I am considering buying a 12 foot v bottom Lund boat to fish out of. I need a small boat like this to be able to get it into my garage for storage. Does anyone on this board fish from a small boat like this? I'd be interested in comments.

I use to in my younger years. I moved up to a 14ft. V and liked it much better except in the wind. It really gets blowed around.
It also is a lot less unstable as rocking from side to side when you have to stand up. A 12 ft. boat would be out of the question. I would much rather have a wide flat bottom even though the ride on rought water is much worse. The last one I owned was a polar craft with the ice breaking bow. It was a flat bottom but that bow worked a lot better in rough water.
We would lay the 1 1/2 inch styrofoam between the ribs to level the floor, glue them in place and lay the thickest carpet over the whole thing. We used the center seat as a live well, cut the lid, installed a piano hinge, put in plug to let the water in as well as a over flow and put in an areiator pump with spray bar.

I fish from a 12 foot flat bottom once in a while. No mostly to run limb lines back up in some creeks. Used to fish out of it all the time until I got the big boat. They aren't too bad once you get used to how to move around in them. Stability is the big limiting factor. You can stand in one once you get used to it but i didn't like not being able to move around. The key thing to remember is that wind is NOT your friend in these small boats. Even the slightest chop will toss you around. But they are very fishable under the right conditions.

I fish out of a 14 foot flat bottom exclusively. It fits in my shop and is easy to handle by myself. I can launch it just about anywhere. I have fished out of a 12 foot v hull lone star and it felt like a canoe - you didn't dare stand up in it. Two people can stand and fly cast easily in my flat bottom. I built wood floors and casting decks and carpeted those and the gunwales. It's much quieter and you don't singe your skin off if you kneel down on the floor or lean against a gunwale in the summer. I also take it down to the coast and redfish out of it. I built a poling platform for it and it poles great in 6 inches of water. It is "bumpy" in rough water but if your in a small boat, v hull or flat bottom, your probably looking to get out of rough water anyway. Hope this helps

Before you spend the money on a 12' boat which is really small on a day when the winds are up, see if you can find someone with a similar boat and spend a little time on the water in it.

I have a 17' flats boat that was great fishing coastal bays 3' deep, but was not fun on lakes with 10+ mph winds. My Nautic Star 19' with a v-hull was great on lakes with 10-15 mph winds and was fine in bays at least 3' deep.

You just need to know the places and conditions that you intend to spend most of your time.

I've fished many years out of a small boat.
Anywhere from jon boats to a 14' tri hull fiberglass with a 15 hp motor which I have now and also my kayak.
You just have to use common sense as to where you can fish and keep an eye on the weather.
If it's windy stay off open water and trailer to a more protected area if possible.
You can fish anywhere everyone else fishes under the right conditions, but be aware that small boats and rough water aren't going mix very well.
If you are cramped for space a kayak would be another alternative, and it's a great way to get to places others can't fish with big boats.

I own a 12 foot v hull with a 7.5 hp Johnson. I jug for catfish out of it, crappie fish, and bowfish. The v hull really cuts through the waves on a windy day. I can store it easily and I got a trailer from harbor freight for like $300.00. What im getting at is its a great boat, good size, and it does everything I need it to.

buy a good lifejacketand hope u dont need it

I owned both jon boat and v one.
Flat bottom has it benefits, but I recommend v hull in most of cases.
I found pretty good infographics about all pros and cons.


taken from here

I fished Grapevine for years in a 12ft flat bottom jon with 2hp Eska motor.
I was young then and could swim good
I like flat bottom better for the stability when moving around.
I fished for crappie and cats 99% so I never needed to get anywhere fast, just sneak in and sneak out.

Get one of the 10' glass boats which are 4' wide. Forgot what you call them. It will take a front trolling motor and a small outboard on the back.

My buddy has ine and it is really stable with the two of us in it. Beats the hell outta jon and v's.

Like the Bass Raider sold by academy.

I had a 12 foot Sears v bottom until someone felt they needed it more and cut its chain one night. That is a really small boat. It is too unstable to stand in. Have you looked at the little 2 man boats like the Bass Hunter or Pelican? I really liked them much better.

I fished out of a 12 foot Sears v-hull boat with a 9.9 Johnson for many years. Fished it with two guys most of the time. Not very stable to stand and cast. Did better in any sort of waves that a buddies 12 foot flat bottom boat. Still would be very careful on bigger lakes. Most of the lakes I fished we 200-1,500 acres and most had small coves you could "hid" and fish in.

I put my boat on a roof carrier to travel with it. Pretty much need two guys to get it up and down from the roof.

I spent a lot of happy hours down in the Keys in a 12' aluminum V hull with a 9.5 HP Evinrude in the 60s. It won't do everything a bigger boat will do, but if you can accept its limitations it will do you fine. If you want something to stand up and run around in, or run 70+ MPH in, or routinely fight big water in high winds in, you need to look farther.