FLY CHUCKERS TIN BOAT

[ebsterdog]

Hey Fellas,
I am planning to convert an old 14' semi V barrel back I found into a 2 man fly fishing rig. Has anyone tried this or do you know where I might get some ideas? I haven't been able to find any chat on this site related to fly boats. Any help would be appreciated. Rod storage and stabilization are two things I'd like to see other ideas on.
Thanks, eb

 

[Gators5220]

Floation pods are a good idea, country dave bought some pre fabbed ones that add stability as well as float the motor higher to get it on a plane in skinnier water quicker! Country Dave's build should show you a good way to go...

 

[ebsterdog]

Floation pods are a good idea, country dave bought some pre fabbed ones that add stability as well as float the motor higher to get it on a plane in skinnier water quicker! Country Dave's build should show you a good way to go...

Thanks for the tip. I have pondered building some custom outriggers that I could retract when running and set out while casting. I'll try to find Country Dave's build and see what he did.... Tight lines I live for, cold beer, I dig... Gator lovin: forbidden here in the Smokeys.
Take care,

 

[thudpucker]

Don't make that Bow deck too high.
You'll have Nimrod up there thrashing at the Foliage while the Anchor man back at the Motor is hanging on for dear life and ducking the Whistling Death at the same time.

Better wear a PFD and hope the Hook gets stuck in that instead of the back of your neck.

 

[Gators5220]

That's ok, if your a Tennessee fan I miss the good old days with Spurrier and Fulmer and hope it'll return to how it was...I've been in Knoxville the Tennessee Navy is pretty cool.

 

[acabtp]

14' is pretty tight for two guys fly casting

 

[ebsterdog]

Don't make that Bow deck too high.
You'll have Nimrod up there thrashing at the Foliage while the Anchor man back at the Motor is hanging on for dear life and ducking the Whistling Death at the same time.

Better wear a PFD and hope the Hook gets stuck in that instead of the back of your neck.

Dude, You make me laugh. The problem is I'm afraid you are right. I really want to try to pull it off though. I have thought about weight distribution and all. The deck height is gonna be a thing as well. The lower the better huh? I even have a plan for some retractable stabilizers to help with the whistling death. I chuck a fly out of a canoe all the time. Surely I can get a tin boat stable enough for two guys to cast in. No? Should I trade the vintage barrel back for a wide flat bottom? Or is there a chance for this to work? What do you think?

 

[ebsterdog]

14' is pretty tight for two guys fly casting

So you think it's the wrong boat for the project? I thought about a jon, but everybody has a jon. If it can be done with this boat, I want to try it. What do you think is the minimum width and length for this kind of set up?

 

[Bass n flats]

Unless both casters have excellent technique it is hard for 2 to cast out of a larger boat. Definatly make sure that you don't have anything excess on the decks for the fly line to get caught up in. If you look at drift boats and flats boats they are usually only set up for one person be casting at a time. I've had two people fly fishing for bass on my boat (1752) and it can be tricky especially in the wind. Just be careful and you may want to watch some videos on how to remove hooks with 50lb mono! or just go barbless!

 

[rickybobbybend]

Lots of good (and funny) advice above. I've often fished with another out of my 1244v and out of his 14 ft. jon with few issues. IMHO both are thoughtful and accomplished casters. Absent that, 2 in a 12 is a recipe for injury, a world class tangle or both. Any wind can end the fishing and clutter on the decks or seats is a no-no. And then I also know guys that put me in danger even if I am on the opposite end of the lake from where they are casting. Regardless, always wear glasses, even if you are alone.

 

[Gators5220]

Yea we always had one pole and the other cast, for each fish, but hey just me...

 

[ebsterdog]

All very good points for sure, but let's talk stability. Just how much more will I gain by using a jon boat for this project. I have 3 to choose from; one is a 14' x 52" semi V barrel back with pretty high side walls (the one I picked up for the project), the other is a 12' x 36" wide shallow water semi V with rowing oars and the last is a 12' x 36" jon boat. The wife would love for me to thin the herd as you might suspect. This discussion may bring her that wish. I will primarily be using this rig on small rivers and lakes in east Tennessee (doing my part to help fight the smallmouth epidemic we are fighting around here).
All opinions welcome.
Thanks,

 

[Bass n flats]

Sell all three and get one in the 16-17 ft range and a Minimum 52" floor. If that is not in the plan use the biggest one ya got.

 

[Gators5220]

I don't think that length is the only issue, stability comes down to how high the platform is in relation to how wide the boat is. There is a reason seat benches aren't put on the very top gunnel. That said I would use the longest widest boat you have, I think 14 x 52" I believe again like I said to aide stability if I was going to use this boat I'd add flotation pods like from Beavertail Boats, and the outrigger system if you wanted could be useful or you could try fishing it as is and see what happens.

 

[ebsterdog]

thanks for the info and tips fellas. I plan to post the project once it gets rolling.

 

[Bass n flats]

The only advantage to getting a longer boat would be to put the anglers farther apart. If you are fishing a river where you are targeting specific areas it could be very difficult to fish two people. As opposed to lake or bay fishing where the casting could be more random.

 

[Gators5220]

Ebster don't forget all our points are mere suggestions, in the end all boats are "perfect" to someone fishing them. I had a 1720 action craft before I moved to gainesville for college, and even in that boat it was diffacult to fly fish for redfish or snook on the flats (because of the distance you had to throw to get a shot at them) so we traded poling to throwing. But if you were throwing like 20 yds you could both cast at the same time if you were skilled and careful.

 

[ebsterdog]

So true. I have a friend with a Florida flats boat that we take out in the spring for smalleys. What a joy that thing is to cast from. smooth deck surface, no bobbles and lots of room. The kind of casting I will be doing will be 40 footers in moving water. Often one man will row while the other casts. My partner is better with a fly rod than me and I do O.K. I may rethink this project and look at a longer, wider jon boat. Just don't want to outgrow my 35 horse or lose my shallow water low fuel consumption set up either. It sounds like a 1760 is the minimum size for this kind of set up huh? What about the hull? semi V or jon? Is there really no big difference in stability?

 

[tcampbell011]

it's nice to see a fellow fly fisherman. I've got a couple suggestions...

FF on small boats (slow water/lakes) works if one guy is fly casting and the other guy is spin casting. The guy that's fly fishing has to cast with his casting arm away from the center (which limits you to one side of the boat). I had a 12 footer and I got rid of it for a 14ft Jon.

If it were me I would put some oars and oar locks on your johnboat so you can sit on the bench (or a cooler if it needs to be higher) and row. Then what you do is position the bow facing upstream while you face the transom and row backwards. Basically this turns the boat into a drift boat. The person that's fishing would ideally be standing on a bow casting platform. Although a disadvantage is the boat passes over the fish before the angler can cast to them. This is how the trout guides do it on the MO River up here in Montana and this is how my jonboat is set up.

Another suggestion is for rod storage. Get some PVC pipe and run it along the inside edge of the gunwale. Then cut out half of the pipe about 4in long at the ends where you want the reel to be. If you've even seen the rod storage in a drift boat you'd know what this looks like. It works really well on my boat.

Another suggestion would be to look into deployable foam stabilizers but I don't know anything about that.

 

[Gators5220]

I don't think it has to be bigger than 14 or 15 foot ebster, even a 17ft boat will be hard to have to people fly fish out of. If I were you i'd try a basic cheap setup on the 14ft boat, if you don't like it and think it needs to be larger upgrade. In my 15ft boat (it's a hod podge of fishing styles) I fish 3 people pretty easily (not fly fish), but I think it can be done. I really think pods on the back would help your stability a lot, as I plan on doin it to mine one day as well.