New Guy with Boat Question

New guy here. My wife and I live in eastern Washington. For the past several years we have been going to the Pensacola area to charter redfish trips a couple times a year. Starting this year we would like to start spending a month or two somewhere down south, and we both like Texas, especially the Port O'Connor area.

We fish about 5 days a week at home and have a typical NW heavy welded aluminum boat. We are interested in getting a boat to leave stored down south. Our primary interest is being able to target redfish year around, especially in the winter when we would spend the most time there. Because we like the RV park there, and the area overall, we will probably base out of Port O'Connor. We also like that area as there seems to be a good opportunity for redfish year round.

I would genuinely appreciate boat suggestions. New or late model used. Right now I'm leaning towards a Hewes Redfisher 18. We do enjoy fly fishing in addition to light tackle, and the Redfisher is well set up for that. Not really worried about poling ability or getting quite that skinny. I've looked at boat like Haynie's, Shallowsports, Majek, Shoalwater, etc. as well and realize some of them are made specifically for the Texas Gulf inshore fishing. It will just be the wife and I. I would prefer to spend no more than 50k. It's been years since we have done any fishing at Port O'Connor, but from what I recall, there is plenty of fairly protected shallower water areas to fish. Would prefer something that can handle some chop and remain somewhat dry and comfortable for bay crossings. Don't want to go as small and light as something like a technical poling skiff. Thinking much more flats type boat, but wonder if a bay boat would be more versatile and still have the ability to go shallow enough? One boat that I have always liked that is only available used is the Maverick Master Angler 21.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated.

The endless boat debate. Especially when you're discussing POC.
First thing, everything on a boat is a compromise, you'll get A but give up B.
Winter fishing here is when the back lakes catch fire.
It's also when the water levels are their lowest.
So your first compromise:
You can run shallow, or you can run smooth. Both is really not the option.
Poling skiffs look just dandy. Few people own one for very long here, they just aren't practical. Why? The wind blows. Hard.
Most of the fishing is really done two ways: you drift areas, you wade spots. Why low sided scooter hulls are so popular, they have two advantages: low profile so the wind doesn't push you like a empty chip bag, and no sides makes it much easier to drag your carcass in and out after a wade.
I run an aluminum scooter, I'll never run a fiberglass hull here, for a couple reasons, the first is oyster reefs, we're covered up with them, and they'll shred a glass hull, I just bash them and head on down the road.
My advice, don't buy anything until you try some different things out first. Until you know, you'll never understand.

The Redfisher 18 is a nice polling skiff, but take it from someone who fishes with his wife a lot, I think she would be happier in a 20-24 foot bay boat. A bay boat is definitely more versatile than a flats skiff and more stable in rough water. This Mako ( https://www.makoboats.com/boat/?boat=4662 ) is built on the tried and true Kenner hull and would be a great choice coming in under your budget. Other boats you could look at are Sea Hunt, Pathfinder, Sportsman or Edgewater (and many others). You can get a lot more boat if you are willing to look at used.

I like versatility and much prefer a Carolina flair on a bay boat. Boats with this style hull take waves better. My first bay boat was the Nitro 21.5' bay boat, which was the first boat branded differently after Tracker Marine purchased Kenner. It's almost the same boat as the Mako linked above. I fished it all over the Texas coast and all over the Florida Keys. It did very well on the flats, in the bay, and I often took it 20 miles offshore in the Atlantic.

Also consider staying under budget so you can allow for Power-Poles and a trolling motor.

I fish an Xpress H20Bay with Yamaha 115, 70lb 24v trolling. I fish the SouthEast Texas area Sabine, Keith, Johnson Lakes and Galveston Bay area. I chose Xpress because all weld Aluminum and like other gent said oyster beds etc.... Wind is issue and on larger bays wind can produce serious chop reason for bay style boat. I have been really happy with it only thing I did not add that I am getting ready to is a hydraulic jack plate to allow for shallow water running and take off to plane in shallow water. It will never go a shallow as I would like but I is currently getting job done. I can fish jetties, few miles off shore or along sand bars on really calm offshore. I can fish bays, I can fish the marshes, rivers and also take it bass fishing up to Rayburn or Toledo Bend. No glass to buff and polish scrub brush and bucket soapy water and good to go on cleaning.

Another boat type i really like is ShoalWater and Shallow Sport (ShoalWater is made in Port O'Conner) due to hull style they can run really shallow offer huge casting decks and do ok in rough water in Bays. I did not get one due to price, more than I wanted to spend but if I had the money I would have gone with ShoalWater.

Thanks for the information and advice, it's greatly appreciated. We have been on a lot of bay boats, and run our welded aluminum boat in fresh and salt. My concern with most bay boats is the draft. My wife is tough, and loves to fish. We fish in some pretty horrible weather for winter steelhead, and she never complains. Of course we have a heated enclosed cabin she can escape in to. We fish, on average, about 5 days a week in the NW. She giggles like a school girl when she is fighting redfish in Florida.

It's interesting you mentioned the Xpress ST1300. That's another line I think looks very interesting, especially their 20 or 22 shallow bay. I spent 33 years in Alaska and all of my boats there were welded aluminum, mostly jets, and all but one boat we've owned in the NW has been welded aluminum. I do like the idea that if you hit something like an oyster bar with an aluminum boat it's less of a bid deal than with a glass boat. We fish Hells Canyon a lot for salmon and steelhead with a friend in his Duckworth jet. It's banged some rocks pretty good. I do like that aspect of aluminum.

Especially based on what Pat Goff said about the back lake fishing being good in winter when water is most shallow, we are certainly willing to give up some comfort to get where the fish are. How shallow does a boat need to run to get to a reasonable number of fish? What months are typically considered the best during winter? After some winter steelhead fishing, winter is when we most want to spend some time down south. Can anyone recommend a good shallow water guide?

ST1300, I'm guessing your screen name is a reference to a Honda ST1300? I'm a big distance and adventure riding guy. Mostly BMW GS's the past several years. I have a GS Adventure I'm planning to ride to a friends in Tyler Texas and leave there for a while.

I am in Round Rock north of Austin. I keep my boat at my Dad's place between Beaumont and Port Arthur. Yes I own a 2012 ST1300 and had a ST1100 before that. I am familiar with Tyler I fished Bass and Crappie on Lake Fork just North of their. I am going to be on Keith Lake and Johnson Lake tomorrow looking for Reds, Specs, and Flounder.

I stopped in Beaumont on my way to ride the Great River Road from NOLA to Minnesota a couple years ago. I really like that area. I remember some folks in a café in Beaumont telling me that I wouldn't need to see the Welcome to Louisiana sign because I would know I was there because the road maintenance would stop at the Texas border. They weren't kidding.

The Shoalwater 19 is sure a cool looking boat for a couple. If we felt like exploring up and down the coast a bit, is there decent water for a boat like that?

We are taking off Sunday for a few day bass and walleye fishing trip. The spawn is over locally, so we're heading north a bit where the bass spawn is just starting to take off and lasts longer. Will probably take crappie gear too. A friend caught a 16" slab crappie yesterday. Probably the biggest I've ever seen. We had some great days during the more local bass spawn. Quite a few 30+ fish days, with a good number of 5lb+ smallies.

I can really see the advantage of a boat like the Shoalwaters in the wind, not a lot of freeboard to act like a sail and get pushed around. How are they about shedding water that ends up in the cockpit? I assume forward momentum get's it up enough for the water to drain?

Hate to be the buzz kill of this party but you guys fishing Galveston and east just have a way different needs than poc and south. Not having True shallow abilities will keep you out of 70% of the water you want to get in.

Nobody is going to catch anything in 4” of water but if you can’t run through four you can’t get to the eighteenth that’s holding.

That's what my friend in Tyler said. He said you typically have to get through more shallow water than what you will actually be fishing in. Not much different than river jets around here.

Pat Goff, do you think something like a Shoalwater 19 will run shallow enough to get to a fair number of fish in the POC area? My buddy from Tyler has said he thinks there is enough skinny water around POC and close by to keep someone busy exploring for several years? Is there a good POC guide you can suggest for a skinny water fishing trip? I really appreciate the help.

Shoalwater makes a capable hull for sure.
Chris at Bay Flats lodge is your man in charge, or Nathan who posts on the inshore page here.

Here's satellite of what you're looking at, most of the passes between the lakes are micro thin, you're not getting into them without at least a proper setup tunnel hull.

I have a CC Wellcraft, Deep V hull and it's built strong. I personally do not care for flat bottom boats,altho have their own purpose. To each his own.
I bay fish here, Galveston area and tend to get into some rough water at times. Some hull designs will just beat you to pieces in rough water and everything in the fron of the boat will wind up in back of the boat. Not for me at all. But that's just me. Got to thinking...why target just Redfish? The Gulf Coast has a lot to offer ya know. What ever you decide to get...stay safe and good luck. Oh, one more thing. How are you planning to store your sled down there? In a warehouse up high or in a sling? During Hurricane season the waters tend to get real high. A boat getting squashed up in the roof is not good. Rants over!! BTW: Reds are all over the place, not just in skinny water.

Thanks for the satellite image. Very cool.

V-bottom we fish for salmon, especially King (Chinook) a lot, both in the salt and fresh during their spawn migrations. We really enjoy the fight of salmon and steelhead, as well as bass with the right tackle, though that's much less exhilarating than salmon or steelhead. We typically go offshore tuna fishing a time or two a year in the NW as well, and though we enjoy eating them, it's about the fun of the fight. Redfish provides that same type of fun for us. Great takedowns and a good fight. We've enjoyed catching Sheepshead, Snapper and other saltwater fish, but we both just really enjoy fishing for the reds. Part of the appeal of POC, other than we like the size and the area, is several folks have told us it's some of the best year around fishing for reds. Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.


Planning to store any boat we get indoors at a friends place in Texas.

Good advice is not a buzzkill. My advice was based on my style of fishing and fishing a lot with the wife. Elizabeth is tough, but she still needs more comfort than I do in a boat. We primarily fish out of Rockport, and yes, Galveston. Only time I have fished POC was out of Bay Flats Lodge.

I forgot to mention Sturgeon. We really enjoy fishing for oversize Sturgeon. We enjoy keep sized for eating, but nothing like the fight of a big one.

I'm looking at my Navionics charts of the POC area online. I can see a lot of 7' and deeper water. Are redfish available year around in the deeper water though? A bay boat would have some appeal, but not at the expense of not being able to enjoy as good of fishing. We have fished from a friends Sportsman 247 Bay a few times, and a Pathfinder he had prior to that. In rougher water or in big swells around jetties I personally don't enjoy being on a shallow casting deck on a bay boat. For those kind of conditions my preference would be a CC with more freeboard, though they get pushed around more in the wind. Of course with anchor lock on the right troller and boat positioning can overcome some of that. We have an troller with iPilot on our boat at home and I've been surprised how well it can hold in some pretty adverse conditions. Is a deeper V CC capable of getting on fish most of the year though? I know the right boat could open up the possibility to head out to some of the rigs and such on decent days. My buddy in Tyler has just been adamant about the shallow back lakes being the place for year round fishing, but it sounds like maybe there is ample other opportunity? As tough as my wife is, something with a bit more comfort and freeboard certainly wouldn't break her heart.

I can go deep.
You can’t go shallow.
One day sight fishing reds will usually change opinions.

Yes, but a 5 mile run across chop in your boat and my wife would be cursing me.

Best advice might be to spend a day on the water with a guide in a true flats boat and see how your wife likes it. She already has experienced some nice bay boats, so that will give her something to compare. You really need to spend some time on the water in boats you are considering before making a decision.

Pat totally agree my Xpress needs 16" of water to run if I had a Hydraulic Jack Plate with out it I need 24" at least and more to get on plane. If I lived In Port O and that is where I fished I would try and find a used ShoalWater. My Xpress for were I fish is practical. I got the 2016 H20Bay Xpress New for 28500 out door. I think the ShoalWater new in 19 foot starts at 38K but do not quote me. I paid cash did not want a note.
Not to long a go there was a 2004 17 ShoalWater the older V hull design with bad motor and trailer that needed some help that was going for 4.5K. It was down in Port O area on craigslist I almost bought it, wishing I had. I would have fixed up trailer the boat and rebuilt the Evinrude in my shop and kept it for lakes hear around Austin and to tow down to Port O and start learning the area.

Good Used Express bays and ShoalWater are hard to find.

Pat makes some great points! I personally agree aluminum will generally hold up better. You want to be able to run shallow. If you're looking at fiberglass Transport makes a very good boat that does well in the chop and runs shallow.

Make a list then narrow it down to a few then most importantly those few boats. Get them on the water and see what you like best.

Buying from a local dealer will certainly help when it comes maintenance time.

I would recommend a 22 to 24 center console. I started with a 21 Kenner years ago and got the tunnel to run really shallow. My wife and family ultimately enjoyed fishing the jetties and offshore more than the bay. I started fishing offshore on calm days and fished many rigs out of port aransas and port Mansfield. Just something to think about. Blazer bay has a nice boat you may want to consider.

I run a Haynie 23 LS, the sides are low enough to slip in and out of in belly deep water, but I also have a swim platform on the port stern for deeper water entry. I don’t currently have trim tabs, but am considering installing a set. With the setup I have now, I can get on plane in about 8-10” of water, and once on plane, I can run in about 6”. I don’t know if she can run in 4”, because I haven’t tried it. I haven’t had to run into those back lakes to find fish. I primarily fish Copano, St. Charles, Shamrock, and areas around Rockport. It’s too big of a boat to pole around, but you don’t need to pole. Aside from back lakes, most of the bottom around Rockport is hard enough to get out of the boat and wade. Most (not all, but most) oyster reefs are marked on the charts, so they’ve been easy enough to avoid, but I’m sure at some point I will find one that isn’t marked, and won’t be happy at that point.
I’ve also had her out on Amistad in 25 mph sustained winds and ran from diablo east up to marker 18 and back with those big rollers crashing, and she performed far better than my old Skeeter bass boat did.
You can pick up a damn nice Haynie, Mabel, Transport, or Shallow Sport in the $40k range, most will already have a graph and power pole.
Take some time, drive a bunch of different makes and models, fiberglass and aluminum, and buy what fits your styles and needs the best.

Wow, thank you everyone for so much well thought out advice and so many great thoughts. It is genuinely appreciated. One of the reasons we always enjoy time in Texas is the great people that live there, and you are certainly representative of that.

I'm going to plan to spend time on as many different boats as I can, and will probably hang out at some ramps and talk with as many different boat owners as I can.

There is a part of me that is a bit of a minimalist, and boats like the Ankona Cayenne have a lot of appeal. When we head down south most of the time we will be driving my one ton dually diesel truck with our Arctic Fox truck camper on it. We enjoy being somewhat mobile, and a boat like the Cayenne would be great for parts of Florida and Louisiana too.

We both just really enjoy fishing. The act of fishing is awesome, but as we all know, a fair amount of actually catching makes things even more fun. My primary motive for thinking about back lake shallow water fishing was what I was told is good, year around red fishing. Knowing that whenever we were able to make it down for a while there is a chance for decent fishing has a lot of appeal. I would sincerely enjoy hearing about any other opportunities that may be similar, and we aren't just limited to the Port O'Connor area. We do like smaller areas and try to avoid big crowds when we can. I certainly haven't written off any potential year around bay or near shore/off shore fishing. We enjoy reds, but we will always size our tackle to our quarry and have fun no matter what the target is. Ideally we would like to find a favorite area that has something we can target year around, even if it's several different species.

Whatever you do, power it w four stroke

Our current boat at home, and the last several boats, have all had 4 stroke power. The only way I would consider a 2 stroke would be to save weight on more of a technical poling skiff, but even then I'd probably rather have a lower horsepower 4 stroke.

Just remember, shallow running boats are like having four wheel drive, you'll certainly enlarge your area, but when it does get stuck, ,you're really really stuck.

But that said, it's the things not mentioned that greatly help out when you can run thin.
The biggest is navigating. Without a tunnel, you're going to hit stuff you can't see.
With a proper tunnel setup, if it's a dark bottom, you're good to go. White sand will tell you when you're in dangerous water.
Same thing with waves, a four inch wave means it's eight inches deep, good to go, slick shoalwater will tell you where you can't.

Having ran jet boats for a lot of years in Alaska, I totally get the shallow water deal. I've been stuck in places more remote than most folks could ever imagine. As a younger guy I ended up with a 26' Duckworth, welded aluminum with a 1/4" bottom, 460 running a big American Turbine pump, 150 gallons of gas. It was beautiful, and it would run shallow and digest quite a few rocks and a lot of muck. When it got stuck, even with a good chainsaw winch and a lot of extra cable, it was a total bugger to get unstuck. There was a time with two moose and a quad in it, we had to unload it, winch it, move everything and reload it. Was close to 10 hours to get unstuck. Over time I ended up going to smaller, lighter boats and never regretted it. I used to joke that with that boat I could get stuck in places others couldn't even get to.

I carry a small come along with me, I can stick my mud anchor down, and winch the scooter over dry sand. Not fun or easy, but as you know it takes less than spit to get a jet up and running. Do I give up creature comforts? Yes. Can I take three fatbodies and four cases of beast with six dozen croakers to soak? No. But that's not how we fish.

If it is how you fish, you just need to compromise on where you can and can't go.

Do not buy a traditional bay boat to fish POC redfish. You will regret it. We split our trips between Rockport and POC/Seadrift. I had a bay boat that worked fairly well around Rockport but sucked at fishing POC. I sold that boat and we are about to take delivery on a Gulf Coast. It won't run super-skinny like Pat but will do what we want. You need a tunnel or cat to fish POC.

We also fish with Nathan Beabout and out of Bay Flats Lodge. Bay Flats guides generally work popping corks over reefs and Shoalwater. Nathan either wades or sight-fishes for reds. I would encourage you to book a trip with Nathan to sight-fish reds. Go mid-week. Nathan mostly fishes out of Seadrift. The Reel Time Lodge there is clean and reasonably priced. I'm sure there are plenty of guides out of POC as well but for sure Nathan wades and sight-casts in the back lakes.

yeah, fishing POC/Seadrift was a challenge in a 16ft john boat with the motor bolted high on the transom with no tunnel hull
Too many places we couldn't go without even trying to fish the back lakes

It's pretty simple, you gotta run through this

To get back into this:

So you can do this:

And end up with this: