River bottoms

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MN Legacy
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby MN Legacy » Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:14 pm

I've hunted riverbottoms my whole life and say they're are hard to hunt the wind swirls and deer cross the river like me and you cross the street. Also I would stay off the river when it has ice i've heard of too many horror stories about people breaking through the ice. Get a little boat and don't be surprised by all the deer you see bedding along the river banks.


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kurt
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby kurt » Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:35 pm

i hunt river bottoms alot including wi river and others. Jon Boat all the way. I havn't rode in a zodiak so im not writing them off but i love my longtail. it will go thru nasty mud, over logs beaver dams,rocks, in inches of water. I like a wider boat the one in the pic is actual my buddies(my deer) but a nice rig and i've been in it enough. I have a 1448 14 feet long 48in across bottom. The one in pic is 1236 works okay he was going for a lighter setup the boat is 125Ibs plus motor . My boat is very stable you could stand on edge not a problem with that being said This year early season the water couldn't be lower you could see all the stumps and logs and all kinds of things. now as stable as you think your boat is you hit something in the dark off to one side it'll throw you in you got be careful and go slow leave extra early mount lights on your boat its hard to hold a light and steer. almost always alittle foggy on the water in fall. Any question just ask i could go on forever.
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Rubline
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby Rubline » Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:29 pm

Hi Kurt, what kind of motor is that on your buddy's boat?
It that what you refer to as a "longtail"?
Is there a certain brand you like?
Any other comments good or bad about it???
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kurt
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby kurt » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:11 pm

in the pic Thats my buddy's its a 10hp lite mud motor Long tail from Backwater Inc. their made in Minnesota. I really like it alot i have a Mud Buddy its nice and know guys with Go devil Mud motors pretty good but what sets Backwater apart is the cavatation plate above the prop. it is shim able to different angles for different boats. So your prop you can be setup to run right at the surface and it just sucks it right their. The other ones just weld it on in a pretty good spot but you lose performance mine wants to run too far under in my opinion but the keel underneath pushes out of the way of everything your going to hit it just goes right over logs and such but backwaters plate keeps your prop from grinding in too much of that uncessary garbage by just running as close to the surface as possible. These things are design to go over and hit things but its better to avoid as much as you can. I go thru a prop a year to every 2 years depending on water levels. If high your good if not you wear it out especially in sand. Like mud on a marsh you'll get 3 years but rivers cut that in half. Backwaters go thru less props and give you great performance. If your if se wi and want to try one out let me know i can arrange something with our boats this summer.

another thing people wonder about noise i dont go fast i just let mine putt especially in a small river im idling at best im not in a race and if im going to hunt pretty close to edge of river one thing thats nice with the river you can use the current with motor off maybe last couple hundred yards just a push pole or oars to help steer and guide in to a bank to park and current takes you down faster than what youd think but i usually park a fair ways away it really depends on alot of things on the particular setup and wind. I don't mind paddling down stream its up when motor is needed thats why i dont canoe 40min in and 2hours back. even with motor on this one spot boat ride down about 20 minutes to get to where i park boat but upstream with my motor 35 min almost double the time.
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby Rubline » Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:49 am

Thanks for the reply kurt. I currently use a 10 ft john boat with a trolling motor.
Thinking about an upgrade someday and I'll check out the mud motor from Backwater
and the Mud Buddy. Looks like more options to go in "shallow" places with those
mud motors...
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Elk2782
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby Elk2782 » Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:54 am

Pending on what u want to spend its hard to beat a mudmotor, whether it be a longtail or surface drive, you can literally go almost anywhere, I can run mine in about ankle deep water, I run a 19foot custom built Phowler with a modded out Mud buddy, but you could get a nice 16ft boat and longtail for a reasonable price.
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MOBIGBUCKS
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:34 am

For you guys that are hunting river bottom ground:

Are you guys hunting these areas like Marsh ground? Following transition lines to find buck bedding etc?

I have some of this type ground to scout next weekend and was curious what features you key in on in this relatively flat ground. I'm excited to scout/hunt some of this ground. The areas look like they can hold some giants.
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Re: River bottoms

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:05 am

I have used a 16 feet wide flat bottom with a 50 HP Mercury. A 18.5 feet, wide with a 60 hp Mariner. I now have a 16 feet flat bottom with a 30 HP Evinrude. You need to get up on plane in shallow water and a small motor wont get you there. I always have a trolling motor. A wide, big boat has less draft than a small narrow boat. A stainless prop is a must. You'll bust an aluminum prop real easy. I love hunting river bottoms.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.


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