Small boat on the Mississippi

[Guest]

I have a 14 foot boat with a 15hp motor and was wondering if it is to small to have it on the Mississippi. I have a lot of respect for the river and heard many things can go wrong.

[Second Chance]

I used a 12' lund w/15hp for years on the St croix..Thats all I could afford at the time! Just think ahead and have a plan and stay out of the way of those monsters!!!!

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><> Enjoy each day. ><> CONSIDER ORGAN DONATION ><> S.C.

[deadeye]

I have been running a 14ft jon on the mississippi for a couple years now without to much problem. I would have to say be careful, I would suggest watching where you are going and if your motor uses shear pins on the prop you should take extras. I think that in some places it might be better to have a smaller boat since the river can be really shallow in spots. I guess overall just use common sense, if you are downstream a ways and the river is really wide/deep it might be nice to have a bigger boat but if you are in the cities you should be fine.
><>deadeye

[Dave B]

I had a 12' w/ a 15hp. I felt fine on Pool 2, OK on the St Croix in the AM until the big boats came out, fine on Pool 4 from the dam to the lake.

Just watch out for barges-the wakes are pretty strong. When bigger boats start throwing off some big wakes, find somewhere quiet.

High water, watch out for logs, stumps etc and dont make any fast turns in the fast water.

[Crawlerman]

14' is not all that small... People that take those size boats on Mille Lacs are nuts; but they are good for any water in the metro area. They are better equipped for rougher water, espically the ones with deep hulls (like mine) than the 12' or smaller catagory. 15hp should also be enough to get a 14' boat planed with one person in it; I only have a 20 on mine and it flies with one person in it. Yeah, plenty good for the St. Croix for sure, but I'm personally nervous about boating on the Mississippi alone myself, not because of the boat size, but due to things like locks, wing dams and barges. One thing is; Espically on the Mississippi ALLWAYS wear a lifejacket.. even if you have a 18'+ boat.

[vern]

I've used a 14' jonboat with a 9.9 on the Mississippi, MN, St.Croix, Rainy, Red & lots of other rivers without any trouble. Just have to know your limitations & use caution. Try to avoid those high-traffic recreational areas. Some of those big boats & yachts give off huge wakes. Who wants to fish in that chaos anyway? I do feel a little more comfortable in our deeper 16' jon though. Vern

[Long Gray Line]

Nice thing about the small boats (we use a 14' with a 15hp or even a 12' jon boat with a 5hp) is that you can get to the upper Miss where the big boats don't dare go. There's some great walleye, smallie and cat fishing up there!! Just use common sense...

[GreyGoose]

The Goose is LOOSE!

I got a 14 footer and I have never felt insecure on it in any river. It's the deep hull version so it's very stable even when i'm blastin barge wakes, with the 8-gerbil power 'Rude at full tilt. Plus i'm good in as little as 1 foot of agua. Lets see a 150hp sized boat do that.

[tyler97]

Just have to be a little more careful in a 14 footer on the river. There are a lot of ignorant people in their cruisers (on pool 2 especially) who just don't give a d#$%.

[Guest]

Thanks for the input everyone, I plan on going out this weekend.

[deadeye]

Good Luck!!!! ><>
deadeye

[Bobb-o]

hey crawler, why is it crazy to take a 14' boat out on mille lacs? I have done this several times. My dad use to have a 14' Lund witha 25 horse Johnson and we never had any problems on Mille Lacs.

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"America is our team, and if you aren't gonna root for your team, then you should get the he!! out of the stadium."

~Southpark

[Crawlerman]

Lets just say when your bobbing up and down in waves that are twice the height of your bow you have a death wish.

I suppose if you kept to the windward side (where the wind comes onto the lake) and stay within 1/2 mile from shore you could do it.. but taking a boat lik that in any surf 3'+ is sucidal.

[SportFishin']

Yeah I wouldn't call it crazy either Bobb-o.I'd call it good walleye chop!

You just have to know your vessel and have your sea legs for running on rough waters. I have grown up fishing Mille Lacs & Tonka in 16'Aluminum Boats with no problems. Just use caution when running your boat for the first time on new water.