Northeast boats

[jpkil318]

What is the best Northeast fly fishing boat for fishing the nantucket area

[Sagebrush]

I'd have to say for agility (weight/beam), safety (freeboard) and versatility (draft/deadrise), a Jones Brothers would be ideal. Several boats have similar characteristics and lower price.

Dusky and Parker immediately come to mind

[peter mac]

Steigercraft Superfly 21'

[Frequent Fly-er]

Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman 1910

[jpkil318]

how can i get info about jones brothers

[Frequent Fly-er]

You may get in touch with Jones Brothers Marine at www.jonesbrothersmarine.com

[pat horgan]

Unless you enjoy being wet cold and sunburned, do not buy a center console. Are they fun and handy on perfect calm days? Yes. If the wind picks up and you have a quartering sea and wind over the bow, you are going to get soaked in a 20 footer. If you are making a "run" out to Nantucket from anywhere besides Nantucket itself, get something a little more sea worthy like a walk around with a hard or canvas top. Walk arounds are not "ideal" for fly fishing, but your season will be about 2 months longer, your wife will have a place to pee, the kids won't get fried and or soaked, and you will catch just as many fish. Think about it. CC is NOT the NE answer. - esp if you troll or chunk as well as FF.

[Bob Parsons]

I fish a CC an love it. Wife is rarely on the boat and she would go out only on decent days in the first place. Kids gone. I fish it from April to January. I wear clothing appropriate to the weather and during the winter months I tend to be more picky about weather. My next boat will also be a CC but with age I would consider a T-top that I could add a enclosure for the colder cod fishing trips.

[Jim Miller]

I've got to agree w/ Pat. I have a 21 foot Grady White walk around. I can go out thru the inlet or over the Bonito Bar in some pretty heady stuff...........but also she draws only 10", so I can also fish the west end flats and Tuckernuck. Some of the best Nantucket FF is out at Miacomet Rip for HUGE bluefish and out to the Bonito Bar for it's namesake. The added protection of the cuddy (although small on a 20-21 footer) is great for storage, changing, protection). At Monomoy it is the same......I can fish the flats....carefully; or run offshore thru the cut.. On a boat this size two can flyfish comfortably.
Just my 2 cents....

[pat horgan]

Fair enought Bob. I have seen your Boat and it is a beauty. However, my idea of "Appropriate" clothes for the summer is not Grundens and a Noreaster cap. Nor, as a weekend warrior, do I want to be picky about weather. I do not wan't to be dissuaded by light drizzle or a little chop. Nor would I want to beat it back from the ground fish grounds in aforementioned chop.

April and January on a 19' CC sounds like a blast... in Florida.

My wife is the CFO and she loves the boat almost as much as she likes to pee. So do other female guests on evening pleasure cruises where highly diueretic adult beverages are sometimes served

JP, ask yourself - When can I go? How much will weather impact my fun/safety? What kind of fishing am I going to do?
Who is coming? Can my wife pee over the side? Is life too short to be wet, cold and sunburned.

[jpkil318]

Does any one have a parker 21se or 23 se
can you fish in shallow water in them effectivly and how do they perform in a little bit of chop.

[Frequent Fly-er]

I like my center console too. I bought it to fly fish. Period ! Not to entertain, not to take family trips, and not to (God forbid) bait fish. My center console does everything I ask it to do and sometimes more. I don't fly fish in the bright sun, prefering the low light periods. As far as foul weather gear and warm clothes, get with the twenty first century. My rain gear is light weight, dry and confortable as are my warmer clothing using modern fabrics. The women I take out to fly fish don't seem to mind the army poncho and bucket head as much as you might think. They are there to fly fish. It is a fly fishing boat designed and set up for one purpose saltwater fly fishing of which I think it does very well.

[Bob Parsons]

It all boils down to how you plan on using the boat and your personal tastes.

[pat horgan]

Flyer - flyfishing for schoolies is fun. But hook a tinker throught the back wiht a 5/0 Circle and HANG ON.

[jpkil318]

When i asked about a fly fishing boat i meant a boat used specifically for fly fishing
not for entertaining
or any other s***

I also am only interested in cc the other boats are not designed for fly fishing and I hate having to deal with getting fly lines caught in the riggings

[Too Fly]

I agree with Bob P and the Captain(Frequent Flyer). If you're intent is to use the boat for fly fishing/light tackle, don't over-look the CC. The CC affords you immediate room to move around the boat when casting/fighting fish. No other boat design can offer that. Sure, a WA offers some pretection from the elements. But if the conditions are bad enough that people onboard need to hide, then maybe you shouldn't be out on the water at that particular time?

As far as women needing to tinkle, my wife and a couple other women(relatives of course) got over the embarrassment of squatting over a pitcher or gunnel. I just turned my head. And don't kid yourself, some women get just as HARD-CORE when the fishing is hot. If the females or kids you plan to take out on the boat can't handle the elements, save their boating/fishing trips for absolute perfect days.

Walk Around...ew... ;) --125-3

[pat horgan]

Jeez JP sounds like you NEED a boat. How's that blood pressure?

Ok CC it is. Best Boat ever.

[Frequent Fly-er]

Pat;
1. A CC is not the best boat ever. It is the best tool for the job of inshore fly fishing IMO.
2. Bait is what fish eat. They do not eat chicken feathers and tinsil. That is the challenge. In a world of instant gradification bait fishing is OK I suppose. As far as hanging on, have you tried Bluefin tuna on a fly or Makos on a fly. See Capt. Gene in NY/NJ fishwire this week. Capts Ralph Burtis and Scott Holder fly fish for Makos on the fly. Also in the NY/NJ fish wire this week Capt. Joe has pictures of Bass that are not exactly schoolies IMO.
3. Just for the record it is Fly-er (a business venture) not Flyer (a person that travels alot on airplanes)
Have a great season !

[RoyB]

I have an 18" Nautico catamaran that is just about perfect for fly fishing. Increadibly sea worthy, stable, uses just about no fuel (1.5 gal an hour), goes 30 mph with a Suzuki 70hp four stroke. Rides a 4' sea like a 30 footer. Very, very easy to load and unload off the trailer. I couldn't ask for a better boat.

[Jim Miller]

RoyB
Nice looking boat! I've got to admit the Cat concept has me intrigued. Does she perform as well in all seas (quartering, following etc.). Do you need a special trailer? Do you need to run 2 outboards (one on each side of the tunnel?) or is that only for a larger hull.....The idea of less drag in the water and therefore more speed/better fuel econ. is great....is there any compromise?:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Now if we could only get a nice size cuddy on one (you know to protect the women and children-and our expensive gear-and for the portopottie!):D :D :D
(HE<HE<HE) sorry I couldn't resist.
Best fishes Bro

[dollarshort]

Love my Maritime!!!

[pat horgan]

Dry, Seaworthy, FAST.

[Jim Miller]

JPKIL318

Not to belabor the issue......but this is the original post:
"What is the best Northeast fly fishing boat for fishing the nantucket area"
Because Nantucket is an Island the fishing conditions are diverse.....pond like flats to open ocean. I think you really need to look at where you want to fish and for what species.
Coming around Great Point or out thru the Smith's Point cut can get very interesting for a small boat.....you need to pick your days and tides. If I am not mistaken a few "flyfishing only skiffs" have gone down in recent years....off Smith's.....sometimes big rollers will break over the bar, and you have to time your scoot to get thru. (man, there are some big Bluefish to be caught!)
Good luck to you....it's a great area to fish!

:D :D :D

[luke]

..we have a 21 Parker and we do get wet, not because of the boat, but what we do with it......I think comfort/size trade-off is not a simple one- each individual neds to think carefully about what they want to do with a boat and what they will want to do most frequently...I love the Parker, but for me it was a step up from a 16 foot starcraft...if I reallly want to fish the Elizabeths I need that starcraft back...but I can run to Nantucket from the south rip and not worry about the return if I've picked my day...

What is being comfortable? my boss went fishing with me once in the Parker and decided his purchase would be a 33 foot Tiara...sure there are days when a cuddy would come in handy, but for this bunch there are verrrry few that a set of slicks and a wools sweater won't handle...

I guess it depends on the person...if you want more details on the CC and what we do with it PM.

[Too Fly]

Jim,

I don't want to start a flame war, but do you recall what brands of boats went down? Of course, it's possible that special(weird way to look at it) circumstances accounted for the downed boats.

I've never made a run to Nantucket, not crazy enough I guess? Or maybe it's because I haven't been in the area to try it?

I've been told that I was crazy for running across Vineyard Sound on a SW 20+, 4+ ft. seas. I was also belittled for going to Wasque on a questionable day. And again I got lip for going out to Stellwagen.

I know BobP has made the run to Bonito Bar. --123-3 --125-3 It's true, you should pick the good days.

[Jim Miller]

Too Fly
To be honest with you, I have never made the run from the mainland to Nantucket. We would vacation there for 3-4 weeks and I would bring my boat over on the ferry(on trailer).
I guess I was always nervious that the day starting or ending our vacation would not be the "day" to roll the dice on a 26 mile crap shoot. But that's just me...
But the real question is......what is the best boat to FF Nantucket....and I would add.....to have the most days on the water and opportunities possible. BTW...The nantucket fog is a big part of the equation also.

Brother....I enjoy the different opinions presented....that's what the boards all about!
Best Fishes
:D :D :D

[Too Fly]

I agree, these boards are a lifesaver, in more ways than one. Notice that even though the fishing is finally picking-up, we all still find the time to check/chime in(AND frequently)? Where would we be without the web? Actually, we'd probably out fishing a bit more. :rolleyes:

How are things up there? I've never been to Lake George, but I'd like to check it out sometime. My wife is from Pulaski. She has some fond memories of that place, actually she still has a "Lake George" t-shirt from her youth.

Paul

[Jim Miller]

LG is good. Like most places, it is experiencing growing pains...but like the cape & islands, we are blessed with great scenic beauty and outdoor sports. I fish Pulaski area for salmon & steelies, always have a good trip out that way! If you are in the LG area, drop by and I'll buy you a beer!:-% :-% :-%
Best Fishes

[RoyB]

Most of the cats under 20 feet require only one outboard. My boat has a max of one motor , 70 hp.

So far I've not experienced any strange handling issues as to sea conditions. It takes all seas just fine. Turning takes a bit of getting used to. The boat stays very flat and doesn't tilt to the inside like mono hull.

I've taken the boat over to Cuttyhunk in some pretty nasty stuff where much larger boats were turning back. It just gets up on top of the waves and flies!

My boat draws only 8" of water, so getting into the shallows is no problem.

I use a conventional bunk trailer that is set up for the boat. Nothing fancy. Simply drive on, drive off. I've never used the winch. Not once!

BTW, I just saw a Nautico 18 in the Yankee Swapper magazine for $7500!. I paid $15,000 for boat, motor and trailer two years ago.

[Too Fly]

Jim,

Thanks and let me offer the same to you.

Roy,

I've recently been looking at several cats in the 20-22' range. Nice boat by the way(18' Nautico).

Do you have any opinions on the Leader Cat?

Thanks,
Paul

[RoyB]

I don't have much info on the leader cats but from pictures they look very similar to the Nautico. I belive there is a dealer in Conn.

[striperlouie]

Did someone say Parker? I don't get too wet with this setup. It's great boat too!

[striperlouie]

oops sorry about that!

[pat horgan]

That drop down rig looks great. Absolutely nice and dry. Can you fit three guys in there?

[luke]

Striperlouie

love that T-top and curtain..my Parker is crying for one..where did you get that made?

Luke

[striperlouie]

Pat, you can squeeze 3 guys if you had to but it would be tight!

Luke, Dur-a-mar down here on long Island. They do GREAT work!

[riptide]

http://www.riptidecharters.com/Boat.jpg

The new 2300 Bay Bolt from HydraSports has even more features than mine. If it's half the boat my 22 LTS is it's awsome. Price is right and performance is top notch. They run in less than a foot of water, yet take 3' to 4's with out blinking. Ask anyone that's been on my boat it's a fly fishing machine :cool:

[cmacclel]

I shopped around for Center Consoles and almost dropped dead when it came to the prices. I found a boat that a I think was a very good deal and so far it seems very well built and handles waves and the shallows with ease. The Boat is a 19ft Key Largo I paid just under $18k with a nice roller trailer and T-Top the engine is a 125 merc saltwater series. It tops out at just over 40mph with all gear, 2 people, and tank of gas. The boat is not a fancy boat at all which is why it appeals to me the whole inside is sprayed fiberglass and has a textured finish. I never have to worry about cleaning the hull and scratches. It's has floatation and is supposedly unsinkable and has a lifetime warranty on the stringers and Transom. Anyway heres a pic.

[Bob Parsons]

Picture was a bit large so I resized it. I liked the Key largo, almost bought one a few years back.

[finatic]

I wonder did this guy buy a boat yet?? If so what did he get???