As for the 9.9 hp - where we go everything is limited to 9.9. Mainly little lakes - some only 10 acres and the bigger ones in the 300-400 acre area - nothing huge.
Last week I canoed the one lake we are going to be on the most and there was a total of 5 boats on it - these are not real busy lakes so I figure they are good to start on. I just wanted something fairly stable to take the kids and wife on to Bass fish - not really too concerned with going very quick but the part I liked was I could get a bigger motor down the road if I want to try out the small rivers.
Thanks again and any other advise and ideas are welcomed!!!
I only have paddle powered boats and if I am taking out the canoe I look for places that don't have power boats. Pre GoogleMaps, I had to use those old fashioned PAPER maps :laughing::laughing::laughing: as well as just driving around, to find places were I could put in the canoe in parts of the lakes that would not have power boats. I have found quite a few places where I can do this pretty easily but it will depend on the lakes in your area. With the kayak it is a bit easier because it can handle large waves, winds, and wakes much more safely and easier than my canoe aka barge.
No way would I take my canoe out on the main part of the area lakes but I used to do 20 mile trips in five hours in the kayak with no problem.
There are some areas of the lakes that are quite shallow that are perfect for paddle boats or smaller draft boats. Some real good fishing in some of those areas that the expensive bass boats can't get into at all. As a kid, my dad and I would take our small canoe down to a lake we lived near. We could get up into the trees with that canoe that you just could not do with a larger boat much less one of the expensive bass boats. We would go out for 3-4 hours and catch 12-24 fish with fly rods.
Years ago in FLA, I worked for the Game and Fish Commission(GFC) and one of my jobs was talking to people fishing. We would ask a series of questions one of which was how much money did you spend to go fishing on that day. I was shocked that these guys were spending $50-100 to go fishing! :shocked: Fuel for the boat and truck was costing them a small fortune. They would then spend money on this and that and it all added up. The GFC used this information to show how much money was being spent on fishing and fishing's impact to the economy. It was a much bigger impact than I ever would have guessed. We were not asking how much the boat, trailer or truck cost, just the cost of the day.
One day I talked to people on two boats. They had driven all the way from SC to South Fla to fish for Oscars. Yes, Oscars, the aquarium fish. The area was full of those ^&*() fish and they got up around a pound or so and would bite and fight so they were fun to catch. They are slimy but the guys said they were good eating. Since they were non native fish you take as many as you wanted. One boat had about 35-50 Oscars on board and the other was 50-75 and it was early in the day. There were so many Oscars you could see 50-100 yard sections of the water just rippling with the fish feeding. It was unreal.
Later,
Dan
