I am a new member here. I live in Roswell, GA only a few miles from the Chattahoochie River. I grew up in Alabama fishing big water Lakes like Jordan, and Martin and I don't have much experience with Mud Motors, or Jet Drives. As many of you know the Chattahoochie is extremely rocky and can be as shallow as a few inches depending on when they are pulling water from Lake Lanier. I am working on buying / building a pretty simple rig to get out on the Chattahoochie this Spring and Summer. My plan is to buy a used Jon Boat between 12' and 16' with trailer and mount some type of outboard that I can run up into extremely shallow water. I am looking for the CHEAPEST option possible. I am working on a shoestring budget so I'm sure everything I will be looking at will be used or a fixer-upper.

Any advice you guys could give me on what type of motor to look for would be greatly appreciated.

I would think about a tunnel hull boat and a jet drive outboard. If you aint in mud, sticks, backwater, or tree tops. I would say it sounds like some of the shallow rivers in Missouri. They run lots of boats like this. Mudmotor props don't like rocks and eventually you still have to stick something in some kind of water or slime of some sort to go.
One thing mud motors aren't is cheap. You might also have better luck finding a used jet drive cheap and there are tunnel hull boats out theres. Just my .02 worth.

Bigritter70

I fish the chatahoochee all summer from the 141 bridge all the way north to buford dam. I grew up right there and have been fishing it all my life. All i use is a 1236 alumacraft with a 9.9 yamaha. It is small enough to drag it over rocks if i need to and maneuverable enough to pick your way through big boulders and small rapids. I have also run my mud boat on the river, and believe me when i say it, its a pain in the ass. I would not recommend a mudmotor on that river. Jet drives seem to work pretty good, but you need a larger boat with more horsepower for that to be productive. I promise you I can get that little 9.9 anywhere those big jet drives will go and more. It may just take a little longer. If you want I can take you out there in my mudboat and my little outboard and show you the advantages the outboard has. Mudmotors hate rocks....

i say bs on the 9.9 prop. motor. as for jets in the smaller hp range, a sd will out proform them. for that small of a boat ide look at the copper heads. should make a fine little boat for the river. i run a 23 mini lite for 4 years now in nothing but rocks with no problem. still the org prop. you cant be scared keep it peged and hang on. its when you chicken out that you will get into trouble and cause damage.
i can run with the jets all day. and when the leaves fall or the grass gets tall i can leave them cleaning there grates. i can then go into the flooded bottoms where they will never think of going.

I got a 1436 lowe with 8hp mariner il sell you if you want to go that route. Motor runs like a top and is clean as the day it was bought.

i owned a 9.9 outboard and my friends with long tails would be fishing the honey holes an hour before i could reach them. a 1442 with a 16lt and i shoot rapids and shallows you will be walking with an outboard. We go places the jet drives cant because their boats are too big. you can keep the outboards and jet pumps a lt or sd is the way to go. yea you gonna go through some props but their cheaper and easier to replace than a lower unit! best advise is a small light wt sd like copper head and a 16 footer.