# best duck/fishing boat hybrid



## Remo Williams (Feb 2, 2005)

Y'all I am getting rid of my duck boat & fishing boat (low on funds, welcome to MI). I am researching 1 boat to replace both (to be more fiscally responsible). I would appreciate any input on any boat style/model/brand. Must be a 16'er due to garage constraints, HELP! Thank you in advance.


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## 1fish (Oct 2, 2006)

Depends on what kind of fishing/hunting you want to do really. If you don't want to do any kind of walleye/salmon/musky trolling, a 16' or 14 mod-v or john with a 20hp class mud motor would be hard to beat for an all around boat. Put a bow mount trolling motor on it in the 55lb thrust class and you should be good to go for most MI fishing, minus big water trolling. If you did want to troll, you'd probably want to go with a standard outboard.

If you don't plan on beating it up too much, just about any make would be good. Most all of the welded mod-v's/johns these days are made well enough to last a lifetime. Lowe Roughnecks are good boats at a decent price, but you'd probably be fine even with a G3 or a Grizzly. Obviously I'm partial to War Eagles, but if you're not doing the big water stuff, probably not necessary.

I'd check out their websites and find one that has a layout/floor plan that you like and then find a dealer and start working prices.


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## Flooded Timber (Nov 1, 2006)

Remo I looked long and hard for the same combo your talking about. I ended up going with a 16 x 48 Crestliner MTV with a 31 HP Go devil for duck hunting and a 25 HP Evinrude for fishing. I haven't purchased a bow mount trolling motor yet but my 42# trolling motor pushes it just fine. I remove the side console for duck hunting. It has a high transom and higher sidewalls than most boats for the big lakes. Pretty happy with it... You can see how deep it is in my photos.


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## gregm (Feb 13, 2002)

I would say either a Lund Alaskan or Adventure in the 16 foot range.


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## GVSUKUSH (Mar 9, 2004)

I think a nice, *wide* 14-16 foot Jon boat with outboard/mud motor and trolling motor works well in most any situation (especially if you slap a chainsaw winch on the front :chillin: ) I hunt and fish with a couple guys on this site that have jons, one has a 16 footer with a 25 hp outboard, the other has a 14 footer with a mud motor and trolling motor. Pretty versitile boats that can take a beating and if you're on a budget you can get some pretty good deals on used setups, especially on this site. (Obviously, you have to pick and choose when it comes to bigger water with these boats)


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## RC2 (Apr 20, 2006)

Not the best choice for shallow water but:
available - 16' Lund with 30HP merc., used for hand lining and ducks.


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## thedude (Jul 20, 2004)

what kind of fishing? what kind of hunting (big water, inland, rivers, marshes, bingos...)?


i've often considered selling my bass boat and buying a 2072 mod-v tunnel hull w/ high sides and 150-175hp outboard. You'd be able to fish/hunt just about anywhere w/ that. I'd keep a small jon for hunting/fishing really small water where the big one couldn't go.


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## ironmachineus (Dec 22, 2005)

How fast are the 16' x 52 mod V jon boats (lowe roughneck type) with a 25hp outboard? I'm also thinking of combining my duck and bass boats into one, and I already have a new electric start 25hp I'd like to keep. I'm concerned it won't move fast enough.


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

ironmachineus said:


> How fast are the 16' x 52 mod V jon boats (lowe roughneck type) with a 25hp outboard? I'm also thinking of combining my duck and bass boats into one, and I already have a new electric start 25hp I'd like to keep. I'm concerned it won't move fast enough.[/quote
> 
> depends on how much weight you put in it,I won't be very fast,,


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## stormwigeon (Oct 11, 2007)

thedude said:


> what kind of fishing? what kind of hunting (big water, inland, rivers, marshes, bingos...)?
> 
> .


thats the million dollar question. michigan is way to varied and diverse.
where do you fish and where do you hunt. answer that and you'll get some good info from these guys.


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## 1fish (Oct 2, 2006)

ironmachineus said:


> How fast are the 16' x 52 mod V jon boats (lowe roughneck type) with a 25hp outboard? I'm also thinking of combining my duck and bass boats into one, and I already have a new electric start 25hp I'd like to keep. I'm concerned it won't move fast enough.


You might be able to get it on plane at least, but no, not very fast at all, probably just a total off the top of my head guess, 14-16 mph pinned.

My 17' War Eagle with a 50 4 stroke will do about 35-40 with just me in it, put the blind on it with two guys, gear, decoys, etc. it drops to about 28-30.

When I bought my boat, I was looking at the 15' Roughneck, Lowe "recommendations" was that a 20hp was minimum to plane the boat.


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## lawnboy (Jun 5, 2000)

http://www.tritonboats.com/boat_detail_new.asp?bid=58

At one time, I was in the same position as you. I liked to fish and duck hunt so I went with this boat and I just love it. Its great for handlinning, layout shooting, blinds, and I even tow the kids behind it on a tube. In my mind this is one of the best all around boats. Handles the big waters of Erie great and the skinny water of the marshes just as good. What I think makes this boat stand out is the open floor.


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## duckman#1 (Sep 22, 2002)

I have a 16' Grizzely all welded construction with a merc 25hp. I use it alot for duck hunting and fishing. has front & rear graphs, front & rear electric anchors, bow mount trolling motor, blind, and with loaded with decoys and two guys (about 250 lbs each) the boat will go 25- 30 mph depending on surface conditions. I like the open floor plan andn i even put small downriggers on it in the spring and troll the pier heads. lite and can be hauled by a car if needed and also lite enough to get in those small "two track" launches.


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## Flooded Timber (Nov 1, 2006)

With my 25hp Evinrude 2 men ( well 2 1/2 ) and our 2 11 year old sons in my 16 x 48 Crestliner we were doing 24 mph by my GPS.


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