Hi guys, great forum!

I am a Minnesota transplant now living in Southwest Florida. I'm thinking about putting together a rig to duck hunt out at lake Okeechobee since that seems to be pretty much the only show in town down here

For now I want to put something relatively cheap together just to get me and another guy out hunting and see how it goes and how much I actually like it. I know it won't be the same as hunting in the Midwest, what with all of the other hunters and airboats ripping around out there. If it turns out to be fun and productive I will go to something bigger and more long term. Not interested in an airboat at all.

I think the terrain out there is pretty much heavy grass and weeds. Not a lot of mud, stumps or rocks to contend with. Maybe some hard sand bottom where it skinnys up. (I actually hunted it a couple of times last year with an outboard but we couldn't get way back where the ducks/airboats were going and it was just a matter of time before I overheated that thing)

Anyway, with a budget of about $6K or less what would you guys recommend?

Long tail especially if your hard sand

At what water depth does the bottom composition become a factor?

I just found this on CL;

http://gainesville.craigslist.org/boa/2588648307.html

"For sale is a 17ft Gator Traxx Mud Buddy Guide Addition Boat with a 25hp Kohler Mud Buddy Motor. Boat comes with a push pole 2 stick it style anchors and a 55lb Minn Kota Rip Tide trolling motor not shown. There are 2 dry hatches in the center bench, and a gun box all of which lock. The bilge pump, running lights,and front 12v plug all are in working order. This is a package deal for boat, motor, and trailer and I will not separate. Perfect for duck season, fishing, gigging, and gator hunting."

Any opinions?

Man let me tell ya I'm a born native of lake O go all the way back to my grandparents Lake O history of not have water sometime will not let you use a longtail or a surface drive , If this is where your gonna hunt mostly buy a AIRBOAT that will run dry trust me.

That looks like a good deal to me!!!!

Try calling these guys. http://www.fastduckmotors.com/ They sell alot of boats/motors and may have a lead on someone selling a used rig, and they are not that far from you.

In Florida you need a layout boat! The duck hunting here is 90% divers on public land/lakes. The only option you have for dablers that is consistant is the STA's. Most of us call those hunts CANNED hunts because you are pretty much guarenteed your limits each hunt.

For where you live and plan to hunt, I would buy and old hull and make your own "GatorHide," then I would also get a layout boat for the STA's you will be hunting. ( STA's do not allow engines of any type )

my .02

I got a small 14 foot boat with a Longtail for sale
2500
pm me

" I think the terrain out there is pretty much heavy grass and weeds. Not a lot of mud, stumps or rocks to contend with. Maybe some hard sand bottom where it skinnys up. "


Just a thought - but - a 20 to 30 hp jet on the right hull - will do very well in those conditions too...

A good friend of mine has an 18x54 with 40 jet --- in the back of our Bay over the sand flats
his rig performs as well or better than a MM rig --- a bit more fishing friendly too....

On the rig you posted - a bit under powered - Gator Trax makes a rugged boat --- but --- heavy
and with round chines a deeper draft too.... Over sand a light hull and square chines would be
what I was looking at in MM rigs.... I had a 17x42 Weldbilt in .90 with square chines - only
weighed 300 lbs --- did very well over sandy bottoms with a 27 GDSD.....

I appreciate all the advice guys. Sounds like opinions are as varied as the boats that may work!

The only airboat I would consider would be a small, fuel efficient design and I don't know of any that don't cost an arm and a leg. I'd actually love to have a little Dixon Twister but the only ones I have ever seen are pretty $$$! I've messed around with bigger airboats and the cost to run em' is just too much for me to justify.

Maybe a lightweight rig with a little copperhead surface drive would be something to consider? I really have no idea, I would like to be able to haul 3 guys and gear but I have a feeling that a boat big enough to do that might end up stuck quite a bit where the ducks live on lake O?

That gatortrax boat like said above will be a dog with a longtail or a surface drive in the 25 hp range that boat would be better off with a 35 hp longtail or surface , better the longtail for Lake O , most of the ducks that I've seen out there are in the open water and in the marsh LOTS of divers out there if thats what your into , I have to disagree with the jet motor on that one , they clog up quite abit in heavie veggies go with a mudmotor. Good Luck.

Divers, puddlers, whatever. Down here we don't have a lot of choice unfortunately. If I am going to duck hunt I have to take what the area will give or get in the truck and drive. A long way!

When I have been at lake O it seemed as though most of the puddlers shot were taken way up in the marsh while divers (mostly bluebills) were closer to the to open water. Most years you can access huntable water by outboard but if you want to get back in where the puddle ducks seem to get shot you need something else. After all the research I have done It seems like a mud motor might be better than an outboard but still may not work all that well out there. I wish there were more folks with first hand experience running a mud motor out there, I'd hate to buy something just to run out, get stuck and park it in the garage.

fowl,
I hunted Big O about 6 times last year. We shot Teal, Mottles, ringers, Bluebills. Most of the ducks are in the thick cover that only a mudmotor or airboat could get too. the mudmotor will get you to about 85% of the spots to hunt. The lake does not have much mud, mostly shallow sand. My Prodrive had no problems on the lake!

I run a mudbuddy there , my buddy runs a gdsd there we don't have any problems getting stuck not sayin you can't but , anything can happen , you should try to go to Unitedwaterfowlers.org and talk to some of the people that hunt there there's alot on that site.

I've been hunting Lake O for the last 26 years or so. I have always had a 25hp outboard on a jackplate. It really depends on where SFWM has the lake level. My buddies use longtails and surface drives. I am going to a surface drive this year. Two of my buddies still use outboards. Airboats are okay as long as you don't mind having to hide it and walk some distance away from it. I prefer hunting out of a boat blind. I have my old rig for sale at $2,800 obo.

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=20588

Thanks again for the advice everybody. I think I will end up going with a surface drive rig if I can find the right deal.

I just got back from scouting the south side of Lake Okeechobee this morning and if the water levels remain the same, it's going to be an airboat only ordeal the rest of the season. Most of the trails I was using last year are gone and over grown with grass and where the marsh meets the open lake, there's about 1 foot of water.

This has really put a damper on my teal season that opens Saturday since I can't even get near the spots I was at which I'm guessing should be bare ground by now. There's still Holiday Park which I'm going to scout Friday afternoon but, last year there were 1000's of teal out on Okeechobee and after 30 miles of running, I jumped maybe 100. Depressing to say the least.

That is surprising to me considering the amount of rain we have had over the last couple months. How much water do you need to run your boat out there? I would think that as long as you have a few inches of water standing you should be good to go?

I thought the same thing. It rained nearly everyday in August and the lake is still low. I'm thinking its because they've been pumping it out because it doesn't make any sense.

My boat needs a little under 1 foot to bring it out on plane and and will easily run in 6" while it's on plane. The problem is when you slow down you won't be able to speed up again. Most of the areas I was in today had at least 2 feet of water in them last year and they're down to less than 6" now and the real problem is the vegetation. It's gotten super thick making it hard to run around in there and some of the trails I was using last year, are completely gone now.

I don't know much about these rigs but I thought 6" of water and heavy vegetation was supposed to be a walk in park for these things?

If you're already running. If you stop, it's a lot harder to get going again.

Pretty much what it comes down to is that you need to know the area your in. Hauling ass blindly down a trail that you know is shallow and have no idea what's on the other end, is a good recipe to get yourself in a tough situation. Now, I have spots that to get to them, I might have to go through an area that's 6" of water with some exposed mud flats that you need to slide over. This I don't mind doing because as long as I don't loose speed, I'm ok because I know that when I get to my spot, I'll have enough water there to bring the boat back up on plane.

I had an outboard before I bought my mud rig and without a doubt, it's opened up a huge area of the everglades that you just can't get to in an outboard. But as far as going through stuff and making it anywhere, they're inferior to a high powered airboat, at least here in Florida.

I hunt the Everglades and Okeechobee regularly and my suggestion to you is that you need to determine where 90% of your hunting is going to be and buy a rig based on that. In the Everglades, I can go to about 80% of the places and airboat can and this is where I do most of my hunting so I went with a mud rig. Now, if the majority of my hunting was going to be strictly on the Lake, I wouldn't even consider a mud rig, especially this year.

I have some awesome spots marked on the lake that I couldn't even get near to today and this wouldn't have been a problem on an airboat.

First off, GIGA you're an idiot. Running through vegetation is the fastest way to burn up a jet. I'm saying this from seeing it first hand, I hunt Lake Guntersville and there are very few lakes that are as choked with vegetation as that place. If an outboard were even in the equation, which it isn't, I would consider a tunnel hull boat with a jack plate and stainless prop size of motor dependent upon the size of the boat.

Check out these little boats, they're a little out of your price range but over all are the absolute best bet for Lake O. Quiet, affordable, very fuel efficient. http://www.dragonflyairboats.com/

there is a little ultralight used airboat for sale over here with the big boy 583 rotax and a warp drive for 5,800. It will run dry and do everything you want. It is a lot more boat than the little boats running lawnmower engines.

Not to mention that once you get there you need to park half a mile away, have a 40 x 40 camo tarp to hide the airboat and then hike through gator infested waters and stand in the swamp to hunt.

Last time my buddy and I took his airboat out frogging for a couple of hours we burned about $150 worth a fuel between the truck dragging that beast out to the glades and the 20 gallons of av-gas.

Sounds like a plan, I'll show you around if you're not familiar with the area.

It would be a great help if you could show me around some! I'm not too familiar with the area yet. Last season was my first hunting down here. After growing up in Minnesota and hunting in North Dakota I just wasn't interested in trying to hunt down here. I focused on saltwater fishing for the first several years but eventually I got the itch and decided to give duck hunting down here a shot.

Last season we stayed at Roland Martins on the lake and hunted near there with an outboard powered duck boat. We did pretty well but there were mostly Bluebills and it was hard to find much else where we were. I intend to explore some more area this year as well as get out into the glades a little. I've done some frogging and airboating out there but never duck hunted.

I'll shoot you a PM in the next week or two once I get the mud rig put together and maybe we can get together out at the lake or down in the glades and go run some. At least that way we can pull each other out when we get stuck

If thick vegetation and shallow water are the biggest factors you'll have to deal with, I would recommend a Gheenoe Classic or LT-25 equipped with a surface drive. These boats are lightweight (the Classic is around 225lbs), can comfortably hunt 2-3 people, and they'll run in spit. I've got a copperhead SD on the back of my classic, and can run 24-25mph by myself and a light load, and 19-20mph with 3 people and gear. A copperhead 18HP would push you even faster, and have enough torque to get you out of just about anything in a boat that lightweight.