish the flats on the southern outer banks. $60k + just seems crazy.

I got mine for $31k. It's a 2017 and I bought it last year. That said, there's a lot of technology that goes into making a boat that can float super skinny AND POLES STRAIGHT which is important but also get you across a choppy bay without drenching you. There is also a lot of innovation that goes into making a boat quiet. There is absolutely zero hull slap on my boat. When you are fishing in 6 inches of water any noise scares these fish, especially if you need to get close fly fishing. The next time you go out and there's a little wind just sit real quiet and listen to your boat. I would guarantee you it makes noise with the water hitting the side of it. These boats don't do that. The whole boat weighs about 800 lbs including the motor so it's extremely easy to push. Beavertail is probably the most economical of the the upper tier skiffs. If you think $60k is crazy don't even think about a Hell's Bay or Chittum. They're pushing $85+ for a skiff.

[Cbump]

Look into Ankona skiffs. Way less expensive.