Getting my Jon boat ready!!!

[BeardedFishingMD]

This is my 13ft gheenoe... I got her last spring but didn't fish much due to it being my first Jon boat... I plan on doing some modifications to it.. Get some crappie rod holder a fish finder give her a gloss cause the gloss has faded. I was wondering if you guys recommended anything beside all the safety requirement that I may want to add.

I was wondering if any of you guys have any crappie rod holders (driftmasters), fish finder trolling motors you may want to sell I would be interested.

i would like y'all's feed back I know she's not all bad a** but if she can get wet I'm in there haha. Thanks

[tear-em-up]

She looks cool don't make her to shiny,good luck with her.

[no1son]

My late father fished a 12' open aluminum rowboat type for years, decades actually and it is still around although he has been gone now for about 10 years. Very much like yours, but a little wider. Not for big waters or high winds of course, but you can sure get into some waters where you cannot launch a bigger boat, and still fish decent sized waters in it. A depth finder for sure and you already have the boat seats. Also an electric motor, perhaps not needing to be over 35 or even 30 for that size boat. Since you will not have room for a live well, get a decent fish bag for crappies, rather than stringer your catch. We always used a cord one rather than a wire one. But if you are after catfish, use the wire or their serrated fins will get tangled up in the cords. Get one with a bottom trap door for easiest removal for cleaning the catch.

Dad's was a wider boat than yours and we fished up to four adults in it safely on calm water; so that should be a real comfortable ride for a couple of fishermen, but I am not so sure that it is real well suited for much of a spider rigging array, far better adapted for dipping and jigging, shooting docks and that sort of fishing, more sneak boat type presentations. Dad's boat has removable carpeting too, little more than carpet sections between the seats, which helps keep the noise down and can be taken out to dry out quicker if it got wet.

My father always covered his boat for traveling on the road. That allowed for loading equipment at home and not having to worry about anything flying out at highway speeds or on bumpy trails. So maybe a boat cover.

One real nice thing about that size boat is that you can crank it up onto the trailer without needing to back the trailer into the water in places with soft bottoms, and you don't need a big heavy vehicle to either tow it with or to pull it back up steep ramps. You don't need an actual ramp to launch or load up onto the trailer, making this about as good a vessel for pond jumping as there is. A real nice thing is that one person can handle this size boat by himself, too, as opposed the "yacht" in the background and you don't need to run this small boat up on the trailer at all. A single person can crank it up without much breaking a sweat, even if the trailer isn't in the water at all.

Don't forget a spare tire for the trailer or a pair of oars either (provided there are oarlocks on that boat - if not a decent canoe paddle or two) against emergencies that might otherwise be a real serious dent in an outing.

You really don't need anything major other than the depth finder and the electric motor and the spare tire, the other things are nickle and dime items more for your convenience than anything and depend on what style of fishing you do.

One other thing, carry at least one spare drain plug!

[BeardedFishingMD]

No1son thank you so much it is quite easy to maneuver this baby. Now when you say 35 or 30 I'm assuming in lbs of thrust correct.. I'm not too familiar with the lbs of thrust and was thinking of getting a 50 lbs due to it being stronger or faster is what I thought but ill do more research... I indeed do need a boat cover I didn't think of it till now thank you very much. I bought some carpet mats with the rubber bottoms and they do well but I was thinking of putting LINE-X not sure what you could recommend on that.

about the spider rigging I love spider rigging but yo may be right it might be a bit too small for that... There are some portable fish finders do you recommend those or one that I can install? I would have never thought of a spare tire... That is a GREAT idea I will put that on the list... Matter of fact I just looked at my trailer and boom there it's was the SPARE. I have a bunch of spare drain plugs don't want to go and being crappie dinner haha. Thank you No1son for taking your time and helping me out I much appreciate it.. Indeed now ill just get these thing and go on way way to the water.

My late father fished a 12' open aluminum rowboat type for years, decades actually and it is still around although he has been gone now for about 10 years. Very much like yours, but a little wider. Not for big waters or high winds of course, but you can sure get into some waters where you cannot launch a bigger boat, and still fish decent sized waters in it. A depth finder for sure and you already have the boat seats. Also an electric motor, perhaps not needing to be over 35 or even 30 for that size boat. Since you will not have room for a live well, get a decent fish bag for crappies, rather than stringer your catch. We always used a cord one rather than a wire one. But if you are after catfish, use the wire or their serrated fins will get tangled up in the cords. Get one with a bottom trap door for easiest removal for cleaning the catch.

Dad's was a wider boat than yours and we fished up to four adults in it safely on calm water; so that should be a real comfortable ride for a couple of fishermen, but I am not so sure that it is real well suited for much of a spider rigging array, far better adapted for dipping and jigging, shooting docks and that sort of fishing, more sneak boat type presentations. Dad's boat has removable carpeting too, little more than carpet sections between the seats, which helps keep the noise down and can be taken out to dry out quicker if it got wet.

My father always covered his boat for traveling on the road. That allowed for loading equipment at home and not having to worry about anything flying out at highway speeds or on bumpy trails. So maybe a boat cover.

One real nice thing about that size boat is that you can crank it up onto the trailer without needing to back the trailer into the water in places with soft bottoms, and you don't need a big heavy vehicle to either tow it with or to pull it back up steep ramps. You don't need an actual ramp to launch or load up onto the trailer, making this about as good a vessel for pond jumping as there is. A real nice thing is that one person can handle this size boat by himself, too, as opposed the "yacht" in the background and you don't need to run this small boat up on the trailer at all. A single person can crank it up without much breaking a sweat, even if the trailer isn't in the water at all.

Don't forget a spare tire for the trailer or a pair of oars either (provided there are oarlocks on that boat - if not a decent canoe paddle or two) against emergencies that might otherwise be a real serious dent in an outing.

You really don't need anything major other than the depth finder and the electric motor and the spare tire, the other things are nickle and dime items more for your convenience than anything and depend on what style of fishing you do.

One other thing, carry at least one spare drain plug!

[BeardedFishingMD]

She looks cool don't make her to shiny,good luck with her.

Thanks the reason it look glossy is due to the rain but when she's dry it looks faded maybe I just need to reprint her with some flat paint...

[no1son]

The reasons I say 30 or 35 lbs thrust is first that is enough for the size of that boat - you don't need much, second that is a small boat without much floor space - you are also going to have a gas tank for your kicker down there too and your tackle boxes; so you want to run both the electric and the depth finder off a single 12v battery and third the price for that size electric is much easier on the pocket book.

Don't overdo it. This a minimal size boat for a whole lot of waters. It doesn't have all that much room for you to go overboard with amenities.

I would stick with the carpet, it comes out quicker and so you can dry it out faster. The price is right for that, too.

My father's boat has its transducer permanently mounted on the transom where it will always be in the water. The depthfinder wasn't all that much of a unit, but it reads the depth and so gives me a structure to follow for controlled drifts, slowtrolling, etc. Remember that it will also be pulling off the battery so buy your dp accordingly. It has an 8 hp for a kicker. I only use that to move between passes, and the 30 that is on it to fish with. I don't find it necessary to even start the kicker on quite a few passes; so a tank of gas is going to last you a long time - Seafoam or StaBil to stabilize it for sure. Even the electric is seldom on anything be the very slowest speeds, unless I am fighting a wind. But I certainly use it to hover over fish when we find them. A little boat like that you can keep real quiet; quiet enough to take quite a few crappies from straight down once you find them, if you can stay over them, yet big enough for two of you to troll a couple of rods each in the hunt, depending on what's legal.

I am mostly a one rod jigger, and a boat that size is almost perfect for hovering to do that with excellent results.

One other thing two small anchors each big enough to hold the boat, one in the nose and one at the transom and you can set up over a hole with virtually no swing. Make sure you have enough rope for each of them, too, but don't overdo that either. If the small anchors can't hold you, you maybe shouldn't be out on the water with that size boat; so you have to balance them to the boat. Dads boat has a couple of small mushrooms to anchor with, although I seldom use them. He fished by himself quite a bit; so he put in a pulley system to raise and lower the front anchor from his driver's seat. That is optional, but he was half crippled for much of his later life; so he made things convenient for himself.

You are almost certainly going to get some spray it there is any water action at all, but that is all part of the game in a little boat. If you are getting significant water over the front or the side, you probably shouldn't be on the water. There is a lot less margin for safety in your little boat than in your big one, but I suspect you will end up doing more fishing and more catching out of the smaller boat. You are not going to be able to run miles up a river or a flowage and back in it or fight heavy current, however.

[Crappieday]

Hey Ratherb, I have a LT25 and the battery for the bow electric is up front, helps keep the bow down. I see what looks like the the clamp rig for the electric motor in the front. This is used with a transom-mount motor, just take the screw out that holds the control head on and turn it around. I think your going to love this boat, they are super stable. Yes you can spider rig in them.

[Crappieday]

Here's a few pics of my LT25.....it's not a jonboat it's a Gheenoe............

[BeardedFishingMD]

Thank you again no1son, this has helped me ALoT... Ill keep you updated to see how it all looks out.

The reasons I say 30 or 35 lbs thrust is first that is enough for the size of that boat - you don't need much, second that is a small boat without much floor space - you are also going to have a gas tank for your kicker down there too and your tackle boxes; so you want to run both the electric and the depth finder off a single 12v battery and third the price for that size electric is much easier on the pocket book.

Don't overdo it. This a minimal size boat for a whole lot of waters. It doesn't have all that much room for you to go overboard with amenities.

I would stick with the carpet, it comes out quicker and so you can dry it out faster. The price is right for that, too.

My father's boat has its transducer permanently mounted on the transom where it will always be in the water. The depthfinder wasn't all that much of a unit, but it reads the depth and so gives me a structure to follow for controlled drifts, slowtrolling, etc. Remember that it will also be pulling off the battery so buy your dp accordingly. It has an 8 hp for a kicker. I only use that to move between passes, and the 30 that is on it to fish with. I don't find it necessary to even start the kicker on quite a few passes; so a tank of gas is going to last you a long time - Seafoam or StaBil to stabilize it for sure. Even the electric is seldom on anything be the very slowest speeds, unless I am fighting a wind. But I certainly use it to hover over fish when we find them. A little boat like that you can keep real quiet; quiet enough to take quite a few crappies from straight down once you find them, if you can stay over them, yet big enough for two of you to troll a couple of rods each in the hunt, depending on what's legal.

I am mostly a one rod jigger, and a boat that size is almost perfect for hovering to do that with excellent results.

One other thing two small anchors each big enough to hold the boat, one in the nose and one at the transom and you can set up over a hole with virtually no swing. Make sure you have enough rope for each of them, too, but don't overdo that either. If the small anchors can't hold you, you maybe shouldn't be out on the water with that size boat; so you have to balance them to the boat. Dads boat has a couple of small mushrooms to anchor with, although I seldom use them. He fished by himself quite a bit; so he put in a pulley system to raise and lower the front anchor from his driver's seat. That is optional, but he was half crippled for much of his later life; so he made things convenient for himself.

You are almost certainly going to get some spray it there is any water action at all, but that is all part of the game in a little boat. If you are getting significant water over the front or the side, you probably shouldn't be on the water. There is a lot less margin for safety in your little boat than in your big one, but I suspect you will end up doing more fishing and more catching out of the smaller boat. You are not going to be able to run miles up a river or a flowage and back in it or fight heavy current, however.

[BeardedFishingMD]

Crappieday, you gheenoe looks great. I do have the motor mount face my right side. I am happy to know I can spider rig her. Btw how long is your gheenoe? Looks like you customized her pretty well took the front seats puns and installed the swivel one. I have thought about doing that for more room.

Here's a few pics of my LT25.....it's not a jonboat it's a Gheenoe............