Thanks for these but if I were to fish for sand bass on Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Lavon where should I launch the jon boat at?

My short answer is: Fishing Sandies/Hybrids, generally puts you out in the open lake. You can but you need to watch the wind forecast closely. You will need the discipline to not get, to far away from your launch point. If you only have an electric trolling motor, you may find that if the wind picks up you may not have the power to fight the wind and waves.

You do not need a super expensive sonar. A basic 2d Sonar with GPS will do the trick. Get a drift sock and a good anchor with plenty of rope. You just won't be able to run all over looking for the fish.


The long answer :
I am fishing from a small 14' tin boat with 15hp outboard and 55# TM. With 2 adults and gear, my TM only pushes me at 3-3.5 mph on smooth water. Fighting wind and waves slows me down to about 2 -2.5 mph. Hubbard from I-30 to the Dam is a long ride at 3mph. My outboard will only push me around 16-17mph, but that gets real rough in big waves.

Concering Safety/Comfort:
My boat is a semi-v and has higher sides then most 3 seat tin boats and I suspect higher sides, then most jon boats I looked at. To compare, my sides are equal to a 20" transom, as my transom is cut down 5" to fit a short shaft outboard. Most jon boats the transom is the same height as all the sides and things are much closer to the water.

You will be very surprised at how large the waves can build up, especially with a south wind at 12-15mph, blowing the length of the lake. More then once I had a wave hit my stern and went over the lower portion by the motor. Of course I try to keep the bow into the waves, but when fighting a hybrid, it gets hard to run the boat and rod, so more than once the wind has blown me around and rocked us pretty good.

I have been out in 15mph with gusts upto 20mph and it was very nerve racking and almost impossible to fish from my boat. I can plow thru the waves with my V hull, but trying to hold still and fish is futile.

The other problem I hit recently, was the Larger Cabin cruisers & wakeboard boats on Hubbard throwing larger wakes then a 20mph wind.

My Personal Opinion: I spent months hunting for a higher side v-hull instead a jon boat, just so I could target the hybrids out in the middle of the lake. I would not want a flat bottom, low sided jon boat for open lake fishing unless the wind was flat. The only thing I would change is maybe spending less on my Sonar, give up side imaging and spend it on a used I-PILOT TM.


SUMMARY We all have personal limits on budget, garage size, tow vehicle etc. You can fish from any boat, and it is always better to be in the boat than on the bank. You just need to understand the limits of your equipment. On windy days, I fish different lakes or stay on the protected side and target other types of fish.