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Is a boat worth it?


guitpic

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I'm 68, retired, moved back to MN 2004 from SDAK.

This year I tried to learn to fish MN  again after leaving MN fishing back in 1968.

Been fishing in my backyard on the Ottertail river...waters are fast and there are rocks/weeds.  Tried buzzbaits(just a bit) frogs..anything topwater, simulated and live night crawlers.  Get a bite now and then...smallmouth bass.

A friend suggested I buy a boat, try some other parts of the Ottertail river and Minnesota lakes/rivers in general.

Fishing boats are now $50k plus or minus and I can't figure out if the fishing is any better in MN with a boat than my backyard.

Part of my issue is that I experienced hunting and fishing in SD from 1969 - 2004...when I lived there...that's my point of comparison.

 

 

Edited by guitpic
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I don't know if fishing is better or worse in Minnesota, but you can get a perfectly adequate fishing boat for under 20k,  under 10k if you are ok with used.  

For example, a boat like this would totally do everything you want to do...

http://hotspotoutdoors.com/forums/topic/181008-2005-lund-explorer-1600-with-merc-60hp-4-stroke-efi-fully-loaded/

I don't know if this is a good price or a good boat, but you get the picture...

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I agree with del, used boats are more than adequate. I bought a 1990 Crestliner Sport for $5,100 in 2013. Did some floor and live well work, added co-pilot to the trolling motor, Vexilar SonarPhone connected to my iPad, and a tablet with the Navionics Boating App for GPS. Welded verses rivet hull was my desire. Tops out at 43 mph with 115hp merc 2 stroke. Handles the 4' Ottertail waves quite well.

Picture of boat on Ottertail which I fish several times yearly along with other Ottertail County lakes and lakes closer to home I frequent often. At 73 its easy to launch / take-out. Look for a family owner, one that uses the boat once or twice a month the boat/motor will have limited hours of use on it. In my opinion the used boat is the only way to go. 

IMG_0035.JPG.81a20e8c4ca5744c00e0ac37025c14d6.JPG

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Buy The Boat.  :)

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move back to SD and then buy the boat :)

You dont need to drop $50k on a new boat just to enjoy the water. I have just as much fun fishing about of a super old $500 aluminum boat with a trolling motor as I do fishing in a fully decked out Ranger. There are of course pros and cons to each but you can fish out of both and that's all that matters. And nothing is better than getting away from shore fishing it just opens up so many more opportunities to catch fish.

Edited by rundrave
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I agree with rudrave, a boat will open up a lot more opportunities to fish off shore.  You could get a brand new 16 foot fishing boat with a 25 hp motor and a basic sonar unit with trailer for about $10 grand and that sort of rig would get you on a lot of small to medium-sized lakes in addition to rivers around here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I see a lot of decent used boats for well under $5k these days.  Enough to get you out to where the fish are, anyways.  With so little public shore access on most MN lakes, I feel like to have any sort of long-term fishing enjoyment, you need a boat.

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A 2003 Crestliner FH 1750 with a Yamaha 115 4s in 2007 for slightly more than 1/2 of the original book for us. With what the motor booked for when we bought it, we figure the boat & trailer cost us $3-4k

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