Big Indiana Bass

Winter downtime was a much needed break - I think I might go ahead and refire the site back up, just on a more limited posting schedule. This was today's boat project.

Here's another really nice custom jon boat project that was recently undertaken by one of our readers. I really like the under deck front storage opening idea, and the carpeting job on this one looks great. The details are below (thanks, Mike). You can click on the pics for larger versions.

"My wife and I relocated from Northern Indiana to Georgia 3-1/2 years ago and discovered that our Polar Kraft 168SC was only "legal" on the large reservoirs that were quite a drive and have a lot of recreational traffic, so we suddenly found ourselves only fishing a couple of times a year rather than every weekend that weather permitted. There are, however, a number of smaller reservoirs close to us that are either total electric or 10 hp restricted. I started thinking about putting together a boat to fish those waters 2 years ago.

We fish mainly bluegill and crappie so that's how we set up the boat. Last winter we purchased a 1648 Alumacraft MV and went to work. We are running 2 deep cycle batteries in the center seat and starter battery in the stern, with a Minn Kota 3 bank charger. If we keep fish we either use a fish basket or cooler, so there is no livewell. We either run a Honda 9.9 electric start 4-stroke or a 55-lb Minn Kota transom mount trolling motor. We have really enjoyed the boat and fishing every weekend again."

A quick video tour of the 'jon boat to bass boat' conversion I did on my Lowe 1648M. 

I get a lot of traffic to the site looking for information on customizing jon boats. Friend Joe Vonfossen recently sent me some pics and descriptions of his aluminum rebuild to share with readers. Lots of nice work and good features to share. Be sure to click on the pics for larger versions.

"It's a 1940's era Duracraft hull and doesn't take on a drop of water, along with being stored indoors, it rarely needs more than some water sponged out. Feaures I've built in include storage hatch, 'hillbilly' Anchormate, spinnerbait rack, storage for 4 3700 sized boxes, pedastal seat and aluminum mounting plates under the TM and seat to prevent bolts from pulling out, even if the deck begins to rot."

"It's nothing too special, but it keeps everything I need for a day of fishing handy, and leaves plenty of space for somebody in the back of the boat.  Since I took the pictures, I added straps across the tackle storage area, so they won't slide back while running down the lake.  The only things that I don't have that would be nice are a live well and bilge pump.  I don't tourney fish and rarely keep fish, but have often kicked around the idea of making a live well out of a cooler or tote.  I didn't put in a bilge because the boat doesn't drain well from front to back, so I think I will need to set up with multiple pumps and just haven't bothered with it yet." 

"The deck is held in with with only 6 bolts, 4 for the raised portion (2 in each side rail), and two at the back of the main deck.  The weight of the deck support structure under the main deck keeps it in place nicely."

"The storage in the nose is great.  Before it was just a cubby hole several inches deep that just collected used lures.  Building in the storage also made me think about what I actually used, and cut the amount of stuff I carry in half, and I still don't use half of the stuff in the boat."

Searches on jon boat livewells continue to be one of the most popular topics that gets people to this site. I've posted a bit of information before about my exact setup and how you can convert most any cooler into a livewell. You can click on the 'Custom Jonboat' category heading on the top left sidebar to see previous posts that relate to that subject.

I have some further information to pass along that falls in line with this topic. As you know I heavily search all other fishing websites of various species, always on the lookout for cool things and new learnings. To get you an idea of just how creative you can get with these jon boat livewells, I thought I'd share a link to one of my favorite sites, Tim 'Doc' Lange's Hooked on Catfish.

In particular, check out how these serious catfish hunters are converting truck bed tool boxes in giant tournament livewells capable of holding over 150 pounds of catfish alive for hours. It's a pretty cool deal!

A new addition to the customized jon boat. Since I've been playing around with crappie a bit more, I've started to check out some other techniques for the heck of it. One I find kind of interesting is spider rigging. It's not extremely popular around here due to the IDNR restriction of no more than 3 poles per angler. When you see pics from other states you'll frequently see as many as 12 or 14 long poles rigged and ready, all on some pretty fancy custom brackets. So this past week I rigged up a little similar setup for the jon boat.

Since I fish by myself a majority of the time, I figured I could get away with something simple. This also comes into play in that there is no guarantee I'll even fish this way that much. As such, I didn't want to spend a lot of money and install something that might spend most of it's life in the garage, or be in the way somehow while pursuing bass. So I took some of the rod holders I picked up last winter from a walleye fishing buddy, along with a few in-deck holders and flush mounted them on the front right corner of the upper front deck. They're basically out of the way and inobtrusive.

I can keep the actual rod holders folded up and in a storage compartment out of the way but in the boat, so I'll have them with all the time. Or, I could just move the holders on the side of the boat up to the front if needed. I picked up a second 10' crappie pole on Clearance from Bass Pro for $20, so I've got 2 outfits now set up to fish this way. Since I'm allowed 3, the third would stay in my hand most of the time, most likely. Not sure exactly when I'll actually get to try them out. I have too much fun fishing with the open water jig sticks usually, but sooner or later I'll give it a go.