Northwest Fishing Reports

Well my wife and I have been kicking this around for some time and I think it's almost time to just do it. I have a 1987 18' Seaswirl Cuddy Classic that I purchased used and although I thought it was the boat that I needed I quickly found out that it was not a very good "Fishing Boat" for my needs. I like to fish for sturgeon, rockfish, lingcod, some salmon and love to crab. The Seaswirl just isn't practical for any of that. So thats why I'm looking at sleds. Hewes, North river, Smoker Craft? I dont know.

First thing to do. The Seaswirl will be paid off in May of next year and I dont if I should use it as a trade in or sell and try to get more out of her.
Second is probably go to the Boat Show next year (with my wife) and look to see what fits our needs.

I want to get a boat in the same length and proably an outboard. That gives you more deck room then the inboards. Plus with the newer 4 strokes I here realy are a good engine.

Anyone have some helpfull input?

Several years back, I owned a 14' Hewescraft and loved it. Here is what I would look at:

http://www.hewescraft.com/18_sm.shtml

For a motor I would be looking at this:

http://www.honda-marine.com/modelDetail ... Group=BF50

For Sleds: Hewescraft, Alumaweld, North River, Weldcraft...All great boats from what I've heard, cost less then fiberglass boats and are easier to maintain and definetely easier to tow since they are lighter...

We love our 17' Lund and lots of guys run them in big water too. We bought it for it's versatility and it's storage which was a really big deal to Bill. It really is nice having everything put away in lockable compartments. The only thing I wish for is a deeper V as I am a wuss when it comes to big water. Oh well, we use it alot to fish for bass, tiger muskie, walleye, etc.
Rosann

Thanks for the responces,
I like the Sportsman. It is a very nice boat. But I believe it is only available with a prop and not a jet. I only need a jet for what I fish for. One of the main reasons for getting rid of the seaswirl. I have a few places that I love to fish for sturgeon that have got me in trouble with my prop. Any more ideas please bring them on. Anyone know when the Boat show is? I was thinking March.

Mid January was when it was last year.

Jan. 24 through February 2nd...

Go on a weekday, otherwise you'll never get around to all the boats with the crowds and you can never talk to a rep for a while about their boats...

Reel_Nut wrote:Thanks for the responces,
I like the Sportsman. It is a very nice boat. But I believe it is only available with a prop and not a jet. I only need a jet for what I fish for. One of the main reasons for getting rid of the seaswirl. I have a few places that I love to fish for sturgeon that have got me in trouble with my prop. Any more ideas please bring them on. Anyone know when the Boat show is? I was thinking March.

I used to fish with a fellow who had an outboard with an interchangeable lower end. If he wanted a prop, he'd run a prop. If he wanted a jet, he'd pull the prop lower end off and put the jet on. Mercury comes to mind, but I may have been an Evinrude.

You can change about any outboard to a pump these days.

We fish out of a Alumweld Stryker.We went to the Alumaweld factory and got one.I actually saved money.I bought the one the were using as floor/demo model.I saved about 5K and got all the little goodies I run a 50 hp mercury outboard.I love this boat I can launch all most anywhere,since it is a almuweld the selling point that got me was it probably wouldn't be all that impressive to everyone else,but since I used to have a fiberglass boat I wouldn't dare run it up on the beach.But in the alumaweld not a problem beach conditions don't concern me anymore sand,gravel or rocks I just run it on shore.So check them out they are really good boats.

Sam Kafelafish wrote:You can change about any outboard to a pump these days.

Boy! I have been out of the loop since I owned a boat. I didn't know that you could change a prop to a jet. How is that accomplished?

Yep it's pretty simple to get the lower end changed to a jet these days. I can't remember the name of the company but they make pumps to replace the jets and on just about any late model motor these days. I'm not sure about how much it is but if you need a pump then I guess you gotta get the jet stuck on there...

As far as the motors go I also like the 4 stroke but the prices are really steep. I think for the motor we have it would have been an extra $5,000 or something like that for a 4 stroke instead of a 2 stroke. With the 4 stroke you also loose a lot of muscle and will have more problems as the motor gets older. But the 4 strokes just purr, not a sound. Because of the huge price difference we got the 2 stroke motor but then turned around and got a 4 stroke kicker. Another thing I like about the 4 stroke is you dont have to worry about mixing oil.

Another thing, the first time we had our boat out on the water the first thing that was said was "we should have went 2 feet bigger". I have heard this from a lot of people too, right after a new boat is purchased. Our boat is 18 feet as well and its fine other than while salmon fishing. You know, huge net, huge cooler, 5 poles, crab pot, huge tackle box and then 3 or 4 people. Then the gas tank for the kicker.

The thing that killed us was the girls in the family. They didnt want an aluminum boat, the wanted a pretty ski boat. So after a lot of thought we decided to make it fair for the whole family and go with a fish/ski package. It has everything a fish boat or a ski boat would have, but isnt exactly finned tuned for either. So the storage is kind of slim. But we could still hold 15 - 20 poles and 5 tackle boxes but its not really organized. Now the girls want nothing to do with the boat and I cant remember the last time we pulled intertubes.

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Yep it's pretty simple to get the lower end changed to a jet these days. I can't remember the name of the company but they make pumps to replace the jets and on just about any late model motor these days. I'm not sure about how much it is but if you need a pump then I guess you gotta get the jet stuck on there...

The name of the company is Outboard Jets out of San Leandro, CA. And just about any marine dealer can order one for you and install it. Most of the OBJ's run $1500-$1800, but fluctuates alot between dealer incentives. They are pretty easy to install if you've done it a few times, but no one publishes detailed instructions.

Lots of guys will often rotate out the pump for the prop and vice versa a few times a year if they do a lot of fishing in both the rivers and salt...

We had alot of customers do that, especially the guide customers. Going back to a prop is a little harder just because it can be a little tricky lining up the shift shaft. But its not to bad. Alot of guys would have our shop do it and test it because it was only an hour labor twice a year. Whereas the backyard mechanic could lose a whole day and start throwing tools around in frustration.

Reel_Nut wrote:Thanks for the responces,
I like the Sportsman. It is a very nice boat. But I believe it is only available with a prop and not a jet. I only need a jet for what I fish for. One of the main reasons for getting rid of the seaswirl. I have a few places that I love to fish for sturgeon that have got me in trouble with my prop.

If you're referring to the Hewescraft Sportsman, it is most definitely available in a jet version. Here's the link for the Sportjet http://www.hewescraft.com/2007/sportjet/index.html.

EDIT: Hmm, the hotlink didn't work, but if you go to Hewescraft.com and click on select your Hewes you'll see the Sportjet under the Sportsman series.

Sportjet models usually means it's an inboard motor, If your looking for an 18 foot boat I'd stick with outboard to conserve as much space as possible, plus maintenence costs are much more forgiving with outboards..

Sportjets are basically set-up like an inboard using the powerhead from an outboard motor. Noisiest beasts on the water, need hearing protection just to run around.

OK, I mis-read Reel_Nut's desire to go with an outboard jet, still, that doesn't rule out the Sportsman. You can order it with whatever power, prop or jet, you want. There are different HP ratings for prop and jet since there is a power loss with the jet.

My advice, shop them all, be picky, and get what you want without settling for less.